The Mrs bought me a Garmin Nuvi 6 for Xmas! (why? - I know how to get to the places i go to!). So yesterday (to humor her) We tried it out on a run through to Barrow Aldi. First thing I did was download and update the maps - easy!, set it up and off we went. The journey is very straight forward, A5093 - A590 - A595, but three times it attempted to send me down roads that are unsuitable nowadays for motors! one I didn't even know existed! but once I'd passed the road end it re-calculated in milli-seconds and was actually spot-on with accuracy. It didn't seem to matter which setting I had it on (shortest -cheapest or quickest) it still wanted to use the same routes on the way back.
I used to laugh at some of the "pickles" I hear folk have got into using Sat-Navs, - not anymore, it's so easy to do if you don't know the area!
If We had been strangers to the area we would have ended up in the Mire, and in the middle of Morecambe bay on one occasion! how the heck do folk learn to trust them? !!!
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It just requires a bit of discretion. 99% of the time the route wil be acceptable. If a road is unacceptable to you just ignore it and let it recalculate. Not infallible devices but you will soon realise how useful it is especially in a City you don't know.
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Yep! I suppose that is the way to do it! ;-) - Went to Lancaster last week, first time We've been there since we last had a car over ten years ago! - I know Lancaster like the back of my hand, I was brought up there! - not now I don't!! - think that's why she got it me! ;-)
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>> It just requires a bit of discretion. 99% of the time the route wil be
>> acceptable. If a road is unacceptable to you just ignore it and let it recalculate.
>> Not infallible devices but you will soon realise how useful it is especially in a
>> City you don't know.
All of that, yes. And invaluable for the "last mile" when trying to find an address. I have a collection somewhere of town street maps - you used to be able to find local ones easily in newsagents etc., I suspect they are mostly a thing of the past.
The hardest thing for the software developers must be to find the compromise between going the long, safe way round on major roads and sending users up narrow lanes with grass up the middle. "Shortest route" used in a really rural area is very likely to have you going through farmyards as well as old Roman roads over the hills.
I don't find the Garmin too bad - mine is a few years old, but I do update it.
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It's not just the stand-alone sat Navs you have to worry about, or so I thought as I tried to find my way to our hotel in Arras last night. It insisted on sending me up a street with a no entry sign...and I tried several times to try and get to the other end of the road it wanted me to go up before giving up and dumping the car in a car park 100m from the hotel. Only to notice, as we walked back to the car this morning that underneath the red 'no entry' sign it said 'in 80m except busses and bikes' :)
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As you were in Arras you could have had a stab at it...
Yeah, ok, I was just going out anyway !
;-)
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>> As you were in Arras you could have had a stab at it...
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>> Yeah, ok, I was just going out anyway !
>>
>> ;-)
>>
I'm surprised he didn't end up in Italy. Quite a lot of these satnavs don't appear to know their Arras from their Elba.......
(I'm here all week......)
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>> Quite a lot of these satnavs don't appear to know their Arras from their Elba.......
I trust it was clear that I was referencing a rather more Danish connection... ;-)
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You remind me Humph. Back in 2010 I went over on my then BMW RT (Uber Tourer) with Garmin made BMW badged standard sat nav. It broke just as I was leaving Calais. Arras is easy to find - that evening was spent swotting my onward route (to the Somme) and writing a route on paper to put on the tank-bag. Two issues. The pesky French had changed all their road numbers and it was hideously busy with a fully laden bike on cobbles...Got out using Frances excellent "Toutes Directions" and "Autres Direction" signs. Good planning skills required. Got out in one piece with no drama - Sat Nav replaced by BMW with no question...but depend on them at your peril
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>>...but depend on them at your peril
>>
The excellent "Toutes Directions" and "Autres Direction" signs aren't so excellent when you come up against ones like this:
tinyurl.com/toutesautres
I've seen similar a few times, though the above picture is not one of those I experienced.....
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joys of unneeded chrissie pressies! - CGNorwich
