TT720 - Won't play navigation thru car speakers

[mdf]

What I don't understand is, if it is a FCC or other countries communication commissions' problem why disable the navigation instructions ONLY? It would seem that the .mp3s that are being rebroadcast over the air and potentally picked up by others is more of a problem that having someone intercept "turn left on main street..."

Call me crazy but...Maybe its a safety issue....has anyone heard of some poor soul listing to NPR minding their own business and suddenly being told to... "TURN RIGHT IN 300 YARDS"...whereby they make a sudden change in direction and cause an accident...

 

[ChillyCat]

....has anyone heard of some poor soul listing to NPR minding their own business and suddenly being told to... "TURN RIGHT IN 300 YARDS"...whereby they make a sudden change in direction and cause an accident...

That's too damn funny !!!

And would make about as much sense as the signs in Europe

 

[sageuvagony]

Well I guess I will share the email I sent to TomTom. I might be a bit dramatic so BLAH


In the recent firmware release, I noticed that you guys have disabled the "instructions via FM transmitter" function, which is a huge problem for many people. This was a feature I heavily used and now can no longer do this. On many forums I see where people are returning their devices because of this issue.

I have read that it was disabled due to UK laws. Many of us are NOT in the UK. I am in the USA, which is not bound to those laws. There should be no reason to disable this very helpful/useful feature for everyone.

The main reason I even upgraded to the 720 from my ONE XL is because of this feature. Many new customers are purchasing this device solely because of this feature just to find out that it has been disabled. On many websites that sell your product, it STILL shows "Instructions via FM Transmitter" as one of the TomTom's features. Many are claiming false advertising, which in reality, it is.

There easily has to be some way to have this feature disabled ONLY if a user loads a UK map. It's seriously not fair to disable a feature for everyone when the law only applies to one area. On top of removing the feature for only UK users, you could also implement a warning screen that you must agree to every time, if you do plan on enabling this feature for other areas besides the UK. The red warning screen could say something like "You are agreeing that you are using this feature outside of the UK, etc....." if someone outside of the UK wants to use the "instructions via FM" feature.

Disabling this feature has caused a very huge uproar from TomTom customers and are not very happy. It makes it very unfair for people who have purchased map 815, to have to reload OS version 8.010, and NOT be able to use their newest map 815 they have purchased.

I kindly suggest that some sort of system be implemented where UK map users cannot use this feature but where anyone without a UK map loaded can.

Here is a link to the RadioShack page that shows the feature is still enabled. In fact, it even still shows that you are able to listen to phone calls via FM transmission, which is something you guys also killed off a while ago.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3083251&tab=features

There is PLENTY of talk between amongst the majority of TomTom owners who plan on starting a petition because of this.

The online forums are getting tons of new user sign-ups JUST to inquire as to what happened to the "Instructions via FM transmitter" function. Again, a HUGE percentage of TomTom users chose your brand of PND because of the FM transmitter feature, which you guys just snatched away.

PLEASE CONSIDER THIS CHANGE FOR YOUR NEXT RELEASE OF NAVCORE FOR THE SAKE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION!

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to me.


And here's TomTom's response I just got back today.


Dear Richard,

Thank you for taking the time to contact TomTom Customer Support regarding the recent application update. My name is Cassie and we are always happy to help.

The latest application update removed this feature, but we are currently gathering customer feedback in regards to this issue. The feature might possibly be enabled again. Please continue to check for future application updates which may restore this feature. I thank you for the information you have provided to us regarding this issue.

If you have any further questions or comments, please email or call us at 866-486-6866 Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM until 7:00 PM EST. Thanks again for writing. At TomTom we believe in showing you the way the easy way.

With Best Regards,

Cassie
TomTom Customer Support


So, seems like there is some hope I guess.. When people email TomTom regarding this issue, they need to be FIRM and show that this was a very important feature they took away from us. C'mon people! Help out for the cause!

 

[mattyp]

Well I guess I will share the email I sent to TomTom. I might be a bit dramatic so BLAH


In the recent firmware release, I noticed that you guys have disabled the "instructions via FM transmitter" function, which is a huge problem for many people. This was a feature I heavily used and now can no longer do this. On many forums I see where people are returning their devices because of this issue.

I have read that it was disabled due to UK laws. Many of us are NOT in the UK. I am in the USA, which is not bound to those laws. There should be no reason to disable this very helpful/useful feature for everyone.

The main reason I even upgraded to the 720 from my ONE XL is because of this feature. Many new customers are purchasing this device solely because of this feature just to find out that it has been disabled. On many websites that sell your product, it STILL shows "Instructions via FM Transmitter" as one of the TomTom's features. Many are claiming false advertising, which in reality, it is.

There easily has to be some way to have this feature disabled ONLY if a user loads a UK map. It's seriously not fair to disable a feature for everyone when the law only applies to one area. On top of removing the feature for only UK users, you could also implement a warning screen that you must agree to every time, if you do plan on enabling this feature for other areas besides the UK. The red warning screen could say something like "You are agreeing that you are using this feature outside of the UK, etc....." if someone outside of the UK wants to use the "instructions via FM" feature.

Disabling this feature has caused a very huge uproar from TomTom customers and are not very happy. It makes it very unfair for people who have purchased map 815, to have to reload OS version 8.010, and NOT be able to use their newest map 815 they have purchased.

I kindly suggest that some sort of system be implemented where UK map users cannot use this feature but where anyone without a UK map loaded can.

Here is a link to the RadioShack page that shows the feature is still enabled. In fact, it even still shows that you are able to listen to phone calls via FM transmission, which is something you guys also killed off a while ago.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3083251&tab=features

There is PLENTY of talk between amongst the majority of TomTom owners who plan on starting a petition because of this.

The online forums are getting tons of new user sign-ups JUST to inquire as to what happened to the "Instructions via FM transmitter" function. Again, a HUGE percentage of TomTom users chose your brand of PND because of the FM transmitter feature, which you guys just snatched away.

PLEASE CONSIDER THIS CHANGE FOR YOUR NEXT RELEASE OF NAVCORE FOR THE SAKE OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION!

Thank you so much for taking the time to listen to me.


And here's TomTom's response I just got back today.


Dear Richard,

Thank you for taking the time to contact TomTom Customer Support regarding the recent application update. My name is Cassie and we are always happy to help.

The latest application update removed this feature, but we are currently gathering customer feedback in regards to this issue. The feature might possibly be enabled again. Please continue to check for future application updates which may restore this feature. I thank you for the information you have provided to us regarding this issue.

If you have any further questions or comments, please email or call us at 866-486-6866 Monday through Friday, 8:30 AM until 7:00 PM EST. Thanks again for writing. At TomTom we believe in showing you the way the easy way.

With Best Regards,

Cassie
TomTom Customer Support


So, seems like there is some hope I guess.. When people email TomTom regarding this issue, they need to be FIRM and show that this was a very important feature they took away from us. C'mon people! Help out for the cause!

So maybe a petition would be a good thing, it would show tomtom how many people are upset about this latest update

 

[sageuvagony]

What I don't understand is, if it is a FCC or other countries communication commissions' problem why disable the navigation instructions ONLY? It would seem that the .mp3s that are being rebroadcast over the air and potentally picked up by others is more of a problem that having someone intercept "turn left on main street..."

Call me crazy but...Maybe its a safety issue....has anyone heard of some poor soul listing to NPR minding their own business and suddenly being told to... "TURN RIGHT IN 300 YARDS"...whereby they make a sudden change in direction and cause an accident...

Ahahahahah. Or someone like me who used my Belkin TuneCast II to transmit porn sounds to other car radios while sitting in traffic I always did it to those who would blast their radio loud. Because of the loud radio, I was always able to tell what station they were listening to. The beauty of the TuneCast II is that it had enough power to overpower almost any stations broadcast as long as I was within range of the victim

Anyways, this FCC stuff doesn't make much sense regarding the FM transmission issues since like mdf mentioned, why only make the change to instructions? If anything the instructions do less harm than MP3's do.

 

[Grumpy_Aero_Guy]

What I don't understand is, if it is a FCC or other countries communication commissions' problem why disable the navigation instructions ONLY? It would seem that the .mp3s that are being rebroadcast over the air and potentally picked up by others is more of a problem that having someone intercept "turn left on main street..."

Call me crazy but...Maybe its a safety issue....has anyone heard of some poor soul listing to NPR minding their own business and suddenly being told to... "TURN RIGHT IN 300 YARDS"...whereby they make a sudden change in direction and cause an accident...

Almost like having an invisible WIFE sitting there... LMAO

That's hilareous. Or better yet, any Prius owner. They're usually the bean sprout and alfalfa crowd that would make that finny as heck....

 

[sageuvagony]

For us in the USA, the FCC is what this entire issue is about. [i have no idea bout other countries]

For one thing.....this is NOT a new problem. Its been a headache for a couple years now. All electronics Mfg's [who mfg-sell-market fm trannys] have been getting their balls busted over Part 15 of the FCC Rules, Section 15.239

Simply put..... part 15 says your fm tranny thangy can only broadcast for XX-feet. Through the years, the FCC have been collecting complaints. One of the bigger complainers has been National Public Radio -aka- NPR

What happens is that OUR tomtom units broadcast outside of our vehicles and jump into the radios of folks driving around us. I have had this happen to me numerous times.

Finally, the FCC collected suspect fm trannys and field tested. Well, the findings were that many units were out-putting well past XX-feet. Warning letters have been sent out the past two years to retail customers warning them not to use their fm trannys and instead use a direct antenna plug in...to circumvent the over-the-air problem.

As I posted in another thread here...I recieved mine from Sirius Radio.

I'm guessing the FCC has threatened TomTom Corp, and Corp is covering their ass by firmware deleation [thusly, showing the FCC that TT is trying to cooperate]

Maybe newer units will contain a "compliant" FM tranny and possibly the "outtage" will be limited to certain model numbers. Thats just an assumption. On the other hand, a resoursefull person might seek a "fix" using other channels.
I'd suspect if the FCC gets their way?.....persons wanting to utilize their FM Trannys will have walk outside of the box.

What i'm attemting to convey is.... a petition probably useless ifTomTom is following a FCC directive

Where did all of this come from? I thought TomTom only removed the feature because of UK laws...

 

[ChillyCat]

Where did all of this come from? I thought TomTom only removed the feature because of UK laws...

I've no idea, the relationship between the FCC/UK/TomTom

But, since i've been aware of the OLD running issue with early releases of sat radio equipment / FCC , its likely there's a tie between them: [all fm tranny related]

http://www.cedmagazine.com/fm-modulators-are-hot.aspx

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20061027/190610.shtml

http://journal.skuzz.com/?cat=29
WORST THING EVER The FM modulator has been crippled to the point of uselessness. The original generation of MyFi used an older more awesome FM modulator, these were at least unlocked until sometime last year when XM had to lock them down to keep the FCC from crying. I guess the back-story is some whiners who listen to NPR complained to NPR, who complained to the FCC, who complained to XM that their FM modulators were out of spec. I don?t care if they were out of spec. I have never found a single FM modulator that EVER worked good until the XM one. They do something right and are punished for it? Maybe those listening to NPR should find a station with a higher power output, or on a different frequency, as most areas have 300 NPR stations peppered over the FM band. Or better yet, BAN radio stations from using 87.9-89.9 or something like that and leave those frequencies free JUST for FM modulators! It?s my spectrum too people, and I choose to use it how I want!



http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4480683-1.html

http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200610/msg00154.html

http://www.rwonline.com/dailynews/show_issue.cgi?year=2006&month=12&week=52
The commission began an informal inquiry into wireless modulators to confirm compliance with its regulations. NPR and NAB had submitted engineering studies showing that some FM modulated products were emitting too much power and interfering with some terrestrial FM stations. CEA has been in contact with the FCC on the issue; and XM and Sirius had some of their products re-tested, re-certified and approved for sale.

 

[Grumpy_Aero_Guy]

I've no idea, the relationship between the FCC/UK/TomTom

But, since i've been aware of the OLD running issue with early releases of sat radio equipment / FCC , its likely there's a tie between them: [all fm tranny related]

http://www.cedmagazine.com/fm-modulators-are-hot.aspx

http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20061027/190610.shtml

http://journal.skuzz.com/?cat=29
WORST THING EVER The FM modulator has been crippled to the point of uselessness. The original generation of MyFi used an older more awesome FM modulator, these were at least unlocked until sometime last year when XM had to lock them down to keep the FCC from crying. I guess the back-story is some whiners who listen to NPR complained to NPR, who complained to the FCC, who complained to XM that their FM modulators were out of spec. I don?t care if they were out of spec. I have never found a single FM modulator that EVER worked good until the XM one. They do something right and are punished for it? Maybe those listening to NPR should find a station with a higher power output, or on a different frequency, as most areas have 300 NPR stations peppered over the FM band. Or better yet, BAN radio stations from using 87.9-89.9 or something like that and leave those frequencies free JUST for FM modulators! It?s my spectrum too people, and I choose to use it how I want!



http://www.allbusiness.com/services/motion-pictures/4480683-1.html

http://www.interesting-people.org/archives/interesting-people/200610/msg00154.html

http://www.rwonline.com/dailynews/show_issue.cgi?year=2006&month=12&week=52
The commission began an informal inquiry into wireless modulators to confirm compliance with its regulations. NPR and NAB had submitted engineering studies showing that some FM modulated products were emitting too much power and interfering with some terrestrial FM stations. CEA has been in contact with the FCC on the issue; and XM and Sirius had some of their products re-tested, re-certified and approved for sale.

Well, when Sirius was trying to close the XM deal, from a regulatory standpoint, the FCC basically had them by the short hair. The FCC, normally, would never have had the resources, or judicial standing, to go after either one, meaning that all other modulated devices remained immune via the sat radio precedent, i.e. TOmTOms and other FM modulated GPS devices.

Part of the hold-up on the merger was the dispute on the FM modulated Sat-Radio units from BOTH vendors.

As National Public Radio really means Tax Payer Funded Liberal Radio, NPR finally found a stick to use, via the FCC, on the merger... the non-issue of FM modulation, as there were key democrats on the committee that had to be swayed (i.e. paid off) to vote for the merger. Most of the talk radio on Sat is conservative talk radio, which NPR hates, because the conservative talk radio can actually survive in a market without tax-payer subsidy because people actually tune in. It was all political (as most things are).

SO, once the FCC had a way to tame Sat radio FM mod output, that, in turn, set a precedent all others had to abide by.

If it weren't for tax payer subsidy, NPR would shrivel up and die in under 12 hours --- as Air America did. So this was just a way to try to harass conservative talk radio, and its outlets, sat radio being a BIG one with a NATIONAL offering across the nation on individual channels.

I remember receiving a mailing from XM offering me a free "car kit" for the SkyFi, which hard wired the unit into the antenna jack of the radio --- which I had already done anyhow.

This is just step one in the effort to re initiate the so-called fairness doctrine.

I love this country.

 

[dhn]

I think this thread is wandering ....... just a little bit ..... gentlemen.

 

[Grumpy_Aero_Guy]

I think this thread is wandering ....... just a little bit ..... gentlemen.

yeah.... probably a little. BUt, what I stated was largly true... I followed the hearings closely, and the question WAS about why the FM mod dissappeared....

message receieved and understood... OR .... 10-4 good buddy...

 

[sageuvagony]

I think this thread is wandering ....... just a little bit ..... gentlemen.

Not at all. Many of these posts somewhat explain the current situation. Let us have a lil fun dhn Ohh and did you see the friggin porn wave that hit this site!?!? Yay it's finally gone now.

 

[Grumpy_Aero_Guy]

Not at all. Many of these posts somewhat explain the current situation. Let us have a lil fun dhn Ohh and did you see the friggin porn wave that hit this site!?!? Hope the posts are gone now..

WHERE??????.... DANG, I MISSED it.....

 

[dhn]

Gentlemen.....I have no issue with the detailed explanations you have about the FCC, etc. I just did not want this thread to deteriorate into a discussion about politics in the States or anywhere else.

Rants about tomtom's taking out the fm transmission are always welcome And yeah, Sage, I removed the porn posts.

 

[canderson]

Gentlemen.....I have no issue with the detailed explanations you have about the FCC, etc. I just did not want this thread to deteriorate into a discussion about politics in the States or anywhere else.

Rants about tomtom's taking out the fm transmission are always welcome And yeah, Sage, I removed the porn posts.

At under 100mW power, the FCC says nothing AFAIK. Have never heard of any "xx" feet distance in any of their regs. Besides, any such reference would naturally require a more specific "no more than xxdB at xx feet using a thusandsuch antenna of vertical and horizontal polarization" etc etc etc. If someone can point me to a piece of Part 15 that uses feet and not the 100mW rule, I'd sure like to see it. It's an irrelevancy since they are still permitting the user to create an FM carrier and modulate the audio with music instead of instructions. If interference were the issue (and as long as they do stay below 100mW, they won't get burned for that), why permit music? No, someone at TT is screwing with us.

Called TT yesterday and gave them a piece of my mind on a whole host of issues that have popped up with version 8.3. I made a special point of describing how entirely LAME their release notes (their /6141 page) were, and that in their release notes, it's all well and good to tell us about wonderful things that they are adding to make our lives better, but next time, if they take out a critical feature like FM directions, they'd damned well better advise us of that, too. How can one make an informed decision about whether to "upgrade" firmware if they bury the bad news? That's (again) LAME!

They didn't even take time to go through the user interface to make sure the buttons were still labeled correctly. Just for grins, try to delete a single POI item. On the last screen, you'll have the option to either "Back" or "Dial". "Dial", of course, being substituted for the correct button named "Delete". It works. Just press it and move on.

Tried entering a street modification of type "Other" (a newly and permanently blocked road). The "Other" category has the virtual keyboard squashed to about one half its normal height. I had to use the tip of a pen to type in the characters. I have small fingers, but still had no hope of data entry by hand.

The "Stammering Susan Syndrome" does seem to be resolved through a reload of the 8.3 firmware off the computer's hard drive. Don't ask me why. That indicates some sort of problem with their installer. Am guessing they didn't overwrite as many files as they meant to during the "upgrade", and left one or more older and semi-compatible files behind for the 8.3 core to discover and choke on.

Anyway, Mr. Tech Support got a whole laundry list from me, and that was after a single day's use. I suspect I'll find more, and do hope they address these and get a decent release out soon.

 

[canderson]

Never mind previous comment about "Stammering Susan". Just got lucky after the 8.3 firmware reload. She's as difficult to understand as ever on her first crack at longer names or "multiple" names (e.g., multiple hwys sharing same road surface).

 

[cnair60]

Navigation instructions through FM

I had the same issue - no option to send the navigation instructions throught my car's fm radio. This is what TomTom support had to say. I quote "We understand that you are concerned about the recent change to the TomTom application which has disabled FM Transmission of navigation instructions. We deeply regret that it has become necessary for us to implement this change, as our FM Transmission technology was a unique innovation at the time of its release.

Unfortunately, due to recent legislation in certain countries, it is no longer allowed to occupy an unused FM frequency unless audio transmission is constant. Because the signal that carries your TomTom's voice instructions is not constant (voice instructions are only given occasionally, as needed) it has now become illegal to transmit this kind of audio via FM radio transmission.

We regret that this feature can no longer be offered under the current legal restriction. We are however looking to see if it is possible to reintroduce this function in a different format."
Trust that helps

 

[Grumpy_Aero_Guy]

Called TT yesterday and gave them a piece of my mind on a whole host of issues that have popped up with version 8.3. I made a special point of describing how entirely LAME their release notes (their /6141 page) were, and that in their release notes, it's all well and good to tell us about wonderful things that they are adding to make our lives better, but next time, if they take out a critical feature like FM directions, they'd damned well better advise us of that, too. How can one make an informed decision about whether to "upgrade" firmware if they bury the bad news? That's (again) LAME!

You must have TT confused with someone that CARES.....

 

[canderson]

You must have TT confused with someone that CARES.....

Could be.

As I've thought about this, removing this feature from worldwide use was probably the silliest thing TT could have done. I mean -- of ALL of the devices in the universe that COULD be configuration controlled based upon location, it's a GPS! If they find themselves in hot water in the UK (and as memory serves, the prior posted was correct -- the UK is indeed very fussy about unmodulated carriers, even at low power), JUST TURN IT OFF IF THE MAP CURRENTLY BEING USED IS FOR THE U.K. AND LEAVE THE REST OF US ALONE! You couldn't ask for a device better suited to localized configuration, but they took the easy way out and nuked it for all of us. Absurd.

The relative "openness" of the TT architecture will keep me using their product ... but their total lack of imagination and detailed information about their "upgrades" certainly leaves me very cold. For my purposes, it's still TT. For those without my specific needs, I'd recommend something else.

 

[Grumpy_Aero_Guy]

Your point is an excellent one, and well taken.

Having had the opportunity to travel extensively and live in various parts of the world, I must say that my observation is that this is NOT too surprising when one remembers that TT is a typically European corporation ----

what I mean by "European" is this:

1) a very well designed and thought out product concept...

2) a well executed product, mostly well-functioning product from a hardware perspective...

3) an arrogant attitude that customers will come no matter how disjointed and out of touch your decisions are, and no matter how terrible your customer service happens to be.

I am still shaking my head from my time in Europe regarding the European's tolerance for s*****/non-existent customer service.

First of all, getting someone in Germany to even THINK about working more than 36 hours a week is a chore.

The work ethic there is NOT what it was the two to three decades following WWII. Things that I witnessed customers having to deal with in Europe would put an American company out of business in a matter of days --- and they would deserve to be out of business.

I had counseled several people surrounding my business there about treating the customer as though they are valued, and are important. I was faced with hostility and disbelief that I would even SAY something like that, and, who am I to tell them how to do treat customers --- they deserved the response they got.... UNBELIEVABLE (from a/my US perspective).

It appears that old habits die hard. TomTom is still in that groove based on my experiences. "We'll tell you what you want because we know better".

I wish them the best of luck in the American Market. However, I have seen more than one company that provided a superior product die due to terrible customer service. I think TT will be heading that way in the US if they don't watch it a little.

Just my $0.02