Sat Nav or lack of it (RT6)

[GiveMeABreak]

Renegade - after checking your software version you have the latest firmware available. As it stands, you should be able to use postcodes, albeit 5 digit, the same as me. To do this, you select NAV, then 'Destination Input', 'Address Input', then select Postcode option. It will only accept 5 digits though. From then, you should be able to narrow it down to the available street / house numbers from there. This is definitely an option though, as stated in the handbook. If you have lost yours, I can send you a PDF of one.

It was the later RT6 system (with firmware 2.80 AND the latest map update) that allowed Peugeot and Citroen owners 7 digit postcode input. Sorry!

[renagade]

Hi Guy's
isn't it a bugger when you have a nice clean uncluttered car and then you are forced to retro fit ( glue, suckers brackets )a sat nav to the dash. I find of all the car's I have ridden in that the c5 x7 dash is the most well thought out dash but not with a secondary satnav stuck to the original one.

[GiveMeABreak]

I take it you weren't happy to use the 5 digit mapping then? I can live with it - having the voice interface makes it a lot easier to select or using the large 'jog' wheel on the NG4. I agree the dash is nice and clutter free and that's why I won't attach anything to it that's not original.

[Mandrake]

I think even standalone satnav's aren't that great when you can just use software on your phone. I've never owned a car with a built in satnav and never had a standalone one either.

I've been using phone based navigation since the iPhone 3G days (2008!) and it has worked fine for me. My current iPhone 6 has a really sensitive and accurate GPS receiver (compared to the one in the old 3G / 3GS that was neither sensitive in poor signal conditions, nor accurate) and it works just fine with Navigon, which I've owned a copy of for years. It was a bit pricey when I first bought it but this was in the days before things like Google Maps did driving directions, and I have kept the same copy when I went to a new phone.

My main gripe is that despite receiving "Freshmap" updates 4 times a year Navigon STILL isn't aware of the massive redesign of the M8/M74 that is still ongoing, and laughably still shows how the roads were before the project started about 2 years ago, so it believes I'm driving through the middle of a field when I'm actually using a new off ramp roundabout....so I hate to think how out of date stand alone and built in Satnav's can be as they are much harder to get timely updates for.

Nowadays you don't really even need to buy an app - both Apple Maps and Google Maps on iOS do full turn by turn directions and are very good, and more importantly they are MUCH more up to date than Navigon, in fact new offramps that have only been in place for a few weeks are correctly shown and routed using Google maps, so I tend to use that if I'm going through any area where I know there is new construction. Google maps also has much better POI search than Navigon. The drawback is that it requires a 3G/4G connection at the start of the journey whereas Navigon will work in the wilds of Scotland where there is no mobile coverage at all - so I still keep Navigon around as well to get me out of trouble in such situations. Between Navigon and Google Maps I have everything I need.

As for postcode search - for a long time Navigon did not support any form of postcode search - you had to choose city, street and number. It was only about 3 years ago that postcode support was added. Annoyingly, you cannot specify a postcode AND a street number if you use postcode search, so more often than not I enter a full address instead for a more precise location than just the postcode. (which usually only takes you to the correct street) Google maps has always supported postcode search, and lets you combine street number/name with postcode.

[GiveMeABreak]

Some good points raised Simon. Unfortunately for many of us 'Country Bumpkins' having 4G / 3G or even a mobile phone signal is a matter of dreaming on, rendering this type of system useless for us - unless you use the static maps without real time updates of course. Another reason why I have constant problems getting deliveries from some couriers as the drivers rely on their mobile phone sat navs and then when they come to rural Wales, they enter the black hole of Calcutta of the communications network and it's all toes up from there.

I think one time I must of had to reschedule a delivery 3 times because the drivers could not find our address as they had no signal - despite me telling their ops centre not to rely on this! Completely infuriating to assume there is nationwide coverage. We can't as yet even get ADSL broadband - so have a community radio based system using Motorola transmitters on our houses We are at last in the process of getting FTTP Fibre now - although that has been delayed several years already....

Re the Google maps - still very disappointed with those - they are still years out of date as I still regularly check back on road changes and roundabouts that have been added years ago and are still not on there. I also check back at my old work place and can see a car I had from 8 years ago still there! I subscribe to 'Here' Maps and have map updates for the Navidrive - the latest being 2016-2, but still these are not picking up the same hotspots, so I really do question how often they drive every road to do their updates - certainly not within 4 years for sure. Rather than just moan about it, I do make the effort to provide a photo and details of additions to their website, but their response is derisory TBH. Maybe if the maps were updated more frequently and they were more honest about the coverage of those updates, then more people would pay the extortionate prices charged for them. Although to be fair, my system already includes the whole of Europe in each update, so that's a positive I suppose

[Mandrake]

In case I wasn't clear - Navigon has built in map and POI data and doesn't require any mobile coverage whatsoever to work, just like a standalone navigator. I can search for a destination and start navigating without any mobile coverage, and there are plenty of places in scotland where A and B roads have no mobile signal! However if it DOES have a mobile data signal it can make use of traffic notification for rerouting around traffic jams/accidents etc.

It does have the option to download updated maps when you are on Wifi, however as I lamented the steady stream of updated maps never seems to include obvious changes like the motorway work that surrounds our house on all sides! (We are sandwiched between the M8 and M74 so can't go anywhere without going through the constructions)

Google maps I have found much more up to date although still not perfect, but it requires the active data connection at the start of the journey, although I believe the current version will cache the map data for the entire journey at the start, so if you go out of coverage part way through you are still OK, but you wouldn't be able to do a new search and start of navigation out in the wilds with no signal.

In any case if you have a modern Android or iOS phone with a decent size screen and decent speed you can get an app like Navigon a lot cheaper than buying a dedicated navigator, and it works pretty well.

[Stickyfinger]

Multiple cars so a £30 Tom Tom Go from EBay that is 6-7 years old, maps updated every 3/4 years, fitted to screen low down so is not in line-of-sight in the C5 for a tall chap like me.

Post Code x5 = pointless in country areas and more pointless in London/Big cities.

[renagade]

Hi GiveMeABreak
We all don't have Exclusives that have voice recognition that I take it your's have, you lucky so and so. lol lol

[GiveMeABreak]

I know but the unit is quite easy to input manually too. The only issue with the 5 digit systems is large industrial areas for example where the exact position is really needed.

[Stickyfinger]

I know but the unit is quite easy to input manually too. The only issue with the 5 digit systems is large industrial areas for example where the exact position is really needed.

In London, that can be a 1000 or more addresses.
In Devon/Cornwall (in the country areas) that can be 5 miles square, add to that the "minor lanes & hamlets" are often missing as well so you can have "23 (not the cottage name), Long Lane and the Postal Town= not a chance

That said, I do use it for work so go to stupid little places at times

[mickeymoon]

In the RG10 0 area where I live, it would cover about 3500 houses and 13,000 resident, the two furthest points of the area being about 7 miles apart.

Not very useful.

I use the TomTom app on my Android phone. £7.99 per year, offline maps.. great.

Sent from my SM-G925F using Tapatalk

[Paul-R]

I'm not defending the short postcode per se but surely it's quicker to put five digits in than go country - press - city - press - road - press etc?

[GiveMeABreak]

Yes Paul, that was what I was referring to earlier. Once the 5 digits are entered, it provides a list of streets or roads, which you can pick and then the number. Of course on an industrial estate it may not have all the unit numbers for example, but is better than doing Country, City, etc. as you say. I find the POI search very useful too, as I was with a relative in Yorkshire taking him to pick up a Picasso he bought and he couldn't tax it on the phone or web. The previous keeper had been issued a new reg document and the garage had the old one so we couldn't tax it except at the Post Office. With literally 30 minutes before all the POs shut, doing a POI search saved the day. There were 7 Post Offices and only 2 of these could do car tax! So it was really quick to be able to select the nearest and pedal to the metal time until we found the right one!