Does RDS TMC require subscription in U.S.

[poipounder]

Hooked up my traffic receiver for the first time (730T) yesterday. Drove 60 miles in the SF Bay Area and didn't get a signal the whole time.

I am not sure if this service requires a subscription or not. According to this pageTomTom, portable GPS car navigation systems it does..

But when I called TomTom I was told it didn't.

If it does, then how do I activate my free 1 year subscription that it was supposed to come with? I looked in TomTom home and could not find anything except a link to subscribe to TT Traffic.

And if it doesn't any suggestions on how to get a signal.

I have a vent mount and am running the antennae directly to the middle of the windshield, then it runs to the passenger side bottom, then half way up the windshield.

Thanks.

 

[spook45]

I also have a 730T and live in the SF area. I usually just throw the TMC antenna on the dash and I get a connection to the signal within a minute or two. I am still working on the one year free subscription so I have not had to complete any subscription forms. It has worked flawlessly since the first time I used it.

Did you get the sidebar and green circle icons on the right side of the screen? These will usually appear when you connect the antenna to the unit. If you do not see these icons, you may have a loose connection or a defective TMC module. Do you have the USB connected unit or the round connector unit?

 

[poipounder]

yes, got the sidebar, but no signal still.

tried a soft reset. still no love

i have the oval shaped, not the usb plug-in receiver.

might make a difference, i guess the usb receiver is the newer.

 

[spook45]

If you're getting the sidebar then the unit has correctly sensed the TMC receiver. I also have the oval shaped unit and have not had a problem. If you purchased this from a local store you might try to get it replaced.

 

[aegould]

I also have the oval plug, and am getting no traffic data here in the Washington, DC area. The icon I'm seeing is the spinning green arrow over the car icon. According to TomTom, the partner they're using here in the US is Total Traffic Network, which is owned by Clear Channel. Clear Channel is a communications company, and is the owner of many of the radio stations in each of the major markets that are supposed to deliver traffic info to our TomToms. However, if you've been following the news, Clear Channel has been trying to dump (sell) many of it's stations in certain markets, as they're losing money because of the economy. As such, I'm afraid that they've let things slide in terms of services such as real traffic feeds. In fact, they're laying off many of their people, which makes me wonder who's watching the shop these days. Bottom line here is that, if you're not getting your traffic feeds (as is the case here in DC), then it's most likely due to Clear Channel/Total Traffic quietly letting the service slide/drop due to brain drain. I've notified TomTom tech support about this, and they've replied that they're looking into this...but haven't heard anything back as of yet. I've told them that they need to get on their partner's case about this issue, or stop selling it as a service to TomTom customers (it's one of the major reasons that I subscribed tot he service...living here in the DC metro area...I want live traffic updates...which TomTom is selling with their RDS-TMC receivers).

 

[spook45]

I don't use my GPS on a daily basis so I will have to check to see if I am still getting the data feed. I will post back later today. It was working the last time I used it about a week or so ago.

 

[spook45]

Went outside and attached my TMC receiver. Connected to the radio station and downloaded the latest traffic information. There were a lot of traffic alerts due to the Bay Bridge closure. So, as far as I can tell all is working as it should be.

 

[aegould]

Have heard from both sides of this issue. Total Traffic has confirmed with their engineers that traffic data is indeed being broadcast from their radio stations. They are working closely with TomTom engineers, and have isolated the problem to an issue with some of their recent map versions. They're working on a solution and should have it out to everyone soon. Am assuming that it'll come out with the next map update, but am not sure. I've been advised by TomTom tech support that they will gladly compensate those of us who are experiencing this issue...most likely by extending our traffic subscriptions. More to come......

 

[mvl]

They are working closely with TomTom engineers, and have isolated the problem to an issue with some of their recent map versions.

Did you try the solution for issue #1 here?

PLUS traffic and RDS-TMC traffic both are working fine in Boston.