Newbie from So Cal

[darussell]

Hi all:
User of a GO 930 for a couple of years. Relied on traffic updates to manuever the horrendous traffic in my daily commutes to/from Los Angeles. Now, post-retirement, I rely on the GO930 to accurately predict my arrival times, at one of the many Orange County high schools, where I officiate football, soccer, softball, and baseball. Unfortunately, the demise of a supported traffic solution no longer takes traffic into consideration when computing those travel times, so I'm forced to rely on a combo of the GO930 and an iPhone app "Beat the Traffic."

Anyway, in just my first days of membership, I am very appreciative to those who have offered a helping hand in dealing with some of my TomTom issues. Thanks again!

 

[dhn]

Welcome to TTF.

Even without the rds-tmc traffic info (which is never as accurate or current as traffic from LIVE models), you still have the functionality of IQ routing with the current application (8.351) and current maps.

 

[darussell]

True. I will say RDS TMC traffic has provided some wild and exciting route alternatives that I would have never considered. Oftentimes reported RDS TMC-reported events had long since cleared when I reached them, but other times it was very timely. I guess it's a matter of timing and luck. Lastly, on the projected arrival time I rely on, thus far seems very accurate with a deviation of +/- a few minutes. Obviously it corrects/adjusts as I travel, but so far close enough for my needs. Please don't misinterpret my attitude; I rely on an elaborate combination of electronic devices for my daily needs; if only I could convince my wife. On our latest trip to Hawaii (Big Island,) I brought the GO930, and (wouldn't you know it) it led me down a dark road to nowhere, bypassing my destination Marriott hotel/resort. Probably misinterpreted reading the map/listening to directions, but she's convinced GPS devices are not to be relied upon.

 

[dhn]

All GPS units have shortcomings, to be sure.

Another problem with the 930 in Hawaii is that you can't put in alphanumeric addresses, so prevalent in that state.

That said, it's still quite a decent model what with all the bells and whistles & the all important sdhc slot which can handle up to 32 gigs for extra maps, mp3's, etc.

 

[darussell]

I thought I was through pestering you, but you brought up another point of interest. I have a 4Gb SDHC card installed, but have never really grasped its benefit. If I understand it, correctly, I can either install/duplicate the 930's file/OS to the SDHC , and then run off it, or run on the 930, solo, but cannot use both simultaneouly. Am I correct in that understanding?

 

[dhn]

Nope, the beauty of that model is that you can use the stuff on the card in conjunction with data on the unit.

For example, you can have the application on the unit, a North American map on the unit and a Western_and Central_Europe map (for example) on the sdhc card. The application will 'see' both maps and you can switch from one to another via Manage maps-->Switch maps.

As well, you can have mp3 files in a mp3 folder on the unit AND additional mp3 files in a mp3 folder on the card. The application will effectively merge the mp3's from both places.

In fact, you can also have the application on the sdhc card and if the app is on it, the unit will first boot to the sdhc card and run from there.

Some people even put absolutely everything on a fast sdhc card (class 6 or higher) and the result is you'll probably see some better performance than if you had app and maps on internal.

So you have lots of choices.........

(and you are NOT pestering me. I'll let you know if you are! )