BBC East news report on GPS

[Baz]

I thought this may be of interest for anyone using or thinking of purchasing a SatNav system. BBC East TV carried out a report today on the navigational problems some people were encountering with their systems. Such as being directed up footpaths, across an American Air force base, sent to a ferry crossing that was only for foot passengers, etc..

 

An independent company in East Anglia explained the reason for the problems. In order to keep costs down some manufacturers are including mapping that is not the latest, this apparently applies mainly to the cheaper SatNav models, so anyone purchasing a new system may well be advised to check the sell by date of the mapping in the device. 

 

It appears that as the mapping information is updated by Ordinance Survey in the UK, new discs are then produced and appear to be made firstly available for the expensive in car built systems and the top of the range hand held versions before being supplied with cheaper GPS versions.

 

I purchased a new Honda Accord last March with an in built system and have complained to Honda about the dated mapping. They have agreed to supply me with a complimentary new disc which will be available by the end of the month. If anyone is in the same situation as me,  try speaking to the manufacturer PR dept. and you may well get a free replacement.

 

Baz

 

 

 

[Anton Redman]

If you watched 'Map Man' with Nicholas Crane you will be aware that publishers protect copyright their maps by deliberate errors. Anybody who rallyed in East Anglia in the 70s will be aware of roundabouts in the middle of nowhere which turned out to be on the edge of US airfields. The thing is with a map you can reason it out with Sat Nav you have this nagging voice telling you to do the impossible.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Is there such a thing, perhaps, as overdependence on technology? I find

myself perfectly able to get hopelessly lost in strange parts of the

world without any need whatsoever for a computer with a poor quality

American accent and an overblown faith in the infalibality of

trigonometry to help me take a wrong turn. Going badly astray in the

past has led me into some of the most entertaining evenings of my life,

so in the interests of future vitality I shall continue to rely upon my

1987 Michelin guide to France and my appallingly inadequate sense of

direction (oddly it seems to function quite well wherever restaurants

are concerned) and shun these advances in technology. Also, being

obliged to look at maps to find ones way, one can so frequently find

interesting distractions. Think of all the fascinating places one might

miss if one simply went straight to where one thought that one wanted

to go...

[Russethouse]

My brother in law to be has a car with inbuilt SatNav and swears that the voice tends to get a little 'edgy' if you do not obey the instructions [:^)]

[Quillan]

Jeremy Clarkson (hate him or love him) mad me laugh with his comments about GPS once when driving a car and he couldn't turn it off.

I have had two types, one came with the car and the other on my PDA. I like them although the in car perminantly fixed ones are by far the best. Like all things in life they move on and maps are just the same. My AA map book of France is out of date now, it's 2 years old and there are many changes even locally (OK it's cheaper to buy a new one than get your GPS maps upgraded year by year). Nothing is perfect yet I still like my GPS. The main reason is that I can, in 95% of the times I use it, enjoy my drive more as I don't have to think about where the next turning is etc, etc. My trip is quicker (I don't have to keep stopping to look at the map), it's safer (you don't have to look at a map whilst driving) and it means 'er in doors' can stay at home (my normal map reader who often gets it wrong). One big advantage is that you can head of in any direction when exploring (like on holiday or day trips out) and not worry about where you are going. When you have had enough you just ask you to take you back home (or to wherever you started from).

One big use at the moment is to get me and my mates to our rugby away games. They all thought it a bit of a laugh especially on the first occasion when it took us to the wrong place (boy did I get some stick). We stopped in a 'direction centre' vis a vis a local bar only to discover that the ground was originally where my GPS wanted to go but had moved 8 months previous and was now a building site. They now think it's quite clever as it has not let us down since. The best bit about the PDA type GPS is we can move it from one car to another in seconds. This is important for us because we have a driving rota for the games.

My Becker system (Ford and Landrover) was very good, even put you in the right lane at the Eurostar turminal for the next departing train. It had a choice of male or female voice. I had to change it to female of course so it was just like have 'er' in the car, we nicknamed her Madam Becker because of her very bossy instructions. They do get rather agitated if you move of the given route and often repeat several times "please make a U turn at the next available point" before recalculating. We once got stuck in road works and decided to drive round. Normally after a while it will re-calculate and then it's OK. Off we went, got through the U turn thing, it recalculated and took us to a point 1km further down the road from where we started puting us in the same position in the queue waiting to get through the roadworks. Touch of "you vil not ignore my instructions". Sometimes you expected a hand to come out of the glove box, smack you round the back of the head and say "I TOLD YOU TURN BLOODY RIGHT, DUMKOPT"

Anyway I love mine and wouldn't be without, bit like JC really you either love them or hate them but PLEASE don't knock them till you have tried them.

[Ron Avery]

SATNAV does not tell you to turn into a field or up a footpath, the idiot driving the car does that  and hey come on, it was BBC east doing the programme They have not yet made one for complete dummies. [:D] 

 It's like on the driving test, the examiner says take the next available right, knowing that it is a no entry, so you take the next right that you can take, is it that hard?  For some people (BBC "Don't go there" East reporters) obviously it is[:'(]

Listening to some of the people who moan about satnav they would need a map to get out of bed,  Imagine on a French Autoroute if passing an exit SATNAV said take the next right, would they really take the next right and turn against the traffic entering the Autoroute, I hope not!!

[Miki]

Listening to some of the people who

moan about satnav they would need a map to get out

of bed  ........

But isn't it the people who need a map to get out of bed, the same ones who have to buy SatNav  [;)]

They have not yet made one for complete dummies. [:D]

Why, are they not capable ? that being the case, they don't work properly until they do...................

[The Riff-Raff Element]

[quote user="Miki"]

Listening to some of the people who

moan about satnav they would need a map to get out

of bed  ........

But isn't it the people who need a map to get out of bed, the same ones who have to buy SatNav  [;)]

They have not yet made one for complete dummies. [:D]

Why, are they not capable ? that being the case, they don't work properly until they do...................

[/quote]

A map for getting into bed could be useful. A luminous

one, perhaps. If I get up in the wee hours to answer the call of

nature, I frequently find myself trying to climb into the linen

cupboard or similar. I can't turn the lights on for fear of waking

everyone else up and ambiant light around here is minimal - street

lights are something that happens to other people.

[Quillan]

Jond - I need help the other way round, I keep finding byself in the cuboard looking for the toilet and light switch [:)]. Flouresent arrows on the floor might help.

My little private road is not included even though it has a name and serves several houses. Easy way round is to put your Lat and Long on you website for people who have GPS units. I don't bother but perhaps I should. I just tell them to find 'Auberge de Chalet' which is a POI 50M from our road which has a stonking big sign on it directing you to our house. Having said that our road is not on any other maps except those used for randonnee anyway.

What I am interested to know is if any of those that think it's a waste of space have ever actually tried it or do they just base their information on the fact that people can't find their house using one, it's a serious question?

Anyway, each to his own.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

"What I am interested to know is if any of those that think it's a waste

of space have ever actually tried it or do they just base their

information on the fact that people can't find their house using one,

it's a serious question?"

I confess to a totally irrational mistrust in the things, though, to be

fair, people using them to find us frequently end up in all kinds of

confusion and have to resort to our carefully prepared directions.

I could never accept the charge that I were a luddite, but it find the

overapplication / misapplication of technology (in to which category I

would personally place satallite navigation for cars) dehumanising.

Never getting lost? Always being contactable? It makes life

so....vanilla flavoured. Not the nice kind from a pod, but the crappy

kind called "essence." I like using my (albeit limited) intellegnce to

solve problems rather than relying on a souless lump of plastic and

printed circuits. Plus for the £300 or whatever they cost I can buy a

sack of maps and several bottles of good wine to assist in planning

journeys.

Still, as you say, each to his own.

[Daktari]

As a new convert to Sat-Nav (got one for Christmas with pan-European maps [:D]) - and also a confirmed mapaholic, can I just say for those who have never tried Sat-Nav that it is wonderful, even for areas that one knows quite well.

Just a few of the joys of Sat-Nav are:

1 - You can dive down a narrow lane that you've driven past for years, "follow your nose", explore by-ways - and the Sat-Nav will always be indicating the direct route back to your intended destination once you've indulged your urge to explore the backwoods!

2 - It gives a far more accurate reading of your actual speed than the car speedometer (these are generally calibrated at manufacture to read 5-7% higher than your true speed.

3 - It will highlight (visually / audibly) "points of Interest" en-route, which may be how to find the nearest Super-U or the location of speed cams along your path!

4 - It is far safer to use than a map when one is driving alone (or with a navigator who shall remain nameless but who struggles to differentiate between left & right [:P])

As they say - don't knock it until you've tried it.

[Miki]

What I am interested to know is if any of those that think it's a

waste of space have ever actually tried it or do they just base their

information on the fact that people can't find their house using one,

it's a serious question?

Seriously, well if they don't work to the 'nth degree, then perhaps

they are still not yet the full ticket. I spoke with a friend in London

recently, he is a Porsch executive (smarmy sod !) he was telling me

about just how electronic wizardry in cars is nowhere near infallible

and I know from one of our more economic cars, a Citroen, just how it

likes to have fun and games now and again and gives out dodgy

announcements, don't ask ! We have to reboot the flipping thing to

get  the general electronics going again ! C'est normale we are

told !

Like jond, I am fine with maps and the stars but naturally there are

people who like gizmos and will want the very next thing as well, and

will go through life always doing so. No problems to me but justifying

some things just won't wash. Put it like this, for a nice bet, I will

leave here and be at our old place in Provence without the aid of even

a map ! So SatNav not woth having in that insatnce. I will need a map

though, if I need to go someehere else and I will find it as quick as

anyone with SatNav or whatever one's thingy is called. You say being on

your own makes it worthwhile, nope, I have driven thousands and

thousand of miles alone and with Tina (with her map skills, let's say I

am still virtually alone !) and with friends who have't a clue where we

were going anyway ! Sorry  but for the moment, I still feel it is

the old case of keeing up with the Jones's and having the latest.

I won't say they are a waste of space but simply don't need one and

don't want one ! Given the right address and anything else you would

have to put in a SatNav, I don't see why one couldn't find a place

without the need for the gizmo !

[Quillan]

Funny enough I understand where you are coming from. I hate mobile phones having had one virtually implanted in a previous life but then it did initially beat having a pager which was very poor as trying to find a un vandalised phone box in central London took some doing so perhaps they had an advantage. BUT, watching TV and films on a mobile phone, texting etc, well whats all that about? If you need to talk to somebody use a phone as a phone, it's much more personal plus it can allow emotions to filter through.

We all have to remember many things in life like 'where did I put those car keys' or our way back and forth from the bathroom etc etc [:)] . I like things that make my life easier so I can enjoy the rich environment in which I live. Wondering how to find my way from A to B does, at times, stop one from enjoying this. I strongly believe that technology is only a tool to do a job and providing it can enhance your quality of life (by making things simpler) then why not. There has to be line drawn however, one of my problems it TV's and DVD players that are in cars, WHY. I have even seen somebody at a French roadside picnic area up in the mountains with a portable DVD player, it beggers belief really.

So I guess I could complain about some of the technology but there are others that, as I said, enhance my life no end and with driving it's my GPS.