Traffic in Canada

[Gadget_Guy]

I just got off the phone with TomTom support.

I discussed with them my lack of proper delay times....

They have downgraded my application version from 7.20 to 7.010

He said that this was the best known version that they know works well for traffic stuff.

When I connect my unit to the docking station it wants to upgrade me to 7.020 but he said to just ignore that upgrade.

I will be testing it on Monday to see if it actually is better....

Just thought I would report in.

D.

 

[trafficinfo]

derek you do not have to acctually wait until monday. TTN service ends tonight at 8 pm ET. you still have an hour. just joking. as i recall from your early posts when you joined this forum , with the previous firmware that came with the unit you were also getting only 1 minute delays , so i think you will have to wait for the next firmware to fix it. my c550 sometimes shows 3 or 4 min but still most of the time is 1 or 2 minutes, when it should be more of course. I just simulate routes through red colored highways to test so i can not be sure 100% but I have been in a few 1 minute delay that were suppose to be more than that.

 

[trafficinfo]

Derek thanks for the report by the way .... and please keep us updated. There is no much info on the internet about this traffic TMC services let along about Canadian services. The other thread is about Garmin mostly and the one that I tried to start when Navteq RDS started their service for Magellan back in October 2006 , never kicked in , I guess there were not too many Magellan users or maybe they were satisfaied with their service , lol lol , which after using it for 2 weeks now, I fully doubt it. lol lol lol

Nextouarer: This is North America so get used to the idea of paying for anything that could be free in every other developed country , like for instance , Health Care!!!! lol lol lol. Anyways there is a trend lately in Europe to add new pay comercial TMC services in countries were it was free until now. Acctualy the trend is to coexist both services , pay and free. For instance Germany and Italy has added new pay services. Seems that this free services not always has the quality you would need for a proper re-routing. Therefore the new comercial services will address this. The funny thing is that this private companies are even using data from public and goverment agencies and in Australia's case even tax payers funding.

By the way Nextuarer Did you Know that the RDS-enabled in-car radios has the capability to switch from CD or AUX source to an FM station when they are broadcasting the voice traffic report and then switch back after a few minutes to the CD when the traffic reporter has finished? That is exactly the function of the Traff Key and amazingly IT DOES NOT WORK IN NORTH AMERICA BUT IT DOES WORK PERFECTLY IN EUROPE!!!!. But what even bothers me the most is that FM stations (and severals by the way in Toronto) are actually broadcasting the TP (traffic programm) RDS-flag EVENTHOUGH THEY ARE NOT BROADCASTING THE MUCH NEEDED TA flag(traffic announcement). Because they simply want your receiver to scan and stop in their Frecuency if you press the Traff key!!!! And talk about manipulation eh????. And I ask my self, well.... Where are the so called Telecommunications Eng members of the PEO that they do not see this? Why is it that the CRTC does not regulate the use of this TP and TA flags and forbids the FM Station to misuse it. One station that is the exception is CHUM FM , in their case they use the RDS system almost fully (they even broadcast TMC for Navteq RDS (magellan use it). They even broadcast extra data with weather info. I asked their Eng about this misuse of the TP and TA flags and eventhough did not convinced me at least he was honest. Apparently competition and the market plays a factor.

Well , better move on to do something else eh? , being a long post so far ... as usual!! lol lol lol lol lol.

 

[trafficinfo]

today my Garmin c550 unit was showing a 23 min Delay in my route from stoufville to Mississauga. they were 2 events acctually , one 10 min and the other the remaining 13 min delay. one on the 400 S from 407 to 401 , the other one along 401 from 400 to dixie rd. the funny thing is with just a couple of minutes after started to drive in to my route and therefore very far away (still south on Ninth Line before 19th line) the unit suddenly said , Severe traffic ahead, Recalculating. and therefore re-route via 427 S instead of 400 S from 407 with only a 2 min delay then. the question is ; Was not suppose the unit to wait until very close to 400/407 to re-route me? or is it normal that it reroutes even when so far way? I have not tested yet if it comes back to the original route after the traffic problem gets cleared.

What have been your experiences so far Afeudale and Gadget_guy , or anyone else who wants to share them?

 

[trafficinfo]

by the way , Did the new firmware update , 7.221, fixed the 1 minute delay times issue?

 

[Gadget_Guy]

Even with the new firmware I am still only getting 1min delays.

It is really starting to be annoying.

I don't understand why they can't fix this simple issue.

D.

 

[trafficinfo]

1 minute delays only, means that the unit WILL NOT RE-ROUTE automatically PROPERLY and therefore you will have to check the traffic and do it yourself. It defeats the purpose I guess.

By the way , last night , at aroud 2 am , there were 9 Construction Events reported by the TTN RDS-TMC Service. All had a Green Color but the funny thing is that last night at around 10 pm It only had 2 Contruction events and this morning it only shows 1 contruction event , and that means THEY ARE UPDATING AT LEAST CONSTRUCTION EVENTS ON A 24x7 FORMAT!!!. I have been using this traffic services for 3 weeks now only so I can not compare to the start of the service back in july BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I SEE THEM UPDATING CONSTRUCION EVENTS DURING THE WEEKEND. For the previous 2 weekends , it reported the same 2 construction events all weekend. This could be great news and the begining of an improvement in the service from a 5 am to 8 pm Mon-Fri format to a much needed 24x7 format!!! Will it be soon or am I just day dreaming?

 

[Slayer]

Hey Juan - you seem to know your stuff, I have a couple questions for you.

So I'm using my Blackberry bluetooth to get traffic updates for my tomtom 720.

I have no interest in buying an rdf 56 z alpha beta gamma 9876 antenna.

I've been stuck in traffic various times in the GTA (401, DVP) and the tomtom keeps telling me there are no delays on my route- its LYING! I feel like throwing it outta the goddamn window!

I just took a trip down to the States, and the traffic info worked fine and dandy...took me around traffic jams, construction zones - the whole thing.

My question is this:

Can I use my blackberry bluetooth data connection to get traffic updates in Canada, specifically Toronto?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PS - please don't get too technical on me...

 

[Jimbowmac]

Can I use my blackberry bluetooth data connection to get traffic updates in Canada, specifically Toronto?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PS - please don't get too technical on me...

Sorry to say no..

Toronto, Ottawa Vancouver and a bit of Montreal are covered, but only with the external Antenna

With the blackberry you'll get road contitions only, and not really accurate either.

 

[GarCor]

Hi,

I live in Canada (Toronto) and have been trying to figure out the Traffic service available on the unit.

I have the traffic updates working perfectly (although data updates over my non-supported Motorola Q through the non-supported Bell Mobility mess up the phone and stop the voice part from working as it can't do a data and voice call at the same time) but haven't seen any updates of traffic even when I am sitting in it. Do the traffic updates only work with the special receiver right now in Toronto. I was also on a recent trip to Montreal and if you have ever been you know it is like Toronto with traffic guaranteed around 3-5pm. Once again I got no indication of traffic. I know that it might not be faster to get off the highway (thus re-route) but I thought there was suppose to be some kind of indication of a slowdown. I also checked the traffic on route feature and nothing.

I called tech support and they told me they get data from several sources and it is available in Toronto, Montreal and another west coast city (probably Vancouver but I can't remember).

Has anyone seen traffic updates working?

Nathan...

Just a crazy question but is your unit a 720 or a 720 T. I don't think the units that are not T's have the trafic reports on them and if you don't subscribe to the trafic reports then you won't be able to receive rerouts around trafic.
I could be wrong

 

[trafficinfo]

the T means that the unit also comes with the TMC traffic receiver (FM based). It is the same 720 plus a traffic receiver in the package. In canada some , cities only , only the TMC antena works. Via cell phone only road conditions which is basically nothing.

 

[Gadget_Guy]

Just an update....

New firmware that was just released makes no difference.

It shows me the traffic just fine but delay times are useless.

Starting to hate the TomTom for traffic.

D.

 

[dhn]

Just an update....

New firmware that was just released makes no difference.

It shows me the traffic just fine but delay times are useless.

Starting to hate the TomTom for traffic.

D.

There is a **serious** thread on the Brit forum where some are convinced the new firmware update puts a phony image on the screen to reflect a (non) delay in traffic and that the delay is really not working at all.

 

[Slayer]

Sorry to say no..

Toronto, Ottawa Vancouver and a bit of Montreal are covered, but only with the external Antenna

With the blackberry you'll get road contitions only, and not really accurate either.

So why does the website say that there are traffic updates available for Toronto when they aren't? Does anyone know if they are at least working to resolve the problem? This is false advertising, what if I had bought the unit only for their claim that tomtom provides traffic reports?

Kinda pissing me off.

 

[bartman007]

Hi guys,

I'm new to this TomTom world as I just Got My GO 920T. It seems like many have stumbled upon situations with the RDS-TMC Traffic reception. I too have problems. Althought, I'm not sure why. . No matter what I try, my RDS-TMC Traffic Receiver doesn't work. I live in Montreal (South shore) and I am well in range of the Vermont Station and my TomTom always shows the sync icon...It never shows the yellow or the green circle...

In the traffic setup page, I've both tried to set up the automatic mode to find the RDS-TMC traffic station and manually set it up at 92.9 (WEZF station located in Vermont). This station is loud and clear on my car FM receiver.

Does anyone know what's the next step...any one have a slightless clue. Do I need to call TomTom to unlock something or...??? I have bought the 920T because it comes with an RDS-TMC antenna (100$ more). I think I got screwed somewhere down the line....

 

[Sandman]

Traffic in Montreal

Hey everyone,

I just got a TomTom 920T from gpscentral and they shipped it without the traffic receiver. Go figure. They said that TomTom "forgot" to put it in the box...
Anyway, they fixed the problem quickly and a week later I received the traffic receiver.
First question: The part number on the traffic receiver is 4V00.081. Is this the right one for North America?

Second: Just like Bartman007, I live on the South Shore of Montreal and this traffic thing is just not working. It keeps looking for a station. I have tried the automatic mode and the manual mode (92.9) but no-go. Do I need to call TomTom to activate this thing?
Has anyone living in Montreal managed to get traffic information?

 

[p5ku]

That is the right part number. You might want to try using it at home first. The coverage in Toronto is pretty good, but it does seem to be finicky at times.

 

[GAW]

Stations that work with TomTom traffic are few and far between. Plus, even though you may get the station on the radio loud and clear, it may not be strong enough for the traffic data stream. I live between San Francisco and Sacramento, and I have to get closer to either one before the TMC receiver gets a strong enough signal.

I was an early TomTom buyer who made the decision to buy the unit (910) based on their advertised "free" traffic service for life with the TMC receiver. If I stay with TomTom, after my one year with the receiver expires, I will basically abandon the TMC service and go with the bluetooth service (since I have to maintain my data plan with T-Mobile for other reasons). If I have to pay $59.95 annually, I would prefer to have it be one that works in all areas.

I had used traffic services in Europe through a receiver (it worked everywhere), and had a mistaken impression of how it would be in North America - big mistake.

You might try experimenting with different orientations of the antenna - that got me a little better reception. Also, I would be surprised if the Vermont station carried the Canadian traffic info (if they do - great - say thanks neighbor)

However Bartman007 and others, I am afraid you did get screwed....

I would try setting up the free traffic trial from a bluetooth source (if you have a data service on your cell or other device), and see what kind of traffic updates you get that way in your area.

 

[trafficinfo]

kind of late but ....

the major problem with montreal is that vermont is too far away. your car fm radio will work because the antenna is outside and larger and besides the stereo pilot and the frecuencies that carry the "statio audio" are broadcast at much higher power that the rds-tmc traffic data (should be 10% of the maximum power). try with the receiver and antenna outside the car and you will see. users have rported that when driving on top of some of the montreal mountains it locks and get traffic data. TTN is working on adeal with a montreal FM station but still nothing. here in Toronto the reception is great anywhere from hamilton to Oshawa and far north to Newmarket.

6 months ago the bluetooth based traffic service was not fully working in toronto , now i do not know. it was only weather related traffic like flooding or heavy snow that got reported via GSM data comm.

 

[galaxtel]

What frequincy do you use in Toronto

Folks,
thanks for the interesting and very important thread.
What is the current situation with RDS-TMC traffic info in Toronto for TomTom? I just bought a unit, but it can't find any station to get a signal.