No sarkie comments please, but

[spardo]

…I have bought a satnav.

Before all you devotees pause up your blind alleys to gloat and intone ‘I told you so’ I should explain.

Many years ago, in the 80s, I bought Autoroute, a route finding piece of software for use at work in my capacity as Transport Manager of a fleet of lorries. Even then I didn’t trust it to find the best route and I was right, I changed the route it gave me to the best one and then used it to do the donkey work of calculating time and distance. However, it was so useful that I bought one for myself.

Then MS bought the company. Nevertheless I persevered and in 2010 I bought an ‘improved’ version. Improved because it came with a GPS locator so that, lost in a big city with no sun or satellite dishes to tell me which way was ‘up’, or in the middle of a country crossroads with no signposts, I could pinpoint my position and get out of gaol free. Well, almost free, I would have to stop and fire up the laptop and then Autoroute when it would tell me where I was. All time consuming. The inverted commas around the word ‘improved’ relate to a thread I started elsewhere about the misuse of this word by bored programmers. The ‘improved’ version would no longer save my preferences, no peages, speeds, etc., but had to be inputted every time I used it.

So, there doesn’t seem to be a later version and my old one on the XP laptop won’t work on Windows 8 (of course) so I have used the money, just about the same at £90 including postage, to buy the cheapest Garmin listed on Amazon UK.

Tried it the other day from here to Tours via a village north of Confolens. It was surprisingly in agreement with my own route and, when I ‘deviated’ it re-calculated the route from the new location. Fine, although when it didn’t agree with my route out of Confolens it still tried to persuade me to do a U-turn even after I was out of the town and well on my way.

A further problem occurred with the ‘voice’. I tried very hard to ignore the English pronunciation of French place names (Limmojez (Limoges), vile for ville etc.) which were sometimes so bad that I couldn’t ‘translate’ them. However, when I was 2 turnings away from my final left turn and she told me to turn left (2 turnings too soon) and then fair enough told me to correct by going left and left again before then telling me to turn left erroneously yet again, I gave up on the voice and followed the little car which clearly showed where the turning really was.

In the spirit of a full trial though I kept ‘her’ on board for the return route just to see how ‘she’ continued to perform. Sadly, even worse.

Now, I know from trial and error over many years that the best way home for me from Tours is via Poitiers, not Limoges. All was well while we agreed as far as Chatellerault when I was directed to turn towards the latter. I ignored it and was subjected to exhortations to bear right and turn left, or turn left, or U-turn all the way to Mansle where I turn off on the D40 to La Rochefoucauld, when at last ‘she’ agreed.

So. I am very pleased with what I have bought. That is, an excellent and always available locator with a constant map in view. A great time saving boon. But I am also pleased at being completely vindicated for all the years that I have rubbished satnavs for use in place of proper pre-planning using, dare I say it? Maps. )

Oh, and the lady in the box is silent, redundant, dumped.

[mike-c]

Pensioners and technology !!

[tachograph]

The thing about sat-navs is that if you have the sound on you need to listen and still watch the screen, the voice will often tell you to turn whatever way in say 200 ysrds, but if there are other turnings before that one it’s easy to take the wrong turning if you don’t also look at the screen.

I’ve only ever used a Tomtom but generally there are loads of voices available for sat-navs so you may find one more to your liking.

Welcome to the 21st century

[bazstan009]

Perhaps buying the cheapest was not the best plan.

[spardo]

I’ll try the other voices, there are 2, one a male, but, to be honest I don’t want anyone telling me to go where I don’t want to go. I think my experience with this trip, on the return anyway, has born out my previous opinion.

I am happy to acknowledge that it will be a useful tool, but will not be ruled by it.

I could have done with it in the centre of Irun last week. I had prevued my route on the visor as usual but missed a turn and had to ask a couple of lady street sweepers. They put me right straight away but the Garmin would have saved me getting out in the rain. On the other hand would have missed a lovely conversation in Frenish .

To Bazstan. Buying the cheapest certainly was the best plan. It does exactly what I wanted it for, that is, showing me where I am if needed and directing me to a city centre address. Only what I have been doing for 50 years, that is, reading a map and asking if necessary, only with this it is a little less time consuming.

[zetorpilot]

Autoroute is still available, I use the 2013 version for my navigation. Laptop with GPS dongle open next to me. It’s much more satisfactory than a regular GPS when faced with a stau or bouchon!

[spardo]

Zetorpilot:
Autoroute is still available, I use the 2013 version for my navigation. Laptop with GPS dongle open next to me. It’s much more satisfactory than a regular GPS when faced with a stau or bouchon!

I did see that but it wasn’t clear where to buy it with confidence and, in my comparatively small ‘cab’ space the laptop is very ■■■■■■■■■■■
It became clear to me that, for much the same money, a small, fixed screen would be more suitable.
By the way, what is a ‘stau’? Is that Finnish for bouchon.

[nick2008]

I use mine purely for the live traffic, after all its not like I don’t know my way up and down from Plymouth

[robbiminator]

My sat nav is on silent and I generally know how to get to the suburb I’m delivering to. I always look up the street in the atlas, too. That way I won’t end up in a tiny cul-de-sac r under a low bridge. Once in the area it’s far safer to follow the sat nav than to continuously refer to the street atlas.

[tango_boy]

Mike-C:
Pensioners and technology !!

like it lol

[sonflowerinwales]

Stau is German for Queue, or in most cases, stop!
Paul

[fatboy_slimslow]

Spardo:

Zetorpilot:
Autoroute is still available, I use the 2013 version for my navigation. Laptop with GPS dongle open next to me. It’s much more satisfactory than a regular GPS when faced with a stau or bouchon!

I did see that but it wasn’t clear where to buy it with confidence and, in my comparatively small ‘cab’ space the laptop is very ■■■■■■■■■■■
It became clear to me that, for much the same money, a small, fixed screen would be more suitable.
By the way, what is a ‘stau’? Is that Finnish for bouchon.

stau it’s Deutsch for tailback

[spardo]

sonflowerinwales:
Stau is German for Queue, or in most cases, stop!
Paul

Ah, it is bouchon then

I love the pensioner scoffers, don’t forget it was pensioners that invented all the technology you use - usually before they were pensioners though.

I wasn’t a pensioner when I did the ‘knowledge’ in Sydney. Had no choice then, no satnav, but it would have been handy. Suburbs, and city centres, are where it comes into its own. Perth is the only mainland capital I haven’t been to in Oz. They tell me its nice there, low bridges and all.

[santa]

I love the pensioner scoffers, don’t forget it was pensioners that invented all the technology you use - usually before they were pensioners though.

Invented by pensioners and manufactured by poor peons living in mud huts.

[goldilox]

Mine takes an eternity to get sattelite (sp) reception

NB Must learn how to spell that word

[daf95xf]

Spardo:
By the way, what is a ‘stau’? Is that Finnish for bouchon.

No, it’s not a Finnish word

[roymondo]

Ah, you bought a Garmin, didn’t you? In another place, where such things are discussed in great detail (often by people who actually understand the stuff they are talking about…), the routing offered by a typical Garmin satnav when you just tell it to “Get me from where I am to where I want to be” can be somewhat ‘unexpected’ (to put it kindly). That’s not to say it won’t get you there, just that there may be other, rather obviously ‘better’ routes. One thing that Garmin are good at is in allowing you to easily pre-plan a quite detailed route using an electronic map in the form of their Basecamp software - a satnav for people who would rather use maps to plan their journey, if you will.

[spardo]

I suspect you are talking about a rather more expensive version than I bought, or wanted. I never wanted something that was good at routing me from A to B, far from it, I just want some sort of reference as to where I actually am from time to time, and how to get from this street to that one close by in a city centre situation.

One big advantage of this which I hadn’t considered but with which I am delighted, is the fact that it tells me what street I am on, and what the next one is, instead of having to search fruitlessly for signs which are too high, obscured, or simply don’t exist.

Truth be told I do enjoy the planning of a journey, and believe that no machine can do it better. Quicker, yes, no doubt about that, but given my knowledge and practice, no more accurate.

[truckyboy]

I cannot comment as i`m laughing too much enough…sorry Spardo i dont think sat navs are so bad, i use one to go shopping…only kidding…i invested in one when i was working for a guy running to spain, i was so impressed with the one he loaned me, i bought one of the same myself. I cannot fault it, its easy to upgrade and readily available, was the most direct sat nav ever, even better than a map seriously, it cost £350 at the time + postage, and was from Belgium and a fantastic piece of kit, never let me down even collecting tiles from the Valencia area, about 12 pick ups. so good luck to you, what i will say is this: You only get what you pay for.

[spardo]

truckyboy:
I cannot comment as i`m laughing too much enough…sorry Spardo i dont think sat navs are so bad, i use one to go shopping…only kidding…i invested in one when i was working for a guy running to spain, i was so impressed with the one he loaned me, i bought one of the same myself. I cannot fault it, its easy to upgrade and readily available, was the most direct sat nav ever, even better than a map seriously, it cost £350 at the time + postage, and was from Belgium and a fantastic piece of kit, never let me down even collecting tiles from the Valencia area, about 12 pick ups. so good luck to you, what i will say is this: You only get what you pay for.

And I will say this, I only pay for what I need.

I remember you running down to Spain, if you remember I made you an offer you could refuse.

Got a nice little job sorted for tomorrow, one collection one delivery. Then another collection and another delivery came up, late this evening. Did think about the satnav, nar, spent 15 minutes just now doing the alterations. Easy peasy.

If you got it, use it. A brain that is is.