Are FM traffic antenna's worth it?

I am using the traffic service with my 550, XM Radio for traffic reports, and a hand-held Traffic Guage unit that has a map of the LA Freeways on it and shows slow or stopped freeway segments. You might call it a triple threat.

What would help more is if Caltrans had more freeway speed sensors.

I just changed jobs and I am now commuting into Irvine from my home at the southeastern edge of LA county. I purchased the FM TMC traffic for my Nuvi 350 to help me pick the best route home, since I have multiple freeway routes available to me.

My issue: I'm trying to figure out how the color coding really works. It seems that all traffic in the LA/OC area is marked as YELLOW with extremely rare exception.

Today was one of those exceptions. The northbound 55 freeway actually showed a red flow marker. That got my attention, so I decided to take the 405 to Beach Blvd, since it was marked YELLOW.

I have no idea why the 405 was yellow and not red. Traffic was an absolute crawl, it took me over an hour to get from John Wayne airport to Beach Blvd with an average speed of a mere 8.4mph.

What gives with the color coding? Overall, I have found the traffic flow markings in the LA/OC area to be quite accurate although the reasons why are not (e.g. accident/construction markers seem to be quite rare).... but having slight traffic delays marked the same color as a freeway that is a chronic crawling mess is frustrating so far.

Any other experiences with this?

I remember looking at the MSN Direct page for coverage about 2 weeks ago and there was coverage for most urban areas in Canada, namely, greater Vancovuer, greater Toronto from Buffalo to Montreal. But for the life of me, I can get that page to display any Canadian coverage. It even listed the stations providing service and showed coverage areas with overlap.

It seems like a nice feature, but I guess our cousins south of the boarder don't think there's traffic up here

Traffic... in Canada...??

No way

My Nuvi 660's came with the GTM20 receiver. My understanding of the traffic plan is that a subscription must be purchased for each metro area where service is wanted, making it $$$ impractical for those travelling for leisure. Where I live, traffic coverage appears to be principally for the areas highlighted in the "windows live" rectangle for the downtown Phoenix/Tempe freeway area, I10 south to Maricopa, and I-17 and AZ-51 north to the AZ-101 (See windows vista sidebar live search maps-yahoo widgets may have a similar item)...areas where I rarely commute.

I purchased a lighter plug accessory to get rid of the long receiver, and retired them to the box.

The subscription is good for all coverage areas.
The TMC Traffic Service page showing the coverage areas, is also the start of the subscription sign-up page.
This is somewhat misleading because they state:

"Click the button above to purchase a subscription for a different coverage area or to renew an expired subscription."

You'll select:

Total Traffic Network from Clear Channel - one year subscription = $60.00

You'll get coverage in all of the cities listed in blue. Click on one to see the exact coverage area of that city.

It does sound like you only get coverage for the area you sign up for. I paid for the subscription after my 3mo free trial. I recently made a trip from Texas to NY and back. I had service in all areas that have coverage.

Thanks for the clarification ...good to know

I live in the Washington DC area. I am using the free trial subscription that came with the nuvi 660 and have not found it to be of any use. The other day I was driving around the Beltway from Dulles Toll Road going towards Rockville. I was in a serious backup. After sitting in 5-mph traffic for around 10 minutes it told me that I was entering slow traffic or something. It didn't tell me how far the delay extended or anything else. It took me around 2 hours to get home (a trip that would normally take around 45 minutes). Other times it's told me there is a traffic alert ahead, and there's no problem at all.

Maybe I'm not using it correctly.

rosmehra,

Did you have a destination selected? Or just turned on?

My c550 with the TMC works like this;
If I select a destination, say HOME from work then select GO and while on the route from work to home, I come upon traffic, I get a diamond with a number in it. This shows up just above the "next turn in" in the lower right corner. If I press the diamond, the next screen will have the amount of time delay in a yellow bar at the top of the screen, if you press the yellow bar you will get the specifics, location, direction start and end of delay. On this page you will also be afforded an "Avoid" tab if you want to route around the delay.

If on the other hand you turn on the gpsR and start driving along with no specific destination, and you come upon traffic you will get a verbal, "Slow traffic ahead" or something similar. Since you have not selected a specific destination, there is no way to calculate an amount of time of delay.

From the main menu page if you press the ! you should get a list or map of traffic incidents.

I don't remember whether or not I had the destination selected on that particular occasion.

I remember a couple of times I've seen the yellow diamond above the next turn icon. I've selected it and seen the amount of delay. However, on those particular occasions the delay was nominal so I didn't pay much attention to it. I don't remember noticing the Avoid button.

Another time I was driving from DC area to Monticello VA and did get caught in significant traffic -- but I don't remember seeing any alert. I pressed the detour button manually to get around it.

I live in NYC where commuting around the area is always like a chapter in Dante's inferno it can really be hell. I purchased the traffic antenna and have not regreted it. It works great. Has saved me probably days worth of time avoiding tieups.

it does not work at all in canada so for me its useless

So, now you know how the system alerts you. If you "go" to somewhere, you'll get the diamond
If not, you'll get an audio alert. Touch an Icon, or yellow bar for additional info.
After you touch the diamond, you'll have "back" and "avoid" bars on the bottom of the screen.
Press the double cars from the main menu and you'll get the traffic map, there you can drag the screen around.

The receiver will only receive what's broadcast. If nothing is sent to TMC, then TMC cannot broadcast for our receivers to receive. This happens frequently. This morning on my way to work there was a bad accident (overturned vehicles) in the southbound lanes of I35, I was going north. I kept looking for info and never saw one. This was about 5 mins away from work, so it's possible it showed up sometime later. The point is, and I'm sure you've noticed the same while listening to radio traffic reports. That, you'll hear there is traffic or an accident in an area - you get there and there's no traffic or accident. Or you see trouble and not hear on the radio...your 550/gtm 20 can only report to us what info it receives.

Do I understand correctly that if you are just driving from point A to point B and not on a programmed route, that you will not get any alerts if there is a traffic issue or accident? If that's the case, I'm even less interested in the FM traffic receiver. I drive around the city all day on a route that I am familiar with and do not need to program it.

If a destination is not selected, I have gotten the verbal alert "Traffic ahead"
I also think I heard one that was slightly different a couple of times, can't recall exactly. I'm sure there is more than one verbal alert when a destination is Not selected.

You of course Won't get an amount of time delay to your destination - since no destination was selected. You also won't have the option to avoid the problem area. You will still get traffic information that's accessed by pressing the applicable icon (on the 550 it's a double car icon, some units have a blue diamond with an ! in it) from the main menu screen. The same info is accessible with or without a destination selected.

Thanks, I appreciate the info.

I just got my NUVI 660 last week.

So far I am impressed with the traffic feature around Boston, I did take a trip to Cape Cod with it and traffic is not available there.

Next week I am taking a trip to WV and will update everyone on how it worked.

Stan here is your problem as you pointed out crossing the WW bridge on any afternoon much less on a Friday...is a mistake regardless of what the radio or GPSr tells you. I lived in DC for over 30 years and I never would think of going over the WW on a friday afternoon even if the traffic radio said it was ok...all it takes is for one diplomat plated car to serve and poof..traffic is snarreld to Springfield. LOL

I am coming back to DC for a few days next week and I am anxious to see how this coverage works...Thanks for the advice!

I am disappointed that when I received my new FM traffic receiver it did not provide information regarding suymbols used to discribe problems. While many are somewhat evident, I can't for the life of me determine one symbol that keeps poping up. If anyone knows, please let me know. It is a black bordered sign with a yellow diamond shape symbol inside the black border and in the yellow diamond shape sign has :01 or :02. Any one know?

That tells you the amount of delay in minutes...However, I found those to be slightly dated. My advice is take it with a grain of salt.

Excellent! thank you...how did you know that, is there somewhere that shows the meaning of these signs?

Just got back from DC..and it worked great..although I am orginally from that area and know some of the back ways into and around major problems I chose to let the MSN and NUVI technology guide me...they did a good job...

My only question and maybe this is the norm but when I landed back in Denver it took until I was almost home for the MSN and the atenna to realize and loink back up that I was in Denver and not DC...I would say it's around 20 minutes or so...is this the Norm for this type of hook/link up?

Thanks

You'll get the details of the delay... direction, start, stop etc.

...and yes carry plenty of salt grains...

I Live in the Los Angeles area near LAX and the traffic is always heavy on the freeways that I travel but for me I find it pretty accurate. Maybe it depends on where you live.

marinerjoe in an earler post Recommends checking out: http://realtimetraffic.net/

I have been using this new 680 for a little over a week now in the SF bay Area, mostly in the East Bay. I have about a 91% chance of uselul (timely) traffic data. I can not figure out why is takes so long to update sometimes though. Yet, the very next time I use it, in the same area, it is almost instantly ready. I mean traffic alerts within 60 seconds. I would call MSN if I could to find out more about their coverage areas, but I can not find a phone number. In their coverage areas, they mention "shadows". I must be in a shadow.
I think I would renew today if asked. I will probably wait though for the new models since I have a whole year to decide. I will see what they offer then.

I use the 660 & 670, although the two that I use are FM traffic compatible they don't use MSN® Direct like the 680. Mine I believe uses Traffic Message Channel and it works great in my area. I'm not sure what other people are experiencing and I don't know much about MSN Direct.

Hi, just my 2 pennies worth. The traffic is only as good as the person reporting it. You will find incredible differences during the day, all due to who is reporting it.

That said, the traffic avoidance, in my never to be humble opinioin, is AWESOME!

I use the GTM 20 with a nuvi 650 in the greater Denver metro area and the traffic info and alerts work pretty well. I even get data up into the Rockies, I-70 and such.

I will agree that the traffic data is only as accurate and timely as the people running the TMC system. Why does the phrase "Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain" come to mind?

I would agree with the comment above if it weren't for the fact that there are some areas (one that I know of is DC) that there is automated, in the pavement, sensors. That keeps the (often inattentive) human out of the loop.

I just purchased the Nuvi 680 which came with the MSN Direct Traffic,Weather, Gas prices and Movie Information.

I had read mixed reviews about the traffic. I find that it works very well (New York City Metro)and even when I travelled upstate, as well.

I took a trip this week up to Michigan and was really disappointed in teh lack of coverage in this area..absolulty no coverage what so ever..

Arrgghhh

i travel all around the country 2500 to 3500 miles a week. the fm antenna is a life saver in my book. i find as many accidents on the side roads as the major interstates. i was traveling thru dallas the other day and came up on an accident that had just occured it showed up on my gps receiver within about 10 minutes. i was already detouring around traffic based on my yellow diamond. it works good in the major cities outside the cities in the country it is useless. really nice when you have the nuvi 660 set up to avoid traffic. in los angelos i was setting my route and i could not figure out why my gps was routing the me away from the shortest route. i figured it out when the yellow diamond jumped 30 min longer and i was bogged down in serious traffic.

I tried to find a traffic thread that was most like what I wanted to learn about so hopefully I chose the right one. Unfortunately, it didn't have the answer to my specific question (that I could find).

I just received the GTM 20 Traffic Receiver for my Nuvi 650 and I've been trying to figure out exactly how it works. It loaded up right away and gave me the ! icon on the main page, but the traffic warnings do not show up on the nav screen as it appears to do on the packaging literature - only on a separate map. Is there a way to integrate the traffic warnings onto the navigation map?

Thanks in advance for help anyone can give.

O.K. your 650 is similar to my 660. If you hit the traffic icon on the main menu it will show you a map and the traffic there. But as far as I know, that is about the only way to see it. Now when you enter a destination that will face traffic a little warning sign will pop up in you screen telling you how much delay to expect taking the route you have chosen. ie.. fastest, shortest, etc... If you touch that icon it will ask if you want to detour, you can choose yes or no. I think it may show you what route is slowed then. I am not sure since most of my travels so far have been to and from work. And at 5 am there isn't really any traffic and I already know the way to work and back. Since I have been doing it for 33 years, don't really need help.

Mine seems to do better "on the road" than it does around town. I'm in DC, and for some reason I rarely get alerts during my commute. My commute is thru town, rather than on the highways. I've been at a stand-still a few times and I never even got a peep.

Yes, It is available in the Toronto area,which includes Hamilton and parts of the Niagara region, also in the Ottawa, Ontario and Montreal, Quebec areas, so far.
http://realtimetraffic.net/

Doug

For what it's worth, my experience with the 660 traffic capability has not been good. I'm coming to the end of my "free" subscription and I don't plan on renewing. I'm in the Long Island, NY area and the performance has been spotty. When I get an an alert, it's too late or inaccurate.

As they say "Your mileage may vary".

Bob

I wish the maps would be integrated too, but you will only be notified if you have set a destination that would use a road with a traffic warning. I think it will warn you if the road you are on is jammed ahead but I have not actually seen this happen yet.

As an aside, I live 40 miles from Philadelphia and find that I have to loop the power cord over my sun visor to get a good signal until I get closer to the city. This may help others who live in fringe areas of the traffic data cities.

I receive notification of traffic delays when not routing. If I enter a freeway that has traffic delays, I have gotten the warning right away on several occasions.

When routing, the GPS has not routed me onto the freeway when it has already detected traffic delays. If delays are detected in route, they show up on the screen and have been very accurate.

Reception for me has been great at home and out of town, primarily in the Cincinnati and Columbus areas when out of town.

Bill

In my opinion, it all depends on how often you use your GPS per year. If you live in an area where traffic is a daily occurrence and one that is a bother or do extensive traveling then utilizing the 'FM traffic antenna' is a good tool to have and a good investment in the long run.

Cheers!

Thank you all for your information. I'll look forward to my first jam!

Happy New Year!

I had the same reciever problem and you might find the problem is not the reciever but the mount. Garmin replaced the mount connection on my 660 and the reciever problems were solved.

No more red lights and searching for channels on the reciever.

The traffic data from the TMC unit does not appear on your map! It's next to useless unless it's integrated with the map. The routing feature can be made to avoid traffic but in this area only a few roads are covered with flow data.

I would like to see how the MSN Direct-compatible units handle this. That service has so much more data including dynamic POI's, but if it's not integrated, it's pointless.

If the TMC didn't come free with my nuvi 660 I would be angry if I purchased this separately at any price.

At least the GTM-20 w/ my c550.
When entering for example a slow traffic area, I get the slow traffic icon on the nav map at the origin of the slow down. Another icon is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen, press it and the details are displayed. TMC works for my purposes, in my area.
No traffic service is going to be perfect. It's only as good as what is reported. Our units are only receiving data that has to be transmitted. TMC or MSN will have to improve the reporting of traffic data. There seems to be a great deal of fluctuation in the reporting of this data according to locale.

Are traffic alerts available for the Nuvi 360? I just got the thing and hope I mad a right purchase.

I have a 760 and use MSN direct and it is great for the Houston Area. We get real time traffic updates from Houston's Traffic Monitoring System that uses transponders which many cars have here (needed for toll roads) so we get real time traffic information that doesn't rely just on reporters and cameras.
I have saved hours by being able to check all the major highways before I leave for work or home and if I let it create the route it will do a good job of routing me around the worst traffic.

FM yes, but not the MSN

My C550 comes with an FM traffic alert but so far it's been all but useless as all it seems to do is show construction zones and little else in Ottawa at least.
I wouldn't pay good money for that feature if it doesn't already come with it.

It also seems like a bigger pain to get a receiver for the 350 and 360. The power-plug version doesn't work for the 300 series, so it seems like you end up having to choose between powering the unit of traffic data. The pictures aren't too clear though, so I may be missing something.

I live in Minneapolis, and the traffic here is horrible! I found an FM receiver for about $20 on ebay for my Roadmate 760 that I think I will pick up. It comes with 15 months of free service, so I have planty of time to use it and decide if it is worth the subscription.