Snooper 6000 satnav

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi everyone. I have just fallen for the sales talk and ads offering special price etc, and indulged myself by raiding the piggy bank and getting a Snooper 6000 allegedly with ACSI and Bord Atlas sites built in and supposedly with Aires built in as well.

 

Previously, I have a Mio c520 and a Garmin quest2. Both are a bit long in the tooth for up to date mapping and neiher appear to be able to be updated now.

However, I have added poi type information for various Aires, and Camping cheque sites and would like to do a similar thing to increase the usefulness of the Snooper. Also the Mio has an active speed camera warning system, which the new snooper doesen't appear to have unless one takes a subsubscription...or am I mistaken?

 

I am not sure how up to date the ACSI and Bord Atlas data is, and I am dubious about the currentness or otherwise about the aires file

 

I understand that Snooper are willing to add such things as Camping cheque sites and are allegedly working on it. Hopefully it will appear reasonably soon.

 

I also asked about France Passion data, but that could be more of a problem as FP dont give any coordinate info. (I have been ploughing through Google Earth and FP listing, trying to create a suitable data file, but it is a slow process) but have some data available on the Mio device.

 

My impression initially about the Snooper is mixed, It has a lot of data files relating to campsites, and hopefully these will be added to in due course.

 

subscribing to get speed camera working is almost as bad as paying the fines..shame it isnt free!!

 

Mapping seem easy to read, so no problem there. Creating a route or multiroute is different to what I have been used to , so have to engage brain cells at times to realise how to do it.

 

The device is much larger than either of my other devices, so deciding where to mount it needs thought. Using the windscreen mount creates a quite large blind spot, which might create a problem with MOT tester.. I have devised a special bracket to position it so that it doesnt block any windscreen area, as it now sits just above the radio.

 

Has anyone else bought one yet and what are the impressions...good or bad

 

tonyg3nwl

[derek pringle]

HI,

not bought the 6000 but have the 7000 and find it great. Seems to do what it says on the tin

good luck with yours

derek

[Trish C]

Hi we have had a Snooper 7000 for 3 years now and its been great although it did take us down a road in France which got narrower and narrower until it ended up down a farm track with grass growing between the ruts but it got us there.

Ours didn't have the co-ordinates(early model) but Snooper upgraged it for free.

They are very helpful on the phone.

Were off to Spain again next week and it has no trouble finding the ACSI campsites.

We would reccomend it to anyone.

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi Again, Judging by the number of replies to my original post, I guess not very many folks have been daft enought to indulge themselves

 

Cheaper devices rule the roost ????

 

tonyg3nwl

 

 

[bolero boy]

Tony, maybe you are right.

Touring with friends at the mo in Sussex so tried his Snooper as he was struggling a bit. Even my lifetime in IT did not make it feel anything other than hard work. It even ignore a narrow road warning when this is supposed to be its USP.

My old tomtom seemed to be far more reliable although the maps are a few yrs old now and it isn't a radio aswell!!

 

[Sophie]

The advertising blurb for the S6000 indicated that it would find POI's "along a route" (the advertisers called it "corridor" I think); I expected this to be helpful as my old Tom Tom had that facility which I found invaluable.

 

However after delivery and a couple of weeks' use I checked it out and of the several databases on the device the "along the route" facility only works by selecting "Nearest POI" then "Campground"

 

It won't work with the Camperstop, (Aires, Stellplatz , Sostas, M/home Stopovers etc) nor with the ACSI sites Database, Bord Atlas, or "POI User" Database.

 

In other words it won't find the type of Stopover most Motorhomers will probably want to find, along a particular route you may have just programmed in.- instead it just gives option of "Current Location" or "Different Location"; this for a device supposedly for Motorhomers as well as caravanners.- very disappointing

 

Note also that the ACSI sites listed are those which have been inspected, but which don't necessarily have the discount.

 

The inability to put your own custom POI's on is also a negative though you can go through the unweildly process of sending POI's to Snooper for conversion- I've not done that so far.

 

On the plus side-nice sized screen & clear lane markings shown. . TMC facility good-but it wasn't always accurate I found!

 

[tonyg3nwl]

Hello to all once again.

 

I have just returned from a couple of days down at Charmouth, and during the time we wanted to visit the Seaton tramway. There is a large carpark there, the emphasis being on CAR park and an unwelcome threat of a fine for not parking in the allocated spaces. Seaton tramway did not get our custom as we can't fit in one of the spaces with our Stargazer, so we decided to mave along the coast a little to Beer. Trying to find our way out of Seaton, Snooper decided to route us through the back doubles which eventually led us to a lane known as 'back cut', or something similar, which had warning signs that it was 6ft 6 wide.. No way could we get through, and had to attempt reverse gear for about 30 yards.(miraculously successful and no undue judder)

 

Snooper found a route for us and in spite of being informed that we were a motorhome It decided to route us ( or rather attempt to do so down a road listed by warning signs at the top that it was unfit for vehicles over 6ft 6 wide. We didn't follow Snooper, and found an alternative down into Beer which wasn't that much better, but possible.

 

In Beer we then spotted that the carpark for Motorhomes was up the hill about 500yds to a grassy field at the top. Again snooper told us it was ok, but the road signs suggested it was doubtful, but still indicated that "larger vehicles must use the top carpark".. Obeying the signs and doubting Snooper we squeezed through and found the car park.

 

On leaving Beer we headed for Honiton and once again Snooper decided we could squeeze down a narrow road, and we probably could have got through except for meeting an oncoming bus.. Such is life, and we managed to reverse about 50 yards to permit the bus to scrape through.(fortunately on the level and again no protest from reverse gear!)

 

My feeling towardsSnooper and its Motorhome option is that either my vehicle isn't seen as being a Motorhome in spite of setting it up with relevant data, or I am completely stupid in attempting the near impossible.

 

I also note that on A class single carriageway roads A31 A35 for example Snooper says that the speed limit is 40 MPH, and only rises to 60 on the dual carriageway section near Bere Regis( unless the limit is lower in certain places ie 30mph)

 

Is this in fact true for a 3.5 ton Motorhome?

 

Regarding finding a site option I knew where I was heading so wasn't too interested in checking out that aspect, but I am unsure as to the current database and how up to date it is.

 

In summary, It seems an expensive device and I suggest the mapping/Motorhome relationship might need a close look at to ensure blind alleys are not attempted.

 

Finally I have forwarded some CSV files for various France locations I have on the other device and they have acknowledged them and I hope they may be of use if and when finally published.

 

Snooper in my view is not yet all it claims to be. Others may disagree.

 

tonyg3nwl

 

 

 

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi It's me again,

 

Just a quick update for my error on the previous post.

 

The impassable narrow gap I referred to as being in Seaton, was in fact in BEER. Apologies to Seaton, but I still think Seaton should provide a few motorhome parking slots near their main attraction, the Tramway

Tonyg3nwl

 

[thebishbus]

We had a similar experience to Tony with narrow places and sat-nav. People kept saying, you must get sat-nav.it makes the journey much easier. So this year, before setting off for our month in France, I decided to buy one. Let's go for a good - un I thought. Went for Tom Tom 7000 Truck / Motorhome version.

We wanted to spend Wednesday in Canterbury, before crossing to France first thing Thursday morning, I programed it for Dover, via the Canterbury park & ride Motorhome aire, fine no problem. Crossed to France, set of for a leisurely drive through northern France, stopping off at St. Valery-sur- Somme, and Honfleur before getting to the cycling event ( Semaine Federale ) that we were in at Flers.

Whilst there I got thinking, Lady Jane Tom Tom had certainly brought us through some pretty narrow places on the way down, then the penny dropped, I had programmed in the van size, but not added on the extra 10" each side for the mirrors. 8-) When I reset that, Lady Jane performed well the rest of the trip. :-)

Brian B.

ps Whats that they say . Never computer error, only operator error. :$

[Sophie]

Good point Brian

 

Tony-did you add the wing mirror length when configuring Snooper? If you did it may be worth contacting Snooper for their comments

 

I agree that so far as POI's are concerned Snooper has much to do to catch up with the likes of TomTom

[tonyg3nwl]

Sophie - 2011-09-27 5:56 PM

 

Good point Brian

 

Tony-did you add the wing mirror length when configuring Snooper? If you did it may be worth contacting Snooper for their comments

 

 

What am I.. I have just rechecked the data relating to Motorhome size, and horror shock, the width was entered as O ft... Dumbo !!! No wonder it thought that a 6ft 6 gap was plenty... sorry Snooper, not your fault. Width over wing mirrors measures a 9 ft not 0 ..Typing error or what.?

 

tonyg3nwl

 

 

[DuxDeluxe]

tonyg3nwl - 2011-09-26 5:00 PM

 

I also note that on A class single carriageway roads A31 A35 for example Snooper says that the speed limit is 40 MPH, and only rises to 60 on the dual carriageway section near Bere Regis( unless the limit is lower in certain places ie 30mph)

 

Is this in fact true for a 3.5 tonne motorhome?

 

Snooper in my view is not yet all it claims to be. Others may disagree.

 

 

It sounds like Snooper thinks that you are an HGV despite what you told it, as these appear to be slightly similar - but not quite - HGV limits. Have heard mixed stories about this bit of kit. Thanks for posting your experiences; they certainly help a lot when making buying choices. Cheers!

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi again. Yesterday, I decided to look further into the preloaded data, and concluded that for me, the aires files were confusing with the designation verified,unverified etc. I decided that in the form they were installed, I would rather rely on the book, and preplan my journey and set up favourites accordingly.

 

I therefore took the bull by the horns and deleted all files relating to Aires, leaving only ACSI, Bord atlas, Camping club and caravan club sites.

 

I wish that snooper would permit the user to create their own files and be able to upload themselves, but they wont. They insist that they create the file from for example a CSV file and convert it to their own format . There are many readily available file convertors available on internet, but none suitable to generate .upi file type which Snooper use. Obviously for commercial reasons, they wont disclose details,but I think they are missing a trick by not doing so.

 

I am likely to still stick with the old MIO c520 even though the mapping is somewhat outdated, but at least I can generate my own data file to suit me.

 

I still think Snooper needs a bit of a rethink.

 

tonyg3nwl

[Geoff Tuckley]

I bought the Snooper 6000 this year prior to going to France, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. we previously had a TomTom. The Snooper was brilliant and did it's job without even a hiccup. I agree that it is somewhat different to TomTom and takes a little getting used to at first. I paid for the Safety camera update and it was invaluable. TomTom has now been banished to the wifes car. The only thing I would like is to be able to attach earphones so I could use it on the motorbike. Don't know any way around this.

[Sophie]

Tony

 

You could always put some of the Aires (from the book) onto your "Favourites" folder/database- I think it holds about 150 POI's

[crinklystarfish]

Pre loaded data, by it's very nature, has a shelf life. Way better in my own experience, no matter what device is used, to manage / update your own POI sets from trusted internet sources - of which there are many. Useful too to create your own points individually from books / guides / other sources.

Just picking up on the whole 'specialist large vehicle' points, the below is my own experience lifted from a previous sat-nav thread.

I'd just be a little wary in this regard as with the Garmin nuvi T465 (truck) satnav system at least, the company claim is an exaggerated crock.

Essentially you specify whether you are in a car or a vehicle other than a car, and if you choose the latter you can enter the vehicle's dimensions. All good so far.

However, the mapping data that exists for restrictions like weight limits and bridge heights etc only exists for major roads. Once you turn off anything that isn't effectively a trunk road the unit simply gives a warning that you are on your own!

Now, if you only ever use trunk roads anyway, you are very unlikely to meet with any problems even in a very large motorhome, so effectively the unit is of no help. It bears repeating, once off trunk roads, the unit is as useful/useless as any other sat nav.

Here's the really irritating bit though. If you specify you are in a vehicle other than a car and then, just to be awkward, programme the unit with car size dimensions, it will still try to route you on roads for which it has 'dimensional data' ie trunk roads. 

Anyone punching the size of an 'average' coachbuilt into a nuvi T465 could find themselves routed miles from the most direct, and perfectly passable, route as the unit clearly searches for a route for which it has dimensional data.

The only time, at the moment, that this particular machine is useful is if you are driving an oversized LGV on trunk roads. In this scenario, the fact you are 5m high or 55ft long will have you kissing the nuvi T465. 

In all other cases, save your money. The claim it's any use to motor caravanners is clown shoes.

The issue is with the limitations of mapping data. I've never used a Snooper but suspect their use is similarly limited - even if disguised a little more effectively.

 

[roger s]

Surprised you have had these problems Tony we have used an S2000, my mate has a S7000 and neither has caused us route problems on size or weight over the last couple of years. PP staff have been very helpful if we needed assistance in the early days and since with a minor problem they corrected on a visit (only 10 miles or so from our qth)

The only gripe I have it doesn't give you enough warning before turns

 

-- ----- -.. .-- --.-

 

 

[tonyg3nwl]

bump to bring this up close to the latest comments. maybe the moderator can link up the 2

 

tonyg3nwl

[Caroline]

Hi

 

We have a Snooper 2000, also loaded with Aires ect, I checked it before we went abroad to find it would not work and an upgrade was required.......I was lucky i could up grade to the latest upgrade for free and the problem was solved otherwise an upgrade is £85.

 

When in France we used the Aires loaded to find the appropriate Aire.............not a chance the cordinates were well out. It is far easier to put in the village and follow the directions in the Aire Book.

 

We also brought as a special purchase, not again we will go for a Tom or Garmin next time, definatly not a Snooper.

 

(lol)

[Matrix Meanderer]

Tony - I have the S6000 and after complaining about the poor choice of POI compared to other makes and the difficulties of Aire classification, the POI Manager at Snooper advised me to update the Snooper map and the POIs from the website.

 

I did this and low and behold all the Aire POIs disappeared to be replaced by Camperstop - and an updated screen. A big improvement all round and Camperstop even has photos of many sites plus details on charges and distance to shops etc.

 

You can load up to 20 personal POIs from the website (including the two sets of club sites and CLs) and I reckon that with the ACSI, Bord Atlas and Camperstop directories this is a good range of site info.

 

OK there are problems with POIs on route but the options of "POIs around a different location" is good enough for me. Worked very well for us in France and Germany this year.

 

So I recommend you update your map and keep it updated plus selecting and updating your preferred POIs.

 

[tonyg3nwl]

Hello aain, If you care to read back through this thread, you will see various comments rgarding usefulness or otherwise of this device. one thing that attracted me was the claim that the user could send in a file in csv format and Snooper would convert it and publish it in a format suitable for Snooper use. I sent in 2 files which I previously created and use on my old Mio device shortly after I purchased the device. Nothing was heard, so a month later I resent them with a request for update on the conversion process.

 

The response was that they have been very busy and still hoped that the files would be converted "soon".

 

It is now 2012, 4 months after my original sending and guess what, STILL WAITING.!

 

It is very poor that there has been no response or apology or explanation from Snooper, and I wonder if anyone else has had any success. If they cant/wont/dont want to etc, then why promote it in the first place. Alternatively why not do as Mio did and provide the conversion software so we can do it yourself.

 

Snooper is an expensive toy stuck in the cupboard and until they extractum digitum, I for one will not recommend them.

 

tonyg3nwl :-(

[Brian Kirby]

tonyg3nwl - 2012-01-01 9:22 AM.......................................It is very poor that there has been no response or apology or explanation from Snooper, and I wonder if anyone else has had any success. If they cant/wont/dont want to etc, then why promote it in the first place. Alternatively why not do as Mio did and provide the conversion software so we can do it yourself....................................tonyg3nwl :-(

The secret of how well any GPS can route vehicles of a given size lies in the mapping. Electronic maps are continually being updated, with new data being added as well as updates/corrections of existing data. The consequence is that the data files continually grow in size. This can cause problems for older units, where even after a couple of years, new map data can exceed the installed memory capacity of the unit. When this happens (as it inevitably will if you update maps to take advantage of all that new data) it becomes necessary to install the updated maps onto an SD card or similar, install reduced scope of mapping, or buy a new unit!

 

Garmin, and to the best of my knowledge TomTom, units cope very well with maps loaded to SD, merely selecting between resident memory or SD card whichever mapping is relevant to the location of the unit. Others may but I have no information on this aspect of their operation. With these units there is no need to select and "load" maps for new areas: with the European mapsets installed, albeit shared between resident memory and SD card, one merely drives, and the units automatically select the maps as required.

 

Part of the new data that is being added is updated width, weight, and height restrictions. To the best of my knowledge, none of the map data yet records actual road widths and, although roads are categorised as to class, this information is inconsistent as between countries. The classifications appear to be to US standards, with roads classed as either "Limited access motorways", "Main motorways", "Other motorways", "Arterial roads" or "Streets" (these classification terms come from Microsoft AutoRoute, which uses NavTeq mapping. As you can see they are hardly clear starting points.) So, what may be classified in one country as an "Other motorway" may only pass in another as an "Arterial road", and NavTeq may have differing views again as to which falls into what category. So, which of those is suitable for a motorhome?

 

Unfortunately, so far as I can discover, none of the Sat nav software allows the mapped road classifications to be seen, and there is definitely no common provision for selecting preferred road types, apart from toll or non-toll options (not all of which know where the tolls are actually charged - for example the Millau viaduct in France). So, one has either to drive "blind", or use a map in conjunction with a sat nav, and then ensure the sat nav uses sensible looking roads by "forcing" it to route via a series of waymarks.

 

There are only two firms supplying electronic mapping for Europe. NavTeq, which is owned by Nokia, and TeleAtlas, which is owned by TomTom. AFAIK all sat navs sold in Europe will have mapping by one or other of these firms, and the map data set that is available to the unit from either will be the result of the agreement between the sat nav manufacturer and the map provider. How that data is used for navigation, and what options/details are available, depends on the software the unit manufacturer's programmers write.

 

As well as mapping updates, some units can be updated with new software from time to time, some with new firmware. The technology, and the routing software are continually being "tweaked", so one person's experience of a unit bought in 2010, may be radically different to another person's experience with an apparently identical unit bought in mid 2011. This will be exacerbated by the failure of either party to update maps, or if either has bought a sat-nav that had been "on the shelf" for a while.

 

Both TomTom and Garmin units readily allow the installation of POIs, and there are numerous databases of POIs freely available on the 'net. "Archies" has an amazing collection of literally thousands of campsites, aires etc, and Bord Atlas freely publishes POIs for stells and aires, along with others. These should be checked for accuracy before building them into routes, as some are plain wrong, and some, particularly those for campsites, are first entered by people already sited, from the comfort of their van, and not for the site/aire entrance. Not all sat navs are good at navigating to an obscure point in the middle of a field from a site entrance, and may well select the nearest road to the co-ordinates rather than the road where the entrance is located.

 

How to check? For Garmin units one needs to get a PC only based application called MapSource. This installs a copy of the same mapping as is being used on the unit, onto the PC. POIs can also be loaded onto the mapping, one dataset at a time, so that the POI location can clearly be seen on the map, and can also be created on the map. These POIs can then be loaded back onto the sat-nav. If one selects "View in Google Earth" from a pull down menu, MapSource loads Google Earth and temporarily transfers all the POIs within the dataset to it as visible map pin overlays. By zooming Google Earth one can see exactly where the co-ordinate has been located, and by toggling between MapSource and Google Earth one can fine tune the co-ordinates to the exact location of the entrance. Switching to Google Streets from Google Earth usually allows you to "viddy" the entrance, and see what the place looks like from outside the gates. AFAIK, this facility is unique to Garmin units. It is (or was, they keep changing!) free with Zumo units, but is only available for other units if one subscribes to lifetime map updates. Even then one has to carry out the first update, requiring a map uploader programme to be installed to the PC, before one can download and install MapSource free. However, if this appeals don't just rush out and buy any old Garmin unit expecting to be able to do this as of right. Contact Garmin, or use their open access knowledge base, and ask how one can currently get hold of the programme because, as above, they keep changing its availability. That apart its use in conjunction with Google earth is highly impressive and of enormous benefit.

 

Final point, for those struggling with POIs and their various formats. You need to download a free program called GPS Babel. It is a bit "dossy" (as in DOS based) but it has a graphical interface for the WIMPS hungry, and is a bit clunky, but once you get the hang of it, it works. It converts, as the name suggests (Babelfish, anyone?) POI sets from one sat nav maker's format to pretty much any other, and also from .csv format to any sat nav manufacturer's format (don't know about Snooper!). The only word of warning is that if working from .csv as downloaded from Archies, one has to reverse the order of the lat and long integers in the .csv table. This is easily accomplished by opening the .csv file in Excel, adding a new column to the left, cutting and pasting the second column data into the the new column, deleting the now empty second column, and saving the result still as .csv without changing its name. Then when the .csv file is converted via GPS Babel into Garmin .gpx or .gdb format, they will appear in Europe instead of in mid-Atlantic!

 

Happy 2012 and keep truckin'. :-)

[tonyg3nwl]

Hi Again, Thanks Brian for your contribution and explanations, a lot of which I was aware of already.

 

Apart from Snooper, I started with a Garmin Quest unit together with Map Source, and this served me well, enabling me to plot a route on computer screen and then tweak it to pick up various places that I wished to go , and to add in my own POI lists for FP sites etc. As you say, It was then possible to intererelate with Google earth to see if the reference coordinates were at least feasible.

 

When we changed the van, the new one came with "free" Mio device, and info how to load up the SD card with your own KML type files. Internet provided the necessary conversion software from CSV and the Mio has beenvery useful to date, but sadly there doesn't appear to be any Map updates to bring it up to 2011/12 standards .

 

The Snooper problem is that the file structure used for POI is something referred to as UPI files, and I haven't found a file convertor suitable and for commercial reasons, Snooper are not willing to release any information.. It is such a shame, and in particular because they can't seem to provide the conversion process that they originally promoted,"due to excessive workload"

 

tonyg3nwl