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Garmin C510D Problems
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al40
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Joined: Jun 15, 2006
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 9:54 am    Post subject: Garmin C510D Problems Reply with quote

I have a C510 Deluxe and am having a few problems:

(1) I have never got the traffic to work via GTM21 receiver. Even though I am in a trafficmaster rich area, it's never succeeded in picking up a signal, even during heavy traffic congestion. I've tried the antenna in loads of different positions and even left it sitting in the middle of the garden (powered on external PSU) during rush hour but nothing!

(2) Unit seems inherently innacurate in some directions of travel. I can be sitting at the white line at a junction I'm turning at and it will tell me I have 120 ft to go before the turn. This is 100% repeatable so is not a GPS signal error. Some junctions it's fine at, others show this problem. I have an i3 as well and this has always been really accurate!

Anyone seen any of the these problems? I've already had unit replaced but new unit shows exactly the same issues. Updated to latest firmware.

Support from Garmin UK has been pretty much non-existent on this as they claim it's a "new unit" so can't tell me much about it.
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swing
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:01 pm    Post subject: Re: Garmin C510D Problems Reply with quote

al40 wrote:
Even though I am in a trafficmaster rich area, it's never succeeded in picking up a signal, even during heavy traffic congestion.
By what definition is it a TM rich area? Remember the GTM12 uses the RDS-TMC signal, which is radio based, and doesn't use any of the TM sensors to broadcast the data. Does the 510D have a Traffic signal meter, and if so, what sort of signal does it reckon you are getting - equally, what colour are the 2 LEDs on the GTM12?

Quote:
This is 100% repeatable so is not a GPS signal error. Some junctions it's fine at, others show this problem. I have an i3 as well and this has always been really accurate!
Are you trying the i3 at the same time? Is this repeatable over many days - there are many factors that affect the GPS signal and position.

Quote:
Anyone seen any of the these problems? I've already had unit replaced but new unit shows exactly the same issues. Updated to latest firmware.
With a second unit having the same issues, I'd say it's not a hardware issue, so it's either a firmware issue, a general GPS issue, or a mapping issue.
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al40
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 15, 2006 4:34 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

From what I gather, the RDS signal is transmitted by (amongst others) ClassicFM and RealRadio. I get excellent reception of these stations in both the house (on small portable radio) and car. That along with fact that there are pleanty of TM cameras on trunk roads / Motorways etc would have made me assume that there would be pleanty RDS traffic info. I live in Glasgow so there are loads of delays that are broacast over normal radio during rush hour....

The GTM21 (21 not 12) in combination with C510D is particularly unhelpful in working out if there is any radio reception (I have asked Garmin this question many times). The GTM21 is combined with cigarette lighter socket so has a green power LED and also an orange LED that comes on when connected to the GPS. If cigarette plug is removed but still left connected to an active GPS, the orange LED remains on. I assume this means the GTM21 radio recevier is powered. Garmin UK have not been able to confirm what this LED actually means....

In terms of the unit, there is no way of telling signal strength on FM, or whether it has received anything. I can force a refresh of the station list but there is no way of telling if it has any stations listed.

Yes, I was testing the C510 and the i3 at the same time (mounted side by side on the windscreen) and this innacuracy is repeatable certainly over the 2 weeks I have had the units. Agreed, I do not think this is a unit issue.
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hysys
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 10:00 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

There are 2 led on the plug the second one is orange if there is no reception with the TMC unit, green if there is reception.

Try to get a reception outside the car. I have some issue with reception too (M4, A34) and I did some experiments.

At home if i put the unit outside or even just open the side door and put the antenna on my side windows I have reception, close the door and the reception is gone....

So my advice is to check you can get a reception without the car by looking at the led becoming green and then try to find a way to keep it when you are inside the car... I didnt yet Sad
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al40
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:23 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hysys wrote:
There are 2 led on the plug the second one is orange if there is no reception with the TMC unit, green if there is reception.

So my advice is to check you can get a reception without the car by looking at the led becoming green and then try to find a way to keep it when you are inside the car... I didnt yet Sad


Thanks for the info, that's extremely useful and is something that Garmin have failed to tell me so far (I have asked many times how to tell if it's receiving something!)

When you did your tests with the unit outside the car, did you need to provide external power to the GTM21 or is it sufficient to just plug it into the C510?

How long does it take for FM LED to go green when it receives a signal?
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hysys
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You need to keep it powered so plug to the 12V

You are talking about 30s to get a signal, once it has been found lost - refound is quicker.

For the moment my best location for the antenna is horizontal about 5" above the dashboard. Basically as high as it can without been a distraction.
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swing
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PostPosted: Sat Jun 17, 2006 8:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

al40 wrote:
From what I gather, the RDS signal is transmitted by (amongst others) ClassicFM and RealRadio. I get excellent reception of these stations in both the house (on small portable radio) and car. That along with fact that there are pleanty of TM cameras on trunk roads / Motorways etc would have made me assume that there would be pleanty RDS traffic info.
The problem is that the RDS-TMC signal is broadcast as part of the data signals that accompany the radio stations, and all receivers seem much more affected than normal radios. Because the RDS-TMC signal is broadcast by third parties, there is no relationship between the number of TM cameras and the strength of the signal.

Quote:
The GTM21 (21 not 12) in combination with C510D is particularly unhelpful in working out if there is any radio reception (I have asked Garmin this question many times).
Oops, yes, sorry, although my comments apply to both. The Nuvi is the same - there is only the LED, no TMC signal strength within the unit (the higher spec 2720 has a signal strength reading too allowing you to see how good / bad the signal is).
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HughGW
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 9:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sorry but this is not my experience with the 510D in rural Gloucestershire. I get TMC pick up within 30 secs or so, sometimes quicker than the Satellites. The aerial is stretched along the bottom of the windscreen in my Honda CRV (not a heated windscreen) and it works really well.

Is the unit/receiver a bit iffy I wonder, have you tried getting a replacement?
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swing
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PostPosted: Sun Jun 18, 2006 9:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

HughGW wrote:
Sorry but this is not my experience with the 510D in rural Gloucestershire.
It does appear to be very location specific - a lot of people report the SW section of the M25 as a particular bad spot, where the units will lose RDS-TMC signal, and not get it back again until you leave the area.
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al40
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 2:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Agreed, it seems to be very location specific. I'm in Glasgow which should have good traffic coverage according to the maps I've looked at on various websites but that doesn't seem to be the case.

I've already exchanged the unit at the request of Garmin support but that didn't make any difference. I drove approx 200 miles at weekend but LED was always orange with antenna horizontally 5-6 inches above dash or vertically - I also tried it in numerous positions in the house, with antenna in lots of different orientations but no reception.

It is possible that some GTM21's are better than others I guess. Has anyone else managed to get this (or other Garmin GTM's) unit working in Scotland / Central belt?

Thanks.
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pauliboo
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 3:02 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

i'm having the same problems with getting a signal.
I live in Preston right by the M6, and have never got a signal. I've even mounted the aerial on the roof, to no effect (i have a classic mini).

Any help would be appreciated, as this was the only reason i got the 510D, instead of a TT One.

Paul
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AlanGPS3
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 19, 2006 11:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

FM radio in the UK is broadcast using what is called vertical polarisation. If you use a horizontal antenna there can be a significant loss of received signal strength (up to 30dB or 1000 times less, in theory!). Can I suggest trying the antenna vertically?

I've not seen the GM21 unit yet (the shop display of the 510D has it hidden), but I thought it was integrated with the power lead?

Has anyone else had the wrong poition information from the c510D?
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hysys
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 10:17 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Thanks that s a very interesting info.

My only concern is that when I try vertical the signal is worse Smile

BUT

I have an heated widescreen so I wonder if this is an issue. At the moment I have it more or less horizontal but it is not against the widescreen because it is a bit loose so it is dangling (if you see what I mean) and the reception is not bad at all.

Might try the same thing but more vertical.
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hysys
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 10:19 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Forgot to answer this part Smile

the reciever is part of the power lead. maybe 4-5" from the connection to the 510. It is a small rectangle 1" by 2" with the antenna coming out.

Cheers
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al40
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 20, 2006 3:20 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Interestingly, when I spoke to Garmin tech support, the 1st thing they suggested was to lay the antenna horizontally on the dashboard. It still didn't help me but it seems that is the best way to fit it (based on various other comments on this thread).
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