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Dave,
I got 'Fox FM ' and 'The Bear'(Touch FM) and others, transiently also, as the receiver scanned across the frequencies.
Sometimes the legend read 'TMC present' though the 'bar' was perhaps only 1/5th orange and also sometimes the dispiriting 'Testing'.
At no time was the 'two little cars' TMC indicator visible.
I don't understand it, or its relevance, but I just hope the observation will help.
Ticklepin
The 2 little cars indicates that traffic signal is valid for MIO and is downloading to your Satnav.
I too get "TMC Present" on some stations but as they are invalid to the MIO it will not download.
Just to confirm similar problems from the Garmin side (I'm thinking of getting a C510). The Garmin GPS can lock onto Classic FM and seem to be downloading traffic info but it cannot be used by our Trafficmaster setup (or Touch FM which does not even have RDS).
Joined: Jan 04, 2007 Posts: 2789 Location: Hampshire, UK
Posted: Sun Feb 04, 2007 10:38 pm Post subject:
ticklepin wrote:
Dave,
I got 'Fox FM ' and 'The Bear'(Touch FM) and others, transiently also, as the receiver scanned across the frequencies.
Sometimes the legend read 'TMC present' though the 'bar' was perhaps only 1/5th orange and also sometimes the dispiriting 'Testing'.
At no time was the 'two little cars' TMC indicator visible.
I don't understand it, or its relevance, but I just hope the observation will help.
I think that perhaps too much attention is being paid to the word "Testing" and the two little cars.
I've been a bit of an anorak and this is what I've observed:
1) even with the unit locked onto a radio station and traffic data being received, the word "Testing" periodically appears as the unit searches for alternative (possibly better) TMC signals
2) with the unit locked onto a radio station and traffic data being received, the two cars don't seem to appear until there is a good strong TMC signal
It would seem, therefore, that when "Testing" is shown TMC information may be viewed in the 'Events' list and the absence of the 2 cars does not necessarily mean no TMC - it may just be that the signal has not reached the required strength to trigger the icon to change.
Update with my own on going saga with Mio re the C210 and TMC, I have now tried the TMC aerial (Genuine Mio and also a clone) and both work on a C250 pulling in about 6 pages of road reports, The Station it locked on to was Century 106.0.
I tried again with my C210 and it still would not lock onto a station, so after speaking to Mio they think my unit must be faulty and sent UPS to collect my unit and TMC aerial. They collected it on Thursday, and said it would take 1 to 2 weeks. I shall let you know what happens
Joined: Jan 04, 2007 Posts: 2789 Location: Hampshire, UK
Posted: Wed Feb 07, 2007 9:15 am Post subject:
Was the Mio receiver you used the later UK model or the original European model?
These 2 receivers look similar, but only the later UK receiver seems to work.
It's possible that your C250 has a later firmware version, which (like the C710) allows TMC to work.
I've had 17 pages of traffic info on my C210 with the UK receiver, but the other receiver (although genuine Mio) wouldn't lock on to any radio station.
Joined: Jan 04, 2007 Posts: 2789 Location: Hampshire, UK
Posted: Sat Feb 10, 2007 9:18 pm Post subject:
Being a bit of an anorak lately, I've found that often the unit needs the user to change screen before the GPS logo changes to show the two cars when a TMC signal is detected and/or to remove them when a signal is lost.
At home, I get good TMC reception from at least 2 radio stations, but the two cars don't appear unless I go to the menu (or other screen) and back to the map or cockpit screens which display the GPS icon.
Similarly, when I'm in a known TMC blackspot, the two cars don't disappear unless I go to the menu (or other screen) and back to the map or cockpit screens which display the GPS icon.
Am I alone in not seeing the GPS icon to change automatically to reflect the true TMC status
Joined: Nov 06, 2006 Posts: 32 Location: Mostly Hampshire
Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 9:32 am Post subject: Post Subject
GPS_fan wrote:
Being a bit of an anorak lately, I've found that often the unit needs the user to change screen before the GPS logo changes to show the two cars when a TMC signal is detected and/or to remove them when a signal is lost.
At home, I get good TMC reception from at least 2 radio stations, but the two cars don't appear unless I go to the menu (or other screen) and back to the map or cockpit screens which display the GPS icon.
Similarly, when I'm in a known TMC blackspot, the two cars don't disappear unless I go to the menu (or other screen) and back to the map or cockpit screens which display the GPS icon.
Am I alone in not seeing the GPS icon to change automatically to reflect the true TMC status
I expereience exactly the same symptoms as you describe. The two little cars remain until i change menu screens or do not appear for ages even though the mio is anouncing traffic jam ahead; so is deffinatley receiving traffic information. I have taken to ignoring their presence. _________________ Regards,
DPM
-------------------------------
Mio C510E - 1st purchase very impressed.
Now running V3.2
Joined: Apr 15, 2006 Posts: 64 Location: South Midlands
Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 4:44 pm Post subject: Mio & TMC
To add to the fog; can a bright person, from their knowledge or experience of the TMC process, suggest a reason why Mio should have gone to the trouble of providing the ability to voluntarily exclude a station which is actually broadcasting TMC?
Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 7:52 pm Post subject: Re: Mio & TMC
ticklepin wrote:
To add to the fog; can a bright person, from their knowledge or experience of the TMC process, suggest a reason why Mio should have gone to the trouble of providing the ability to voluntarily exclude a station which is actually broadcasting TMC?
It's quite simple (I think). In continental Europe where there are a number of free TMC services it makes sense for people to be able to select preferred providers - local/regional/detailed/less detailed or to turn off irrelevant border transmissions (German TMC isn't necessarily relevant for French users for example). I wonder if users in the UK on the south east coast may need to exclude French information?
Joined: Apr 15, 2006 Posts: 64 Location: South Midlands
Posted: Mon Feb 12, 2007 8:21 pm Post subject:
Um. Thank you Retty, but I’m not entirely convinced.
Might not the device itself choose the source of the TMC depending on the route?
I can’t see that it is a big issue, but the designers obviously thought it could be.
Has anyone had experience of border clashes, or French broadcasts embarrassing Kent/Sussex region TMC?
Joined: Jan 04, 2007 Posts: 2789 Location: Hampshire, UK
Posted: Tue Feb 13, 2007 1:59 pm Post subject:
I think the unit picks up TMC on a signal strength basis, regardless of route. It is possible, therefore, that the border argument is valid.
I live in an area where there are at least 3 local radio stations transmitting a TMC signal which the Mio uses. The unit uses whichever source it detects first and/or the one with the strongest signal at the time - irrespective of the route I take in their vicinity.
I have found, however, that in other areas the unit locks onto frequencies without a station name and you CANNOT exclude these stations on frequency alone - you can only exclude stations by name.
The information received from different stations appears to be the same - so in the UK at least there may be no need to exclude radio stations.
Interestingly, I've found that the Mio TMC lists traffic events which may not be given in radio traffic bulletins - even if the TMC and radio sources are the same. I haven't yet heard anything on the radio that hasn't been listed in the Mio 'Events' screens, so on the face of it TMC would seem to be more informative.
I think the unit picks up TMC on a signal strength basis, regardless of route. It is possible, therefore, that the border argument is valid.
I live in an area where there are at least 3 local radio stations transmitting a TMC signal which the Mio uses. The unit uses whichever source it detects first and/or the one with the strongest signal at the time - irrespective of the route I take in their vicinity.
I have found, however, that in other areas the unit locks onto frequencies without a station name and you CANNOT exclude these stations on frequency alone - you can only exclude stations by name.
The information received from different stations appears to be the same - so in the UK at least there may be no need to exclude radio stations.
Interestingly, I've found that the Mio TMC lists traffic events which may not be given in radio traffic bulletins - even if the TMC and radio sources are the same. I haven't yet heard anything on the radio that hasn't been listed in the Mio 'Events' screens, so on the face of it TMC would seem to be more informative.
Nobody has come even close to explaining the mystery of Mio and UK TMC.
I have however heard many radio announcements that are not replicated in TMC. The journalistic sources are I assume different.
Some units seem to use ITIS and other units seem to use Trafficmaster at least if people are making correct assumptions about the relationship between data stream providers and radio station frequencies.
Yesterday evening I received a jam warning on a small section of A road which has previously, despite jams, never enjoyed a warning (although unfortunately the warning I did receive was out of date!)
Trafficmaster and ITIS use journalistic data in addition to their raw data mining. My C710, since the November and January Miomap 3.2 updates, seems to use ITIS which I think features more or rather more detailed journalistic data than Trafficmaster (I could be wrong and probably am).
I notice however that when I'm able to check the internet shortly after receiving a TMC feed there is an almost 1:1 correspondence between AA Roadwatch information (or whatever it is now called) and the TMC data displayed on the C710.
I'm not convinced that the C710 handles the data very well. The AA website seems to update traffic incidents - including the removal of incidents - more accurately than the C710.
I was, about a month ago, involved in a potential merry go round of a detour: told to use the M3 instead of the M4 to get to the west country only to find that, once I had started to use the M3, the TMC warning vanished and I was then redirected to u turn (at the next junction). The warning then reappeared and I was redirected to do another junction u turn! Load of if you ask me. Still, on the same journey TMC performed incredibly well to avoid what the news later reported as a 2 hour jam on the M4. Pros and cons I guess.
But to be honest we can't even answer basic questions about Mio TMC in the UK - does it use Trafficmaster or ITIS? Do different software versions use different services? Mitac certainly doesn't have a clue! In what must be one of the worst marketing moves they even denied until recently that the C710 could support TMC in the UK! Actually, they occasionally still do deny TMC support in the UK.
The unit is far better than most equivalently priced TomTom units in terms of graphics, visible processing efficiency and value for money. It just seems to be a *bit* rough around the edges in terms of polished functionality and documentation.
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if you ask me. Still, on the same journey TMC performed incredibly well to avoid what the news later reported as a 2 hour jam on the M4. Pros and cons I guess.
