rds/tmc antenna for mio 26x?

micke_011 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 08, 2005 Posts: 31

did anyone get the rds/tmc antenna for their upgraded mio 26x yet? i'm kind of hesitant to it, dunno if it'll work, what the installation will be like and so on, and mio's shop isn't very helpful, the image of the antenna is like 80x60 pixels and when you click on it to enlarge it a new window opens but the image is still the same size, and there isn't a word mentioned on how to go about it. on top of that, there's a small text underneath it saying "Image may differ from actual product". <doh> it's like the bad commercial they always make fun of in the simpsons.

so..anyone more daring than me? to be honest, 75 € seems a little steep for messing up.

Freddie100 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 02, 2005 Posts: 6

Are you in the UK? If so Mio say that TMC won't work on the 268 or 269 (or in France apparently).

micke_011 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 08, 2005 Posts: 31

nah, i'm in sweden and will (would) use it mainly here. as far as i understand mio their units are only capable of receiving free rds/tmc, so for all u french and brits i suppose that the only hope is that the state starts broadcast it for free, as is done up here.

Lee_g3 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 16, 2005 Posts: 35

Micke, I have been looking at the posts on RDS/TMC myself over the last few weeks.

Took the plunge about 3 weeks ago to buy a Mio 268+ from GlobalPositioning. Like you, I couldn't find very much about whether TMC would work with any of the handheld units in the UK, some threads seem to suggest it would, but no real evidence.

I have in the last 3 days received my RDS\TMC antenna direct from Mio in Belgium, although I haven't so far had much of a chance to use it. However, I did use the Mio for a 1 hour journey today, to see if it would pick up any signals. Initially I thought it wasn't going to work at all, but it just seemed to take a while to lock on to the right radio frequency. The further I drove, the stronger the signal became, with the highest at one point showing as 42 on the small display under the TMC icon. I could also click onto the TMC icon, and scoll through approx. 17 traffic messages that it had received, relating to roadworks or traffic jams, but nothing in my area.

So far, so good. Smile

However, I have yet to see it prove that it can dynamically reroute me if there is a problem. Will need to wait until there actually is a traffic jam on my route. I will post again in this thread when I have more information, I should be out on the road this week I hope.

micke_011 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 08, 2005 Posts: 31

sounds pretty cool lee, any progress would be highly appreciated as it seems like a really cool feature.. i take it you're not in the uk?

Lee_g3 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 16, 2005 Posts: 35

Yes, I am in the UK, so I'm not sure why Mio claim that it won't work in the UK or France. However, I have seen on other threads that Navigon have signed a deal with TrafficMaster here, so maybe that is why it is now working.

I will keep you posted as to whether the Dynamic rerouting works or not.

Lee_g3 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 16, 2005 Posts: 35

Just another quick update Laughing

Drove to Germany during the Xmas hols, in all countries on my route it appeared to pick up a TMC signal, and I could scroll through many messages about roadworks, traffic jams etc. So this suggests that in the UK, France, Belgium, Holland and Germany, TMC works. 8)

Also, in Belgium I had 2 sets of roadworks on my route, and TMC did ask me whether I wanted to reroute around these, although I decided against it at that time. The same also happened in Germany, unfortunately the warning came a bit late, as we had already hit the roadworks by then. Sad

Still waiting to definitively prove it in the UK.

micke_011 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Aug 08, 2005 Posts: 31

it sounds pretty cool, lee, i'm getting closer and closer to ordering one myself..

what about the installation, have you made any changes in the car to fit what looks to be a pretty big piece of cable or is the image (as was written on the homepage) not quite true? could you maybe even take a photo of what it looks like in the car?

i noticed that you can set the tmc-part of miomap 2 up to prompt you to or automatically re-route you depending on incoming tmc's, but as you chose not to i figure you might prefer to keep it as it now is.

Lee_g3 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 16, 2005 Posts: 35

I haven't changed the FM Radio cable for anything else, have a company car, so I don't think they would be too impressed with me changing coax cables around. Wink

I have taken a picture of how it is mounted, not sure if I can post it in this thread though, might need to e-mail it. I have mounted it across the top of the windscreen, doesn't look too bad, and it does the job, picks up the TMC signal.

As you say, I have set it not to automatically reroute me, I like knowing that there is a problem and being able to decide whether I take a chance going through some roadworks, or not. Otherwise, the first thing you would know about a problem is when it starts routing you off the main road in another direction.

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Lee_g3 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Dec 16, 2005 Posts: 35

Micke, I'm not sure if you ever bought the RDS/TMC cable, but over the last couple of months, I have definitely proved that it works. It has always been when travelling on motorways, but then possibly this is where most information comes from, and perhaps where the most hold up's will occur.

I have still left it prompting me to say whether I wish to avoid the problem or not, so I can make my own judgement as to whether it is worth avoiding, some places you know are always going to be congested (like J3 of the M3). However, it has certainly helped me avoid some major problems, if you are able to wire it directly inot your car arial, then it certainly tidies things up, but I can't in my car.

Hope this helps. Smile

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