TomTom TMC - Areas of Service / No Service

nicrun · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:42 pm Post subject:

here a cable in Y which makes it possible to make a derivation between the antenna and the car radio.

this cable makes it possible to use the antenna of the car radio for receptor TMC.
I did not test it yet; I recover my GO910 that in one week.

cable sold by Navigon: https://www.navigon.com/site/fr/fr/shop/consumer/accessories/26/universal/751

GizmoB73 · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:01 pm Post subject:

I would be very interested to see how that is going to work!

I have seen it before but I can't see how you would connect it, or what it does. Does it replace the TomTom TMC Receiver, or do you still need the TomTom TMC? Confused

Is that black lump actually a TMC receiver then? If so then great, because it looks like it will plug straight into the TomTom. If not, then I don't know how it is supposed to connect. 8O

Good luck

Keep us posted on how it works.

nicrun · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:40 pm Post subject:

No, il's not a receiver TMC,
it is simply a Y cable.

I will use a connector female which I will weld onto receiver TMC Tomtom.

GizmoB73 · Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:25 pm Post subject:

That should be interesting, looking at it more closely, the plug has 3 connectors when the input from the aerial only has 2 (shield + core). I wonder why it has 3? Question

hijacker · Regular Visitor Joined: Dec 20, 2003 Posts: 188

Andy_P · Posted: Thu Jan 18, 2007 11:36 am Post subject:

Give him a chance! I assume he's mentally translating from French and I bet most there's not a lot of difference between "weld" and "solder" in most English-French dictionaries! Smile

plant · Regular Visitor Joined: Nov 26, 2004 Posts: 86

I've just had the drive from hell from Bolton to Tunbridge Wells (today is the day of the gale force winds - I saw 7 lorries on their sides!).

The 910 and TMC worked well, where it worked, and I managed to avoid a couple of closed/stationary motorways. HOWEVER (big however), the M40 south around Oxford is a dead spot - I hit the back of a 45 minute queue with the orange disc spinning. Soon, the disc went green and I was warned of the traffic jam I was in. I was NOT impressed!

I don't know one end of a soldering iron from another.

I have a company car with built in radio (car is due to be changed but next unit is also built in).

I have a company mobile phone and cannot use subscription service.

What are my options?

Anyone in the Tunbridge Wells are who can make me up any necessary leads/soldering bits (assuming I can tap into the car aerial)?

I am off to complain to TT but shan't be holding my breath so if anyone can please help me with a non-permanent solution (can be taken from one car and installed in the new one), I really would very much appreciate it.

Thanks in advance.

AVRHack2 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 27, 2006 Posts: 24

Did a trip from Bristol Airport to Cardiff city centre on Tuesday in a hire car, so the TMC receiver cable, and the shielded co-ax I had soldered onto in (including the screen, but with the screen connected closest to the original cable) was just laid out all over the car and into the back seat!

Got an excellent lock pretty much over the whole journey, including some nightmare traffic on the M4 accurately predicted in several places.

Basically, it just worked even though I obviously couldn't connect it to any external aerial.

One wonders why TomTom can't make such a portable version?

I'm tempted to get a 2nd one and just solder a hacked up wire on like this for hire-car journeys, as the original one that I used on Tuesday is going permanently into my own car this weekend.......

mikealder · Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 1:32 am Post subject:

I too have been battered by the conditions returning home from Ashford in Kent in a hire car, my TMC unit has three feet of coax cable attached, at the free end is a standard car aerial socket (which I plug into the amplified aerial on my own vehicle to achieve excellent reception).

In the hire car (with no external feed just the "extra" coax lead) I have received TMC data for in excess of 90% of this trip, very impressive - previous runs on the same roads prior to modification often gave less than 40% TMC data over the trips duration.

Data today was very good and accurate, the only thing that let the whole package down was around Birmingham - I was directed off the M42 motorway by the TMC (it was shut). The new route was followed for 12 miles in very heavy traffic (read slow) only for the 910 to take me to another entry slip road to the same motorway that was still shut! - after 30 minutes driving around following the new route I chose my own route to a known open motorway, turned off the traffic auto re-route (that was giving me the problems) and it got me home - talking to some others at a motorway service station later in the trip, I think the TMC data/ device saved me at least two hours earlier in the day, shame it tried to access a closed road though - Mike

vicky · Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:30 am Post subject:

I Had less luck with the TMC Yesterday

Left home and got traffic info straight away, showing clear.

Did a visual check on the M1 as I approached it (All flowing clear).

Traffic Lit showing an overturned vehicle between M1 Jnc 29 & 30 and a ZERO Min Delay.

(I was joining at J28 and going North to J34).

Joined M1 and 2 miles later came to a dead halt,

Then spent 90 mins getting from Jnc28 to Jnc29 with the TMC Constantly showing a 0 Min Delay. it was also lit with a strong wind warning between Jnc26 and 30

After 90 mins I was 1/2 mile from Jnc29 and everything had just been stopped solid for over 30mins the TMC Then reported M1 Closed J29/J30 and rerouted off via the slip roade and up the side roads (Something I was already working on anyway).

Just very dissapointed that it took TMC 90mins to get a feel of the incident when the Trafficmaster Freeway unit had been screaching severe delay avoid from just after I entered to motorway!!!

Cheers

Vicky

GizmoB73 · Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 9:43 am Post subject:

I found problems with the traffic information on several occasions where I have been routed away from a 15 miniute delay on a major road into a much longer delay on a smaller road that has no traffic information at all. Rolling Eyes

I have on occasions even had to do a U-Turn and go back to the cue on the major road because it looked like a quicker option!

It would be nice to see a bit more work from ITIS in supplying better traffic data to TomTom.

AVRHack2 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 27, 2006 Posts: 24

The traffic data for me was pretty close - showing a couple of M4 delays near Cardiff that were pretty much dead on.

I guess the greatest advantage of the TomTom TMC system (i.e. it's free!) is also its greatest weakness - we can hardly threaten to withdraw our funding unless they improve the data quality.

No leverage = no means to get them to improve.

So we just have to live with it, hope they'll do it for other reasons, commercial and/or altruistic, and in the meantime treat the data with a pinch of salt.......

But like Mike says, the increase in reception if not data quality just by bunging a bit of co-ax on it is amazing. I just wonder why on earth TomTom didn't build it that way in the first place..... Confused

vicky · Posted: Fri Jan 19, 2007 7:32 pm Post subject:

plant · Regular Visitor Joined: Nov 26, 2004 Posts: 86

Mike,

The extra coax - does this still involve pulling the bulb apart and soldering connections or is it just an extension to the existing cable?

I', presuming it is more complicated than just using an extension cable to extend the aerial lead?

The M25 and M1 between Brentwood and Luton is a no-go zone and I DEFINATELY need something to get me around the M25!

I'd happily pay someone to modify my unit so it significantly improves the reception and is easy to install and take out from the Company car (can't drill holes etc.)

I notice people using the aerial feed in the back of the radio - anyone any experience in doing this in a Focus or an Astra?

Thanks,

Carl.

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