Technology for 'Oulwans & 'Oulfellas

Jellybaby1 · 19-01-2014 2:58pm #1

(Help me please!) I'm fed up buying maps. I wanna SatNav. Anyone using these, could you recommend one for Ireland and UK for an O & O? Please don't tell me to use my fancy yancy phone for SatNav, 'cuz I won't.

looksee · 19-01-2014 3:45pm

Ah now JB you are running ahead of yourself. Do you know how fed up you are going to get with that woman saying 'do a u turn as soon as possible' and 'you should have turned left two miles back' and other irritating stuff. Nice map and a willing spouse to read it...no you are right, get a satnav.

cuilteanna · 19-01-2014 7:56pm

Also "recalculating" becomes annoying when it tries to send you on a route that you know you don't want to take. Ours is a Garmin nuvi but it's an old one (though I update the maps regularly enough).

Teagwee · 19-01-2014 8:02pm

I bought a sat nav (Garmin) in 2007 and it was the making of me - honestly, I love it to bits! Finding my way anywhere has always been my achilles heel and the source of major stress. I don't mind at all the 'recalculating' warnings or the 'when possible, do a u turn' advice as it's so much better than continuing to drive 20 miles out of my way before I discover I'm on the wrong road.
Mine is old now (in technology terms) but I purchased lifetime map updates and, until it bites the dust, I can't really justify replacing it. I have tried a newer Garmin model (on loan) and there are very good improvements that would be nice, so go for it Jellybaby.

*Maybe it's an O&O thing, but I have to confess to putting on the sat nav even when I know where I'm going. It's a bit like having a personal memory booster and a companion (I call mine Emily)

Pulsating Star · 19-01-2014 11:16pm

I have only used a borrowed one once or twice but am considering getting one soonish (TomTom is winning over Garmin as I like the name better)

What I was advised and subsequently could see the sense of was to switch on only when I had past the part of route I knew, or just to get the finer detail of the address at the end , to avoid being annoyed/ distracted by the chatter

I will do some research and get the map package which will inevitably be rendered prehistoric by the "new and improved" released ten minutes after.

Jellybaby1 · 19-01-2014 11:25pm

Thanks everyone. Well I know these gadgets tend to go prehistoric pretty quickly which is why we have fought against buying one, and we've managed really well with maps up to now but we keep buying updated maps too every time they fix a bump in a road!! I also am not sure how I will cope with that voice talking to me, I could end up throwing it out of the window! I will study what ye have said and we will have a pow-wow over it soon.

Teagwee · 20-01-2014 1:47am

You can turn off the voice altogether and just look at the screen - the arrow is very clear on the road graphic. Also, you can choose to record your own voice or have someone else's - I think you can actually get John Cleese's

Borrow one and try it, but give it a decent trial. Anything new is a steep learning curve with technology but well worth it IMO

cobham · 20-01-2014 10:05am

I had a garmin once but wiped it of data accidently (thought I would get one free upgrade) I have it still as refused to pay huge amount to sort it.

Yes I found 'recalculating' and woman irritating. I got a Tom Tom recently and prefer. No telling off if go wrong it just automatically reroutes you and you can choose what type of person/voice to have. "Sean" is lovely!:)

Maybe Teagwea, you would like an unused but elderly Garmin Nuvi? with all its bits? but no maps...

BrensBenz · 20-01-2014 11:43am

My chariot has satnav built in but I also have two Garmins - one for UK and Ireland and another for North America and Yirp for when I'm travelling.

Maps are great IF you know where you are!

My Garmins have paid for themselves many times over. No more squinting for cryptic Irish road signs or wondering if the local intelligentia have turned the sign 180 degrees or trying to translate Yirpean road signs, or wondering which lane to be in, or being lost, late, cranky, etc. The newer ones can even navigate around traffic jams that you don't even know about!

And feel free to mock those who, revelling in their own ignorance, will say stuff like: "Oooohhh.....sat navs.....wouldn't have one in the house.....one a dem tings brung me cousin's post man's vet deh rong way down a wan way street." The sat navs data, even if updated regularly, is a snapshot in time. Luckily, most countries install things called "signs" and paint stuff on roads to tell you not to enter "wan way streets."

And, as for "recalculating, recalculating", that isn't a fraction of the annoyance caused by "I tink we shuddav turned down d'udder road near the yellow house wih deh nice curtains. Can ya do you-turns on dis mohurway?" The sat nav's voice can be turned off but the amateur navigator can't!

Jellybaby1 · 20-01-2014 12:00pm

Awwwww yizzer twisting my arm now! Brens, what in the name of all that's holy is Yirp?

I would love to have John Cleese telling me what to do, I can hear him now saying 'you stupid woman, you actually turned the wrong way, I said left. Left. No, not right. Left, you stupid woman!!!!!" I rather fancy Blackadder might have me in more creases with the laughter if (when) I go wrong!!! 'Good God. You couldn't have gone more wrong than if you........." Gorra get me a Gremlin or a TumTum!

BrensBenz · 20-01-2014 12:22pm

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Awwwww yizzer twisting my arm now! Brens, what in the name of all that's holy is Yirp?:D

Gawd! What ever happened to jograffy in schools?
Yirp! Yirp! The Yirpean Union! The big bit before you get to Russia. It's where all the French and Dutch and Germans and Poles and Austrians and Spanish and Belgians and Portuguese and other people that Clarkson thinks are inferior live. It's where we go on hollyers to teach the locals how to drink beer and show off our sunburn.

Oh, forgot to mention above, There's stuff called POIs (Points of Interest) in satnavs. There's whaahhh? S'pose you're running out of petrol, the sat nav will show you the route to a range of petrol stations nearby, or restaurants, or hotels, or attractions, etc. POIs often include phone numbers so you can phone ahead.

You can get sat nav co-ordinates from Google Maps and set a destination in your sat nav. Great yokes altogether. Get yourself down to Halfrauds and get a free demo from Daymo.

martinn123 · 20-01-2014 12:50pm

My experience, if you don't mind me chipping in.

Herself, and myself, had a holiday in France 2 yrs ago.
Booked a car, in Toulouse and travelled to, Marseilles, Nice, Monaco, and home from Nice.
So I got my tech-savy, eldest, to get his Garmin up to date, map wise
He programmed in all the Hotels we were booked into, and off we went

I found it reassuring, being on the wrong side of the car, and on the wrong side of the road, and in a foreign country, that someone in the car, knew where we were going, as I didn't nor did my other half.

There is a little checkered flag that appears as you approach your destination, great to see it, journey successful, and time for a pint.

Only trouble we had was in Monaco, it was a week after the Grand Prix, and the roads had big seating stands on them, so loads of roads closed, we nearly boarded a Ferry to Tunisia, did a U Turn on the Ramp, other than that success, we make it to all our destinations safely.

So for a foreign trip, definitely get a Sat-Nav

Teagwee · 20-01-2014 2:27pm

cobham wrote: »

I had a garmin once but wiped it of data accidently (thought I would get one free upgrade) I have it still as refused to pay huge amount to sort it.

Yes I found 'recalculating' and woman irritating. I got a Tom Tom recently and prefer. No telling off if go wrong it just automatically reroutes you and you can choose what type of person/voice to have. "Sean" is lovely!:)

Maybe Teagwea, you would like an unused but elderly Garmin Nuvi? with all its bits? but no maps...

AFAIK, once you register and set up your Garmin account, you can re-download your original maps. I know that my elderly version has that capacity on my account. I purchased Lifetime updates a few years ago (for a tidy sum) but it means I can get all the new maps as long as Emily still lives :pac: So maybe you can have a go at re-installing the maps online and gift it to Jellybaby???

Jellybaby1 · 20-01-2014 4:09pm

Right, I'm ticking off the do's and don'ts. I will deffo be avoiding Manic-oh during the Grawnd Pree then!

Eeden · 24-01-2014 8:54pm

Speaking as a culchie, using a satnav takes all the scary out of driving in Dublin! It knows the name of the road you're on, and what lane you should be in. (The one I borrow happens to have Homer Simpson's voice on it.)

Jellybaby1 · 24-01-2014 9:08pm

Eeden, I'm the reverse of yourself. I'm never happier than driving in Dublin city centre as I was brought up there so I know it like the back of my hand. Driving down country lanes scares me silly, there isn't room for two cars to pass at times and even himself many years ago ended up in a ditch once due to local boyos driving like mad things down a boreen. A Satnav can't help you out of a ditch mind. Hmmm, (draws another box to tick) I might need a few spare rugby players for country drives.

Jellybaby1 · 10-02-2014 1:43am

I am now the proud owner of a Garmin (thank you Mr. Aldi!) and trying to befriend it. We gave it a test run today and worked fine but brought us the scenic route which was supposed to be the 'fastest route'. We decided not to argue with it. One problem we have encountered, we have yet to hear a word spoken by said Garmin and there is nowt in the manual about making it speak to us. We thought it would speak to us automatically. Manual says we can install free voices but thought it would have one to begin with. Apparently not! Is this something we have to download?

Teagwee · 10-02-2014 2:20am

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

I am now the proud owner of a Garmin (thank you Mr. Aldi!) and trying to befriend it. We gave it a test run today and worked fine but brought us the scenic route which was supposed to be the 'fastest route'. We decided not to argue with it. One problem we have encountered, we have yet to hear a word spoken by said Garmin and there is nowt in the manual about making it speak to us. We thought it would speak to us automatically. Manual says we can install free voices but thought it would have one to begin with. Apparently not! Is this something we have to download?

Definitely should have a voice - it could have the volume turned down too low to hear or be totally switched off in the settings. Not sure what model you have, so you will have to fumble around until you get her properly 'turned on'

Then she'll speak until you desperately want to shut her up ...

BrensBenz · 10-02-2014 8:07am

Teagwee wrote: »

Definitely should have a voice - it could have the volume turned down too low to hear or be totally switched off in the settings. Not sure what model you have, so you will have to fumble around until you get her properly 'turned on' Then she'll speak until you desperately want to shut her up ...

Yes, that sounds right. Check "Mute" and / or "Volume" in the manual......if you haven't already disposed of it in an environmentally friendly manner.

My Garmins are too old to have changeable voices but, in a passenger seat recently, I was treated to a Garmin with a Mafia voice. "Okee Dokee, go downa thees street iffa you wanna, whataa I care".

cobham · 10-02-2014 11:03am

"AFAIK, once you register and set up your Garmin account, you can re-download your original maps. I know that my elderly version has that capacity on my account. I purchased Lifetime updates a few years ago (for a tidy sum) but it means I can get all the new maps as long as Emily still lives So maybe you can have a go at re-installing the maps online and gift it to Jellybaby???"

It is a good while back now. I did contact HQ in UK by email/phone and the only way to reinstate was to post it back to them and pay cost of postage which was £30 I think from their end. My "free" update was within 6 months of purchase and I was out of that time. I did not bother and now have a Tom Tom who have their own mapping system and dont charge for updates (I think!). Just trying it out locally to get used to it, I notice a lot of roads are in Irish! now that is sure going to be handy!:eek:

Jellybaby1 · 10-02-2014 2:48pm

We have the Garmin NUVI 2517LM. Himself has since been doing some research and discovered someone else with the same problem who said that downloading the updates actually wiped the voice, so we have to download the voice again. Fingers and toes crossed now. :rolleyes:

BrensBenz · 10-02-2014 3:06pm

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

We have the Garmin NUVI 2517LM. Himself has since been doing some research and discovered someone else with the same problem who said that downloading the updates actually wiped the voice, so we have to download the voice again. Fingers and toes crossed now. :rolleyes:

Sorry to hear you're having problems. It looks like Garmin have decided to install booby traps and reverted to the 1980's idea that the consumer actually enjoys trying to figure out how to use their products! WE DON'T! WE WANT THEM TO DO THEIR JOB FIRST TIME, EVERY TIME!

I've also found posts on Garmin's website about fixes, defaulting to obscure and nonsensical modes, etc. I hope it's sorted soon but I know, if it was me, I would already have declared war on Garmin and Aldi.

Jellybaby1 · 12-05-2014 8:55am

Update on my Garmin is that we chat regularly and we have made friends. At first, Pandora (for that is her name) thought I'm made of money as she kept taking me through toll bridges and I was getting poorer by the day so I had to switch that part of her brain off and she is better behaved now.

BrensBenz · 15-05-2014 11:27pm

Jellybaby1 wrote: »

Update on my Garmin is that we chat regularly and we have made friends. At first, Pandora (for that is her name) thought I'm made of money as she kept taking me through toll bridges and I was getting poorer by the day so I had to switch that part of her brain off and she is better behaved now.

Well Done! My Garmin brought me through the (€13 a time!) port tunnel twice before I found "Avoidances". And before yizall say "but YOU are driving the car", the road builders and the signage erectors are a sneaky bunch of so-and-sos. By the time you realise that you're heading for the tunnel, all escape routes have either been ex-ter-min-ate-ed or occupied by vehhickles who won't let you cross into the tunnel-escape lanes.

But at least now, with your Garmin working, that most dreaded of all Irish roadsigns - "<<<Diversion<<<" is no longer the stress initiator it used to be. Remember those Diversion signs? Well, one sign, and within seconds of obeying it, you're hopelessly lost because that Diversion sign is all the help you're going to get. Nowadays, the sat nav utters "Re-calculating" and, before long, you've rejoined the 21st century, despite the worst efforts of the local county council.

BrensBenz · 21-05-2014 3:49pm

Apparently, my recovery from recent medical interventions is at a point where more physical exercise is to be encouraged.

Now, the Woof hasn't yet mastered the art of pacing himself so, when we get home from our daily walk, he's knackered for the rest of the day. I won't swim because I know what the fishes do in the sea (and sight of my abdominal scars would scare little children and I won't wear one of those 1920's gentlemen's swimming onesies) and going to a gym is even less appealing than gardening.

But I've always liked bikes, of the pedal variety, and there's a cool, black, full-sized, underused bike, with a compewher (so it's technology) and several hundred gears in my shed. "Perfect", I thought, so I cleaned it up, squirted various lubricants on moving parts, blew wind into the tyres and set off.

Breeze in my ears; rubber on tarmac but, otherwise, blissful silence until...."look, Dada, that man has no bike helmet", said the bewildered little brat I mean darling, staring at me as I wooshed past. "Helmet?" I thought. "Well, OK. Suppose it makes sense. I'll have a look at helmets in the local bike shop".

Many sportspeople, e.g. skiers, jockeys, ice hockey players, etc. will hit hard surfaces at least as hard if not harder than cyclists but their helmets are plain, simple and, if you remove the chicken wire and colours, you might even say, elegant.

So, my question for O's & O's is "why are bike helmets huge, ugly, dayglo, vented, glossy plastic, sperm-shaped monstrosities with speed stripes?

Alternatively, do any of yiz know where I'd get a downhill skier's helmet?

OldGoat · 22-05-2014 8:43am

BrensBenz · 22-05-2014 10:20am

OldGoat wrote: »

Perfect, OG! If I ordered it noy, would I have it for "The Twolfth of Juylay?

Technology for 'Oulwans & 'Oulfellas

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