Midwife needs help - Which system?

swanlady2000 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 09, 2005 Posts: 12

Hi All,

Congratulations on a brill site and I hope that you can help me. I have been looking at all the navigation systems on the market and my head is now in a spin!

I like the look of the tom tom range as they seem the easiest to use, but I'm not sure what is best for my needs - this system or another one.

My situation is that I am going to be commuting to London from the North-East of England by train to work in as a community midwife in the centre of London. My knowledge of London roads is limited to the Monopoly board, so I need a system that I am able to use in London, without losing signal contact (otherwise I will go into a blind panic!). Will the 500 do this over the 300 with having a faster processor etc.

The system has to be light and portable as I will be using "pool cars" down in London, so will need to transport it to several cars. And when I come back "up north" I will bring it with me to use in my car here.

I don't need to use it in Europe and if I ever do will buy an updated map.

The hands free kit would be handy, especially answering the phone if need to whilst driving around. but I could live without it and use a separate hands free if necessary.

I would like a system where I could input the destinations in for the day before I set off (this could be as many as 10-12) - is this possible or would I need to input the next address after each visit?

Why would I need an aerial? I thought the Tom Tom range was a plug and go system - Like I said, I need to transfer the system to several cars and additional aerials will make this harder.

Hope you can sort me out with a system and answer my questions!

Thanks

Babs x

JimmyTheHand · Frequent Visitor Joined: Apr 16, 2005 Posts: 386

The faster processor in the 500 will be of negligible benefit in navigating, even somewhere around London. However the hands free and the inclusion of a mains charger might (£15 from argos).

Itinerary planning should enable to plan the journey the night before – not used it my self – but you can read the manual Here (not sure how many points)

The aerial is needed for some cars that have windscreens that reflect the heat out (Citroens and Peugeots being a couple) – without the aerial any portable GPS is useless in my C5 – however in a Picasso, with same screen, it seems ok at the side. If you end up spending lots of time in narrow streets with very tall buildings you might need the aerial as well - since it gives amplification to the signal
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sgould · Frequent Visitor Joined: Oct 05, 2004 Posts: 1320

TomTom is plug and go - but......

If you are in a car with a heat reflecting windscreen you may need an aerial away from the front screen.

If you are in Central London, the tall buildings may block or weaken the signal you would again probably need the aerial. It's fine outside the main centre of the City and West End. Really depends how central you are going to be.

You could sit at home and plan an Itinerary to all you destinations each day, in the order you want to visit. Choose by address or postcode. Or you could store them as Points of Interest and navigate to the next one as you leave the previous place.

300 is fine. Processor speed is not a problem. I think it's there more for voice calls etc.
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Stanley_Tweedle · Regular Visitor Joined: Jul 10, 2005 Posts: 207

The 500 also has ASN which enables the unit to keep track of position for a short time if the GPS signal is lost, in city centres this is probably worth having.
If you are using French cars get the ext. antenna too, you'll probably need it sooner or later, again driving near tall buildings the signal will also be less likely to drop out anyhow.

Don't forget to take the unit and all visible accessories with you when you leave the car otherwise you'll probably come back to a broken window!

dill · Regular Visitor Joined: Aug 05, 2005 Posts: 74

I wouldnt worry about ASN Never found it any good, If you are not bothered about hands free get the 300 and external antenna.

I have a 500 because I wanted the hands free.

The faster processor in the 500 is for the hands free.

radavis · Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2005 2:15 pm Post subject:

Whatever system you decide to buy DO NOT LEAVE IT IN THE CAR WHILST WITH A PATIENT it will be gone by the time you come back

swanlady2000 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 09, 2005 Posts: 12

Thanks all for the help!

I am now the proud owner of a Tomtom 300. I do have a query though - I have managed to navigate my way round most of the system, but unsure of how I activate the tomtom plus service. I have a free one month trial (yet to be activated) and a gprs mobile phone, but my tom tom is blanking out the phone bit and the traffic/weather/download extra's - what do i need to do?

Thanks

Babs x

radavis · Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2005 7:42 pm Post subject:

What phone have you got?

Has it got blutetooth?

If it has, look at the link below it may help you, if not get back with any problems you may have and I am sure we can sort them out.

http://www.tomtom.com/products/section.php?ID=72&Section=120&Language=1&TT=84a796c53a89281b860083f7b87d8c64&Tab=0

Raymond

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