Questions about my TOMTOM 730

[storm180]

I just picked up a TOMTOM 730 as an upgrade to my Magellan Roadmate 6000T. I just had a few questions that I could not find on the forums.

1) I tried touching a POI on the screen to route to it and it just takes me into the menu. Does the tomtom have this ability?

2) Whoevers brillaint idea to bury the Cancel route icon 3 pages into my menu should be shot. On the 730 is there anyway to bring it onto the first screen? I checked the shortcut menu and that wasn't there. I think its odd that they hid the cancel route.

3) I know only the 930 has the ability to estimate where you are without satellite lock but my question about that is it hardware that does that within the 930 or is it just a software block that prevents the 730 from having this feature also.

Other than that I think the unit has great potential and is one of the reasons I picked a TOMTOM this time around.

Thanks in advance.

Sean

 

[Bama Rambler]

1) As far as I know it does not. I miss that function too. The Lowrance and the Garmin I own both have it, but I guess enough of us haven't requested it to make it a priority for TomTom.

2) I agree it should happen automatically. The Iway does it when you're within 1/10 mile of the destination and stopped.

3) I would bet it's extra hardware and software. I doubt there's a block as such. It's probably more not prgrammed and lack of installed haardware.

I'm with you. I think it has great potential too.

 

[ar1979]

1)
3) I would bet it's extra hardware and software. I doubt there's a block as such. It's probably more not prgrammed and lack of installed haardware.

I'm with you. I think it has great potential too.

It have heard that this is also called dead reckoning. The GPS estimates the speed of travel based on the last speed before loosing the GPS satellites and use the direction from the in-built compass (gyro). Then it probaly matches these estimates with the map and plots the most possible position. This is how I think it works.
So to do this an in-build compass is required, these are costly hardware and so might not be in all the devices. I would think that the TT usually displays the compass by using the GPS data itself to save money on the gyro. Maybe I am wrong.

 

[storm180]

1st day out with it has been interesting

So I put it in my car eary this morning and I go out 3 hours later and the gps is sitting on the floor because the suction cup didn't hold. So I wet it down and restuck it. 10 minutes into my drive the darn thing almost flies out the window because it didn't hold. So I find a place to pull over and I lick the suction cup (ick) so far so good.

So another thing I noticed is that sound even at 100% isn't that loud especially if I have the windows down and music on. I have also noticed the POIs on the screen are really small compared to my Roadmate 6000T. One of the major things I have seen driving during the day is that I cannot see the screen as soon as the sun hits it. I had to make my own screen shield out of some cardboard.

I guess it will take time to get used too. Anyone else build themselves their own custom sun shield. GPS seem useless without one because the screen is so hard to see.

I was going to look into a vent mount for it and see if I can get it closer to me. Maybe that will help on all fronts.


Sean

 

[dhn]

When you stick the base to the windshield, press really hard with 2 thumbs on either side of the stem part. Wet both cup and windshield. Only attach the unit to the base after the base is attached to the windshield.


As far as the sound, make sure you have the preference for associating sound to speed of car UNCHECKED and try that. If no better and the preference is unchecked, do the reverse.

 

[storm180]

When you stick the base to the windshield, press really hard with 2 thumbs on either side of the stem part. Wet both cup and windshield. Only attach the unit to the base after the base is attached to the windshield.


As far as the sound, make sure you have the preference for associating sound to speed of car UNCHECKED and try that. If no better and the preference is unchecked, do the reverse.

I will try that thing with the suction cup and the sound. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Statman]

Get rid of the suction cup altogether. I got a holder that fits in a cup holder....works great in my car as there are about 20 cupholders available.

Mount Guys
They also have screen shields.
glare shields

To navigate to a POI...use the menu item....If it is already on the screen why do you need directions?

 

[storm180]

Get rid of the suction cup altogether. I got a holder that fits in a cup holder....works great in my car as there are about 20 cupholders available.

Mount Guys
They also have screen shields.
glare shields

To navigate to a POI...use the menu item....If it is already on the screen why do you need directions?

In regards to the POIs on the screen, I planned on using them for geocaching. On my magellan I could touch a geocache on the screen and it would route me to where I needed to go fairly quickly while I was driving like using caches along a route. It seems with the tom tom I would actually have to pull over and go through the menu and try to figure out which geocache was on the screen so I know which one to route to.

Sean

 

[nicholb]

You can select POI's from the browse map feature. Select it, then click the symbol in the upper right to center the screen on your current position. Then tap the poi. To navigate to it tap the icon in the bottom row that looks lick a circle with a cross in it. Not as easy as just tapping it on the navigation screen.

Probably easier would be just to slect to navigate to the POI category and choose "near you". This should list the closest one to you first.

 

[ar1979]

I guess it will take time to get used too. Anyone else build themselves their own custom sun shield. GPS seem useless without one because the screen is so hard to see.
Sean

What I do is I mount the TT on to the top of the Windshield just to the left of the RearView mirror in my car. The TT would be barely touching the roof and by doing this the car's roof provide me the sun shield to some extend. Not the greatest idea, but it works for me. This would create some problem for bring down the sun visor, but...

 

[storm180]

You can select POI's from the browse map feature. Select it, then click the symbol in the upper right to center the screen on your current position. Then tap the poi. To navigate to it tap the icon in the bottom row that looks lick a circle with a cross in it. Not as easy as just tapping it on the navigation screen.

Probably easier would be just to slect to navigate to the POI category and choose "near you". This should list the closest one to you first.

I appreciate everyones input and will defintley give it a go this weekend when I go geocaching and see how things go in regards to navigating the poi screen.

Thanks,

Sean

 

[Michael Quinlan]

What I do is I mount the TT on to the top of the Windshield just to the left of the RearView mirror in my car. The TT would be barely touching the roof and by doing this the car's roof provide me the sun shield to some extend. Not the greatest idea, but it works for me. This would create some problem for bring down the sun visor, but...

I do the same thing. It works much better in my van than my SUV because the van has a lot more clearance above the rear-view mirror. In the SUV though, the mount ends up in the tinted bar across the top of the windshield, making it fairly concealed from the outside.

 

[ar1979]

....the mount ends up in the tinted bar across the top of the windshield, making it fairly concealed from the outside.

I noticed that too. It remains fairly concealed from outside. To see it it has to be viewed from a good distance from the back or the sides, but maybe this can be avoided by bringing down the sun visor a little.

 

[storm180]

Menu

Is there anyway to modify the TOMTOM menu system on x30 yet because I am finding it rather annoying that the cancel route icon is three pages in. It seems I am using it more because the house numbers I am pushing in are all off by at least 200-300 ft like my house is actually 2 houes down. So it still thinks we are going to our destination. My magellan has always brought me right to the right house and told me which side it was on before I got there. I guess from having the magellan for so long I am having issues adjusting to the new system but the inaccuracies are really bothering me.

Sean

 

[Rick F.]

Is there anyway to modify the TOMTOM menu system on x30 yet because I am finding it rather annoying that the cancel route icon is three pages in. It seems I am using it more because the house numbers I am pushing in are all off by at least 200-300 ft like my house is actually 2 houes down. So it still thinks we are going to our destination. My magellan has always brought me right to the right house and told me which side it was on before I got there. I guess from having the magellan for so long I am having issues adjusting to the new system but the inaccuracies are really bothering me.

Sean

Jimbo responded to your other thread regarding 'custom menu'.

As far as your house being off by 200 to 300 feet, try using Lat/Lon to define your home and have TomTom find your home. It's perfectly accurate. I had to do this with mine as well.

Walk out to the front of your house (drive way entrance) and turn on your TomTom. Then... Tap

• "Change preferences" <right arrow> <right arrow>
• "Change Home location" <right arrow>
• to "My location".

This way it uses your actual position via satellite computation instead of dividing up addresses in your neighborhood.
Hope this helps.

 

[storm180]

I will give that a try.

Sean