First Time Out!

[oldseagull]

As I believe I mentioned in an earlier Thread, this ONE XL-S is a gift for my wife. My wife has endured much stress over the years, watching me bumble around, getting lost in exotic neighborhoods - some where even SHE would not stop to ask directions . . . this machine is for her!

She does not know about it yet - it is a sort of left-handed Christmas gift, the one you drop on 'em after they already have opened good stuff.

So, okay, it's for me too! And today, I took it out for an almost 200 mile trip/trial. Right out-of-the-box, plugged into the cigarette lighter socket of my 2001 Chevy S10 Blazer, it picked up five (5) SATS within a couple of minutes while I was gassing up at the local Kroger pumps for my trip. As soon as I hit the highway, "Susan" began to give out instructions - that is good - but looking up to the top of my dash, I realized that my somewhat aging eyes could not read the screen at the 15"-20" distance! Plus glare!

Lucky for me, I had also bought the NAV-MAT, a beanbag style mount, so I could move the whole system down to a mini-tray that I have installed on my center console. This solved my problem - you may see from the picture that the GPS Navigation device screen sits between me and my "navigator" wife. This works great and reception was great here in eastern Virginia. I never noticed less than "4 SATS" all day - usually, the screen reported a full "5 SATS" and the machine reported directions flawlessly all day!

Anyway, here's the picture :] BTW, the picture was taken on-the-run, no flash @ 61 MPH on a bumpy concrete interstate!
JohnC

 

[46jimbo]

Yeah, aging eyes can be a problem. Where did you pick up your bean bag?

 

[digital-flex]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing.

 

[oldseagull]

Best Buy had the Nav-Mat bean bag on their accessory display next to the GPS units - more expensive than through Amazon.com, but freight would have made it about the same. I may have been able to jury-rig something similar but . . . it's done, and works for me.

 

[digital-flex]

So it works right out of the box? You didn't have to modify it to mount the TomTom on it? Just curious.

 

[Tryton]

ohhhh, you opened your wife's gift!!! Im telling

 

[oldseagull]

I had to mount the TT window suction unit as far back as possible in the Nav-Mat so the power cable would clear - the beanbag edge can get in the way of adjusting the TOMTOM for easy viewing from the top of the dash. A longer mount would resolve this potential problem.

Moving the whole arrangement down to center console allowed me to adjust the TOMTOM angle which made all the difference

 

[oldseagull]

Yes, I opened my wife's gift :] and I declare, if she likes it half as much as I do, it'll be a winner!

On my road trip yesterday, I enjoyed it so much, I cut the radio off and watched the screen (with one eye on the road ahead) for upcoming turns, listening for that helpful voice telling me to "turn right at J Clyde Morris Blvd" etc. - It's amazing!

 

[Pedro2NR]

Nice setup! thx for sharing

 

[KKop]

I hate to spoil this party, but... That location is a bad idea.

The ideal location for a GPS is where you don't have to take your eyes off the road, or as little as possible. The way it's set up now makes you glance down, then back up. Recipe for disaster.

My suggestion would be to buy a disc that you can stick to your dash, then suction cup the TomTom onto that. This will allow the TT to sit closer to you, but you won't have to take your eyes off the road. Or buy the extended arm, and stick it to the windshield.

 

[oldseagull]

You are absolutely correct! The TT screen is more distracting than a cellphone call, eh? After a couple of trips using it, I have settled down and learned to keep my eyes on traffic and depend on the TT verbal instructions.

But let me tell you this - I couldn't wait - we had a trip over this past weekend, visiting various family and friends before Christmas, so I wrapped the TT and presented this "early gift" to the wife - she enjoyed watching the "road show" as I concentrated on the busy Tidewater Virginia traffic.

The screen would be better mounted up out of the way but in a line-of-sight that keeps traffic in the eye as well.

Thanks for the feedback
JohnC :]