My ASEAN Free GPS Map Project

Some reviews for this device is quite good. Thought of getting one during the
Expo this weekend @S$199.

But one big question is if it can use MFM map.
Can anyone advise ?

smartcat_mfm wrote:Some reviews for this device is quite good. Thought of getting one during the
Expo this weekend @S$199.

But one big question is if it can use MFM map.
Can anyone advise ?

As long as it is a Garmin ... Yes

Here is a nice video on the latest Garmin Nuvi 1250
Garmin Nuvi 1250

Some personal experience opening the new unit
I bought one Nuvi 1250 (and TMC receiver) from the expo at Suntec city yesterday. Had it charged for 4 hours and was ready to go.
Had the first satellite lock within 20 seconds, subsequent locks was mostly within 10 seconds. So much faster than my GmXT on Omnia. User interface response was great(compared to using on my handphone)
The TMC receiver works OK, It had my traffic info shaded right beside the rail my car is on.

So far I like the unit for the traffic info, fast satelite lock, responsive user interface and junction assist. The postcode search is very good(specifically within Singapore).
By the way there is a nice photo viewer and you can also assign one photo to be the startup photo. ....

Trying WAAS
Under normal Satelite mode I saw the accuracy sometimes can be as large 30m, and I tried to switch satellite mode from normal to WAAS and it still works (with better accuracy 6m). Great !

Loading MFM
On a MicroSD card, I created a /Garmin directory. Then I loaded the MFM gmapsupp file the directory. The unit is detecting the gmapsupp because I can find MFM POIs on the "info" menu of the GPS unit. I tried to find a setting that selects which map to use but to no avail. ... So if there are now 3 maps inside CityNavigator/Malsing and MFM how do I switch the active map .... Anyone can advise ?

Issue Turn by Turn Voice commands
When I use my GMXT, the unit gives me voice navigation for every coming turn/exit. But this Nuvi 1250 unit that I have, keeps quiet. There is speech only at the beginning of the navigation,recalculating and satellite lost.
I tried changing the default male voice to the another female english voice, but the result is the same.
Is there something that is stopping the turn by turn voice commands ? Again I searched through the menus and did not find any switch that is related.

smartcat_mfm wrote:Loading MFM
On a MicroSD card, I created a /Garmin directory. Then I loaded the MFM gmapsupp file the directory. The unit is detecting the gmapsupp because I can find MFM POIs on the "info" menu of the GPS unit. I tried to find a setting that selects which map to use but to no avail. ... So if there are now 3 maps inside CityNavigator/Malsing and MFM how do I switch the active map .... Anyone can advise ?

Have you checked at Tools > Settings > Map > Map Info. Here maps are able to be enabled (checked) or disabled (unchecked).

smartcat_mfm wrote:Issue Turn by Turn Voice commands
When I use my GMXT, the unit gives me voice navigation for every coming turn/exit. But this Nuvi 1250 unit that I have, keeps quiet. There is speech only at the beginning of the navigation,recalculating and satellite lost.
I tried changing the default male voice to the another female english voice, but the result is the same.
Is there something that is stopping the turn by turn voice commands ? Again I searched through the menus and did not find any switch that is related.

I believe this has got to do with enabling all maps (of similar coverage) at Map Info. Thus, enable only 1 mapset (note: a mapset may consist of more than 1 map, ie. MFM mapset consists of up to 3 maps) and disable the rest.

Thanks dvpro,

Both the advice worked. Now everything is working correctly .

smartcat_mfm wrote:Thanks dvpro,

Both the advice worked. Now everything is working correctly .

Does the traffic info still works when only MFM is the active map?

smartcat_mfm wrote:Trying WAAS
Under normal Satelite mode I saw the accuracy sometimes can be as large 30m, and I tried to switch satellite mode from normal to WAAS and it still works (with better accuracy 6m). Great !

WAAS stands for Wide Area Augmentation System. My understanding is that this works only in North America. So, your improved accuracy cannot be due to WAAS.

chaicka wrote:Does the traffic info still works when only MFM is the active map?

I was told that TMC works only with the TeleAtlas map. Can you verify?

Also, can you elaborate a bit more on the TMC receiver?
- Do you find the cable bulky and difficult to hide?
- Is the traffic info updated?
- What do you actually see from the traffic info?

tks wrote:I was told that TMC works only with the TeleAtlas map. Can you verify?

The brochure I have says TMC currently works only with TeleAtlas map. There is no highlighting of traffic conditions when using MFM, so I guess that confirms what the brochure says.

tks wrote:Also, can you elaborate a bit more on the TMC receiver?

To receive traffic info on the Nuvi 1250, you need to buy a TMC receiver and plug it into the Nuvi's mini USB slot. The receiver cost me about ~ S$60/= and is to be powered from the car's 12V. Do let me know if you want a picture of that ....

tks wrote:- Do you find the cable bulky and difficult to hide?

Yes the cable is rather thick and messy running up my dashboard. I place the receiver at the dashboard front just touching the windscreen.

I wish Garmin would integrated the receiver into the Nuvi itself.

tks wrote:- Is the traffic info updated?

The traffic looks updated for highway and main roads from observation but I have no idea how rapid the update is or how the system sense traffic across each road in Singapore.

Edit: I notice this morning the traffic information is incorrect. I was travelling on Clementi Ave. 6 entering A.Y.E. The road is extremely slow moving and this was not reflected on the GPS. AYE was also slow moving but GPS does not have any info.

tks wrote:- What do you actually see from the traffic info?

The GPS screen highlights green, yellow or red along the roads(see picture) indicating the traffic conditions. On top of that there is some details on accident locations.

tks wrote:

smartcat_mfm wrote:Trying WAAS
Under normal Satelite mode I saw the accuracy sometimes can be as large 30m, and I tried to switch satellite mode from normal to WAAS and it still works (with better accuracy 6m). Great !

WAAS stands for Wide Area Augmentation System. My understanding is that this works only in North America. So, your improved accuracy cannot be due to WAAS.

I think your are right.
Although I turned on the WAAS option, the GPS could still be using the normal GPS signal in the absence of WAAS coverage.