www.bbc.co.uk/archive/sat-nav-cd-top-gear/zkj3hbk
Remember my first experience of Sat Nav was fitting a VDO system in someones SAAB around 2001, My first was Tom Tom software running on a HP IPAQ with a separate GPS bluetooth mouse. Around 2003.
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I had VDO in the Landcruiser I had in the UK around 2001/2. I don't remember much about the SatNav other than the fact that it was b****** expensive. Couple of grand, maybe?
It got replaced by a TomTom a couple of years later which was vastly superior. Though I remember there was something that I thought was important that the TomTom didn't do which the VDO did. No clue what it was though.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Tue 13 Apr 21 at 14:49
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>> I had VDO in the Landcruiser I had in the UK around 2001/2. I don't
>> remember much about the SatNav other than the fact that it was b****** expensive. Couple
>> of grand, maybe?
Seem to recall it cost £1500 quid, (that was a wholesale price) and I charged 150 quid to fit
>> It got replaced by a TomTom a couple of years later which was vastly superior.
>> Though I remember there was something that I thought was important that the TomTom didn't
>> do which the VDO did. No clue what it was though.
The VDO had a speedo feed, and made it much more accurate. Which was a bit of a pain to tap int he SAAB. GPS in 2001 still had US enforced "jitter" to mar its accuracy.
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 13 Apr 21 at 18:02
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Following on from that, this'll suck up your day....
www.bbc.co.uk/archive/motorcars/zhfq47h
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My first satnav was a smart built-in job in a 1998 Lexus GS. My father in law got into the car for the first time, saw this thing out of a Bond film and said "I simply don't believe it". Then he kept pointing at the huge moving map and saying "look, look it knows where we are".
When the nice lady told us to turn left I thought his head was going to explode.
Bless him, miss him a lot.
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I had Traffimaster on one of my cars, probably around 2000 on a Vectra. It didn’t have a map display and was fed by beacons. I can’t remember how it alerted the driver. It might have been just a warning light or brief message. It was very basic but at least you were one of a few users so the rat runs weren’t jammed up in minutes as happens now satnav is so widespread and sends everyone down the same alternative route.
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Had that in my Xantia, I think it was Traffic Master Oracle. No facility for navigation just warnings of congestion and estimates of delay. A bit here from the Honest John site covers its demise.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/askhj/answer/41507/why-is-the-trafficmaster-system-being-retired-
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Thanks for that Bromp. I am surprised it lasted as long as 2012 but at a final 1600 users I guess it was effectively gone rather earlier.
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>> Thanks for that Bromp. I am surprised it lasted as long as 2012 but at
>> a final 1600 users I guess it was effectively gone rather earlier.
I think I stopped renewing it around 2007 as, the Xantia having been retired form regular long distance use, it didn't add anything. I got a letter or email to tell me it was shutting down but it wasn't of any rlevance by then.
Last edited by: Bromptonaut on Tue 13 Apr 21 at 17:07
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I was involved with Trafficmaster in the late development, pre-marketing stage. We all had systems fitted into our vehicles FOC with no subscription so that we could understand and user test the system. At that stage there was no screen, just a button discretely placed and an aerial up the inside of the windscreen on the left. Instructions were given by pushing the button a number of times. The system consisted of various modules that incorporated GPS, mobile phone and memory. The heart of the system was a real time digital map at the base constantly being updated on traffic conditions. This used those little loudspeaker type things that you see on poles, bridges and gantries to monitor traffic volume and speed. A push on the button called the control centre, you told them where you wanted to go and then a route was downloaded to the car that was then guided by spoken instructions.
It was an amazing tool at the time, and very useful so much so that we lent the car to Aussie relatives when they were visiting and they covered around 5k miles using it. All worked well except when they wanted to visit another relative, a serving army officer based at a camp in Nottinghamshire. They got within a mile or two of it when the instructions ceased, apparently the camp was blacked out, as it were, on the system.
The big push was to get it fitted as standard on volume cars. Peugeot and one or two others did in fact do that but of course it was overwhelmed by standalone systems. Fascinating to see how the technology evolved so rapidly.
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I had SmartNav installed in it's early days, ISTR it as about £500 plus a tenner or so a month subscription. I also had to pay quite a bit (£100 or so) to have it moved to another car.
As per above - call the nice ladies who would send tghe route to your device for spoken-only directions. They'd also (apparently) tell you where you were if you were lost, and could arrange for flowers to be sent.
Then I got one of the first model TomToms when they came out, again I think about £500.
Waze now, even over and above factory fit satnavs.
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I’ve never used Waze. Why that rather than google maps please ?
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>> I’ve never used Waze. Why that rather than google maps please ?
Local information is much more accurate and timely because it easily allows user input of hazards, police stops, speed cameras etc.
Against is that it is awful on battery life.
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>> Against is that it is awful on battery life.
I guess it's because of trailing wires but why run your phone on battery in the car? For me I don't think I've ever run a phone for a single second on battery in any car.
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I don't carry a phone charger in my pocket so if I am not in my car, or I am on my bike, or I am on my scooter, or I am walking etc etc
And in any case, sucking power out and high power charging it at the same time is a negative and obviously considerably harder use of your battery than simply using Google Maps would be.
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>>
>> >> Against is that it is awful on battery life.
>>
>> I guess it's because of trailing wires but why run your phone on battery in
>> the car? For me I don't think I've ever run a phone for a single
>> second on battery in any car.
i use google maps for walking round towns. Wouldn't use waze for that, Google maps is much more versatile for route planning than Waze, which frankly is a bit childlike in features. look and feel.
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I had Traffic Master on a family Vectra - must have been 1997. I'd forgotten all about it until it was mentioned now - not particularly useful. My first sat-nav was a 2005 TomTom - it was pretty good - still works (well it did the last time I checked it around 3 years ago) - bought a TT Rider for the bike, which is now obsolete and was replaced by a heavily discounted TT unit direct from TT - which is quite trick. The Volvo (of course) has a built in unit, which is crap compared to the units in my last BMW 3 Series. The Volvo has Apple Play, so this is the go-to navigation device these days. My Guzzi has a bluetooth link to my helmet and phone and this actually provides simple turn by turn navigation that repeats from the phone to the MFD and can provide spoken instructions to my helmet which has built speakers. I rarely use it as i generally still plan my bike routes beforehand, I can also use my phone on a dedicated X "RAM" handle bar mount which isn't my favourite way to ride for lots of theft/damage reasons.
Last edited by: R.P. on Tue 13 Apr 21 at 17:48
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I can remember Rover/MGR fitting them to their cars in the early 2000s (?) I had a ZT with it fitted, I think there was some monthly fee for it. Pretty good technology for it's day from what I understood about it.
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I had to go to the UK when one of my daughters was very young and so I bought an Omega Estate in a hurry. Turned out to be a great car, as it happens, and was still in use within the family some years later.
Anyway, it had Trafficmaster about which I knew nothing, in a little square button on the dash. It was brilliant and I used it a lot in the beginning. It was for traffic I really valued it. Though if I recall you could scroll through a menu to get traffic warnings for roads you weren't on.
Cumbersome but excellent in its day.
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I used to sit in traffic jams :>(
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I had a Peugeot 406 Executive company car in 1998. I chose it vs the A4 / 3 Series that everyone else had because its equipment level was astonishing (heated elecric memory leather seats etc) and there were absolutely no options - even metallic was standard.
What I didn't know is the sat nav was a "delete option" and the leasing company had deleted it! I tried to kick up a fuss but no-one in management gave a toss about the plebs cars.
I did have one that I took over from someone else that had a 2 line text display of navigation instructions but I've lost track of when that was. Might have been an earlier 406.
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Wed 14 Apr 21 at 10:47
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I had a 406 V6 which did have the sat nav. I didn't use it much since it only had western maps but it was ok when I was in the UK. Crappy graphics and so slow to update around roundabouts. But better than nothing.
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I had a 1997 R reg Vauxhall Omega Elite and that had a Philips VDO Dayton unit in the boot with a CD-ROM and a small 3" black and white screen in the dash. I believe it also had seperate rotary-push controls dedicated mounted on the centre console. It was very good for the time, it had voice guidance, POIs, navigation symbols (turn arrows, roundabouts etc...), as today, what was missing was colour, speed limits maps, junction layout and live traffic (TMC was an option) or. I remember if it was even in a multistory carpark or garage it used to take 10 minutes to know where it was again which is daft - why didn't it just remember where it was last time the ignition was on.
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I had an 97 or 98 Omega 3.0 MV6, which was like the Elite but a bit more sporty looking, in a subtle way (Irmscher wheels, a little spoiler on the boot lid and some other bits. Went well enough but was a bit of a guzzler, especially when I had the caravan on the back. But that's what company fuel cards are made for :-)
Last edited by: smokie on Thu 15 Apr 21 at 15:23
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I still have a TomTom Go thingy. Bought it in early 2005 and I think it was about £500 or so. European mapping. Looks like a little cathode ray tv.
It was still in occasional use in my wife's Qashqai until a month or so ago. Her new car has its own built in system, as does my car. Son uses his phone as a nav in his car.
I had updated the TomTom a couple of times with new maps but not for a few years now. Anyway, it has been a handy enough thing. At one time I used to have to fly to various European destinations fairly often and use hire cars, the TomTom was useful for that too. Want to think it saw or more likely at least knew about some speed cameras. Beeped at you anyway when it did.
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The TomTom was my best friend when I'd rent a car from the airport abroad.
Before the satnav when you were trying to find one of a thousand similarly-named hotels (that never look like the one in the brochure) in one of a thousand similarly-named streets in one of a thousand similarly-named resorts. Stressful x 1000. All you want is a cold San Miguel and maybe even a dip before the sun goes down.
But you can't.
Cos you're lost.
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Early Sat Nav - No FM2R
