No more Zumo 660, no more Garmin

[RBEmerson]

Strictly speaking, BaseCamp development has stopped. No fixes, no improvements. AFAIK there's no suicide pill in there, assuring BaseCamp stops running. NTL it's nice to have a supported app. Having a web-dependent route planner is somewhat less than brilliant if BaseCamp is, for example, being used off solar power while driving through the Rockies and in the dark. Yeah, dumb.

 

[Fred W]

This thread went from bad to stupid. Unsubscribed.

 

[RBEmerson]

Hmmm... I seem to have left out comments about trans-Atlantic 550 use. With a bit of care in selecting map sets, having the North American and the "places most tourists go" European maps is not a problem. The transition from using the 550 to get to the US airport to using the 550 to head to the first stop after leaving a Euro-land airport is simple. Use settings to select the map set, change units (trying to use miles and feet in a metric world is discouraged - the road signs don't use miles, at all), and accept the pronunciation of local names will probably be horribly wrong. The rest of the business of operating the 550 is done automagically. If traffic reporting worked with your phone/550 combo in the US, they probably work in Euro-land, too. If you were wise and signed on to an international phone/data plan, from your US phone carrier. Failure to do so and operate on roaming will probably suck several wallets dry. "Know before you go."

Armed with your 550, a portable car mount, place for the USB charger, and a phone, you and the 550 will be good to go on either side of the ocean.

- - - -

About TT support and the MyDrive app... For some reason, MyDrive stopped winning records for battery consumption, although it's still near the top on battery consumers. Force app stop doesn't work any better than before. The only way to take MyDrive off of the active apps is to uninstall it (most folks' option) or "freeze" it for rooted phones.

I called TT Support ask about the "app that won't die" problem, in hopes of finding there is an on/off switch or other "battery light" option. There is no on/off, no sleep mode. Pushing the matter a bit, the stance was "you must call your phone maker - they will know what to do". Or... "It ain't us, go bother someone else". How Garmin.

 

[Uncle Hud]

Fred W posted: This thread went from bad to stupid. Unsubscribed.

Agreed.

For the first time ever, I have invoked the "ignore" feature on this Forum. It's made reading some threads (like this one in particular) much more pleasant.

 

[RBEmerson]

Having said nasty things about TT support, I'll take about 95% of it back (I'm still PO'ed about "the app that won't die").

I've tried support for three different issues and received useful answers.

1) May I please have the US and British male voices that speak street names? (to please SWMBO) Done via email to my WiFi router to my 550, and done within a couple of minutes. Are there German voices that speak street names (not in the "out of the box" state)? Yes, Anna and Yannick, who showed up in a couple of minutes, too. Woohoo!

2) Why can't I use Anna and Yannick? You must set the 550's language (for everything on the 550) to German. Fantastich. Danke!

3) Why can't I get traffic and weather although my phone are linked/connected for messages and call handling? The initial procedure didn't work, but it's not the support person's fault.

4) Trying to login with MyDrive got a 503 message = server dead. Nobody told the guy in call 3 the appropriate server is down. Which was confirmed in this call.

Lots of chatter with support, but each call was useful (even #3).

Here's the US support info:

United States
877-757-7137
Monday - Friday: 9:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. EST

Hint: if you're calling TT about a Rider550, at the start of the "if you're calling about...", enter 1 4 1 (wait a beat before entering 4 and 1). You're in the Rider550 support space. Shazam!

 

[jmdaniel]

While it sounds like you have made up your mind to banish Garmin, before you spend any $$, call them. Two yrs ago my 665 stopped working, (power button just stopped moving) and Garmin (in Canada mind you) to my very great surprise offered a free refurbished replacement unit, and they pd the shipping as well. My unit was at least 4 yrs out of warranty.
Good luck with whatever you purchase. Maybe Santa is listening in.

-Steve

Did you buy one or more lottery tickets the same day? 'Cause you hit the jackpot big time.

My experience with Garmin was the same; the "+" button finally ripped off, and they sent me a refurb unit, at least 4-5 years after my unit was out of warranty. The 550 still works fine, and I picked up a 595, scoring a very nice discount from Garmin, IIRC 30% off.

 

[AdamK]

Strictly speaking, BaseCamp development has stopped. No fixes, no improvements. AFAIK there's no suicide pill in there, assuring BaseCamp stops running. NTL it's nice to have a supported app.

Just because it's running doesn't mean it will be supported after you update the firmware in your device. BTDT

 

[RBEmerson]

I'm not trying to get on Garmin here. Lots of stuff drops out of support but keeps on running. The gotcha is that if something goes sour, it's not going to be fixed.

 

[RiderX]

First, it turns out that the 660's link to the headset was only via HFP (hands free protocol - a BT protocol that's good for simple voice and minimal control activity). HFP is why MP3 playback on the Garmin 660 is so lame; it was never meant for music, ever. Also, HFP means any sound moved of an HFP link will always be EFFIN' LOUD!!

As Fred and Dave both pointed out, and I can attest to, the Garmin 660/665 can connect either HFP or A2DP or both.