Satellite Navigation

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ardross
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Ardross

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Seems very expensive to me although prices are falling - isn't a map and an A to Z rather cheaper .

My sister wants to buy it but her boyfriend disagrees . Is Sat nav favoured by women because they find map reading difficult or is that a sexist stereotype ?
 
I use a Garmin Street pilot 3

Once you have got the hang of entering the correct destination and exact Postal Adress,it will then deliver you to the door.

You will also need to ensure that you have loaded the maps that cover the Area/Country that you are going to.

Marks 10/10
 
If you regularly drive to places you don't know (as I do), its a God send. Just let it guide you to the right address and you're done. A-Z is fine if you actually have one for the town you're in!!

All maps have errors in them, and they quickly go out of date, so you can't rely on them 100% - I never listen to the nice woman when driving through Sheffield town centre for example as the council have usually stuck a concrete pillar across the route at some point.

They're not so good at getting you out of traffic jams, although they can be useful for this at times.
 
Just out of idle curiosity - do they go dead in 'can't get a signal' areas, like mobile phones do? I'd have thought that those would be the very areas you might need them, as it's easy enough in urban areas to ask in any local shop. The taxi I took this week used one - its satnav spoke very clearly and politely to the driver and was impressively correct, since the tiny cul-de-sac in which I live has been wiped off many local printed maps.
 
there are 2 types of sat nav

a those that are based on a dvd these dont go dead krizon as they are not live

they are pretty good but not 100% they wont take you on many routes like a local with good knowledge but will take you their fairly efficently they normally have three modes shortest (distance) fastest and dynamic i dont use it for example in my local area or parts that i know quite well like london/manchester

with this type of system you have to keep buying the latest dvd which comes out about once evry year or every 2 years

they are though not 100% accurate you will find some roads (normally the one you want) missing it dosnt recognise other roads for example my dvd is this years but it dosnt recognise the m6 toll road or bits of stansted airport or when housing estates are built over a road

points to look for its much better to get one with full postal code recognition ie not just the first part of the code

b the other type is a live sat nav these can help with traffic jams but you willfind often you are caught in the jam before they notify you

you also with this system have to put up with the consistent voice and directions rather than just looking at a screen

the outlay for this system is much higher and also a monthly fee is payable


i would add there is a difference between them all so if u are going to get one have a look at a few in operation before buying
 
krizon.
"No Signal available" only happens when you are driving through tunnels or are parked beside a construction that blocks the view of the Sat.
 
Thanks for the replies, gentlemen. The 400-year old steam-fired Proton is only up to cassettes and the radio, not even a CD, let alone DVDs, but it was just out of interest. I don't need satnav, since I am an unerringly accurate driver, able to reach any destination easily within three or four hours of the original ETA.
 
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