Voice Prompts

[Grey Beard]

Hi, small possible problem.

I have the Zumo 660 installed and powered via the head stock CAN-Bus socket. Zumo is paired via Bluetooth to a Schuberth Rider Communications System headset. All firmware up to date on Zumo and SRC system.

When I ask the Zumo to calculate a route to take me to a specific destination, it does so, but I don't seem to get any voice prompts about turning at junctions, nor do I get any warning about exceeding the speed limit (though the speed shows up in red if too fast).

The Zumo is communicating with the head set loud and clear when stationary and warns me when the CAN-Bus is shutting down the power.

I find the wind noise from the 1200GSA screen bad, though a bit better with the Touratech extension screen. I didn't have any problem on a naked bike with a driving school radio headset, even at high autobahn speeds, so am puzzled by the apparent lack of voice prompts when moving (unless I just cannot hear them over the wind noise).

Is this linked to the safe mode in the Garmin and also how do I activate/deactivate the over speed warning? The only sort of option I see is for Garmin safety cameras, but I don't know if they are loaded and if so, it would be illegal in Germany to have them activated.

I have had a look through the on-line Zumo 660 manual, but don't see anything to help.

(I am assuming the Zumo gives similar voice prompts as smart phone Navigon type Navi systems).

Ideas anyone?

Thanks

Grey Beard

 

[PanEuropean]

When I ask the Zumo to calculate a route to take me to a specific destination, it does so, but I don't seem to get any voice prompts about turning at junctions...

I've noticed that too. Under certain circumstances - it seems to me to be when you have activated a new route by changing the destination while riding, or by pulling up a pre-loaded 'custom route' and activating it in place of a previously active destination or route while riding - the Zumo 660 with software 4.20 sometimes goes mute. The work-around is to turn the device off, then turn it back on again... then it will start talking.

I suspect this is a result of a small software error in the operating system.

...nor do I get any warning about exceeding the speed limit (though the speed shows up in red if too fast)...

I don't believe that the design specifications for the Zumo 660 include providing any kind of prompt (other than the speed digits turning red) when you have exceeded the speed limit displayed for the road you are riding on.

If you have proximity points with associated speed values loaded (translation: you've loaded a speed camera database into the thing), then you will get a 'bong' when approaching a proximity point, and a continuous bong if you are moving faster than the speed associated with that proximity point.

...Is this linked to the safe mode in the Garmin...

No, I don't think that either of the above two items have any correlation with Safe Mode.

Michael

 

[wilbjr21]

Michael,

Nice to see you around again.

 

[Grey Beard]

Hello Michael and thanks for your reply.

I had a little drive around yesterday evening and reset the unit to see if it improved matters. However, this unpaired the Bluetooth helmet Rider Communication System and the phone from the Zumo. While I was driving, I could hear the Zumo internal speaker (set at 100% volume) calling out voice prompts. So I know that the Zumo is probably fine.

I think the Schuberth system is picking these up via Bluetooth when recoupled, but the volume (even at maximum) is way too low to hear them when driving the bike.

I think now, that the problem is perhaps with the exact position of the speaker drivers in the helmet relative to my ears and also the padding inside the helmet. Someone in the US told me he had this type of problem (don't know what head set it was) but had changed the speaker drivers to improve audibility. Strange thing is I never had any audibility issues when doing driving lessons, even when on the autobahn with lots of wind noise, though this was a different radio system (non Schuberth).

You may be correct in that the Zumo doesn't audibly warn of speed excess, but I thought I had read of members here complain that there was no user defined option to set an over speed tolerance. As a warning at 50.1km/h in a 50kph zone rapidly becomes intolerable, members had just deactivated the audible warning. However, there is nothing in the manual on this issue, but I did comment this to Garmin Technical Support as an area for software improvement.

I don't think I have any Garmin 'Safety' Camera databases loaded unless they are included with the European Maps and I understand it is illegal to have this database activated whilst driving in Germany.

Grey Beard

 

[PanEuropean]

...I think the Schuberth system is picking these up via Bluetooth when recoupled, but the volume (even at maximum) is way too low to hear them when driving the bike.

I think that the whole business of volume control from remote units (Zumo GPSRs, Phones, MP3 players, whatever) to headsets that are connected by way of Bluetooth still needs improvement.

I have a BMW Communicator II helmet audio system installed in a System 6 helmet. While riding around Netherlands and Germany during the first part of this month, with my Zumo 660 paired to this helmet, I found that the volume of the spoken navigation directions and the beeps to alert me to upcoming speed camera locations was fine - fully satisfactory even when I was wearing 30 dB attenuating foam earplugs - but the volume of any music (MP3s) that I had stored on the Zumo was totally inadequate.

Garmin provides a 'mixer' control on the 660 (software version 4.20) that should, in theory, permit the user to adjust relative volume of the spoken navigation guidance vs. any music being played, but I found that this mixer had no effect whatsoever on control of relative volume of these two sources when I had the Zumo audio connected to the helmet via Bluetooth.

I'm a little hesitant to throw stones at Garmin for this, I think that the Bluetooth specification is kind of loose and this makes it difficult for manufacturers to ensure that their device (whether a transmitter or a receiver) will perform predictably and consistently when paired with someone else's device.

...I thought I had read of members here complain that there was no user defined option to set an over speed tolerance. As a warning at 50.1km/h in a 50kph zone rapidly becomes intolerable, members had just deactivated the audible warning.

I'm pretty sure that the subject being discussed there was activation and control of the warning tone (beep) alerting the user that they were approaching a proximity point with a defined speed reference (in other words, a speed camera location) contained in a database that was entirely independent from, and loaded separately from the Garmin cartography.

Michael

 

[russ996duke]

I'm pretty sure that the subject being discussed there was activation and control of the warning tone (beep) alerting the user that they were approaching a proximity point with a defined speed reference (in other words, a speed camera location) contained in a database that was entirely independent from, and loaded separately from the Garmin cartography.

Michael

hi micheal, good to see youi back on here
FWIW

When I first used my zumo 660, it also drove me crazy with voice messages about speed limits. After digging around it seems that this was generated by a garmin database...which could be overwritten by buying the poi speed camera database from scdb, the point being that this meant I can then have some control over the way speed cameras are "annouced" in terms of how far in advance and by what sound ( a beep rather than a nagging repetitve voice!)
I had emailed garmin to ask how to switch this feature off and their reply was "its part of the software and you cant do anything about it"
it may be that options exist within updates to do something about this feature but garmin response was not greatly helpful and the scdb workaround is good enough so i have not bothered to persue it with garmin, I have just put this down as one of the several clunky aspects of the zumo!
this issue was not my main concern anyway, rather the way the zumo (doesn't) access route files on the card ...but that is a completely different story

 

[Grey Beard]

hi micheal, good to see youi back on here
FWIW

When I first used my zumo 660, it also drove me crazy with voice messages about speed limits. After digging around it seems that this was generated by a garmin database...which could be overwritten by buying the poi speed camera database from scdb, the point being that this meant I can then have some control over the way speed cameras are "annouced" in terms of how far in advance and by what sound ( a beep rather than a nagging repetitve voice!)
I had emailed garmin to ask how to switch this feature off and their reply was "its part of the software and you cant do anything about it"
it may be that options exist within updates to do something about this feature but garmin response was not greatly helpful and the scdb workaround is good enough so i have not bothered to persue it with garmin, I have just put this down as one of the several clunky aspects of the zumo!
this issue was not my main concern anyway, rather the way the zumo (doesn't) access route files on the card ...but that is a completely different story

Thanks to both of you.

I think when testing this system in the house (feel a right idiot wearing a crash hat while sitting in the lounge) that the mixer control does influence MP3 volume, but I can have both Navigation and MP3 set at max volume and it is not too loud.

In the latest version of the Garmin software, there is the option to have a single beep, continuous tone or silence when warning of speed, sorry safety cameras. Doesn't seem to be a voice warning provided by Garmin though.

Grey Beard

 

[PanEuropean]

...When I first used my zumo 660, it also drove me crazy with voice messages about speed limits. After digging around it seems that this was generated by a garmin database...which could be overwritten by buying the poi speed camera database from scdb, the point being that this meant I can then have some control over the way speed cameras are "annouced" in terms of how far in advance and by what sound...

Ah, OK, NOW I understand... ...you just supplied the missing bit of information that explains everything.

When I took delivery of my 660, I immediately loaded a SCDB (speed camera data base) into the device, which meant that I never experienced the device giving me any form of aural alert for the road speed limits that are contained in the cartography database.

Right from first use (with the SCDB installed), all I ever experienced was the following:

1) Small digital 'actual vehicle speed' number in lower right of (default) screen presentation turns red if vehicle speed is greater than posted road speed (as determined from cartographic database).

2) Chime sounds once and small pop-up text message (primarily grey background) appears if vehicle is approaching a SCDB proximity point and vehicle speed is less than associated proximity point speed, or; proximity point has no associated speed.

3) Chime sounds continually and small pop-up text message (primarily red background) appears if vehicle is approaching a SCDB proximity point and vehicle speed is greater than associated proximity point speed.

From this, I am going to guess that if a user does not want to be provided with aural annunciation that their speed is greater than the speed listed for the road in the cartographic database, all the user would need to do is load a SCDB containing a single point (e.g. latitude 0°, longitude 0°) with an associated speed, and that would then over-ride annunciation of vehicle speed derived from the road speeds contained in the cartographic database. This is, of course, speculation...

Michael

 

[Grey Beard]

So do you recommend the SCDB over the Garmin European Safety Camera Data base? The SCDB is €10/year and the Garmin something like $45 lifetime.

Certainly plenty of Safety Cameras around Hamburg, but I guess I already knew that! Would probably be of interest to my son!!

Grey Beard

 

[Grey Beard]

Update on Navigation Prompt Volume

I did some more research and concluded that the Automatic Gain for the volume was not giving high enough boost while actually driving. The Automatic Gain Control is designed to sense the ambient noise inside the helmet and increases the volume at higher speeds to compensate for road/engine/wind noise. I have done a full reset of the Schuberth SRC System and had to reload the version 3.0 firmware and radio settings, etc.

I think the volume, while stationary, is now a little louder for MP3 files.

Schuberth took a long time to reply to my email request for help, but did so today. Also spoke to them. The main point was that the volume control increase/decrease on the SRC System only works when the Navigation Voice Prompt or the MP3 Player is actually playing. This does not seem to be in the manual.

I didn't find that pressing the increase volume control, when in MP3 mode, made much difference, but if does make a big difference to spoken Navigation Voice Prompts (in simulator mode).

Haven't tested these changes yet on the road, but hopefully the problem is resolved.

Grey Beard

 

[John Armstrong]

1) Small digital 'actual vehicle speed' number in lower right of (default) screen presentation turns red if vehicle speed is greater than posted road speed (as determined from cartographic database).

2) Chime sounds once and small pop-up text message (primarily grey background) appears if vehicle is approaching a SCDB proximity point and vehicle speed is less than associated proximity point speed, or; proximity point has no associated speed.

3) Chime sounds continually and small pop-up text message (primarily red background) appears if vehicle is approaching a SCDB proximity point and vehicle speed is greater than associated proximity point speed.

I think you have set the single chime option, rather that the continuous or off ones. I think this is set up in the POI area, but will need to check on this later.

I use: http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/subscription.php?trustedpartner=google and as I was the first to report a government cash generator, I have a free lifetime subscription