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mooro1973
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Joined: Apr 24, 2006
Posts: 12
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 Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 12:21 am Post subject: Garmin 670 - Unimpressed |
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Been reading around on the net for a new sat nav for a while and went for the 670. Got it Friday and spent a weekend with it.
I'm usually a Garmin fan (have used an aviation garmin for ppl flying for years). Had two I3's break within weeks of owning them - one the speaker stopped working, the other the power port came off the circuit board. I did however like the i3: simple, intuitive and did all it said it did on the box.
The same cannot be said of the 670 however:
1) The unit is too quiet. On a motorway at 70mph and over it is barely audible.
2) Fm transmitter: is just not powerful enough. My 3 year old itrip is much better.
3) Speed warning "bongs" - on the i3 these worked excellently. On the nuvi there is a 3-4 second gap between overspeed bongs -totally useless as a warning system.
4) Speed camera icons don't show up at all, not even over a limit.
5) Traffic - a complete joke. I have had two minutes of reception all weekend.
6) Map lag: lags far more than on the i3. Indeed if zoomed right in on 3d view the map just hangs.
In summary most of the on box features of the nuvi670 either don't work at all (traffic) or work poorly (fm transmitter). This dspite upgrading all firmwares to latest releases.
I'll try and resolder the power pin to the i3 I think and write the nuvi off as a bad experience.
A shame, as in aviation, garmin rule. |
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philpugh
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Joined: Dec 28, 2005
Posts: 2003
Location: Antrobus, Cheshire
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| Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2007 4:09 pm Post subject: Re: Garmin 670 - Unimpressed |
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| mooro1973 wrote: |
The same cannot be said of the 670 however:
1) The unit is too quiet. On a motorway at 70mph and over it is barely audible.
2) Fm transmitter: is just not powerful enough. My 3 year old itrip is much better.
3) Speed warning "bongs" - on the i3 these worked excellently. On the nuvi there is a 3-4 second gap between overspeed bongs -totally useless as a warning system.
4) Speed camera icons don't show up at all, not even over a limit.
5) Traffic - a complete joke. I have had two minutes of reception all weekend.
6) Map lag: lags far more than on the i3. Indeed if zoomed right in on 3d view the map just hangs.
In summary most of the on box features of the nuvi670 either don't work at all (traffic) or work poorly (fm transmitter). This dspite upgrading all firmwares to latest releases.
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It's possible you have a unit with some problems. Comments on your numbered points.
I'm not sure which speed camera database you are using (GARMIN or PGPSW) My commenst refer to the latter (and better) one.
1/ Yes - it's a little quiet with the TTS voices - much louder with 'normal' voice. there is also some distortion at high volume levels. I plug my 660 into the car radio directly.
2/ Can't comment.
3/ I don't worry about the overspeed warnings - the first warning should be enough. In any case - for some camera types - even the first warning can be too late. Try Ash10's CameraManager for tailoring the first and warning, times. You can easily set them to be nn secs before the camera.
4/ Never seen this problem - I get the warning bar at the top of the screen - audible voice warning and the speed icon pops onto the screen. I use the aforementioned CameraManager. Icons on the map will only show up at close zoom levels. I drive with the 3d map zoomed in to about 300ft scale - and all the POIs (Garmin and mine) appear. If you zoom out beyond this - then GARMIN don't show the POIs (which the PGPSW cameras are classed as) to keep the display uncluttered.
5 TMC. When it works it works very well. To maximise the amount of working time you get you really need to attach the "piece of string" aerial to an external aerial. I have done this on mine and get very good reception / information as a result. Low powered signals in the UK are partly to blame.
6 Map lags. I only notice this on my 660 when not following a route - there is a very small delay, noticable at junctions, as the 'lock to road' logic waits to confirm if you have made a turn or not. When following a route it is very close to dead on. I've never seen it lock - even closely zoomed in. Perhaps you should get the unit replaced.
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mooro1973
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Joined: Apr 24, 2006
Posts: 12
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| Posted: Tue Nov 13, 2007 2:28 pm Post subject: Re: Garmin 670 - Unimpressed |
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| philpugh wrote: | | mooro1973 wrote: |
The same cannot be said of the 670 however:
1) The unit is too quiet. On a motorway at 70mph and over it is barely audible.
2) Fm transmitter: is just not powerful enough. My 3 year old itrip is much better.
3) Speed warning "bongs" - on the i3 these worked excellently. On the nuvi there is a 3-4 second gap between overspeed bongs -totally useless as a warning system.
4) Speed camera icons don't show up at all, not even over a limit.
5) Traffic - a complete joke. I have had two minutes of reception all weekend.
6) Map lag: lags far more than on the i3. Indeed if zoomed right in on 3d view the map just hangs.
In summary most of the on box features of the nuvi670 either don't work at all (traffic) or work poorly (fm transmitter). This dspite upgrading all firmwares to latest releases.
|
It's possible you have a unit with some problems. Comments on your numbered points.
I'm not sure which speed camera database you are using (GARMIN or PGPSW) My commenst refer to the latter (and better) one.
1/ Yes - it's a little quiet with the TTS voices - much louder with 'normal' voice. there is also some distortion at high volume levels. I plug my 660 into the car radio directly.
2/ Can't comment.
3/ I don't worry about the overspeed warnings - the first warning should be enough. In any case - for some camera types - even the first warning can be too late. Try Ash10's CameraManager for tailoring the first and warning, times. You can easily set them to be nn secs before the camera.
4/ Never seen this problem - I get the warning bar at the top of the screen - audible voice warning and the speed icon pops onto the screen. I use the aforementioned CameraManager. Icons on the map will only show up at close zoom levels. I drive with the 3d map zoomed in to about 300ft scale - and all the POIs (Garmin and mine) appear. If you zoom out beyond this - then GARMIN don't show the POIs (which the PGPSW cameras are classed as) to keep the display uncluttered.
5 TMC. When it works it works very well. To maximise the amount of working time you get you really need to attach the "piece of string" aerial to an external aerial. I have done this on mine and get very good reception / information as a result. Low powered signals in the UK are partly to blame.
6 Map lags. I only notice this on my 660 when not following a route - there is a very small delay, noticable at junctions, as the 'lock to road' logic waits to confirm if you have made a turn or not. When following a route it is very close to dead on. I've never seen it lock - even closely zoomed in. Perhaps you should get the unit replaced. |
Thanks for that reply Phil.
I have sort of sorted out the traffic camera icon problem - by using Ash's utility as you suggested.
T.M.C. improved slightly when I attached another bit of wire, and coiled the end of it several times.
However, I am on the verge of sending the unit back because of the lag.
On navigation mode it is ridiculous. It can take 4-5 seconds to update when zoomed in. Could it be I have too many p.o.i.'s?
I have the speed camera/poi database installed. Also I have marco polo europe travel guide installed onto the nuvi itself.
If i zoom in to see icons, then the lag is just unworkable.
Any ideas? |
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philpugh
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Joined: Dec 28, 2005
Posts: 2003
Location: Antrobus, Cheshire
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| Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:40 pm Post subject: |
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It may be worth trying the new 4.20 update - don't forget to back up everything first - just in case.
It claims to do map refresh quicker and has something about POIs and many roads and quicker map drawing...
See posting here for a few more details.
It's only just out - so you can report how well it works 
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Phil |
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mooro1973
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Joined: Apr 24, 2006
Posts: 12
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| Posted: Wed Nov 14, 2007 5:40 pm Post subject: |
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Cheers Phil. I updated it earlier this morning and have tested it today.
I would say the map is certainly drawing more quickly. However on the two most zoomed settings I am getting an update of the map only every 4-5 seconds or so. As soon as I come back to 3rd zoom out, things improve. I tried taking the poi's off but it made little difference.
Bizarrely considering the processor is doing more work, things are marginally better in navigation mode.
It is definately a problem with the maps, since the navigator knows where you are: i.e. tells you to turn in time. Which leads me to think that a simple fix for garmin, and one which would have fooled me if no-one else, would have been to move the car icon a few pixels up the page!
Could anybody elese please tell me what refresh rates you get on maximum zoom in navigator and in map mode? This will help me decide whether to return the unit or not.
john |
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Fred333
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Joined: Nov 01, 2007
Posts: 25
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| Posted: Thu Nov 15, 2007 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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| Even though I am a Garmin supporter I have to say that I was not very impressed with this unit. I actually returned it the other day. |
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philpugh
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Joined: Dec 28, 2005
Posts: 2003
Location: Antrobus, Cheshire
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| Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 10:23 am Post subject: |
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| mooro1973 wrote: | Could anybody elese please tell me what refresh rates you get on maximum zoom in navigator and in map mode? This will help me decide whether to return the unit or not.
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I usually drive with my 660 zoomed in about 2 levels before max zoom and it updates about every second. I've just updated to 4.20 and it seems to be a bit crisper with less lag when not following a route - but I've ony done a 10 mile journey since the update. I will try max zoom and report back.
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portman
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Joined: Nov 10, 2005
Posts: 435
Location: Dorset
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| Posted: Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:20 pm Post subject: |
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Might be worth sending it back if they don't give you a free update to Europe 2008 maps, due out now. Does it have 2008 USA maps on it??
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MaFt
Pocket GPS Staff
Joined: Aug 31, 2005
Posts: 15134
Location: Bradford, West Yorkshire
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| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 1:55 am Post subject: |
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| philpugh wrote: | | ... it updates about every second... |
i was under the impression that GS signals were sent every second anyway so wouldn't expect any higher update frequency than this otherwise the unit would be guessing where you were between signals?
MaFt |
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mooro1973
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n4nick
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Joined: Jun 30, 2006
Posts: 136
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| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 10:10 am Post subject: |
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hi
just has a look a the vid. i dont have a nuvi 6xx only a 300 but i don't think there should be any significant differences. i have to admit there is some slight lag with the 300 on the parallel and elevated road issues you raise but this in my opinion is perfectly reasonable (only a few seconds and it's fair enough for the sat-nav to need at least two updates and processing time to work out where you are at a complicated junction) on the other hand based on your commentary there is in my opinion definately something wrong with your unit and i would return it.
do you have a strong signal? could your windscreen be interfering with this?
nick |
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mooro1973
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Joined: Apr 24, 2006
Posts: 12
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| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 11:08 am Post subject: |
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| n4nick wrote: | hi
just has a look a the vid. i dont have a nuvi 6xx only a 300 but i don't think there should be any significant differences. i have to admit there is some slight lag with the 300 on the parallel and elevated road issues you raise but this in my opinion is perfectly reasonable (only a few seconds and it's fair enough for the sat-nav to need at least two updates and processing time to work out where you are at a complicated junction) on the other hand based on your commentary there is in my opinion definately something wrong with your unit and i would return it.
do you have a strong signal? could your windscreen be interfering with this?
nick |
Cheers Nick,
The signal is full on. And an Mx-5 windscreen, uncoated. |
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portman
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| Posted: Sat Nov 17, 2007 11:21 am Post subject: |
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Your right its c**p!! About half way through as you come off the A355 on to the A332 slip road it seems to be ok, updated every second. As for the rest of it......
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kelvin66
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Joined: Jun 02, 2006
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| Posted: Sun Nov 18, 2007 4:26 pm Post subject: |
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This is nothing like my Nuvi 660 works! The updates see slower than mine and the accuracy is way out. Mine is normally within a few feet of passing junctions.
I sugest you take it back and get another one.
Incidentaly there have been quite a few reports of lagging Nuvi's on http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=172
Maybe there a bad batch?? |
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n4nick
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Joined: Jun 30, 2006
Posts: 136
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| Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2007 1:49 pm Post subject: |
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Hi
Double-checked on my nuvi 300 at the weekend. With POI's showing up ie. in London maximum zoom when I was travelling at 30mph there was a lag of about 3 seconds max. If you were travelling faster with many POI's showing up then this could explain your 7 second lag. With no POI's (ie. outside London at 40mph+) it was pretty much spot on. Either too many POI's is causing the lag or you ought to get a replacement unit.
Nick |
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