Suppport Thread for the TND 500, TND 700 or future Rand McNally products.

Before I continue, my current version on the 500 is 10.2.1472.1717

Route Mode=GPS is following a route
Follow Me Mode=GPS is not following a route

Ok. While in Route mode, I see the pop-up warnings. However, in followme mode, while the icons are displayed ( for weight stations and state lines etc) no pop-up are displayed. Is this something RM is looking to change in the next software upgrade.

Been out on the road a little over 20 years and more then not, use the 500 (or any GPS) in follow me mode for a reference and "early warning" tool rather then a tool for routing.

73-Mark

 

It might work if it was to assume you were continuing on the road you were currently on and give warnings for whatever is ahead, but only by looking at the next 5 miles or so. It would only change roads if you made a turn. They could play with it and see what works without bogging down the unit.

 

Hiya, TND 500 SN A35T5B170751 This thing is giving me fits. 4 calls to RM support for help and 4 different answers, none of them seem to help. After TND Dock update downloaded it tried to unpack/install and I get a corrupt file missing .msi file warning and the whole process stops there. Now I own a $499 paper weight, some help resolving this little issue would be appreciated.

Have made sure anti virus is off, even uninstalled it, no effect.
Tried plugging the unit into a different computer, no effect.
Uninstalled TND Dock per agents instructions, now I can't get it to reinstall.
Attempted to download TND Dock from RM website and same issue occurs.
Manually deleted TND Dock files from my temp files and hard drive per agent instructions, no effect.....

Last agent told me it may have to be returned to RM and told me he would speak to a supervisor and call me back, it's been 5 days since last contact, RM is yet to return the call.

 

With respect, what you wrote makes very little sense to me.

This GPS-any GPS device-works by creating a sphere based on computed sat data. The more sats the unit "sees" the more complete the sphere. As the unit moves. it is able to compute speed, direction and altitude as sat data changes. The unit-for lack of a better word-know's it's computed location (subject to SA) and if it is moving and what direction it is headed, and can compute the rate of the movement. The unit (depending on programming) can compare all of this data to that of a database and display the sum of all the data on a display screen. Comparing location data to that of other set location data (POIs, construction data etc) requires nothing more then a fast CPU to make all the rapid comparisons.

In the not so old days-before moving map displays, all one could get was postion, rate, and elevation data. Which was great for boats, hikers and even avaition but lousy for driving.

So to say that the unit cannot provide a pop-up alert because it doesn't ( again for lack of a better word) know is false. The TND500 already, in fact, displays both POI and other icons on the moving display in both modes-which is something you should be aware of-depending on the view level. It's lack of a pop-up alert in "follow me" mode is a programming decision, not a limitation of the device's capabilities or the GPS system as a whole. It's the software engineer's desire to weight the route mode over the simple follow-me mode. Nothing less and nothing more.

A lot of drivers-including myself-do not need nor require routing. We pretty much already know where we are going and how to get there. What the unit does is provide a "head's up" for us. And that is what makes this a good tool-but not the end all.

73-Mark

 

I can agree with that but in my mind Mark, it's simpley a matter of proxcimity. The software should know where the unit is what, compare that information to the POI data points and do an alert based on the proxcimity of those POI to the unit. Thunit is already displaying the (for example) weigh station icon and nearby POI on the map screen illrelevent to operating mode. Would it not be possible to key a alert pop-up to these icons-after all, to be where they are on the map display, the unit already knows their data-points relevent to the unit.

Anyhow, thanks for going to RM on this. I think they've made a great start here but they need to carry through.

Off thread-I see there is a port for a traffic receiver. What are the plans for this and are they near future?

73-Mark