910 Freezing with FM Transmitter?

2

2extreme983

Joined
Aug 20, 2007
Messages
66
Location
East Central Wisconsin
TomTom Model(s)
910
Hello...I recently purchased an fm transmitter for my 910. I have been using it and during an 8 hour day, I need to turn off and on the 910 to "reset" the map at least 4 times. The music keeps playing just fine over the radio (I use it as mp3 player also) but I notice the map kinda freezes, meaning it gets stuck in a "loop". I am driving along and it will show the road I am on but will keep jumping back to the previous road over and over and over until I turn off and back on the unit. Do any of you have any suggestions or fixes for this? Is this due to the fm transmitter? Or the fact that I am playing mp3's? I hope this makes sense and look forward to an reply!
 
Pedro2NR said:
go to www.tomtom.com/support and type in clear the flash tool.
Download the application and run it. see if it helps your problem.
Click to expand...

Type in "clear the flash tool"? I did what you said but find no application to download. I appreciate the help...but would you have a direct link or am I doing something wrong?

Without pasting all them in...here are the first few results of that search:

62 Results for clear the flash tool
1. Why are my settings not saved when I turn my GO 910/510 on and off?
2. Why do I have to enter the passkey every time I connect my GO 910/510 with my mobile phone?
3. Why can't I activate the map on my TomTom device
4. What is Software Activation?
 
Yes thank you for the link. The description of the problems doesn't match what I am experiencing, but I will definitely give it a try tomorrow as I just got home and am extremely tired. I will let you know how it works. I have a busy weekend, so if I don't write anything soon, don't think I forgot :D
 
Well I finally used my 910 again today after using that flash tool you (Pedro2NR) recommended. I again was using it with the fm transmitter, playing mp3's and using of course the GPS. It was working great for about 4 hours then it started lagging really bad. I mean it wasn't doing exactly what my original complaint was, but it was running slow, showing on the map where I was about 3 min prior etc. The music was still playing fine on it. I turned it off and back on and it worked great for another 4 hours till I was done using it for the night.

Would using it to play music for that long be bogging it down or flooding the RAM/memory? Or what the heck is going on? Anyone else having this problem? Thanks again, and great forum!
 
How long have you had the FM transmitter?
There have been threads where people had to exchange their transmitter because of defective units.
 
Have you tried the hardware reset (little pin hole near the back connector of the GO910)? On mine I have seen a similar behavior while using the FM dock to play MP3s, hands free phone calls and get the navigation over the car speakers. The GPS psoition appears to be lagging at time and so is the turn by turn navigation instructions; also the map seems to update very slowly or not at all at times. In my case the power ON/OFF did not cure the problem; the hardware reset did. Good luck.
 
GOer910 said:
Have you tried the hardware reset (little pin hole near the back connector of the GO910)? On mine I have seen a similar behavior while using the FM dock to play MP3s, hands free phone calls and get the navigation over the car speakers. The GPS psoition appears to be lagging at time and so is the turn by turn navigation instructions; also the map seems to update very slowly or not at all at times. In my case the power ON/OFF did not cure the problem; the hardware reset did. Good luck.
Click to expand...

Yup I've tried that too...don't fix the problem. At least I know now that I am not the only one having this problem.

GOer910 since you are also using the transmitter, how well does yours "transmit"? I mean, no matter how close I get the 910 to my radio, I always here static (sometimes more then others) and today I'm driving along and suddenly I loose what I'm listening too and I get crystal clear music over the same channel. I looked over to the car next to me and noticed a unit in his window (not a tomtom) that I thought was also transmitting on the same channel. Long story short...I slowed down...sped up etc and it was that car but I was picking his signal up over 3 car lengths away over my 910 transmission which is 6 inches from my radio?!?!? Is this right? Or do I have a defective fm mount??? I'll be contacting TomTom...but thx for info and future responses!
 
Sorry to hear that the hard reset did not fix your problem; I guess in my case I was lucky. As for the FM reception I have been experiencing the same problems that a lot of users have already reported such as static and difficulties to find a clear spot in the FM band especially in urban areas. Lately it has been working much better by setting the transmit frequency to 87.9 MHz (it actually worked pretty decent even on a recent trip to the Chicago area). The second thing I do is make a couple of loose loops with the power cable slack (cigarette lighter adapter) over the FM dock and this seems to give a little boost to the FM signal; but don't ask me why.... Radio transmission is also known as F...... Magic.
By the way, I am on my second replacement GO 910 (2 years warranty); the previous units were losing connection with the FM dock with bumps on the road; very annoying after a while. This newer refurbished unit is solid on the FM dock. Good luck to you and if you continue to have the same problem contact TT support. You will have to be patient with them but they will fix the problem for you.
 
I've had the same problem. Albeit a bit less often than you.

You have to remember that these things are essentially tiny computers with hard drives. Just like your computer they need a reset occassionally.

Just reboot (power off/on or hit the reset button) once in a while to keep the thing stable.
 
Just bought an FM Transmitter mount yesterday. Sound quality is ok. I will be able to make further test tomorrow since I have quite a long travel. Will keep you posted.
 
This isn't my main problem as it was the lagging/freezing...but why is the FM transmitter so weak in "transmitting fm"? When someone traveling next to me and until that car is over 3 car lengths away I can/have picked up their FM transmission and it over powers the 910 mount, that tells me that the 910 mount is extremely weak. Why wouldn't they make it transmit stronger? :mad:
 
Unfortunately, like a lot of things in life, there is a regulation from FCC for the low power FM transmitters:
FCC Rules and Regulations

FACTS ABOUT LOW POWER FM RADIO

Part 15: Unlicensed Use in the United States



Unlicensed operation on the FM radio broadcast bands is permitted for some extremely low powered devices covered under Part 15 of the FCC's rules. On FM frequencies, these devices are limited to an effective service range of approximately 35 to 100 feet (11 to 30 meters). See 47 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations) Section 15.239. These devices must accept any interference caused by any other operation, which may further limit the effective service range. For more information on Part 15 devices, please see OET Bulletin No. 63 ("Understanding the FCC Regulations for Low-Power, Non-Licensed Transmitters").
 
35-100 ft...this mount does not even transmit 1 foot w/o interference...

I even tried wrapping the power cable around the mount a few times to try to boost the power as suggested above with no prevail. Just unsatisfied with it thus far...
 
I just did a 200+ mile trip (back and forth) and my newly acquired FM X'mitter mount worked quite ok. No lags and/or major interferrences except for a couple of times, but this is because Swiss radio stations don't use repeaters and transmit at different frequencies depending on the area.

I think it works quite well here in Switzerland since the FM band is not saturated.
 

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