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Just noticed that the v4.00 firmware seems to have disappeared from the Garmin web site links where it was a couple of hours ago. I presume this is because they've realised it is broken. _________________ --
Joined: Aug 20, 2007 Posts: 4 Location: Great Clacton
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 9:55 am Post subject:
Yup, I was one of the suckers that downloaded it!!!
Only had the thing a week and I downloaded an update that took away my TMC
Rang support, that, wait for it, wait for it, answered on about the second ring and spoke to a really nice chap who seemed to know all about it.
Directed me to the same place to download version 3.8 of the software and Traffic came back. Only trouble is that whilst the traffic has come back the licence for it has not !!! So whilst it is there, it says I am not subscribed and just keeps searching and searching.
We can listen to Classic FM with no problems and it works fine on my S/O's identical unit !! Which incidently was bought at the same time and at the same shop but uses version 3.9 of the software, which I can't find anywhere !!!
Joined: Aug 20, 2007 Posts: 4 Location: Great Clacton
Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2007 2:18 pm Post subject: 610T and 660's from Comet and possibly other stores !!!
Quote:
Right, I've just received my Nuvi 610T back from Garmin as all the units at my local Comet were supplied with GTM21s that appeared to be for France as they have a ViaMichelin subscription and 3 month US TTN subscription.
Brian,
I hope you get it sorted now, it looks like you had the patience to send your unit back to Garmin to get it sorted, whilst mine was done over the phone, I shall try and explain.
I had bought a 610T from Comet and I made a point of asking the guy, if this does not work, can I bring it back! He said, no problems.
So this morning, after being onto Garmin Tech Support over the last few days and downloading patches after patches, we got to the same stage as you, but the only options open to me were exactly as you have listed above. As my S/O has a unit too we could see if we could get TMC on hers, and yes we could, but on mine it just kept searching and searching over and over again. So it was clearly not going to work to my satisfaction.
This morning I took it back to Comet, and as far as I can remember, in my own opinion, this is what was said.
I said what I had learnt from the Tech guys at Garmin, and the manager of comet said rubbish, but as a favour I will let you upgrade it or have your money back, but there will be a 20% restocking fee
I am sorry, that is not what I was after, what else can you do for me?
Not a lot, if you can prove it doesn't work then I might think again.
The Comet manager and the Garmin tech guy, also on the phone now, said that if I took it to trading standards they would not help me as it was not a hardware fault, merely a software fault, so they would not take it on.
I explained again everything I had been told and then he insisted that we went out to the car to prove it wasn't working, with a Garmin tech on my phone to guide us through the set up !!!!
We got it all unpacked again, up and running, bar the TMC of course which just sat searching, with two options, lifetime for France, 3 months trial for the US !!! Nothing for the UK. The manager then suggested that I wasn't in a TMC zone and it would work elsewhere, I turned my S/O's on and it picked up TMC straight away, I plotted a course for the midlands from where I live in Essex and the warnings came in thick and fast!
Oh, said the manager, Oh said the Garmin Tech guy!
The tech guy said, OK, I am sick of these damn units, I will authorise a RMA and you can refund the customer. The manager was the most upset obviously, however, on the way back to car, the tech guy said to someone, my phone was on speaker phone, "I have a feeling that all the Comet models are going to be like this" !!
So, here I am sitting at home, wondering what model to buy all over again!
Whilst I was at our local shopping centre I popped into Halfords and noticed a N60i on special offer, £249 and am now considering that, I think whilst Garmin may have great products and great ideas, I wasn't too chuffed at being treated like it's the first time I have touched anything techy, I have been in IT since 1976 !!!
So, buyer beware until they get it sorted, which I am sure they will, they just have to put the right firmware and software on the right models in the right shops !!!
I bought my 660 from halfords and spoke to garmin tech about lack of reception, he said send it back to garmin, all it needs is the unit and the original sales receipt.
I found the sales receipt from Halfords and found that it stated that any faults with the unit within the 1 year guarentee period, take it to the nearest halfords.
I did that and after a brief check and a phonecall to garmin by the deputy manager he exchanged my unit for a new 660.
Far quicker than sending it back to Garmin and waiting a week for it to return.
well done halfords _________________ Garmin Nuvi 660 FM
Software Version 4.80
Audio Version 1.90
GPS SW Version 3.00
Bluetooth SW Version 3.40
GTM SW Version 4.80
Map Info CN Europe NT 2010.30
Interesting Trevor, well mine is apparently OK and the traffic feature is working OK. I get coverage nearly all the way from near Bedford to Cambridge. Not yet gone anywhere else with it, but I will!
What I have noticed is that there is no subscription showing up, but I do get the TrafficMaster TMC data, the GTM21 came in a sealed blister pack outside the Nuvi box and that said UK TMC subscription on it. I'm still puzzled as to why the subscription does not show up on the Nuvi, I shall ask Garmin tech support and see what they say. I also note that there is nothing showing up on the System-About screen mentioning TMC, previously it said ViaMichelin c.2006 or similar but now nothing at all.
I'm hoping that the subscription missing is a non-issue, but I'd still like it entered in the unit for peace of mind.
Anyone else with a Nuvi 610T with GTM21 that does have a subscription entry?
There is something fishy about these Comet units, it seems to me that it must have been Garmin's error in manufacture. If not who else could have put French GTM21s in the box, it's not as if a unit advertised as having a traffic receiver would have come without them and Comet "found" some to put in there. _________________ --
Joined: Aug 20, 2007 Posts: 4 Location: Great Clacton
Posted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 10:51 am Post subject: UPDATE......
After the hassle that I had yesterday, I went back on the web last night and started comparing models with models.
My S/O actually had a very good point, we very rarely use the traffic part of it, it is just that when we do, we really do and it must be the most accurate available on the market........
Having trawled through all the TMC and other traffic options, I noticed that the TomTom do both a 520 and 520T model.
HOWEVER, whilst the 520T model has the infamous TMC, I noticed that the 70 squid cheaper and available NOW 520 has the option to upgrade to TMC, spit, BUT ALSO HAS ITS OWN blend of Traffic management which comes from "several reliable souces" not just TMC and it uses your phone to update your unit as you travel, so that you are always with up to date info and they claim that this is better than TMC on its own and far more accurate.
So we have eventually opted for a TomTom 520, not the 520T and we will use my handsfree bluetooth phone for updates when we rarely need the traffic updates and as my S/O pointed out, they will be better than TMC on its own, or so TOM TOM Claim !!!
Here is hoping !!!
Regards to all,
Trevor
Never stop learning, because one day, the light at the end of the tunnel will be another train coming straight for you............
What I have noticed is that there is no subscription showing up, but I do get the TrafficMaster TMC data, the GTM21 came in a sealed blister pack outside the Nuvi box and that said UK TMC subscription on it. I'm still puzzled as to why the subscription does not show up on the Nuvi, I shall ask Garmin tech support and see what they say. I also note that there is nothing showing up on the System-About screen mentioning TMC, previously it said ViaMichelin c.2006 or similar but now nothing at all.
A call to Garmin tech support reveals that the lack of subscription data is a known problem and a software update(s) to fix it is expected soon (which could mean anything from a couple of weeks to a year IME), but hey, we wouldn't be happy without more chances to run WebUpdater would we?
_________________ --
Posted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:44 pm Post subject: Has TMC Returned to Winter Hill??
I have just driven from Manchester Airport to Southport and had good traffic reception on most of the M6 and roads into Southport. The GTM status was showing lock on channel 99 (97.4MHz - Rock FM) .
Yup, I was one of the suckers that downloaded it!!!
Only had the thing a week and I downloaded an update that took away my TMC
Rang support, that, wait for it, wait for it, answered on about the second ring and spoke to a really nice chap who seemed to know all about it.
Directed me to the same place to download version 3.8 of the software and Traffic came back. Only trouble is that whilst the traffic has come back the licence for it has not !!! So whilst it is there, it says I am not subscribed and just keeps searching and searching.
We can listen to Classic FM with no problems and it works fine on my S/O's identical unit !! Which incidently was bought at the same time and at the same shop but uses version 3.9 of the software, which I can't find anywhere !!!
Trevor,
I have a zip file of the 390 software if you would like I can send it to you if you give me your e-mail address !
Quote:- StuBFrost who said.... "I drove down the M61 from Preston to Manchester yesterday evening and for the first time ever I had a strong signal all the way."
Strange... I noticed this too !!! I guess they have turned it back on at Winter Hill.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 5:01 pm Post subject:
WinterHill is indeed operational again using 97.4 Rock FM this time (channel 99 on the Garmin hidden menu), it was switched on just over a week ago and has made a huge difference to TMC reception throughout Lancashire - Mike
Joined: May 14, 2007 Posts: 6 Location: Cranage, Cheshire
Posted: Tue Sep 04, 2007 8:14 pm Post subject:
I have been waiting in anticipation for Winterhill coming back on line for months and months and would you believe it they go and do it last week when is was in Ireland. Anyway what test the return journey was! TMC traffic virtually all the way from Bangor through to Chester and all the way to Tarporley then NOTHING absolutely NOTHING what a disappointment I really thought I might get TMC at home just south of Knutsford ( I can clearly see the bloody Winterhill mast). I've tried everything repositioning the aerial, connecting to the cars two antennae (Volvo V70) I even made the mistake of drilling an fitting a dedicated aerial for the GTM-21 nothing will give me traffic information when and where I need it most for the commute to and from work. To add insult to injury a work colleague I car share with gets far better traffic information (even minor road works and closures) from my drive way all the way to Manchester Airport ( He drives a new Merc. E class)
Joined: Dec 28, 2005 Posts: 2003 Location: Antrobus, Cheshire
Posted: Wed Sep 05, 2007 8:40 am Post subject:
Wiglet wrote:
I have been waiting in anticipation for Winterhill coming back on line for months and months and would you believe it they go and do it last week when is was in Ireland. Anyway what test the return journey was! TMC traffic virtually all the way from Bangor through to Chester and all the way to Tarporley then NOTHING absolutely NOTHING what a disappointment I really thought I might get TMC at home just south of Knutsford ( I can clearly see the bloody Winterhill mast).
I'm not a million miles from you to the West and quite low down (32m above sea level) I have my GTM21 connected to my amplified car aerial (VW BORA) and got reception at home before the WH transmitter came back on line - I was getting reception from GALAXY (102.0 Mhz Central Manchester). Haven't checked since WH came on-stream again. It's 23 miles line-of-sight from me. You can see it's bright new shiny red warning lights very clearly from our yard. _________________ Phil
I purchased a Nuvi660Fm recently and I've not been able to get traffic since I got it. Read all through this post and tried the ideas of having the aerial positioned differently. But then just now I tried undoing my driver side window, taking the aerial and sticking it to the roof - hey presto I got a green light for the first time!
So in my case, an external aerial seems like it will make a difference (I have a 54 plate Focus TDCI). THing I need to know is - can anyone point me in the right direction on how I might be able to hook the Nuvi up to an external aerial (existing roof one preferably)?
Many thanks ;)
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I have just driven from Manchester Airport to Southport and had good traffic reception on most of the M6 and roads into Southport. The GTM status was showing lock on channel 99 (97.4MHz - Rock FM) 
