XXL 540 Series

[Exit14]

Hi,

I'm not that familiar with TomTom's. I currently have a Garmin which I will be returning shortly.

I'm thinking of picking up a TomTom XXL 540M or 540TM in place of the Garmin.

The Garmin displays the current speed limit on roads and highway's --I really like that feature.

Does anyone know if the TomTom's have the speed limit feature?

Thank you.

 

[RDAY]

on my tomtom xl 340s which is basically like the 540 i believe it only shows speed limits on major highways for me nothing else.
Why dont u like the garmin?

 

[rustybirman99]

The Tom Tom XXL 540TM seems like a great deal. If everything works as expected (and written about on this forum) I think this is the new one for me. It's down to $207 and it won't be released until 4/26. I guess they didn't get enough pre-orders at the list of $259. I wish someone who has the traffic could tell us how well it works.

 

[canderson]

Does anyone know if the TomTom's have the speed limit feature?

Thank you.

Mine does, and I'm finding that with each new map release, it incorporates speed limits on more roads. You can also add speed limit info to any road segments you travel regularly that aren't already covered.

 

[CynicX]

The Tom Tom XXL 540TM seems like a great deal. If everything works as expected (and written about on this forum) I think this is the new one for me. It's down to $207 and it won't be released until 4/26. I guess they didn't get enough pre-orders at the list of $259. I wish someone who has the traffic could tell us how well it works.

I have traffic on my 330 and I'd assume it works the same way. First off you only get traffic reports on major roads, if it would be on the news its probably going to be on a traffic receiver. The opposite applies, if there is a back up on some small back road it likely wont tell you about it. I've on noticed things on major highways and their off/on ramps.

I wouldnt renew it for $$, however I'd certainly take it for free esp for the life of the unit. I would like it even less on a small display GPS unit because it does use some of the screens room. On my 4.3" screen its not bad. So I definitely think it would not be a problem on the even larger 540's screen.

What I do like about it however is browse map feature, and then click show traffic. Its a little slow loading but its neat to be able to see where the back ups are in your area.

I think IQRoutes will get you around a lot of congestion....

Exit14 : What dont you like about the Garmin? Are you new to these units? Sometimes people expect a little more out of them then they receive...

 

[rustybirman99]

CynicX, A description of the XXL 540TM online says, " LIFETIME Traffic sends updates to your TomTom every three minutes". Is this what they say about all units which use the Tom Tom traffic receiver ? That sounds as if it updates more often than people say they get with Garmin & Magellan. Do they all use the same reporting for traffic, or are there separate reporting for Navteq and Tele Atlas GPS units? Thanks.

 

[gatorguy]

Three minutes is standard for RDS/TMC traffic AFAIK. It's the same for Garmin, Magellan, etc. But it doesn't mean the traffic data is just three minutes old and thus up-to-date and reliable. Just that it's refreshed on your device every three minutes.

 

[CynicX]

CynicX, A description of the XXL 540TM online says, " LIFETIME Traffic sends updates to your TomTom every three minutes". Is this what they say about all units which use the Tom Tom traffic receiver ? That sounds as if it updates more often than people say they get with Garmin & Magellan. Do they all use the same reporting for traffic, or are there separate reporting for Navteq and Tele Atlas GPS units? Thanks.

And to continue on from what gatorguy said, its only if the device can pick up the radio signal. I can go days without it connecting at all. As I get toward more congested places with larger highways (large cities) then I'll get a signal.

I'm not sure but I would THINK its the same signal for all traffic receivers. Its an FM frequency that broadcast this data and the GPS interprets it accordingly. It would only make sense to me that they all interpret the same signal. But I could be totally wrong about that..

 

[mvl]

There's two major FM radio traffic companies in North America: clearchannel and Navteq.

The free Garmin traffic uses Navteq, from what I hear their radio transmitters aren't as numerous or strong, but I've never used one so I don't know.

Tomtom uses clearchannel for the 540TM, and you can see its traffic realtime at www.totaltraffic.com

The high end LIVE traffic on the 340LIVE, 740LIVE, and iPhone app is a class above clearchannel. You can see it's traffic at routes.tomtom.com

 

[canderson]

There's two major FM radio traffic companies in North America: clearchannel and Navteq.

The free Garmin traffic uses Navteq, from what I hear their radio transmitters aren't as numerous or strong, but I've never used one so I don't know.

As RDS goes, their coverage really isn't bad at all. See here: NAVTEQ and click on your favorite city. I'm still not impressed with either of the RDS services in terms of timeliness of reporting, though.

 

[ex4zngod]

TomTom XXL 540TM

Hi, i recently purchased the TomTom XXL 540TM. On my screen i don't see the traffic bar that other people has on their TomTom XXL 540TM, do i need to purchase anything else to get the traffic updates? Along with the Fuel prices. None of these features seem to work for me very well...

 

[rustybirman99]

I think you can only get fuel prices on the "Live" models of the (eg) 340,740, 940. Don't know if it comes as the 540.

To get the traffic bars (if you have traffic available in your area) you need to have the car adapter (with the egg shaped traffic receiver in the middle of the wire) connected to your vehicle.

If your area is covered for traffic and you have the correct adapter plugged into your vehicle's cigarette lighter, it should work, otherwise try this forum again.

 

[ex4zngod]

But the model I have (XXL 540TM) says that it has Lifetime Traffic Maps updates.

 

[mvl]

But the model I have (XXL 540TM) says that it has Lifetime Traffic Maps updates.

The traffic should be built into your power cord.

First, make sure Tomtom put the right cord in your box. Does the cord have an 1-2 inch plastic oval on it - maybe 10 inches from the USB connector?

 

[ex4zngod]

Yeah i just noticed there was that oval thing, thanks.

 

[TML]

Speed Limits Only on State & Federal roads ?

I just acquired an XXL 540M, it seems to only have speed limits for desgnated state & local highways - it does not appear to know about other major roads & streets that are not designated highways. I used to have a Garmin NUVI 765 that knew the speed limits on most local streets, though mot within sub divisions.
I bought the XXL 540 for two major reasons:

1. THe ability to display more information regarding the current trip,eg ETA, miles to destination time to destination & speed limit/speed all at the same time. The 540 meets all expectations on this one.

2. THe ability to show local speed limits ( I've really missed this one the NUVI) THe 540 gets a fail on this one. I am trying to decide whether to keep the unit or not at this point. There are many time around here where the speed limit changes frequently from 35 to 45mph & they are very heavily traveled local roads & streets that the 540 doesn't seem to have a clue about.
If I am wrong and anybody knows this is being fixed I would appreciate being told. Thanks

 

[dhn]

Welcome to TTF. The lack of speed limits reflected in any given roadway is a reflection of poor mapping data in that specific area.

You can change the speed of given roads via mapshare but be advised that doing so for segments where the speed constantly change, while doable, is essentially a pain in the neck.

And, even if you do make the change, it will not get reflected in different ETA's or routing selections; however, if you've set the preference to warn when going faster than allowed, that warning will reflect the revised value you've altered via mapshare.

One can hope than future map data (880 is due within a month) will be more precise.