GTM 12 Traffic Receiver

[st13phil]

One of my Christmas prezzies was a GTM 12 Traffic Receiver for use with my SP2720 when in the car. Being the kid that I am, I plugged it in to the 2720 to take it for a spin around the block the day after boxing day and it pretty much immediately found the UK Service Provider - TM Live - and gave me loads of info about roadworks, accidents and suchlike on routes far and wide. Great stuff

Then on Saturday I got a chance to try it out for real on a trip up the M1/M18/M62 to visit friends in Yorkshire. All seemed ok until we reached about J22 on the M1 and from there on it reported zip, nada, nothing. I periodically checked the traffic page on the GPSR and noted that the device had no signal. Ho hum, I thought, maybe it's just because it's the day before New Year's Eve?

Anyway, on the return journey yesterday I left the GPSR on the Traffic notification Settings page and found that a) it had no signal (evidenced by the three empty signal strength bars) and b) it was spending all its time autosearching for a service provider (this second bit is quite logical if it has no signal, I suppose!). Only a couple of times during the 150mile journey on major motorways and trunk routes between Yorkshire and Oxfordshire did it actually manage to receive a signal and provide any information.

So, my question for those that have this little gadget is this: Do I have a duffer, or is the traffic service in the UK normally this crap?

(BTW, the car doesn't have a metalised or heated windscreen.)

 

[njbhorn]

Can't really help but I have the same device and get the same problem. I'm sure it sort of worked once but have never had much information via the GPS 2720 so have kinda given up using it. I've used it on the bike and in a car with much the same results.

I'm sure someone did say the traffic info is pretty crap in this country.

Does it come from local radio stations like the TP bulletins that we get on the radio?

Anyone?

 

[Spikehammer]

From what I understand the service is transmitted on a sideband of Classic FM in the UK. So if the recption for Classic FM is bad so is the traffic info. Works really well on the continent btw.

 

[motorbike_jim]

I have the same device and get the same problem. last year there was a period it couldn't pick a signal up in Oxford, worked fine since. I believe the traffic information come Trafficmaster (AA)

 

[JohnB]

Trafficmaster....

I've had the same problems with this service. I initially used the old GTM11 (?) which was kindly replaced by Garmin with the new GTM12. The replacement was because the old one's reception was so p1ss poor! However it had a green/red LED which at least let you know when it was picking up a signal. The new one is good at times but useless in poor reception areas.
I e-mailed Trafficmaster who stated that they were in discussion with Garmin about the problem, but they didn't have any suggestions for improvement.
I sometimes use a Range Rover at work which has the Trafficmaster info plugged into it's own GPS and it's a hell of a lot better than the Garmin.
It seems to me that it's a Garmin problem rather than Trafficmaster, but either way, in the UK, it seems like a waste of around £100.
I echo what was said about it's use on the continent tho'. It's brilliant!

 

[st13phil]

Thanks for the info guys, it seems there's a consensus developing here

I did call Garmin Support this afternoon and spoke with a lady called Holly who recommended that I use WebUpdater with my 2720 to make sure the GTM Software is up to date. I'm pretty certain that I accepted the last update for the GTM software which came out months ago, but I can't find any info anywhere on the Garmin site that tells me what the current version actually is. All I can find is that my SP2720 tells me that it is using "GTMxx Software Version 3.70". Can anyone confirm or deny whether this is, in fact, the latest version or not?

TIA, Phil

 

[Mollers01uk]

The traffic info is really good when it does work but unfortunatley there some areas that don't have great coverage. Wales and scotland i think are most effected by this. It's similar to gps reception in the fact of not always getting a fix can be caused by things in your car. Like a heated windscreeen which conflicts the signal.

 

[Mollers01uk]

http://www.trafficmaster.co.uk/page.cfm?key=network-mapnew

This gives it in a little bit more detail.

 

[EasySushi]

I got them same problem works fine in London, but once your out of town forget it, waste of £100


Cheers

Ty

 

[shedracer]

Bro has a BM with factory sat nav in it, its got BM`s version of traffic master, its called TMC and its great, never looses a signal and always shows traffic hold ups, accidents etc. Shame garmin can`t get theres to work better.

 

[st13phil]

Had the SP2720 hooked up to the PC last Friday to transfer a few routes and while it was connected I idly hit the WebUpdater icon to check for updates. I knew there were none for the main unit but wondered if, perchance, there was one for the GTMxx Traffic Receiver. Guess what? There was. It moved up from v3.70 to v3.90

Having used the thing again over the weekend, I'm sure it was rather better at receiving the traffic info. This could be my imagination of course, but I'm pretty certain it made a positive effect. Anyone else tried it yet?