One of my part-time jobs is as caretaker of the house next door which is run as a holiday let. Unless the guests' satnavs can see the bit of the A1 that was moved closer to Catterick Garrison (Catterick Camp, for the oldies), junction 52 and the new road, the A6055, they are doomed to a frustrating and late arrival at their holiday destination as their sanavs tell them they are driving over fields in pursuit of A1 junctions that no longer exist.
As I'm usually there to meet & greet, I have to spend a wasteful few minutes listening to how the guests managed to get here against all the odds, which villages they visited ,who they got directions from, how many times they had to turn round and how things were easier with a good old-fashioned map. This despite the guest making the booking getting phone advice beforehand to use e.g. Google maps to plan their journey.
Out of interest, I would like to know from you, if you have a car with built-in satnav, if your device will show you the A6055 and junction 52. If it does, I'd like to know make, model and year of first registration or year when the satnav was last updated.
By way of thanks, responders' names will go into a draw for a slap-up, no-expense-spared virtual pint at my local.
If you can find it. ;-]
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As someone who rents country cottages, I'd like to say a picture paints a thousand words! A picture of google maps with a pin showing the location is far more use than paragraphs of confusing (to non locals) directions.
Phew now I've got that off my chest ;-), I'll pop out to the car and see if it can see it on the sat nav, when the aussies have finished their innings.
Last edited by: sooty123 on Sun 6 Sep 20 at 15:47
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>> As someone who rents country cottages, I'd like to say a picture paints a thousand
>> words! A picture of google maps with a pin showing the location is far more
>> use than paragraphs of confusing (to non locals) directions.
Ditto and indeed, I echo that 100%. I then google earth a drive to and by. Never fails and really eases the arrival stress
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I've also done a Google maps drive by to ensure I've located a place. Even if it's down a blind road on Lewis it's worth a check.
In OP's situation I'd suggest a bit in the brochure and a boldened paragraph in the confirmation email stating explicitly that the A1 was realigned n years ago and that older maps and some Satnav systems may be misleading. Append the Google map.
Repeat a week before the booking starts.
A lot of people won't be listening to what they're told on the phone; who needs directions when they've got Satnav..........
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Had a quick look, no it's not on there. The car is 63 plate, but the sat nav says it's the 12/13 years old software version.
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Thanks Sooty; first one with car info. You are the only candidate for the draw so far.
People; I know what the problem is and how to solve it. Vehicle details are for my personal interest only.
Yes, route details are published with the house description. Yes the lead booker gets a call to say don't use built-in satnav and encouragement to ring me if they're lost. Yes, the lead booker gets asked to spread the word. Yes, I have a pre-prepared text and WhatsApp with map pic to explain the problem and solution.
Then one guest texted 10 days after he left to say his wife's cousin's friend's uncle's new Toyota Prius would have navigated correctly. Hence the interest.
Last edited by: hawkeye on Sun 6 Sep 20 at 16:51
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> Yes, route details are published with the house description.
Does that include a picture of a map?
Yes, I have a pre-prepared
>> text and WhatsApp with map pic to explain the problem and solution.
Do they get it before they set off?
>>
Then one guest texted 10 days after he left to say his wife's cousin's friend's
>> uncle's new Toyota Prius would have navigated correctly. Hence the interest.
I would think any built or updated after about 2018 would have it on, I think the A1 upgrade in that area was done around 2017?
Last edited by: sooty123 on Sun 6 Sep 20 at 17:00
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>> > Yes, route details are published with the house description.
>>
>> Does that include a picture of a map?
No, that's under the impenetrable control of the agents
>>
>>
>> Yes, I have a pre-prepared
>> >> text and WhatsApp with map pic to explain the problem and solution.
>>
>> Do they get it before they set off?
>> >>
Definitely.
>>
>> Then one guest texted 10 days after he left to say his wife's cousin's
>> friend's
>> >> uncle's new Toyota Prius would have navigated correctly. Hence the interest.
>>
>> I would think any built or updated after about 2018 would have it on, I
>> think the A1 upgrade in that area was done around 2017?
Signed off in 2018. Word of the 2020 Prius is the first I know of. If the guest seems potentially co-operative, I ask that they use Google maps alongside the built-in gubbins.
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> >>
>>
>> Definitely.
Very good.
>>
>> >>
>> >> Then one guest texted 10 days after he left to say his wife's cousin's
>> >> friend's
>> >> >> uncle's new Toyota Prius would have navigated correctly. Hence the interest.
>> >>
>> >> I would think any built or updated after about 2018 would have it on,
>> I
>> >> think the A1 upgrade in that area was done around 2017?
>>
>> Signed off in 2018. Word of the 2020 Prius is the first I know of.
>> If the guest seems potentially co-operative, I ask that they use Google maps alongside the
>> built-in gubbins.
>>
I didn't think it was that late, mind you it was a big project it did cover a large part of the A1 in N Yorkshire, how long was the whole thing 6/7 years?
>>
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>>
>> I didn't think it was that late, mind you it was a big project it
>> did cover a large part of the A1 in N Yorkshire, how long was the
>> whole thing 6/7 years?
>>
Full timeline is in here:
assets.highwaysengland.co.uk/roads/road-projects/a1-leeming-to-barton/A1+Leeming+to+Barton+scheme+completion+brochure.pdf
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>> I didn't think it was that late, mind you it was a big project it did cover a large part of the A1 in N Yorkshire, how long was the whole thing 6/7 years?
If felt longer. First public meeting I attended was about 1992 at the Scotch Corner Hotel as it was then. One of the reasons for doing the work was to stop the A1 flooding; in 2012 floodwater closed both carriageways for a couple of days. £400M later and they still haven't nailed it.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-51597105
Para 4 first page.
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>> Thanks Sooty; first one with car info. You are the only candidate for the draw
>> so far.
Forget it, with his ancient old map he wont find the Oak tree for his pint.
Yes its there BMW G31 Map version 02/2020
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Not there on a Skoda Octavia 2019 plate running VW maps dated July 2019 (maps were pulled from the VW website).
The annual VW maps are always released a bit sooner than the Skoda ones, which is why I got it from there, but ultimately it's the same map. So I guess any Skoda/VW of that date or earlier will be the same.
There is a new 2020 map available, not installed it though so can't check. I expect someone else here can though.
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Sorry slight thread drift but can I ask Crankcase about updating the VW built-in satnav...
I've been playing with my 2019 Golf and read that the latest maps can be downloaded from the VW site onto a SD card and then transferred to the infotainment system..
Thing is in the manual it states that this process can take four hours and for this you have to the have the ignition on but not be moving, is this really true? can the battery take being on for four hours?
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Sounds like yours is the alternate system to mine, Rudedog. On the Skoda there are two satnav systems, one where the maps are just on the sd card (called Amundsen) and a more expensive one where they are copied onto an internal drive (called Columbus). I think Columbus also offers over the air updates though, if you connect yourself up and prefer that.
My Amundsen just has the maps on the card so no waiting was needed.
I have read of others doing what you need to with Columbus and asking the same question about the time, but then saying the reality was they drove to the shops for twenty minutes and it was done.
I can see on the VW site the maps are offered for different types of satnav in the same model of car, so perhaps under different names it's the same concept there.
But I have no personal experience of it, sorry.
Last edited by: Crankcase on Mon 7 Sep 20 at 07:34
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Yes mine says that the nav runs from the data installed on system and not the card… last night I actually downloaded the latest map version for my nav-type and that seems to be dated 07/19 and is just over 14GB in size (took about 10-15 minutes over a fast connection), I guess if the SD card that came with my system isn’t needed to run it then I could reuse that one and save the new maps onto it and then perform the upload.
I like the idea from the VW site that there are quite a few map ‘packs’ to choose from depending on which countries I’d like to go to… some seem quite specific especially the European ones.
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Now turns out I can't unzip the map file from VW as it's a .7p and I have a household of Mac's, I did actually manage to open it on my Android phone but then couldn't find a way of transferring the 14GB file over to my laptop (there is a £3 app recommended called Keka but that requires OS10.9 or above and I'm stuck on 10.7).
I just to access to a non-Apple laptop to unzip the file and then drop the folders onto a SD card.
I would have tried my work PC but all of the USB ports are locked down.
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From you phone to Dropbox, or other similar cloud service, and from there to your laptop?
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>> Now turns out I can't unzip the map file from VW as it's a .7p
>>
...not come across that, and Google is not being my friend.
Do you mean the rather more common .7z ?
If so, though Winzip is chargeable, it does have a free trial period after download/install (and it appears there is a Mac version).
I've also hit a few (free) Mac programs that purport to handle this format "The Unarchiver" being one (it is on the Mac App store)
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theunarchiver.com says it works on 10.7 onwards. Can't vouch for it as haven't used it myself.
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Sorry yes the file is .7z
You guys could have come up trumps.... I've just downloaded 'theunarchver' and am in the process of unzipping the 14GB file.
Fingers crossed.
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>> Fingers crossed.
Did it work?
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Err yes and no...
I unzipped the file and copied it over to a formatted 32GB SD card (info says it has to be FAT32), opened both the new card and the current card and visually the files/folders looked the same..
This morning I went out and put the new update in the SD slot and pressed the Nav but unfortunately the unit doesn't recognise the data on the new card so won't even start up.
As soon as I put the old card back in it starts up straight away..
I'm now stumped and a bit peeved.. I've read from the install VW PDF that when using an Apple to make the card that there can be 'hidden' files added to the card which I'm assuming might affect it and they say to use something called 'Cleanmydrive' first?
Again looks like I need to find the old version that is 10.7 compatible and try that..
If that doesn't work then I don't know what to do, would the dealer help install a 'free' download?
I've got some brand new 16GB SD cards which I could try (file is 15GB).
Am I missing something obvious?
I gave the card a name, where as the original card came up with 'no name', maybe I should delete the name?
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If you care to send me the file, or point me at it, and your address I can have my sister stick it on an SD card for you and mail it to you.
That's about the only idea I've got.
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Although if an old version of cleanmydrive will help...
This is 2.1 from 2016
cleanmydrive.soft32.com/old-version/?rel=breadcrumb
Last edited by: No FM2R on Sun 13 Sep 20 at 23:37
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>> Am I missing something obvious?
Is your system a Discover or a Discover Pro?
Last edited by: Crankcase on Mon 14 Sep 20 at 09:42
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It's the Discover Media version.
Once I'm back at home I'll give the clean-up program a go only because I need to try and crack this problem for each future update.
I'm going to also use a fresh card because when I tried to verify the card last night it came up with an error (I had reformatted it before I copied over the unzipped map folder so seemed ok).
Reading around the 'hidden files' thing they seem to be a common problem with cards used in cars for maps/songs made on a Mac, the Mac is indexing (?Spotlight) the files which the unit reading the card doesn't like.
Although I've made a large music SD card on the same laptop which works no problem..
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I think know what the problem is then.
Discover Media is the same system as mine. It needs the ORIGINAL SD card to work. That card has some hidden stuff on a non-accessible partition, put there by VW.
If you use your own card, it won't work for maps. A new card WILL work for music.
If the maps won't fit on the SD card you have from VW, then your only recourse is to either use the smaller map packs, picking only relevant ones so it's all small enough to fit, or buy another bigger capacity VW SD card. And then hope your specific model/year/build of car can actually handle a bigger capacity card.
A new SD card is a million pounds from a dealer, or thirty quid from eBay, where you takes your chances as to whether it will work.
In my case, I bit the bullet and copied the new maps onto my original provided SD card, and it all fitted/worked.
TLDR: a newly formatted new ordinary SD card won't work in your system, whatever you try.
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Thanks for that Crankcase you've saved me a lot of potential heartache and time...
I got as far as taking a backup copy of the current maps folder from the VW card and putting that on my desktop, I wanted to avoid touching the original card for as long as I could in case it went TU and I lost everything..
The VW card is 16GB and the current maps are 14.7GB, the new updates (European Pack 1 which includes all of mainland Europe + UK) is 15.02 GB so I guess that should fit.
My plan then is to remove the current maps folder from the VW card then just copy over the update without doing anything to the card which hopefully will preserve the VW partition.
Does that sound ok?
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Nothing you can do other than a sledgehammer will touch the VW hidden bits, as I understand it so you should be ok. Actually, its not a partition, it's the CID of the card, I believe. Which cant generally be touched or overwritten.
On mine, I copied the contents off, deleted what was there (not formatted), then just copied the new stuff on matching the folder structure of the old.
I did use a PC though, so hope the Mac doesnt offer a further complexity. So no promises.
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Long story short…
I bit the bullet on Monday and decided to use the original VW SD card and remove the V9 map and replace it with the unzipped V12 folder.
All went well until I ‘deleted’ the V9 folder from the card, I forgot on Macs to ‘delete’ you have to drag the file to the trash and then empty the trash to complete the action, I stupidly just deleted the file which effectively left the card registering as ‘full’ even though the image had gone…. I now had a card with no maps on but unable to transfer any folders onto it as it was at capacity.
I left it overnight to think about it as each ‘copy’ or ‘delete’ action took about 45 minutes to perform on the 14+ GB files so I had to be sure of what I needed to do.
Anyhow, I plugged the SD back in the laptop and luckily the ‘deleted’ file was sitting in my trash which I then removed completely freeing up the cards capacity.
I then copied over the V12 folder which I then tried this morning and it seems to work!!
Last edited by: Rudedog on Wed 16 Sep 20 at 08:57
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And the moral of this story about the inadequacies of VWs sat nav system? Sell the Mac.
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>> Long story short…
>>
>> I bit the bullet on Monday and decided to use the original VW SD card
>> and remove the V9 map and replace it with the unzipped V12 folder.
>>
>> All went well ....
Do forgive me if this has already been said, but
Why bother? Apple/Siri, Waze and Google Maps all do excellent satnav programs. With Siri I can talk to it and it will direct me.
Waze is good, but has too much to say.
Yes. I am sure this has been said. O.K. but why bother with a dedicated sat nav when it's all on your phone?
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Phew. What a palaver. Glad it's sorted.
I'm due to do mine again, but not bothered yet as I use Waze via Android Auto on the car's satnav screen.
It has to be said the inbuilt one has prettier maps, but even with the updates is, as pointed out by others, always out of date compared to the phone apps.
Further, I'd have to pay Skoda £50 a year to get "live" traffic. You just get the usual RDS traffic if you don't pay, which is great for motorways but not much good for Acacia Avenue, Upton Dupton.
I still prefer TomTom (on the phone) to any others, but it doesn't work with Android Auto yet. So I'm not using that.
They say it will work with Android Auto, in a beta version, by Christmas, released to some early testers. I means it's not as if they haven't had about a decade so far to get it sorted. It'll be another decade/never then.
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>> Yes its there BMW G31 Map version 02/2020
Thank you Mr Z. Cutting it fine with your suggestion of the Oak Tree (the Twig!). It only reopened last Thursday under a new manager.
Last edited by: VxFan on Sun 13 Sep 20 at 20:50
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Forget it, with his ancient old map he wont find the Oak tree for his
>> pint.
>>
Very much so, but it's the first car I've had with built in sat nav, so I still find it quite useful.
Yes its there BMW G31 Map version 02/2020
Updates at the dealer or some mechanism online?
I did look at getting an update for mine, but I think it was something like 300 quid or so the owners forum reckoned.
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>> Updates at the dealer or some mechanism online?
>>
>> I did look at getting an update for mine, but I think it was something
>> like 300 quid or so the owners forum reckoned.
Annual subscription - 90 quid seems to ring a bell, 4 updates a year downloadable over the net.
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My Tom Tom 400 (Rider) is out of date and struggled a bit yesterday on the way home from Oxford with road changes. I swapped it for Google Maps on my phone in the end, far better. I'll check the Volvo and the Beemer shortly.
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In my last car I balked at the extra charge for the version with built in sat nav. Instead I connected my iPhone to the car using carplay, gave me either map system from the phone directly integrated with the touch screen and sound systemh, ideal in so many ways, always up to date, choose your mapping app.
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>> I swapped it for Google Maps on
>> my phone in the end, far better.
>>
The Comand built in satnav on the MB is fine, has traffic, but the maps need updating regularly at silly MB prices.
I tend to use Google maps, occasionally the Siri thing, sometimes Waze. Waze is alright, just so many messages.
Siri is probably easiest, I can just talk to it.
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2020 V60 - found the location - Couldn't find it on the G31 (May 2019)
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Like many here, I spent a lot of years navigating to places without a sat nav. Memorising or remembering routes and occasionally re-consulting maps and A-Zs.
Sat navs are a great invention, and of course I use mine a lot, but I still quite enjoy trying to manage without it, if I think I can. Using good old fashioned road signs, the position of the sun versus the time of day to get a bearing etc. Not sure why it pleases me, or why I bother, but it does, and I do.
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Sorry for delay Ive been on Skye for the week.
Garmin Navigator 6 (Motorcycle portable sat nav) has City Navigator Europe 2020 installed.
It shows the A1(M) junction 52, just to the SW of Catterick Race Course and the A6055 joining the A6136 to the NW of the junction.
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When in Spanish rental cars I always prefer to use Google maps on my old iPhone..especially if the car has Apple Car Play as a previous Fiesta ST did.
I think of the dozen or so rental cars I’ve had that Fiesta 140 bhp was by far the best, closely followed by the 1.0 3cyl Focus estate with 125. Worst was a Fiat Tipo. ( thread drift)
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Every hire car I’ve had in recent times has had apple CarPlay, and it’s great for those situations because hire cars seldom have sat nav. Though I haven’t actually hired a car since New Year. And that was a Toyota. Or maybe a Honda...can’t remember... But while the Merc and the MINI have CarPlay, as did the BMW, SEAT and Audi before, i never use it in my own car. The inbuilt systems work fine in my experience; the maps are updated over the air often enough and they have live traffic info and dynamic re-routing options. I also find them easier to control within the cars native OS, using voice/steering wheel/I-drive controls, and the maps look prettier as well ;)
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Thanks for your responses everyone.
It's this complete unfamiliarity with modern cars that prompted the original question. Neither Mrs H or I are ready to change our cars (mine aged 16 and hers aged 10) so anything with a touchscreen or Apple ploy just isn't on my radar here in Luddite Corner.
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Satnav help requested - sooty123
