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coastersteve Regular Visitor
Joined: 06/05/2003 18:01:04 Posts: 83 Location: United Kingdom
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Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 7:27 pm Post subject: |
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Took the output of my Hirchmann antenna (http://cpc.farnell.com/jsp/endecaSearch/partDetail.jsp?sku=AP01161) straight in to the pad furthest away from the 4 wires and got a reception outside my house, never had that before. |
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TonyD Frequent Visitor
Joined: May 08, 2005 Posts: 412
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Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 8:14 pm Post subject: |
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Just done a return trip Leeds to Oxfordshire via M!,M42,M40 got a signal about a third of the time.
Tony |
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hijacker Regular Visitor
Joined: Dec 20, 2003 Posts: 188
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Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 8:55 pm Post subject: |
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TonyD wrote: | Just done a return trip Leeds to Oxfordshire via M!,M42,M40 got a signal about a third of the time.
Tony |
was using the standard aerial or the modified version? _________________ TT GO 1005 |
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TonyD Frequent Visitor
Joined: May 08, 2005 Posts: 412
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Posted: Sat Dec 30, 2006 11:24 pm Post subject: |
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hijacker wrote: | TonyD wrote: | Just done a return trip Leeds to Oxfordshire via M!,M42,M40 got a signal about a third of the time.
Tony |
was using the standard aerial or the modified version? |
Standard aerial - and I should have said that was from Leeds |
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Andy_P Pocket GPS Moderator
Joined: Jun 04, 2005 Posts: 19991 Location: West and Southwest London
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 2:04 am Post subject: |
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vicky wrote: | ------------------
The discontinued Freeway units DID receive pager signals, they were relayed using the nationwide VodaPage network.
------------------
Not quite correct.... |
Thanks for the clarification Vicky. I was only going by the info. from those sites I linked to!
There was actually VERY little information on the "old" system or systems (and nothing at all about it on Trafficmaster's own site)...
The US Department of Transportation report did say:
Quote: | "Freeway" speech devices receve a data dump from roadside transmitters. The data are filtered for direction of travel and are presented in simple speech. The service only has motorway coverage. |
but that seemed a contradiction in terms as motorways didn't have the cameras on poles referred to by the OP, just the IR-based detectors hanging off bridges etc. at the time.
I should also have seen the paragraph:
Quote: | Short-range beacons are installed on every other site using low-power transmitters (433 MHz) with a 1-mile range to provide local traffic information. |
So are there other posts/aerials that provide this on motorways?
I obviously shouldn't have trusted this from two different sites:
Quote: | Control to User - Radiopaging (Vodaphone) |
Quote: | Each Trafficmaster unit is actually a standard POCSAG pager with two capcodes. One is used to receive the trafficmaster data, the other allows the user to have their own personal numeric pager. Data is sent via the VodaPage network. |
**** internet! |
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mark1968 Frequent Visitor
Joined: Mar 01, 2004 Posts: 290 Location: Northampton
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 10:19 am Post subject: |
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Just traveled from Glasgow to Doncaster.
M74 and M6 South signal 95% of the time
A60 No Signal
A1 Signal 100%
M1 100%
Using a standard set up. However I am in a artic so my equipemnt is higher then everyone else so may be getting an improved signal! _________________ Please follow me on twitter @mdyson1968 |
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vicky Frequent Visitor
Joined: 12/08/2003 19:53:08 Posts: 264 Location: Secret Base in the Nevada Desert
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 10:37 am Post subject: |
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With Regards to Freeway and Motorways,
The IR units on the bridges do the same job as the poles at the side of A Roads, and transmit to the freeway units,
I think on average they are about 3 to 4 miles apart, (About every 2nd or 3rd Motorway Bridge) and at every junction.
So they pick up on slowing traffic on the Motorways quickly.
The Freeway units are very good for the price (If you can find one these days), I got my first one back in 1994 after having one of the more expensive Trafficmaster units that just covered Southern England at the time since the system started.
At the moment these units are 100% More reliable than the FM TMC Service, leaving it down to the user to decide if the incident is worth avoiding, and after using the freeway units for some time you tend to get used to what is a ghost report and something that is going to be a real pain!.
Cheers
Vicky |
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vicky Frequent Visitor
Joined: 12/08/2003 19:53:08 Posts: 264 Location: Secret Base in the Nevada Desert
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 10:40 am Post subject: |
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mark1968 wrote: | Just traveled from Glasgow to Doncaster.
M74 and M6 South signal 95% of the time
A60 No Signal
A1 Signal 100%
M1 100%
Using a standard set up. However I am in a artic so my equipemnt is higher then everyone else so may be getting an improved signal! |
Cheers Mark,
Amazed by that reception percentage. were you using the Standard Unit or has the antenna been modded. Also is the artic Fiberglass or Steel Cab?. and are you on v6.522 firmware (The one with the orange circle when no reception?)
Thanks
Vicky |
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hijacker Regular Visitor
Joined: Dec 20, 2003 Posts: 188
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:19 am Post subject: |
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Using the standard aerial I've had 100% reception in following areas:
Glasgow M74 around Baillieston, M73 to Mollinsburn, A80 and M9 to Stirling. Also coverage on M80 and M876.
I lost reception when venturing further north up the A9 beyond Stirling but I expect this is because I was at the limits of the Black Hill transmitter. However, I still failed to lock on to the next transmitter which should be Angus near Dundee. _________________ TT GO 1005 |
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mark1968 Frequent Visitor
Joined: Mar 01, 2004 Posts: 290 Location: Northampton
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:36 am Post subject: |
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vicky wrote: | mark1968 wrote: | Just traveled from Glasgow to Doncaster.
M74 and M6 South signal 95% of the time
A60 No Signal
A1 Signal 100%
M1 100%
Using a standard set up. However I am in a artic so my equipemnt is higher then everyone else so may be getting an improved signal! |
Cheers Mark,
Amazed by that reception percentage. were you using the Standard Unit or has the antenna been modded. Also is the artic Fiberglass or Steel Cab?. and are you on v6.522 firmware (The one with the orange circle when no reception?)
Thanks
Vicky |
I am in a reciently new volvo cab with a Fiberglass Cab (I think!). Using V6.522 firmware.
I also had good reception down from Doncaster to my base a Crick yesterday. M18, M1. _________________ Please follow me on twitter @mdyson1968 |
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hijacker Regular Visitor
Joined: Dec 20, 2003 Posts: 188
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 11:59 am Post subject: |
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vicky wrote: | coastersteve wrote: | So which did you connect the centre of the coax to? The one nearest the 4 wires or the one furthest away from them?
There could be an inductor between them, I'll look closer when I get to work Tuesday. |
The One furthest away, as indicated by Gizmo, works fine as core, but with screen connected to one closest to wires it failed once charger was connected,
Removed screen wire from that pad and now all is fine,
Cheers
Vicky |
Apologies for sounding thick here, but,
In a previous post you said that you have now routed the screen round to the radio. Could you give me so more info on this?
I know from this thread to solder the core of the coax to the pad furthest away from the four wires but I'm unsure as what to do with the screen.
Also should I use a splitter at the car radio socket or is it better to solder into the existing car wiring?
Can you recommend a coax to use? I have a Maplin's near me but they have 100s of different types and I'm unsure as to what I should use.
Thanks. _________________ TT GO 1005 |
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vicky Frequent Visitor
Joined: 12/08/2003 19:53:08 Posts: 264 Location: Secret Base in the Nevada Desert
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Posted: Sun Dec 31, 2006 2:22 pm Post subject: |
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Hi
I did not have a splitter to hand, so the way I did it was to cut the fly lead that cam out the back of my radio (Connects to the car antenna), connected the core wire flylead from my Modded TMC to the Core in the radio lead, and then just ignored the screen lead
A bit complicated I know,
I am going to have a play at tidying it up later
I also got hold of an internal Preamped antenna today, so am going to try that on the TomTom TMC and leave the car on the standard antenna see if that improves things.
Just generally will keep playing around till I get the best signal,.
Problem is the East Midlands is a Black Hole for Signal on Classic so there is only so much you can do!.
Just want to make sure I have signal from home to the M1 and then up and down that, as thats where I hit most problems
Cheers |
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AVRHack2 Occasional Visitor
Joined: Dec 27, 2006 Posts: 24
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 10:48 am Post subject: |
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My TMC receiver arrived this morning - decided to give it a bash despite the risk of poor performance as it was only £40. Ordered from Germany on Thursday afternoon - talk about efficient postal services!
I live in the sticks - nearest Classic transmitter is a long way out. However I still got reception (just - manual tuned!) in the house to try it out. Even updated real-time with some congestion further south on the A1!
Early doors for me - I'll be modding the aerial today - but I did notice that I couldn't get a signal at all with the TomTom running on battery power, but with it hooked up to the car charger (via a 12v mains power pack), the reception was just possible.
I'm guessing the charger works as a ground plane, in which case the same may be true in the car. For those having trouble with the unmodded TMC unit, if you aren't using the charger it's worth a try to see if the coverage improves at all. |
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AVRHack2 Occasional Visitor
Joined: Dec 27, 2006 Posts: 24
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Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 11:16 pm Post subject: |
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Done the mod - still not tried in the car as the wife's taken the kids to her parents so it's too good a drinking opportunity to miss! And drink and cars don't mix....
But just sticking a bit of cable on the pads and stringing it across the floor in the house has made a huge difference to how quickly the TMC receiver finds Classic and gets the traffic..... |
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GizmoB73 Occasional Visitor
Joined: Dec 27, 2006 Posts: 37 Location: Cambs, UK
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Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2007 11:21 am Post subject: |
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AVRHack2 wrote: |
I'm guessing the charger works as a ground plane, in which case the same may be true in the car. For those having trouble with the unmodded TMC unit, if you aren't using the charger it's worth a try to see if the coverage improves at all. |
The conclusion that I came to was that the pad nearest the 4-wires is the antenna ground plane and it is connected to the car charger via the negative/chassis ground. Although that doesn't seem to have been the case for Vicky. |
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