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Touring:- sat nav or phone?


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Ditto. TomTom wired in so loss of power never an issue and set up for bike for getting a to b. Mobile phone useful as a backup especially as I have Ordnance Survey app so for the entire UK I've decent map coverage and it's good for when I'm off the bike.

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Phone and map . Have a really good look at a map before setting out so as to get to with in 10 - 15 miles of my destination then stop for a coffee and look at my destination in relation to my position . Sometimes it requires an extra stop but I get there in the end .

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Guest Richzx6r

Phone and map . Have a really good look at a map before setting out so as to get to with in 10 - 15 miles of my destination then stop for a coffee and look at my destination in relation to my position . Sometimes it requires an extra stop but I get there in the end .

 

+1 cant beat good bit of memory navigation with the phone as backup

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Garmin SatNav fitted to the bike but I often pre program a route rather than set the A to B route the SatNav comes up with.

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Guest Swagman

I generally just get lost. :D :D

 

No such thing on a bike! It's just temporarily misplaced :D

 

True and I’m getting a lot better at Uturns and roundabouts. :D :D

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Guest Swagman

Stu still gets lost! even with all the Tech! :lol:


I just look at a map before I leave and maybe again when I stop for a smoke

 

Trouble is I can’t see a map without readers on and I never seem to have them with me when on the bike. :D

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Water proof phone, powered by bike mounted near instruments, Bluetooth to headset.

Not paying out for Satnav and maps.

Although would pay for TomTom nav app as well as Google maps. Often run both together. One in four ground one in background...

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Garmin SatNav fitted to the bike but I often pre program a route rather than set the A to B route the SatNav comes up with.

 

TomTom frequently comes up with some weird routes if left to its own devices. When I took stuff to my wife in hospital the first time it took me on a 'road' which I don't think had been resurfaced since the Romans left. It was a sunken lane with banks so high my head was level with the roots of the hedges and really narrow. Needless to say I have not repeated that route since.

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Garmin SatNav fitted to the bike but I often pre program a route rather than set the A to B route the SatNav comes up with.

 

TomTom frequently comes up with some weird routes if left to its own devices. When I took stuff to my wife in hospital the first time it took me on a 'road' which I don't think had been resurfaced since the Romans left. It was a sunken lane with banks so high my head was level with the roots of the hedges and really narrow. Needless to say I have not repeated that route since.

 

Garmin often does this. With some unexpected views





And she was going pretty quick and the rubble in the middle off the “ road” made it difficult to pass. :wink:

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Garmin SatNav fitted to the bike but I often pre program a route rather than set the A to B route the SatNav comes up with.

 

TomTom frequently comes up with some weird routes if left to its own devices. When I took stuff to my wife in hospital the first time it took me on a 'road' which I don't think had been resurfaced since the Romans left. It was a sunken lane with banks so high my head was level with the roots of the hedges and really narrow. Needless to say I have not repeated that route since.

 

Garmin often does this. With some unexpected views





And she was going pretty quick and the rubble in the middle off the “ road” made it difficult to pass. :wink:

Been there. Also the herd of cows, the flock of sheep, local hunt, bloody artic with a load of logs coming up a hill I was going down (in Ireland and I ended up in a field), hysterical horse that had dumped it's rider etc. Small rural lanes are often more interesting than you'd think!

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  • 3 months later...

With the upcoming restrictions resulting from UK leaving the EU and while planning my next touring trip, likely to be either South Italy or Croatia, I'm wondering what to get for Sat-nav.

The new restrictions affecting the choice will be end of free roaming data from UK operators.

Previous experience I had was with my phone which several times overheated and shut down leaving me to guess where to go. The phone was mounted in a cheap £15 soft case, cheap git I know :P.


The pros of a dedicated sat-nav are pretty much obvious, waterproof by nature and no other apps draining the battery.

The main 2 brands on consideration are both TomTom (TT) and Garmin (G). Both devices have a lifetime maps update so this shouldn't be a problem.

The reviews I saw give the edge to TT with G being rated very close.

The issue I could have is the device support. This usually lasts for a few years and once the brand have a few new models they will stop any firmware and maps update rendering your device obsolete.

Regarding price, TT is a bit cheaper than G but this comment I found looks like explains why:

"Howard Millichap

I'll just pick out two of your "Tomtom wins" which are flawed. Firstly the maps. Yes tomtom comes with world wide maps included but when you realise that they're absolutely useless when you take it to places such as South America because it doesn't have anything more than the basic road network. AND, unlike Garmin, you're stuck with tomtom (Teleatlas) maps. With the Garmin Zumo you can install Open Source Mapping (OSM) for anywhere in the world which are free. So, Garmin wins.

Secondly, the screen. Tomtom screen is like a mirror and reflects anything in front of it. Great for checking your hair but useless for seeing where it's sending you. And if the sun is behind you? Forget it. It also reacts with rain droplets running up or down it. The droplets "press" the on screen buttons and send it all crazy. This is well documented in the tomtom forums where there are far too many people complaining about it. Garmin wins.

"



On the other hand we have the in phone sat-nav apps. My preferred would be the Navigator app with downloadable maps so it will work offline.

A proper case costs around £50 (according to customer service this model will come available in Sep.)

https://www.ultimate-motorcycle.co.uk/collections/huawei-p30-pro/products/p30-pro-clamp-bolt-kit

The upside of using the phone based sat-nav is that hardware will be as old as your phone, software and maps updates are at most updated every week without the need of any payment. Ok you will have advertising but you can get rid of it for a small amount if that troubles you.

While the downside is as above the heat and having the battery drained by other apps.


At the end what to choose?

Considering the number of trips I make every year, around 10 in rainy Scotland and touring once a year the most makes you wonder if spending £430 is justifiable (£380 if you deduct the phone case).

But when you really think about it, probably yes it is worth. You get a dedicated device and you save your phone's battery for calls and if you want to take some photos without the trouble of getting your DSLR camera. :)

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With the upcoming restrictions resulting from UK leaving the EU and while planning my next touring trip, likely to be either South Italy or Croatia, I'm wondering what to get for Sat-nav.

The new restrictions affecting the choice will be end of free roaming data from UK operators.

 

 

Yeah but you can download the maps before you go, or on maccers WiFi. Don't need data on for GPS nav to work.

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With the upcoming restrictions resulting from UK leaving the EU and while planning my next touring trip, likely to be either South Italy or Croatia, I'm wondering what to get for Sat-nav.

The new restrictions affecting the choice will be end of free roaming data from UK operators.

 

 

Yeah but you can download the maps before you go, or on maccers WiFi. Don't need data on for GPS nav to work.

 

That's what I'm saying by:

"On the other hand we have the in phone sat-nav apps. My preferred would be the Navigator app with downloadable maps so it will work offline."

:thumb:

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I wish that would be set in stone.


From gov.uk website:

"During the transition period

You can travel in EU and European Economic Area (EEA) countries with guaranteed surcharge-free mobile roaming until 31 December 2020.

This means you can use your mobile devices to make calls, send texts and use mobile data services for no more than you would be charged when in the UK.

This surcharge-free roaming will be guaranteed until the end of the transition period.


From 1 January 2021 onwards

Surcharge-free roaming when you travel to EU and EEA countries may no longer be guaranteed from 1 January 2021. This would include employees of UK companies travelling in the EU for business.

The mobile operators (Three, EE, O2 and Vodafone) have have stated that they have no current plans to change their mobile roaming policies.

The government has legislated to protect consumers from unexpected charges from 1 January 2021. This is to ensure that obligations on mobile operators to apply a financial limit on mobile data usage while abroad is retained in UK law.

The limit has been set at £45 per monthly billing period (currently €50 under EU law). This means you cannot continue to use mobile data services when roaming unless you actively chose to continue spending. The government has also legislated to continue to ensure that consumers receive alerts when they are at 80% and 100% data usage."


Although 4 companies are saying that they have no plans to change it the other companies haven't even mentioned it and the likelihood of them keeping their word is not something I would rely on.


Edit comment:

Of course you can always buy a sim card in france and use it all across the continent.

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