Hilux Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 I have had a Garmin Nuvi 660 for some years and decided to update to a Nuvi 2455 with full European mapping. It arrived and I was, for a short time, delighted. However, I needed locations which would also include grid references. The new Nuvi does this in degrees and minutes but it does not include British grids. It does American grids which are not much use with European mapping. I found this deficiency in the NGR system surprising as my present Nuvi 660 does allow location using the NGR system. I asked Garmin if there was some way of solving this, but they said they had removed the British NGR system from these mapping aids for the last few years. I find this omission disappointing and have therefore decided to return the 2455 for a refund and buy a device from an alternative supplier. Can anyone offer advice on new TomToms? Do they accept the NGR system. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I think you may find that TomTom, like Garmin, no longer supports the NGR system on sat-navs. See http://discussions.tomtom.com/t5/XL-XXL-HOME/OS-Grid-references/td-p/23933 (I've browsed a bit, but can't find any indication that there's a sat-nav CURRENTLY being marketed that can use the NGR system. There may be phone-based apps that can, but that's not what you asked about.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilux Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 My Garmin mapping on my lap top supports both forms of grid reference so I can convert if needed. However, I want a hand held device that will both navigate and find the NGR references. Thanks for the link. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVAN Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I have owned a Garmin nuvi 660 for quite a few years and decided to sign up to re-map and have lifetime map upgrades (4 x a year) for the life of the unit...£74.99p. Imagine my disbelief when i used it this weekend and the United Kingdom ain't on it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilux Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 I have lifetime mapping for my Nuvi 660 but the downloads take over 3 hours and 3.2gb. At my last download session it bounced near the end and I had to repeat the process. Hence my decision to get a new model and I went for the 2455, but even with this I had to download an update of the software which took 3 hours once again. I have an old Garmin Etrex which is bomb proof. The mapping is limited but it accepts any type of grid references. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
w1ntersun Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I too have the garmin lifetime re-map and you will find you cannot get the whole of europe on in one go to get the UK on as well you have to select Northwest Europe Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Hilux - 2012-07-22 11:14 PM I have lifetime mapping for my Nuvi 660 but the downloads take over 3 hours and 3.2gb. At my last download session it bounced near the end and I had to repeat the process. Hence my decision to get a new model and I went for the 2455, but even with this I had to download an update of the software which took 3 hours once again. I have an old Garmin Etrex which is bomb proof. The mapping is limited but it accepts any type of grid references. H The time taken for a map update will directly depend on the amount of data the update involves and the broadband speed available to the person carrying out the update. An increased quantity of update data (which is a likely consequence as mapping becomes more detailed), and the expectation of the company providing the update that the 'updater' will have a fast broadband connection, means that people who currently find that map updating seems to take forever, may well find that updating takes even longer in future unless their broadband provision improves. My broadband download speed is beween 2Mps and 3Mps, so a Garmin map update takes several hours. 2-3Mps is adequate for me normally, just not for sat-nav updating. Realistically, there is nothing much I can do to improve matters, as changing to a more modern sat-nav won't help because the bottleneck is in the download speed not in the sat-nav device itself. (I'm sure you know this, but it might be worth saying in case it's believed that a better sat-nav will automatically provide faster map updating.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew MMM Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 If you're not sure about download/upload speeds you can check via lots of handy websites such as this: http://www.broadbandspeedchecker.co.uk/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 w1ntersun - 2012-07-23 8:12 AM I too have the garmin lifetime re-map and you will find you cannot get the whole of europe on in one go to get the UK on as well you have to select Northwest Europe Richard If your Nuvi takes SD/miniSD cards, you can get the mapping installed to SD, and the Nuvi will then use it as though it were installed to the device memory. You have to decide which parts of the map will go to the device, and which to the SD when downloading. You have to do this on the MapInstall screen, which is not the best interface in the world, but it is quite manageable. I find easiest is to install just the UK maps to the device, and then select the whole of western Europe for the SD card, and then de-select the UK. This needs care, as each map has to be de-selected individually, and the major cities have surprisingly small map segments within them. It is desirable to zoom the maps to be certain. The danger, if you get it wrong, is that you get a small section of a map left behind which, come the next update, puts the device into a tailspin, because it cannot handle bits of map of differing dates. You then have to delete the map files and start again. :-( Once you have the MapInstall installed on your PC you can download MapSource (free), which will enable you to use the maps on your PC, and create routes. MapSource has a very useful interface with Google Earth so that you can switch any area of the map into Google Earth with one click. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilux Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 Yes, I use an SD card and have found that with an 8GB card I can get most of Europe in. I am also aware that it is the speed of the connection that causes problems. The 2455 model has enough internal memory to take the whole of SW Euope without needing a card, so that's useful. However, the upshot of all this is that I have now decided to keep the 2455. I will accept the loss of British NGRs as Garmin computer mapping will make the necessary change from degrees if II need to use the NGR system. I must say that the 2455 is easy to use and has quite few features that make it better than the 660. As usual thanks for the feedback. H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IVAN Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 Just realised that with the Garmin installer i can change the region or re-install the current map.On this proviso i have ordered a 8gb SD card and will have another go at it when the SD card arrives.Crisis averted, i hope.Here's to another 2-5 hour download,probably a bit quicker now that the installer etc' is installed.........5 weeks to our month on the Algarve.........bring i on ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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