al1 Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Can anyone suggest a good, reliable, no frills satellite navigation that will work efficiently through France, Spain and Portugal which is easy to use and can be uploaded with pois, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vindiboy Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 TOM TOM the best I M O. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenkothewanderer Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I use my IPad 3 which has built in GPS together with an app CO-Pilot which be downloaded for about £30 with life time updates and covers all europe and much more. I have found it very reliable and easy to use and with the 10" retina display is superb to view. I sit it in a cradle with a flexible arm attached to the windscreen (passenger side) but do have the benefit of a large front shelf in the Hymer. I have also attached a bluetooth speaker so there is no problem with the sound quality and you can also have the radio on which auto switches off when there is an instruction. Because you download and store all maps you do not require an internet connection for navigation. Its an alternative worth considering ? Jenko Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnP Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 I would recommend Garmin. Others will recommend Tom Tom.Get one with lifetime map updates. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cliffy Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 My vote goes to Tom Tom with Western Europe mapping with lifetime updates. Make sure the model you like accepts GPS Latitude - Longitude inputs. Some don't apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 yes, another Tom Tom, but don't bother with the expensive ones (i have one, a 'camper go1005) they are no better than the cheap ones, the 'Camper' setting, is NO gurantee that it will not send you down an unsuitable road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
al1 Posted January 9, 2014 Author Share Posted January 9, 2014 jenkothewanderer - 2014-01-09 9:37 PM I use my IPad 3 which has built in GPS together with an app CO-Pilot which be downloaded for about £30 with life time updates and covers all europe and much more. I have found it very reliable and easy to use and with the 10" retina display is superb to view. I sit it in a cradle with a flexible arm attached to the windscreen (passenger side) but do have the benefit of a large front shelf in the Hymer. I have also attached a bluetooth speaker so there is no problem with the sound quality and you can also have the radio on which auto switches off when there is an instruction. Because you download and store all maps you do not require an internet connection for navigation. Its an alternative worth considering ? Jenko As I had an Ipad 4 air as a christmas present I shall be looking into this. I also have a Hymer. :-D :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arthur Brown Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Hi Look at IGO for your ipad. I find it great and have used it in France, Spain and Portugal. Maps are available for the world but western europe does me fine at the moment. Art Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Newell Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 If you have an android smart phone then Co Pilot Live GPS is available for free from the "Play" store, I've not used it on the continent but it worked well in Southern Itrleland for us several years ago and has worked well in UK. D. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 al1 - 2014-01-09 8:32 PM Can anyone suggest a good, reliable, no frills satellite navigation that will work efficiently through France, Spain and Portugal which is easy to use and can be uploaded with pois, etc. Most of the major brands will do this, within the current limitations of the technology. Uploading POIs is not straightforward on the Snooper machines. However, there are thousands of POIs on the internet for campsites, aires, supermarkets etc, many pre-formatted, that can easily be downloaded for the other major brands. Make sure when buying that you make clear, and verify, that you will want to, and can, do this. Installation to the device is not always that obvious at first. The value of devices that allow the inputting of vehicle height, width, length, width and weight data is debatable, because the mapping lacks data on road widths - so does not reliably avoid routing wide vehicles down narrow roads. What most seem to do to avoid narrow roads is prioritise major roads, which are assumed to be wider than minor roads, but at the expense of longer routes and probably higher traffic volumes. However, the mapping will contain data on legal weight, length (unlikely to be of relevance to motorhomes except possibly some American RVs), and width restrictions, and detail of headroom limitations. Be aware that its routing logic contains underlying assumptions about average driving speeds that you can't influence, but are likely to calculate on the basis that you will travel down all de-restricted roads at much the same speed, irrespective of road condition, width, or geographical terrain. They are clever, but not yet that clever! :-) Sat Navs are not a substitute for route planning or maps: they are merely a constantly alert aid to navigation that invariably knows, to within a few feet, where the vehicle is, and what is its intended destination. They can, and do - as will any machine - go wrong. Total reliance is not, therefore, advisable - although they are extraordinary pieces of technology and invaluable for smoothly navigating complex junctions, across towns, or in areas where signposting is unreliable. Ultimately, they are only a tool. IMO, simple, portable, stand alone, sat navs are better than units that have multiple functions (bluetooth phone inks, speaking books, rear view camera links etc) because these merely add cost but do not bring superior navigating ability. Then, keep your A - B routes short by dividing long journeys into one day, or half-day, slices, to minimise the amount of data the machine is wrestling with, as this tends to speed its responses when you hit the almost inevitable diversion. When you hit the diversion be vigilant over the proposed re-routing, as this may involve very narrow, minor, roads as being the quickest way back on track. Be prepared to reject any route you feel uneasy about, and be prepared to stop and review the new route by zooming the map view in/out. There is often an alternative along better roads that the machine will have rejected in favour of speed/distance. They merely calculate, they do not make judgements! I would say go for Garmin or TomTom, and as said above go for one with lifetime map updates included in the price. Make absolutely sure you know what range of maps is pre-installed (partcularly the difference between Europe and Western Europe), and look for a machine that will allow you to do at least some route planning on a computer. Failing the latter, get a copy of the latest version of Microsoft Autoroute (PC only), which is a superb route planning tool. You will have to surmount a steep learning curve with all these devices, so buy early in relationship to your intended trip, and use locally as often as possible to see how the various settings influence where you get sent. You will then have some idea what to expect when used in anger! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Sorry to add to an already lengthy post, but also make sure whatever you buy will take an SD, or microSD, card. It is the best place to store POIs, but also the lifetime map updates become larger and larger files each time one is released, and will eventually exceed the device's built-in memory capacity. When this happens, some/all of the update will have to go onto the SD card, which becomes the device's extended memory. I'm not familiar with TomTom, but on Garmin devices the fact that the mapping is part on the device and part on SD makes absolutely no difference to how the device functions, the transitions from device memory to SD memory are completely seamless. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Excellent advice, but there's no substitute fir a detailed map. Going to Oradour-sur-glane a few years ago (a must visit place) I had a tom tom in addition to the jaguar in-built sat nav, and my daughter was playing with the garmin from her car, we came to the village, and each machine told us to go a different way, left, right and straight on! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 That would probably depend on whether any had the correct co-ordinates for the entrance to the "Parking Village Martyr", at GPS N45.92921 E 1.03326! :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowie Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Brian Kirby - 2014-01-10 11:48 AM Sorry to add to an already lengthy post, but also make sure whatever you buy will take an SD, or microSD, card. I'm not familiar with TomTom, but on Garmin devices the fact that the mapping is part on the device and part on SD makes absolutely no difference to how the device functions, the transitions from device memory to SD memory are completely seamless. I would agree with that; as I started downloading a Europe map update about 3/4 of an hour ago, and due to lack of storage space I'm having to specify which of 5 or 6 options I want to download. As far as I can tell I have access to all of the sections of the map, but will need to delete and download as our destinations change. It's time consuming and requires a reasonably secure and speedy connection; not to be undertaken whilst out and about I would suggest. We may upgrade the device for that reason alone; eventually. At £54 for an update (4 over the year) that's pretty reasonable. Buy wise regards alan b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve928 Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 al1 - 2014-01-09 8:32 PM Can anyone suggest a good, reliable, no frills satellite navigation that will work efficiently through France, Spain and Portugal which is easy to use and can be uploaded with pois, etc. You say 'no frills' but if I might suggest that there is one frill that really is worth having and that is 'advance lane guidance' or 'advanced lane assist', according to the brand. It really does take so much stress out of those 'help - which lane do I need to be in?' moments as the traffic rushes you towards a multi-lane interchange with cars veering in all directions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alan Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Brian exhalant summery of sat navs :-D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Oops, see 'pedant' thread ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Our TomTom has only let us down once heading for the wrong destination. The cause I had set wrong post code but as far as the wifes concerned I blaimed the TomTom and she believed me so that was alright then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gravemaurice Posted January 10, 2014 Share Posted January 10, 2014 Has anyone any experience of those Pro Drive trucker 7" systems frequently listed on eBay? I was considering one of these as I fancied the big screen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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