Garmin nuvi 310D GTM12 TMC problems

mwfox · Posted: Mon Oct 09, 2006 3:01 pm Post subject: Coverage of radio stations

Here is a link to the Ofcom website where they show you the expected coverage of radio stations:

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/static/radiolicensing/mcamaps/MCAs.htm

tony1967 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Oct 10, 2006 Posts: 3

phew was going to opt for traffic - lucky i didnt

swing · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 8:31 am Post subject:

Having now got a fairly stable traffic setup (ie working as much as it can with the current equipment I've got) I find it very useful if you are travelling a long way, or in an area where you don't know the normal traffic patterns.

Given the 35 pages of information, issues and suggestions, I would still recommend people consider it - when it works, it's very good.

lola · Lifetime Member Joined: Aug 31, 2006 Posts: 146

Created a spredsheet and plugged in the costs of buying and owning (Camera's etc) a TT One, 310D, 510 etc.

If you buy a TT One V2 UK for £188 and subscribe to TTPlus and compare that to 310D with £20 per year for the cameras then it takes 8 years to recover the cost of the Nuvi. Also TTPlus gives you Traffic via GPRS so none of this fuss about GTM12 reception.

TT state on their website that FM TMC has limited bandwidth so not all messages are pushed through immediately - they have to be put in a schedule.

TTPlus Traffic uses about 5.4Kb of data every access so on a 1 hour trip accessing traffic every 15 minutes that equates to 21kb - well within my monthly phone tarrif with 1MB browsing free.

Think I am going to buy TT and use GPRS with no wiring looping around the dashboard and no signal problems.

swing · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 11:33 am Post subject:

JoshT · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 12:19 pm Post subject:

ntangle · Posted: Tue Oct 10, 2006 5:20 pm Post subject:

I am in an area that is on the edge of a transmission zone, so my gtm12 is rather hit and miss. Got a new car lead in the post from Garmin, to find it is the same as the old one I had (6025)
Anyway I put the aerial cable in many places on the screen but none worked great. So the other day the plastic tab came off the end of the lead, I took off a couple of millimetres of the insulation and attached part of a fm aerial lead from an old stereo (you know the t shape ones) and ran it around the screen (bottom, side and top) and hid it behind the plastic. I now get traffic about 99.5% of the time. And in good areas it gets the traffic extremely rapidly Smile

Wonder if Garmin should consider a longer aerial.

Big_Fella · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 25, 2006 Posts: 6

I'm so glad I came across this thread cause I was about to go out and buy a Nuvi 310D from Halfords only a few hours ago!!!

one of the things that really attracts me to it (as I'm sure many agree) is the traffic alert option that's included, now after reading all the reports on this thread it makes me think, is it worth buying the unit? or in fact is it not better to buy the standard unit as it's about £100 less expensive!

Also another attractive feature is the hands-free bluetooth calling facility, but having an onboard mic I can't stop wondering how good the quality of sound is going to be?! do you literally have to shout all the way to be heard on the other side? Can you guys who've used this please shed some light as to how good and I suppose most appropriate word to use here is how "practical" is the hands-free bluetooth feature? (I do appreciate that if music is blasting and windows are at high speeds then there are some problems and that's not what I mean)

I've had a fair amount of +ve feedback with respect to the 310 itself, and a lot of -ve feedback with respect to the 310D and most specifically with respect to the TMC not working properly (to the point that a lot return their device for a refund).

On the other hand, I've heard alot of -ve about TomTom as well and they are the more expensive range BUT what I really like about TomTom is the fact that while planning a route you can choose to avoid motorways and toll roads etc which with the Nuvi can't be done (to my understanding)!! and since I do a lot of motorway travelling and especially the silly M1 and M25 roadworks that feature is great.

So now I'm really stock!

I'll finish this post with this:

For you guys who've bought the nuvi 310D, if you knew what you know now would you still go for the Nuvi 310D over Tom Tom?!

Would you consider the standard Nuvi 310 instead?

A few pros and cons would be great from those who've used already.

Thanks guys

lola · Lifetime Member Joined: Aug 31, 2006 Posts: 146

Tried 310D - took it back because traffic didnt work.

I'm not bothered about bluetooth calling as I have a BT headset.

The TT One V2 looks good to me - no BT Calling - Traffic via GPRS and a slim design. I am going to buy the TT One V2 Europe when my local Halfords or Argos get stock. Prices for TT One are cheaper than Nuvi. As I said in earlier post - If you spend £188 on TT1 compared to 310D (£300) it takes about 7 years of subscription to TT Plus (for traffic and cameras) to equal the cost of the 310D (+Camera updates).

Oh - GPRS traffic means you dont need any wires around either - not even the charger!

swing · Posted: Wed Oct 11, 2006 8:43 am Post subject:

Big_Fella - if you buy now, you should get the newer car charger in the box, which should provide you as good traffic as is possible to get with a portable SatNav unit, and resolves many of the problems you have read about.

I have no problems with the Handsfree, using the built in microphone - if you do have problems, you can use an external mic. and you can also connect the audio output to your car stereo (if the stereo supports it). I find some problems at very high speed, but that's down to the amount of wind noise in the car I'm currently driving.

Also remember, for that £100 difference you also get the DVD of Europe, which can be added to an SD card too. The traffic addon sells for roughly £150, and the DVD is around £80, so it's still a good deal, especially if you are aware that the traffic won't work in every location you drive in.

The Nuvi can also avoid motorways and toll roads. There is one main thing to do with routing that is lacking on the Nuvi compared to TomTom: When you hit traffic with TomTom, you can divert and say which road you want to avoid, or say how far the unit needs to avoid the current route for - the Nuvi just has a "Detour" button that tries to second guess all that information. Of course, when you are receiving accurate traffic data, you will have already avoided most traffic problems on main roads, so don't need this function.

I may be biased, but I knew about the problems with the traffic addon before I bought my Nuvi, yet still I bought the 310D over the TomTom range.

parbrook · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 08, 2006 Posts: 42

Despite the TMC frustrations, I have not seen or heard anything that would casue me to choose an alternative to my nuvi 310D.

lola · Lifetime Member Joined: Aug 31, 2006 Posts: 146

lexicon · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 16, 2006 Posts: 7

colheath · Occasional Visitor Joined: Sep 29, 2006 Posts: 2

I emailed Garmin for a replacement car charger after reading this, it arrived two days later and my traffic now works great even with a heated windscreen.

Very happy with my nuvi and great response time from Garmin customer services.

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