Which GPS to buy MUST be able to use lat & long entries

[Guest ChrisB]

I have to admit having owned both TomTom and Garmin satnavs for a number of years (and before that Destinator on a palmtop) I have yet to enter a desination in long/lat format although this option has been available. Always been through an address or POI (usually from Archie or CampingCar-info).

 

Incidentally POIedit (free download) will convert POI files between a number of POI file formats.

[bolero boy]

Have to agree - surely to load the i-camping POI file along with ACSI, Stellplatz, CC, C&CC (main sites and CL/CS) would enable touch planning of destinations in any area chosen.

Occasionally, I can see that someone might direct you to a spot for which there is no POI data and lat/long is the most precise BUT there is always the opportunity to go to a place on the map which is also exact if you zoom in.

[Big Momma]

peter - 2012-01-23 4:34 PM

 

We have a Snooper Ventura S7000 great bit of kit.

 

Ditto ! Can also change it to enter GPS Co-ordinates into different formats, has all the ACSI Europe sites pre-programmed as well as Bord Atlas.

[Rayjsj]

Why ? would Tom Tom stop putting maps on to SD cards, not everyone can download new maps from the website . And no SD slot ?? i wouldn't buy a Sat-Nav (or any data storage/display device) without some portable memory upgrade path, talk about a 'backward' step. What are they playing at ?

Ray.

[flicka]

Rayjsj - 2012-01-25 9:16 PM

 

Why ? would Tom Tom stop putting maps on to SD cards, not everyone can download new maps from the website . And no SD slot ?? i wouldn't buy a Sat-Nav (or any data storage/display device) without some portable memory upgrade path, talk about a 'backward' step. What are they playing at ?

Ray.

 

It's called "built in redundancy" Ray.

And no doubt hoping everyone who buys them will buy a new model 2 to 3 years later.

 

[plumbersvan]

8-) I see there are post by those that "THINK" 8-) the tast is made simpler by leaving out lat/long

 

OK Try to find the campingcar aire in Tournon sur Rhone :-D :-D :-D 8-)

 

I know where it is but couldnt find it at all on the tom tom

 

Then try to find Mac donalds in Privas postcode 07000 look up mac do you wont find it on tom tom even though you cant miss it once there

 

Try finding eleclerc in say Veinne *-) *-)

 

I have lots of examples and im by no means the only one that cant find things that ought to be quick & simple to find :-| Certainly the aire in Tournon sur Rhone

[Retread24800]

plumbersvan - 2012-01-27 2:14 PM 8-) I see there are post by those that "THINK" 8-) the tast is made simpler by leaving out lat/long OK Try to find the campingcar aire in Tournon sur Rhone :-D :-D :-D 8-) I know where it is but couldnt find it at all on the tom tom Then try to find Mac donalds in Privas postcode 07000 look up mac do you wont find it on tom tom even though you cant miss it once there Try finding eleclerc in say Veinne *-) *-) I have lots of examples and im by no means the only one that cant find things that ought to be quick & simple to find :-| Certainly the aire in Tournon sur Rhone

Found two Aires in Tournon without my GPS but with a map on Campingcar-infos

Aire de Service :=

http://www.campingcar-infos.com/logos/icones/AS40.gifTOURNON SUR RHÔNE (pays : FRANCE, département : 07) adresse : Chemin de Labeaume D86/D532
Rond Point de la Paix
07300 TOURNON SUR RHÔNE

Parking for the night:=

http://www.campingcar-infos.com/logos/icones/APN40.gifTOURNON SUR RHÔNE (pays : FRANCE, département : 07) adresse : Rue de Chapotte
07300 TOURNON SUR RHÔNE

My Garmin can find E.leclerc supermarches under shopping in the points of interest pre loaded file (go to....near...Shopping....food and there you are or instead of food type in E Leclerc), not bad for a cheapey GPS, ditch the Tom Tom as not fit for use and get a Garmin.1340 It accepts lat and long too in three formats :-)

[plumbersvan]

:-D Garmin can fin d them B-) Not the new crippled tom tom from the tom tom results people pay to be listed

 

Ill look at that garmin i think i can find one hear (?) Pity as entering poi lists are far easier with OV2 file where as the garmin has hundreds of file types 8-)

[bolero boy]

plumbersvan - 2012-01-28 2:07 PM

 

:-D Garmin can fin d them B-) Not the new crippled tom tom from the tom tom results people pay to be listed

 

Ill look at that garmin i think i can find one hear (?) Pity as entering poi lists are far easier with OV2 file where as the garmin has hundreds of file types 8-)

So why havent you loaded all the POI files for CC, C&CC, Aires, Stellplatz, ACSI sites etc etc as I suggested (twice) earlier on?

Surely you can salvage something from the Tomtom by adding these files.

 

[Retread24800]

plumbersvan - 2012-01-28 3:07 PM :-D Garmin can fin d them B-) Not the new crippled tom tom from the tom tom results people pay to be listed Ill look at that garmin i think i can find one hear (?) Pity as entering poi lists are far easier with OV2 file where as the garmin has hundreds of file types 8-)

No. Garmin use .CSV (comma separated values) files which are easily downloaded and can be edited with MS Excell.

[Retread24800]

bolero boy - 2012-01-28 7:32 PM

plumbersvan - 2012-01-28 2:07 PM :-D Garmin can fin d them B-) Not the new crippled tom tom from the tom tom results people pay to be listed Ill look at that garmin i think i can find one hear (?) Pity as entering poi lists are far easier with OV2 file where as the garmin has hundreds of file types 8-)

So why havent you loaded all the POI files for CC, C&CC, Aires, Stellplatz, ACSI sites etc etc as I suggested (twice) earlier on? Surely you can salvage something from the Tomtom by adding these files.

Too true but I'm not sure that this poster is willing to do any work, but is quite happy to winge in the local hot spot.:-)

[plumbersvan]

Not at all im telling how the new tom toms are

:-D Twice looking for water i saw French (campingcar)going off with a water can,they showed me the water supply,easy to find when you know where :-D

 

Both told me to buy garmin to travel in France the second said France Spain and Portugal both said tom tom was impossiable today, 8-) I was also show a guide which comes with an SD card listing the aires listed in a book,for Garmin only 8-)

 

You have an old tom tom and are quite content to look down on fools that bought blindly :-(

[bolero boy]

I understand that your Tomtom wont let you input navigation destinations using lat/long coordinates..........

However, this does not stop the (relatively simple) loading of POI files to give you 'one touch' navigation to ACSI sites, CC and C&CC sites and CLs, along with Aires and stellplatz.

The Garmin's ability to find a Leclerc supermarket relies solely on the fact that there is a preloaded POI file under 'shops/supermarkets' heading that contains the addresses of the Leclerc outlets.

Any similar file loaded to a Tomtom would enable this search, too.

 

EDIT: not necessary to find a seperate file as now I've got the hang of this I can find Leclercs, Intermarches etc using the POIs already loaded.

Similarly, I loaded the Camping Cars Info file myself and found 7 aires within 10 miles of Tournon-sur-Rhone.

[plumbersvan]

:-D At last ive found somwhere to get away from the ice cold mistral 8-)

 

The SNOW that covered Tournon sur Rhone motivated me to move further south :-) If motivation were needed 8-) Im now miles to early to stay with friends but its FREEZING and the MISTRAL-a wind that blows hard is blowing 8-)

 

I can load things to the very limited memory which is almost full 8-) BUT i have a list of aires for Europe thousands and thousands of stops which give a post code but only 13000 or 84000 etc some are more specific most not all are lat long,

 

I did print them contry for contry and have then on my sony e-reader tom tom cant use them 8-)

 

Another point i arrived at several "aires" listed in French books with post code and if theres a road the road i checked i-camping again address when poss always lat-Long i will list stops at which i arrived but tom tom couldnt find i HAD to use the Garmin for the last kilometer :-|

 

Of course i do speak French so IF there was a person about shop open i could/would ask in the boiling sun/pouring rain/mistral or block traffic In Spain Portugal how would i fair? dose everyone speak English French German??? :-(

 

All the same there are just far to many campingcar stops that can only be found by lat and long

 

My tom tom 12v to USB cable fell apart :-( the tom tom today is very badly made and cost MORE that all other makes except Garmin with the same price

 

Tom tom is rubbish in every sence of the word pity 8-)

[colin]

plumbersvan - 2012-02-03 4:34 PM

My tom tom 12v to USB cable fell apart :-( the tom tom today is very badly made and cost MORE that all other makes except Garmin with the same price

 

Tom tom is rubbish in every sence of the word pity 8-)

 

What do you mean the cable fell apart? do you mean that the USB plug has come out of the charger socket?

[plumbersvan]

Today the mistral took my door off 8-)

The new tom tom has a simple USB cable which plugs into a USB adapter that uses the cigar lighter,these adapters cost 3€ depending where found but dont fall apart :-S

 

When i removed the cable to put it away a black plastic bit fell out,today i stopped in Nimes to see what could be done answer nothing not covered by tom tom garentee :-S

 

I also was shown the screen "plug tom tom into a PC where a new map is waiting,as i used it for longer than one week its now a paid update *-)

 

Another point i can check or uncheck speed cameras the speed camera files are there but tom tom disabled this feature around July last year without telling customers 8-)

 

I will never buy another tom tom EVER

[colin]

plumbersvan - 2012-02-04 5:08 PM

 

Today the mistral took my door off 8-)

The new tom tom has a simple USB cable which plugs into a USB adapter that uses the cigar lighter,these adapters cost 3€ depending where found but dont fall apart :-S

 

When i removed the cable to put it away a black plastic bit fell out,today i stopped in Nimes to see what could be done answer nothing not covered by tom tom garentee :-S

 

I also was shown the screen "plug tom tom into a PC where a new map is waiting,as i used it for longer than one week its now a paid update *-)

 

Another point i can check or uncheck speed cameras the speed camera files are there but tom tom disabled this feature around July last year without telling customers 8-)

 

I will never buy another tom tom EVER

 

All your problems it would seem are not relavent to tomtom per se, but more to do with buying it in France. In UK the adaptor would be covered by garentee, free map update is availible for far longer than one week and speed camera's warnings are still functioning, except french ones, and I believe all savnav manufacturers are disabling these.

[Brian Kirby]

Fiona

 

I'm sorry you are not getting on well with your TomTom. However, it is very difficult from your posts to work out whether it is that you don't understand how it works, or whether you just bought the wrong TomTom, with the wrong facilities for your requirements. However, in either event I think you are unfairly blaming TomTom for either your mistake, or your lack of understanding how to make it work.

 

You could better help others to help you if you could explain clearly exactly what model you have. It is clear you want to enter lat/long co-ordinates, presumably because that is the only format in which you have information about your POIs. It is also clear that your unit has limited memory. Does it have a slot for an SD, or any other type of memory card? If it does, why do you not insert a card and install your POI data onto the card? You are not clearly explaining your difficulty, so everyone is having to half-guess what you mean.

 

If your unit has no SD or similar slot, has limited memory, and won't take lat/long, then clearly you have bought the wrong unit for your requirements. That would be a pity, but is hardly TomTom's fault, nor does it make the unit you have bought useless: it is just not what you needed. As the saying goes, buy in haste, repent at leisure.

 

Assuming it is, indeed, the case that the unit you have cannot do what you want of it, it seems your best course of action now will be to buy a replacement unit that can do what you want. I'm sure folk will try to guide you to the right unit, if you just explain exactly what you want to do. Whatever that is, I would recommend you get at least a unit that takes SD, or similar, memory expansion.

 

I would also recommend you do not buy it and then leave town, but stay near where you bought it in case of problems, so that you can take it back if necessary. Then while stationary, sit down with the unit, and the instructions, and put it thoroughly through its paces, including downloading any map updates. While doing that, I would suggest you look for down-loadable POIs from a site like Archies, that will make finding aires, campsites, supermarkets etc far easier than trying to navigate by lat/long.

 

All sat navs have their oddities, and it takes time to learn how to get the best from them. The best way to do that is to look for nearby items, and then go there following the sat nav directions, rather than setting off on a 100 mile trip. Then you can make repeated short trips over familiar ground and learn what settings to adopt to get the unit to follow the kind of routing you prefer. Then, if there is something you don't understand we may be able to help, but just posting successive frustrated rants against the machine can't achieve any of those things, and doesn't allow anyone else to help either!

 

Hope this helps.

[plumbersvan]

:'( :'( but just posting successive frustrated rants 8-) 8-) :'( (?)

 

I read your reply.You must understand i have to find wi-fi to reply which is mostly found in less than wonderful surroundings often with the risk of the connection closing before i send my reply thus loosing it 8-) Yesterday another French woman was very rude to me simply her husband had given me access to the wi-fi :'( My reply was lost :-S

 

I left London with my old Garmin and lots of things i now wonder why ive taken with me :-| I will never leave my campingvan outside our kitchen again, *-) During the long summer i added items im now wondering with whom i should leave 8-)

 

The Garmin Its simply to old and the maps that were there last year have vanished it now takes me through villages which it used to use the ring road 8-) Not a disaster in small villages (in winter) but Paris 8-) 8-) Lyon 8-) 8-) 8-)

 

When i arrived at a planed stop in France i ordered online from Darty (a French retailer with shops)a tom tom XL classic :'( The post woman arrived two days later with a huge packet my tom tom 8-)

 

I didnt try it then as i wanted to leave for Lyon :-D When i arrived there i found i had bought a GPS that i simply couldn't use :'( I installed it then attempted to "go to" a co ordinate" which of course i couldn't

:'(

Worse when i looked at the file on the tom tom XL classic i saw the memory was almost full & NO SD/MicroSD slot NOTHING to add memory

 

I went on with my Garmin When i tried the tom tom again leaving Lyon for Tournon sur soan(which is awful 8-) Not so awful one shouldn't stay there on route :-S ) The next stops i wanted to look and photograph for my CC stops list had post codes but no street number *-) With Garmin i would have used the Lat/Long but tom tom dosnt have that :-S

 

When i arrived i simply could not find the aire :'( :'( I took my Garmin typed in the Lat long and found the aire :-D

 

In winter i can stop and ask if there is someone to ask *-) In summer with traffic no where to stop i wouldn't want to rely on a tom tom

 

This is the forth time ive started this reply

 

8-) I forgot the charger which is a USB charger which runs from the cigar lighter this fell apart the first time i removed the USB cable hoping to use it to charge my sony 505 e-reader(which has lists of camping van stops and can be read in bright sunlight with only a small risk of a flat battery(its 4 years old)

 

In Nimes(France) i went to Darty where i was told "tough" Garentee dosnt apply to a broken charger :-( The man *-) Was less than helpful ditto with others that arrived in fact he ruined my charger by forcing the USB cable connector in bending the contacts :'( Ive seen

 

I NEED the files from an old XL there was a link which has gone with that link i could renovate this dreadful thing 8-)

I can see tom tom must once have been very good :'( Im just to late :-|

 

I will have to leave this cafe soon i will i hope be able to look in tommorow snow&ice permiting

[Brian Kirby]

So, it seems you have a TomTom XL Classic, that you bought mail order, or online.

I can't find a Classic XL on TomTom's website, but I can find a Classic XXL. Could that be the one? The website says it doesn't take SD cards, so it seems possible. If so, it seems you simply have the wrong unit for you. Don't try to rebuild it into something it is not, you are likely to wreck it in the process. Put it back in its box until you get home, then just sell it on E-Bay to cut your losses.

 

The cheapest TomTom that will take SD seems to be the Start 20 Europe. UK price £150. Don't know if this one allows navigation to lat/long.

I have to say I found their website frustrating and very unhelpful.

 

If you look at Garmin instead, the Nuvi 2445 has European mapping, takes a micro SD card (you have to buy your own), and comes with a traffic receiver and lifetime traffic alerts. UK price £130. Don't know if this one allows navigation to lat/long.

 

You really need to go to a shop where you can see the units and get someone to demonstrate them to you. The manufacturers keep introducing new models, and even change what they include with existing models from time to time. It is very difficult to know exactly what you will get unless you see the item in store.

 

Have a look here for possible re-sellers. http://tinyurl.com/7eeaasp You said you were south of Tournon. Anywhere near Avignon (Vaucluse)? There seem to be several sellers there. Good luck.

[Keithl]

Hi Fiona et al,

 

Strange but I've just had an email from TomTom requesting me to take part in a survey entitled "Help us build a better TomTom"!

 

Unfortunately I can't post a link as it seems to be linked to the email and goes thru' some sort of double login or something like.

 

Anyway I've answered highlighting all the problems I've learned about over the last couple of weeks, mainly from this forum and my experience with my own TT XL IQ Routes edition 2.

 

And to let you all know, if I knew then what I know now I would not have bought this model :-(

 

Keith.

 

PS TomTom's website does not appear to tell you which models can input Lat/Long and it is also extremely difficult to find which use the new 'Easy menu'.

[Brian Kirby]

It would help no end if they just had a product selector on their site so that you could select the features you want (with suitable clear English explanations of the jargon), and the site responds with only models that meet those criteria.

Garmin used to do that but have now apparently dropped it, but at least do enable you to compare models, with the full specifications set out in the comparisons. Neither, however, say whether any of their models will take lat/long co-ords.

I don't think they have any idea why folk use their products! :-D

[pheasantplucker]

Recently got a Garmin 1340 LMT which means lietime map and traffic updates I believe, half-price at Halfords. As far as I'm aware it should accept lat/long co-ordinates uinless it just converts a present position into them. Can't check cos it's in he van and not kept here.

[Derek Uzzell]

Brian Kirby - 2012-02-05 6:05 PM

 

So, it seems you have a TomTom XL Classic, that you bought mail order, or online.

I can't find a Classic XL on TomTom's website, but I can find a Classic XXL...

 

Darty's website refers to a "Tom Tom XL Europe Classic"

 

http://www.darty.com/nav/achat/gps_autoradio_dvd_portable/gps_avertisseur_radar/gps/marque__gps_tom_tom.html

 

and (if Tom Tom's own website is switched to the French variant) I believe that equates to the "XL Classic Western Europe" model.

 

http://www.tomtom.com/fr_fr/products/car-navigation/index.jsp

 

It's always going to be easier discovering what a machine can do than what it cannot, as the manufacturer will usually be keen to reveal the former but feel little need to advertise the latter.

 

I have a Garmin Nuvi 1340 - bought last year - and this has 'lat/long' and SD card features (neither of which I exploit). It was cheapish and, to some extent, the low price shows in the limited scope of its journey-programming capability. It's good enough for me and I doubt if paying more would have been justified.

[bazooka]

The 1340 lmt garman does let you put co-ordanates lat/long in.

Baz