SmartST Pro V1 Map Errors

[neilb]

Maybe I'm more tolerant, but my first trip (in anger) using the Navman 3400 was good.



Trip Nuneaton to Dagenham



It got me to the door of the place I was going. near home the route was different to the one I usually took, but equally valid and just as quick. Sur it thinks the link road between M1 and M25 is the B4026, the land turns to sea around the M25 somewhere and the turnings on the M118 were listed as turning onto the M1! but the road map part is very detailed, I'm always going to check it when coming to a roundabout so not too much of an issue if it says 2nd turning and means 3rd.



I want to see these things fixed asap of course, but I find it a very useful tool from day 1, and whats more its portable so I can move it from car to car.



To get the same functionality in the 3 cars we have I'd have to buy 3 in car systems at a cost minimum of £1600 each (£4800). Plus I get a new Ipaq to play with into the bargain!!



very pleased with the total cost of £870 (IPAQ 8950, NAVMAN3400 and 128MB CF Card)



sorry if I've wandered a little off topic
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I'm not the king of the internet I'm just an URL

[Dave]

Please post any errors or problems with the maps that you are finding into this message. Wherever possible, please create a screenshot from the Pocket PC, we have software on our download page to enable you to do this.   To embed a picture into your message, the picture does need to be somewhere static on the internet. If you don't have anywhere to host the picture, post your message and them email me and put a link in the message back to this thread and I'll embed the picture and store it on the Pocket GPS web server so that it can be retained for future use.

[Tom Symonds]

I've noticed a problem with some roundabouts.   A couple of times, the voice command has been to take the first exit - when it actually means take the second.   An example of this would be the roundabout on the A40 Westway junction with the A3220 in Shepherds Bush. (sorry I've no way of posting a picture).

I think the problem is that this roundabout has a dedicated left turn lane to take you off onto the first exit - the map regards this as a separate road, which would make sense except that it therefore doesn't seem to count this as an exit. But of course it is, and when you approach it to be told to take the first exit rather than the second is going to send you the wrong way. This may be a problem with all roundabouts with dedicated left turn lanes - and might be worth Navman looking at.   

Another problem, again with the voice command, is when you are told to 'bear left' as you come onto a dual carriageway from a two way road (such as the A40 from the Marylebone Road. The program appears to be simply telling you to drive on the left hand side of the central reservation! Not particularly useful, but the trouble is that if you're simultaneously approaching a left hand turn-off - most people would end up driving off the dual carriageway.   

Both these problems look like they might occur at other places - and it would be good if the next update addresses them.

Obviously you're less likely to go wrong if you keep looking at the map, but I'm a motorcyclist and the Navman works well in an aquapack slung over my shoulder, and headphones, so with a little tinkering, the voice commands could be enough, without seeing the map

[gracar]

I have had no problems with the mapping. It appears that the map shows the correct routing but the voice command and instruction list is delinquent. When I travel South on the M1 the map clearly shows where to turn off for the M25 but the voice command initially tells me to "keep right" and then to "bear right". I also notice that the instruction list is generally aligned with the voice command.   The instruction list consistently shows the M4 as the M1. I will figure out how to get screenshots posted.
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Graham

[J.T.]

I've read the review, so i was aware of the blue bug but on my setup anywhere east of barking is in the sea. no coastline, lakes, rivers.... I hope that fix is out soon.
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Jim

[Leenig]

I had the same issue Tom. Funny enough also on the A40 but at the target roundabout. I was heading towards the target roundabout from Pump Lane, Hayes the system informed me to take the second exit, it should have stated the the third, the second exit would have taken me to South Harrow. For some strange reason the first exit (A40) going towards Uxbridge was not covered in the calulation.



Lee

[Leenig]

Jim I was informed that the update will be mailed out on November 24 -27



Lee

[Mellerick]

After using Navman 3400 for five weeks now it seems to me that some of the default road speeds may be inaccurate, leading to routing and re-routing errors. I have also found some specific map errors as detailed below.

1) Travelling from Harlow, Essex, to Woodford Green, Essex. Where the B1393 becomes the A104, Navman routes via the A121 through Loughton town centre rather than continuing on the A104, then rejoins the A104 at Buckhurst Hill (Without any instruction where the roads join, so I suspect is incorrectly identifying the road numbers), which adds a long time to the journey.



2) Travelling South through Harlow on the A414, at the Second Avenue/A414 roundabout, Navman routes through the side road of Potter Street rather than stay on the A414, rejoining A414 1 mile down the road.



3) In general Navman does not seem to distinguish fast A roads (eg dual carriageways) from slow A roads, hence has a strong inclination to route via Motorways, even if these are some way off the quickest route. For example, yesterday travelling from Harlow, Essex to Birmingham, I decided to avoid the M25 due to roadworks at the M1 junction, and use the A414/M10 via Hatfield & St Albans instead. Although the A414 is almost motorway class, Navman constantly tried to re-route me back to the M25, even to the extent of ignoring the M10.



This last point is not trivial, as it could lead to excessively long journeys. I am not sure if this is just an issue with dynamic re-routing, or would also involve the primary route plan.



Do these messages get passed back to Navman?
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Neil

[Dave]

Navman are actively reading the website and the forums, but we will be passing these back to Navman shortly when we get a few more listed and start adding these into an article. It always best to notify Navman of these yourself too.

[PCWinger]

The only problem I'm having is that I think it causes about a half hour time problem when I use the unit with SmartPath. In other words I use it and afterwards go to do other things and notice the time is about a half hour off which has caused me to be late a few times. I don't know if it's because I'm in California which is 8 hours off of GMT? Wish I could change that as well, like the Garmin units.



Susie


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Susie iPAQ3955 w/Navman3420
Also w/TomTom Nav and new 910
Mountain View, Ca

[gracar]

Although not truly a mapping issue I am becoming increasingly frustrated by the instruction list. It appears to randomly duplicate road names throughout the listings. Usually the first three or four road names/numbers are OK then it seems to duplicate one of these in place of the correct name/number. The direction indicator is right but the names are all over the place.
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Graham

[tedkay]

Here are a few more errors and improvement suggestions:



1. Wrongly describing link roads as a motorway where a motorway is an option at the upcoming junction - saying "join motorway" when the turn is not onto the motorway - and sometimes when the directions are not to join the motorway at the upcoming junction anyway.



2. Favouring motorways to a sometimes ridiculous degree when 'fastest' route option is chosen, adding many miles to the journey AND making it take much longer. Good fast dual carriageway and A road routes are often ignored.



3. Conversely when 'shortest' route is chosen even the smallest and sometimes unnavigable roads are included. e.g going from Shrewsbury to Ludlow I ended up on farm track barely wide enough for one vehicle!(you certainly get to see the countryside!)



4. When the route includes a sharp turn (almost a u-turn in fact) the program thinks a mistake has been made and immediately says 'perform a legal U turn' even though the correct turn was made. It does recover quickly (but doesn't apologise for it's lack of faith!) but it can be very confusing.



5. The directions are randomly scattered with misnamed roads, and appears to throw these in wherever a road name is either missing or absent (short link roads usually). Other programs tend to use the euphemism 'unnamed road' or something similar in these circumstances, and SmartPro might well adopt this rather than being afraid to admit it can't identify any road and just stick in any old name.



5. An option to avoid motorways rather than Toll roads is an absolute must. The toll road feature is virtually useless in the UK anyway - why not just replace it with the ability to avoid motorways. This may also go some way towards encouring the program to use the A roads rather more readily.



6. Stopovers are another must, to enable a route through specific towns to be programmed.



7. The facility to zoom out to enable an entire route to be viewed on screen is another essential.



Having said all that I have to admit that I am getting to quite like the program. If the errors are patched and the other weaknesses addressed reasonably quickly it will be very much worth having.

[Tredders]

Quote: Originally posted by PCWinger on 04 November 2002

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The only problem I'm having is that I think it causes about a half hour time problem when I use the unit with SmartPath. In other words I use it and afterwards go to do other things and notice the time is about a half hour off which has caused me to be late a few times. I don't know if it's because I'm in California which is 8 hours off of GMT? Wish I could change that as well, like the Garmin units.



Susie

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No, it's not just you. It happens on my machine, too, and I'm not in California. Unfortunately!



Mark.

[NC35]

Hi All



Got my Navman 3400 yesterday, used for the first time today from Leeds to Ashton (Manchester) with mixed results.



The route planing is clueless when finding Aston, glad I knew the way. On the way back it was even worse, seems to want to take EVERY exit on the M62!!!



Good news found a house in Aston perfectly, as the road wasn't even on my AtoZ, very impressed.



Also the remapping (sorry, working out a new route) was a little confusing. How many times can it tell you to "perform a legal U turn" when on Ashton road itself.



I think I am going to have to spend a lot more time reading the manual before it become a useful in-car addition.



OR the update has got to be VERY special to sort out all these issues.

[Taffybach]

I had the same problem as JT yesterday whilst visiting Gwent. After crossing the Severn Bridge the whole of the background went Blue until I passed Newport. The roads and everything else were ok but it looked like high tide!



Just reviewed it by selecting newport as a new destination and showing. There's a square block inland that's blue on my map. It disappears on the 3 mi resolution

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