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JPV
Posts: 6
Location:
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| 16 Jul 2008 8:17 AM |
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Hi all
A question or two..
1) Any news on when real time traffic information will be actually available in Sydney for the TOMTOM ? I have read in
http://www.sunatraffic.com.au/consumer/media.html
that will be available the end of July. But have not see anything on TOMTOM website or where to purchase TMC equipment.
2) Will we need to purchase the Australian 2008 map for this to function.
JP |
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futaris
Posts: 3
Location:
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| 05 Aug 2008 4:18 PM |
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I saw this article on news.com.au that said v15 sensis maps are needed.
Does that mean 7.20.1838 ???
Shame that you can't get the data through GPRS, UMTS or HSDPA through Tomtom Traffic.
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JPV
Posts: 6
Location:
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| 12 Aug 2008 7:02 AM |
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Hi all again
Well I bit the bullet and purchased the RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver from
http://www.ja-gps.com.au/ { at } $149.00 and was told all would work immediately regardless of the map version, plugged it in..and no it did NOT work (I had v 7.0). A surprisingly quick call to TomTom (Thanks Fred for the local phone number) to be told that only the 2008 map (V7.20) would work with RDS-TMC . So with another $149.95 I updated my map and YES it works AND works well. My thoughts so far...
1) The long cable aerial is pretty ugly which needs to run along the windsceen. And a pain to remove every time you get out of the car (which I will probably leave in anyway as its a metre long with suction caps). If I had no morals I could see that this car has a GPS in it, by this cable...."mmm lets break in and have a look."
2) Updating traffic info..it appears to update often. And I can see where the traffic build up is, not only on my route but around most parts of Sydney via a new screen.
3) Haven't tested in heavy traffic yet or in typical Sydney grid lock...but do have a meeting today across town, in peak hour.
4) Set-up was easily once I updated my map..plug n play
5) Is it worth $149.00 plus a new map...Not sure yet, but I drive on Sydney roads constantly so I hope it will help.
I'll update this again after some more testing....
JPV
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futaris
Posts: 3
Location:
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| 12 Aug 2008 9:32 AM |
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| According to a thread (http://www.ipmart-forum.com/showthread.php?t=277897) on ipmart-forum, 7.20.1868 is needed. And the RDS-TMC receiver only works on standalone Tomtom units. |
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JPV
Posts: 6
Location:
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| 16 Aug 2008 7:22 AM |
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Well it's been a week with Traffic...
How does it rate?
On a scale on 1 to 10
where 1 is a gimic and 10 is the best thing since GPS
I would give it a, at this early stage, 4
Why..
1)Loading time... it takes from 3 min to 10 min to get a FM signal...a bit annoying, as you can imagine. You have commited to a route, and then 5min into the route Traffic appears but you are already committed. During peak hour its faster but non peak hour periods it much longer..
I have read somewhere that this is normal..more traffic incidents on peak hour then during non peak hours..but I'm someone that avoids peakhour traffic like the plague
2) Its it accurate...mmm ..this is a hard one...Yes and No
I got caught in traffic (standstill) on the harbour for about 10 minutes, due to a 2 car accident ...Traffic didn't show it before I set off (from Artarmon) nor did it show it 15min later when I did the return trip over the bridge.
It also missed, in both directions, the usual morning delay over the bridge ..Anyone from Sydney would understand that delays on the bridge means gridlock in the rest of sydney.
It reported a carfire in Crows Nest..which was true..but not for 2days
The radio reported a gas leak in Cremorne affecting 1 lane for 2 days...Traffic didn't show it at all
On the plus side..
I was heading home...Traffic reported an accident on route with a estimated delay of 8mins ... then offered an alternate route..which I accepted and only added an extra minute to my usual travel time...
You can check out and visually see the traffic situation all over Sydney., with the cause of the delay (via symbols) and the length of the delay....how accurate ..not too sure ...you hear the reports on the radio than you have a look on the traffic map..sometimes agree most times not.
I hope that in time it will improve as more and more people take it up..
Is it worth $149.00...yes ..as its only a one off fee and not a yearly subcription and a bit of a novelity.
If it was a yearly subcription I would say no...not now
Hope this is of help to anyone interested...I'm curious to hear from others
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Dinks
Posts: 23
Location: Brisbane
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| 01 Sep 2008 10:11 PM |
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Bought a RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver with the TT720 on Friday so I have had limited use of the traffic to see whether it would report heavy traffic, although it did show up a snarl 20 minutes in front of me which vanished as I got closer.
However I have concealed the antenna behind the drivers side "A" column and roof lining with the mini USB plug hanging just inside the drivers door area of the dashboard. The box which has the DC power connected to it is behind the "A" pillar as well, so when you remove the TT and the windscreen mount there is nothing to let on to the unscrupulous that you may have one hidden within the vehicle. May not be nearly as portable as some may need, however it is a whole lot neater.
Personally I wish they had made the RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver in such a fashion that you plugged the wire into the little box, in this way you could permanently conceal additional wires in other vehicles that you own/use on a frequent basis, without the need to have this ugly wire strung like Christmas lights across the dashboard. Dare say someone will look at doing this mod in the future.
Cheers
Robert
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