Sat nav system advice

[tacoma]

OK, I know that it is not strictly Chimaera but I trust you guys. My partner needs one and neither she or I know which one to go for. Any experience advice would be appreciated.

m

>> Edited by tacoma on Friday 28th October 21:41

[Big Al.]

Depends on what you want to spend, IIRC the Tom Tom seems to come out tops around the £400 ish, or if you want to spend over a grand then the Pioneers are up for grabs.

[trinitycall]

tomtom go everytime. it's fab.

[SharkyTVR]

Tom Tom Go. Brill. BUT - totally useless in a Chim, when the roof is down. You can neither see it, or hear it....

[tacoma]

Thanks sharky but not for the Chim, couldn't care less about getting lost when driving it, the more sea time the better!!!

Sandra will useit in her car and i will occassionally use it in the Disco.

Can you swop it between cars?

m

[Cider Andy]

I've only used Garmin products, so I can't offer a comparison.

StreetPilot III ColorMap Deluxe. A fairly chunky unit, but completely portable, it's mounted on a heavy 'beanbag' mount that can be used on most dashboards. It has a clear colour screen with voice prompts in proper English, not with an American accent (although it does that too). It can decode up to 12 satellites, so signal reception and location accuracy are both good.

StreetPilot 2610 ColorMap. Based on the StreetPilot III above and uses the same beanbag mount. Voice prompts are clearer, screen definition better, the unit is more compact and more aesthetically pleasing. Route calculation is also much faster. Uses Compact Flash, so detailed maps for half of Western Europe can be loaded at a time if fitted with a 1Gb CF. Also has touch screen and remote control.

I've used both units throughout Britain and in France, Belgium, Holland, Germany and Luxembourg and I've used the 2610 in Italy. Both have worked admirably and both work well in a Chimaera

[Parrot of doom]

I've got TomTom on my PDA. With the latest version you can rotate the screen, so I lay the PDA down in the little leather bit with the handbrake and gearknob, works fine.

[tacoma]

How much did that upgrade cost POD?

m

[Ribol]

Fitted a Pioneer AVIC-X1 in mine, best add-on I have ever bought.
Think BigAl has swung that way too IIRC.


>> Edited by Ribol on Friday 28th October 23:39

[coach john]

navman 520, totally reliable and has not let me down!

[DamnFineChim]

TomTom Navigator 5 on my iPaq works a treat. GPS Cradle with speaker helps with sound amplification (especially in the noisy chim

RIBOL - what's that stereo/satnav unit worth? What software does it use?

[Ribol]

DamnFineChim said:

RIBOL - what's that stereo/satnav unit worth? What software does it use?

You can probably get one for about £1000 today. My mate sorted me out the new CNDV-50MT mapping DVD which makes it the same(ish) as the new AVIC-X1R model. Have used it all over europe, no messing around with any maps, all on the DVD - brilliant.
For more info:

www.pioneer.co.uk/uk/product_print.jsp?product_id=7308

[medusa]

Can you incorporate camera location with the Pioneer? it looks a great piece of kit.

[razorman]

I was considering the road angel navigator.
Sat Nav system with their speed camera locator programs built in. Bit expensive at £600, but can easily be moved from car to car.
Anyone got one to give an opinion on how it works in real life?

[Big Al.]

Ribol said:

Have used it all over europe, no messing around with any maps, all on the DVD - brilliant.

Concur with Ivan, had one fitted in the Tuscan, great piece of kit. Carl Baker got mine for me about £1250 ish IIRC around April it was 2 grand :yikes : in Halfrauds at the time!

[puffsorted2]

How about this - Pioneer ANH-P9R. Single DIN Europe wide SAT NAV with voice directions. Only a mono screen but cheap, single DIN, Europe wide and doesn't attract attention.

[Phil Durn]

Been looking today, so far my vote goes to TomTom 500
Halfrauds are running a good deal today, no I don't work for them, just say Phil sent you.

[b2tus]

If you drive in Europe, go for the TomTom 700.
It maps every street in Europe and is a great bit of kit. It also has Bluetooth for hands free with your mobile. Not too good though with the top off!!
If you are flying off anywhere, Dixons have it at the airport for around £470. Maybe has reduced since I bought mine 3 months ago.

[Phil Durn]

I don't anticipate much European driving so I went to Oxford today in the Chim, in the wet, and purchased a TomTom Go 500 from a well known Vindaloo supply chain.
Nearly drove off of the road many times playing with it. (opportunity for a joke there Chi Chi) It seems user friendly, but I have been trying unsucessfully for the past hour to download the speed camera location add on to my PC for transfer to the unit. Will have to ask for help on that one.

[k4trv]

Use Garmin Quest, around £300. Move from car-to-car-to-bike-or hand-held, brill. Used in UK/Ger/France etc and on hols to Tenerife & Cyprus (obviously non-TVR mode!!).

Soon to arrive is Quest 2 which can use databases with Speedcameras etc. No price yet or availabilty

Trev McM