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So does this mean they've bought a license or something and that TMC will work now with all Miomaps?
I'll be astounded if this makes any difference to the operation of units already sold, since they are not individually addressable by the Trafficmaster system. If your C510 or C710 works now it will continue to do so. But it does give some hope than new add-on TMC units bought for the C210 and C510 might actually work.
Of course the Mio 'December newsletter' sent out to registered users states clearly that TMC doesn't work in the UK.
Get your act together Mitac!
it looks like C710 users with fully operational TMC are extremely fortunate
Already posted on another forum without a real solution I have a Mio C710 and the TMC works but plugging the supplied aerial into the shared aerial/earphone socket cuts off the direction speech and device bleeps etc. Am I the only one with this problem as no one else seems to have mentioned it here. If I pull the aerial plug out a little bit it seems to restore the sounds to the C710 but it's not always reliable. Surely sharing the ear-phone socket with the aerial socket seems to be a mistake or is there something else I should be doing?
Quote:
OK, the problem is that the plug is not engaging correctly. If not properly engaged (check the plug shoulder for poor machining or a lump of plastic or something). The Mio "thinks" that a headphone has been connected which is why it mutes.
I had the same problem whilst feeding mine via an arial split yesterday. If you can handle a bit of soldering, you can either replace the plug on the supplide arial (connecting to the 3rd contact from the tip) or do as i did and procure an arial splitter to feed it from the car arial. (Note that if arial is not passive you will need a de-coupling capacitor).
I've just posted this elsewhere, but the connections (from the tip) are:- left ear/right ear/TMC arial/shield-0v
John
Thanks for that John. You were correct. I did as you suggested and inserted the plug really hard into the socket and the sounds came back (both direction speech and key effects) and the TMC worked perfectly finding 100.3 for Classic FM and filled 4 pages of traffic problems in about 1 minute. It does only seem to notify of serious traffic problems but that's probabnly good enough generally. I was in Cornwall last weekend and the frequency of Classic FM there seemed to be 100.0 but it still worked and gave pages of information (often in Surrey some several hours drive away!!) but it did work (although at that time with the plug not fully pushed in). Returning to Hampshire through Devon and Dorset mostly there was no signal until near Ringwood and then Southampton so maybe the signal strength is iffy and John's external car aerial mod is worth doing. Am going to Bershire and Surrey tomorrow - will be interested if John's advice works and if it finds any signals consistantly then. Thanks again John.
Does the TMC work when the sound is cut off?
Does the TMC work when you pull it out a bit and get the sound back?
Sorry but your post was not 100% clear on that.
If you have a multi meter it might be worth sticking a pin into the lead and seeing which band on the plug is connected. Sal has posted the pin outs in another thread.
Sorry about that - yes the TMC did work with the plug in and also pulled out a little bit.
Thank you for contacting our Mio Technology Support Team.
The TMC function now is available all over Great Brittian.
Hopefully we could inform you sufficiently.
Kind regards,
Mio Technology support team. "
I'll try it tonight
Pete
it seems that MioC210user was told something similar and posted a message early in October at the beginning of this thread:
MioC210user wrote:
Well, this is what Mio product support told me IN WRITING the day before v3.2 was released:
"We will release an update link on our website in about two weeks. With this
link you can update the version 3 on your device so that you can use the TMC antenna.
As soon as this link is available we will also release the TMC antenna for
Mio C210 on our site.
Kind regards,
Mio Technology Limited"
what a pity Mio were wrong then and they still can't get their facts straight
MioC210user also hinted that Mio were/are working on a uk-specific receiver but there's not much evidence of this yet
this is exactly why i'm staying well clear of this hot potato and using my unit 'as is'
it looks like C710 users with fully operational TMC are extremely fortunate
Already posted on another forum without a real solution I have a Mio C710 and the TMC works but plugging the supplied aerial into the shared aerial/earphone socket cuts off the direction speech and device bleeps etc. Am I the only one with this problem as no one else seems to have mentioned it here. If I pull the aerial plug out a little bit it seems to restore the sounds to the C710 but it's not always reliable. Surely sharing the ear-phone socket with the aerial socket seems to be a mistake or is there something else I should be doing?
Quote:
OK, the problem is that the plug is not engaging correctly. If not properly engaged (check the plug shoulder for poor machining or a lump of plastic or something). The Mio "thinks" that a headphone has been connected which is why it mutes.
I had the same problem whilst feeding mine via an arial split yesterday. If you can handle a bit of soldering, you can either replace the plug on the supplide arial (connecting to the 3rd contact from the tip) or do as i did and procure an arial splitter to feed it from the car arial. (Note that if arial is not passive you will need a de-coupling capacitor).
I've just posted this elsewhere, but the connections (from the tip) are:- left ear/right ear/TMC arial/shield-0v
John
Thanks for that John. You were correct. I did as you suggested and inserted the plug really hard into the socket and the sounds came back (both direction speech and key effects) and the TMC worked perfectly finding 100.3 for Classic FM and filled 4 pages of traffic problems in about 1 minute. It does only seem to notify of serious traffic problems but that's probabnly good enough generally. I was in Cornwall last weekend and the frequency of Classic FM there seemed to be 100.0 but it still worked and gave pages of information (often in Surrey some several hours drive away!!) but it did work (although at that time with the plug not fully pushed in). Returning to Hampshire through Devon and Dorset mostly there was no signal until near Ringwood and then Southampton so maybe the signal strength is iffy and John's external car aerial mod is worth doing. Am going to Bershire and Surrey tomorrow - will be interested if John's advice works and if it finds any signals consistantly then. Thanks again John.
I was in Cornwall last week. The TMC broadcasts were received via a number of stations including Pirate FM (a commercial radio station) and a number of other regional stations but not Classic FM. The coverage - at least in and around major towns - was very good.
Quite a few regional traffic problems were picked up but nothing that had an impact upon my route.
Parts of north Hampshire and Wiltshire do seem to lack TMC broadcasts but it's difficult to be sure. The problem is that the unit doesn't always display TMC availability through the 2 car icon even when it is receiving a TMC broadcast or even TMC information.
I'm not sure how useful TMC information is either. There was a 3 to 4 mile or so congestion/jam this morning in the Bracknell area (A322). The problem lasted for about 90 minutes or so and yet there was no relevant TMC information. TMC information is occasionally available for this road but there seems to be no pattern to whether or not a jam/congestion results in TMC information.
I'm not sure either that I would trust the TMC information enough to make a major detour!
Miomap 3.2 seems to be significantly better than 3.1 in terms of detail of TMC information - it's also easier to make a manual decision on the basis of the information and local knowledge.
as pointed out earlier in this thread most UK radio stations are owned by a small number of companies and Classic FM group owns several radio stations - so a Classic FM signal could feasibly be detected under a different station name
i'm still waiting for somebody to say that TMC is available for the C510 and C210 models
in the meantime i don't think people should pay too much attention to the radio station name or Classic FM
The private company iTIS Holdings is providing a commercial TMC service iTMC in the United Kingdom. It is broadcast on Classic FM The price of the service can be included in the price of the car or of the navigation system.
Next to that, there is a service RAC Live operated by RAC Trafficmaster Telematics (RTT) a 50-50 joint venture between RAC Motoring Services and Trafficmaster. It uses 3 commercial radio broadcasters, GWR, Capital radio and Chrysalis who together ensure reception across mainland Britain.
Both providers are responsible for their own location tables. The current location table version of ITIS is 5.1. The current location table version of Trafficmaster is 2.0
The private company iTIS Holdings is providing a commercial TMC service iTMC in the United Kingdom. It is broadcast on Classic FM The price of the service can be included in the price of the car or of the navigation system.
Next to that, there is a service RAC Live operated by RAC Trafficmaster Telematics (RTT) a 50-50 joint venture between RAC Motoring Services and Trafficmaster. It uses 3 commercial radio broadcasters, GWR, Capital radio and Chrysalis who together ensure reception across mainland Britain.
Both providers are responsible for their own location tables. The current location table version of ITIS is 5.1. The current location table version of Trafficmaster is 2.0
Maybe this helps to reduce the confusion.
It's interesting. Some posters to this group have suggested that the Mio C710 uses the Trafficmaster service but clearly the C710 also picks up TMC information via Classic FM company network (the iTIS service) - mine has done this morning. This would also explain why the TMC information, in terms of coverage, is not always consistent with the information provided by Trafficmaster dedicated devices. The C710 TMC information is however *very* similar to the information provided by iTIS devices such as AA Navigator. Yet the C710 also seems to detect broadcasts from stations used by Trafficmaster according to at least some posters here.
I have to say that some of the comments regarding C710 TMC availability are simplistic at best. The situation is actually confusing and complex and the long term prospect of TMC support through various software updates (TMC functionality can be software and not hardware dependent) is not clear. The manufacturer of the device - Mitac - was actually fairly clear (until recently anyway) that TMC was not supported in the UK. It's odd that the C710 did/does however seem to support TMC. I wonder if this support is due to some sort of software oversight?
Judging by the availability of underground hacks to commercial TMC software (such a Traffic SAM) TMC protection isn't (and probably can't be) that elaborate. I'm not suggesting that the C710 includes hacked software (!) but I do wonder if, in view of the lack of TMC support for other Mitac units and the fact that the C710 *seems* to be versatile in accessing both TMC services, that there is some sort of undocumented activity.
The simplest explanation is often the correct one and in this case would seem to favour some sort of chaotic cock up rather intentional design.
Actually I see that GWR Plc (the radio group that provided Trafficmaster TMC) merged with Gcap Plc (the company that provided iTIS TMC) to form Gcap Media. The plot thickens and is now, even if it wasn't before, beyond my understanding.
Actually I see that GWR Plc (the radio group that provided Trafficmaster TMC) merged with Gcap Plc (the company that provided iTIS TMC) to form Gcap Media. The plot thickens and is now, even if it wasn't before, beyond my understanding.
Hi all, I have been following this for months but haven't logged in before to comment.
I use the TMC data on my Mio 710. I often check what stations it is receiving and it has never stopped on a Classic FM station, so it seems that my unit at least is on the Trafficmaster network.
Have any of you thought to contact the TMC providers and ask them if they provide data to Mitac?
I emailed Trafficmaster and got the following answer:
There are some Mio units that do have the Trafficmaster TMC service,
this service would be almost certainly for the lifetime of the unit.
There is nothing more that you need to do in order to operate the
service.
Does that help you?
i think this merger pre-dates both the C710, C510 and C210 models:
"GCap Media was launched in May 2005 following the merger of GWR Group plc and Capital Radio plc. With 47 locations across the UK, we own 55 analogue and 99 digital stations. Our radio stations include recognisable brands such as Classic FM, Capital Radio"
also TrafficMaster claim not to be exclusive to GCap:
"Trafficmaster works with commercial radio stations, including GCap Media Plc and Chrysalis, to transmit its data via 88 separate radio transmitters across Great Britain. The data is coded in accordance with the TMC standard and can be decoded by the motorist’s satellite navigation system to provide the driver with verbal or visual messages that provide information relevant to the location and/or route of the vehicle"
it looks like TMC should work nationwide despite some users claiming patchy coverage
Retty wrote:
Parts of north Hampshire and Wiltshire do seem to lack TMC broadcasts but it's difficult to be sure. The problem is that the unit doesn't always display TMC availability through the 2 car icon even when it is receiving a TMC broadcast or even TMC information.
I'm not sure how useful TMC information is either. There was a 3 to 4 mile or so congestion/jam this morning in the Bracknell area (A322). The problem lasted for about 90 minutes or so and yet there was no relevant TMC information. TMC information is occasionally available for this road but there seems to be no pattern to whether or not a jam/congestion results in TMC information.
this area is covered by 2Ten FM which was a GWR station and should be included in GCap coverage
this also doesn't explain why the C710 seems to work but C510 and C210 owners are having great difficulty
somebody in this thread hinted that Mio were/are working on a UK receiver and a problem with the TomTom receiver has also been mentioned
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Sun Dec 17, 2006 5:24 am Post subject:
klystron_generator wrote:
"GCap Media was launched in May 2005 following the merger of GWR Group plc and Capital Radio plc. With 47 locations across the UK
I am not too sure how up to date that information is, some web sites keep their data reliable others don't! I would take a look through THIS Page for some up to date information on transmitters, location, frequency and owner - Mike
I am not too sure how up to date that information is, some web sites keep their data reliable others don't! I would take a look through THIS Page for some up to date information on transmitters, location, frequency and owner
i agree there's some confusion but i visit a lot of web sites and i'd prefer to trust the information on an 'official' web site than a document on somebody's Wanadoo web space without any date or origin information on it :o
you quoted this document but how do you know how up to date this is compared with the information i posted cos there's no date on it at all or details of its origin...the only clue is GCap stations which means it's post-merger
my quotes came from the GCap Media and TrafficMaster web sites respectively...what is the origin of the information quoted in the document you quoted
many of the radio stations listed on the document you quoted are operated by the BBC and over the years i've found that the BBC tend not to transmit the traffic part of the RDS signal and my car radio doesn't change as it would if i were tuned in to an independent station...just adding further confusion
has anybody out there received TMC data from a BBC station
i notice that you failed to include the Chrysalis stations part of my previous posting in your quote thus reducing the number of stations and transmitter sites to favour your document
this just reinforces what people have said all thru this thread though about the avaliability and ease of access of useful information :x
if i wanted to buy a dishwasher, printer or pretty much anything else i'd be able to view endless amounts of information online and all i would need to do is choose my preferred supplier...
...but with TMC no information seems to be consistent and it's leaving even the most seasoned web users confused and frustrated
i think this merger pre-dates both the C710, C510 and C210 models:
"GCap Media was launched in May 2005 following the merger of GWR Group plc and Capital Radio plc. With 47 locations across the UK, we own 55 analogue and 99 digital stations. Our radio stations include recognisable brands such as Classic FM, Capital Radio"
also TrafficMaster claim not to be exclusive to GCap:
"Trafficmaster works with commercial radio stations, including GCap Media Plc and Chrysalis, to transmit its data via 88 separate radio transmitters across Great Britain. The data is coded in accordance with the TMC standard and can be decoded by the motorist’s satellite navigation system to provide the driver with verbal or visual messages that provide information relevant to the location and/or route of the vehicle"
it looks like TMC should work nationwide despite some users claiming patchy coverage
Retty wrote:
Parts of north Hampshire and Wiltshire do seem to lack TMC broadcasts but it's difficult to be sure. The problem is that the unit doesn't always display TMC availability through the 2 car icon even when it is receiving a TMC broadcast or even TMC information.
I'm not sure how useful TMC information is either. There was a 3 to 4 mile or so congestion/jam this morning in the Bracknell area (A322). The problem lasted for about 90 minutes or so and yet there was no relevant TMC information. TMC information is occasionally available for this road but there seems to be no pattern to whether or not a jam/congestion results in TMC information.
this area is covered by 2Ten FM which was a GWR station and should be included in GCap coverage
this also doesn't explain why the C710 seems to work but C510 and C210 owners are having great difficulty
somebody in this thread hinted that Mio were/are working on a UK receiver and a problem with the TomTom receiver has also been mentioned
No, absolutely, it doesn't explain the key question of why the C710 seems to work but the C510 and C210 don't.
The C710 picks up both Classic FM and 2Ten FM in the same geographical border area at different times (depending on nothing in particular it seems).
I think the issues are probably more complicated than people realise - Mitac has been clear that th C710 doesn't support TMC in the UK and I have no reason to doubt that they at least believe in the logic of that position. After all the C510 and C210 don't seem to be able to receive TMC.
I don't pretent to understand what is going on (I don't think anyone does for sure) but yesterday's and today's journey to/from Bristol from the south east of England resulted in more qustions than answers. I was using a C710. Sorry for rambling a bit but, before I bore you with my half baked suspicion about what's happening, I figure that somebody may be interested in the following experience (I know I would have been before I bought the unit).
The C710 made a very annoying cock up that added 20 minutes on to the journey. Shortly after setting off the C710 detected a problem with the M4. The TMC feed was correct. Instead of directing me to the M4 the C710 directed me down the M3 towards the A303. I followed the instructions - it's a reasonable route *if* there are major problems - and travelled down the M3 a number of junctions before the TMC information disappeared. The C710 then directed me off the motorway and told me to turn around - back tracking on myself up the M3 and this time towards the M4. Very annoying. I don't know why the TMC info that initially resulted in the redirection disappeared but it did. I wonder if it's possible to be caught in a loop!
Anyway, upon entering the M4 the C710 again detected a TMC feed that, correctly as it turned out, said that there were major problems on the M4. It directed me off the M4 and through Newbury. There wasn't however a TMC feed providing information on the fact that the A4 also had huge problems. I was then stuck in traffic on the A4 for what seemed like ages wondering whether or not the M4 would have been the better route after all. Anyway, I plucked up the courage to fiddle with the C710 and told it that the road ahead was blocked. What happened next was impressive - it directed me around the A4 using all manner of back roads that I simply would never ever have known about without sat nav. I got through without a hitch in quick time and only wished I had been more interactive to start with.
It then, after I passed Newbury, started to receive all sorts of TMC information which resulted in numerous re-routing which, however, wasn't intrusive and didn't require me to turn back. It was routing me around the M4 as if the M4 was carrying the plague. I was directed through quaint villages via a route that I would never have been able to find on my own - the roads were very clear except for a few people who, probably as a result of local knowledge (judging by their confident driving still through rural lanes), knew the route. Still, I started to question whether or not the M4 really was that bad. I followed a sign to the M4 (and disabled automatic rerouting) and what greeted me was, effectively, a car park snaking off the M4 for a mile or so. I engaged automatic rerouting and tried, from memory, to pick up the route it had previously offered me (it wasn't volunteering). I found the route and it then picked it up. I was then taken with routing panache, for 15 miles or so, to the next junction - the junction that was immediately after the accident that had caused the hold up! The passenger in my car was very, very impressed (despite the initial apparent cock up of directing us down the M3). The TMC information - and more importantly the C710's use of the information - was outstanding. Upon entering the junction there was no traffic at all behind me and nothing in front (aside from a few cars that had entered at the same time as me) - and this remained the case for about 6 minutes of driving (about 2 PM Saturday on the M4)!
Anyway, the striking thing about the journey was that the TMC information seemed, in general, to be different to the usual TMC information I receive: it was *much* more detailed with a greater variety of symbols and, actually, much more accurate (for example in terms of direction of traffic flow with symbols accurately identifying problems on the other side of the roads). Numerous problems were flagged up on the M4 and surrounding A roads (except sadly the A4) and the routing seemed to take account of these problems. It even alerted me to a trivial traffic jam without offering rerouting.
I noticed also that it was picking up all manner of radio stations (some named others not). I also noticed that switching the unit on or off would often prompt it to find a different station in the same geographical area. It didn't offer too many names however - just frequencies and "no name".
I wonder (and if this sounds stupid then it probably isn't any more so than anything else in this post) if the C710 is picking up both iTIS and Trafficmaster TMC signals. There seemed to be 2 distinct types of information - one which identified slow traffic but not the cause of the slow traffic and one which identified slow traffic but also the specific cause. It wasn't always 100% accurate in either case but the more detailed information seemed to be more accurate. I also noticed when I got in to Bristol that the more detailed variety of information increased in quantity and also started to detail incidents on more roads (specific intersections). I was directed and redirected through Bristol on the basis of this Saturday afternoon information. (What a bloody awful city by the way - never again).
On the way back the C710 again picked up Classic FM and the detailed information became less detailed - congestion on the M25 wasn't picked up until *very* late in the day despite there being a TMC signal and despite the signs on the M4 warning of the M25 congestion approximately 80 miles away. As I approached Bracknell (approximately 15 miles away) the station then shifted again - "no name" - and unfortunately I didn't get the frequency. The very detailed information then appeared again this time warning me of all sorts of problems throughout the south of England including the M25 congestion information which now became more detailed(and now included speed of traffic with a speed of traffic revision appearing whilst I was viewing the TMC information). The station then shifted back to Classic FM and the entry changed to include less detail. Interestingly there didn't seem to be a double entry for the same problem or rather I didn't notice one.
Despite the initial cock up of directing me down the M3 (perhaps I should have used more critical discretion than merely obeying) my overall impression was - wow, very impressive indeed. In terms of its TMC function and rerouting it went beyond my expectations.
I think though, and this is probably a very obvious thing to say, that it's necessary to be quite interactive with the unit - telling it when a road is blocked for example. The results when I did this were vey good.
Looking back I'm disappointed that there wasn't TMC information to inform the C710 of the big problems on the A4.
Anyway, to cut a long story short I wonder if the C710 is picking up *both* iTIS and Trafficmaster feeds?
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