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Annoying, unnecessary limitation of NAV

3K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  Truckin' 
#1 ·
Our recent 3,500 mile tour into Canada took us far outside of our US DVD mapped area. We sure missed being able to program in our next destination to aid us in getting around in unfamiliar territory.

As we approaced the Canadian border, the screen went blank. Curiously, some of the lakes and waterways were still displayed, but no words or roads.

Both of us found that our sense of direction was compromised or non-existant in the vast, mountainous areas of Alberta/BC and the Canadian Rockies. I wasn't surprised that mine disappeared, but my hubby had a hard time too and he was raised in an outdoors loving family.

With NAV you do not get the compass on the mirror. That was fine when NAV didn't give the nasty "Vehicle is out of database coverage area" screen that froze up the few functions that could otherwise still work such as the COMPASS. If that screen didn't cripple us, we could also push the red arrow and still get Lat/Long/Elevation info. That would help me find coordinates on one of the paper maps if I needed it.

This screen freezing interference was completely unpredictible and I do not understand why it even exists. It's obvious that there is no map available. I didn't need an announcement.

Some days we'd drive for hours without it appearing, or we'd be in and out of the truck with many short jaunts w/o it coming on. Other times it would freeze up in the first few minutes of starting out. Usually, starting the truck again restored the red arrow and compass.

As Ultra-Hog mentioned in the "Things You May Have Not Noticed About Your Ridgeline!" thread, this is potentially a life saving feature. WHY deactivate it???

It was bad enough not having the map and the directories working. As long as the location signal can get through, let that part work!
 

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#2 ·
While probably outrageously expensive, can't you put the canadian DVD into the US unit and have it work in Canada instead of the US? While you probably wouldn't want to update the Canadian DVD, maybe when someone in Canada does update their's they would be willing to cut you a deal on their toss out one. Maybe that is something we should throw up on the trading post is our old used DVDs to ship to each other across the border if they work. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a Canadian one if they work, would certainly make trips north better.
 
#4 ·
Truckin' said:
As we approaced the Canadian border, the screen went blank.
It is Canadian Government scrambling device mounted along the borders that intentionally disables navigation equipment so visitors are forced to stop and ask for directions with the hope that at the same time they will support the local economy by purchasing food items and souvenirs. :D

Oh crap.... did I say that out loud....
 
#5 ·
Here is another one (I have posted this before)

Unverified road only show up when you are zoomed in close. Fine for a city but in rural areas the ONLY roads for miles and miles around are unverified and you can't see them unless you are zoomed so close that you can't tell where you are going or what roads are coming up.

...also the wonderful warning about entering an unverified area gets REAL old real quick.
 
#6 ·
Skywalker said:
It is Canadian Government scrambling device mounted along the borders that intentionally disables navigation equipment /QUOTE]

You probably aren't too far from the truth.

In a previous life I travelled back and forth across the US/Canada border, frequently, by Vancouver B.C. If I wasn't the one driving I was usually logged into my laptop connected to work via wireless VPN. Everytime I crossed the border my signal dropped dead. It did this with every major carrier. As soon as I crossed back to the US my signal would come back on-line.

My carriers all tried to blame good old Roger (major cell carrier in Canada) but it smells kind of fishy.
 
#7 ·
captmiddy said:
While you probably wouldn't want to update the Canadian DVD, maybe when someone in Canada does update their's they would be willing to cut you a deal on their toss out one. Maybe that is something we should throw up on the trading post is our old used DVDs to ship to each other across the border if they work. I wouldn't mind getting my hands on a Canadian one if they work, would certainly make trips north better.
I assumed the DVD for Canada would cost about $200, so I didn't even consider buying one. If I lived closer to the border and crossed frequently, I'd probably do it.

I love the idea of offering up our outdated DVDs when we upgrade.
 
#8 ·
Thats odd.....when I bought my RL it came with 2 discs.

1/ First has all off Canada and 1/2 USA....just south of Kentucky I believe.

2/ All of the US plus 100 miles into Canada I'm told.

Extra disc was tucked away in the glove box.....why would they do this for us and not the US..??.....maybe Honda has their own theory on American sterotypes....!!! (kidding)

There is so much sprawl in the big Canadian cities, I'm sure I'll be getting the updated Disc at some point......gladly give someone my current version.
 
#10 ·
gormleyflyer2002 said:
Thats odd.....when I bought my RL it came with 2 discs.

1/ First has all off Canada and 1/2 USA....just south of Kentucky I believe.

2/ All of the US plus 100 miles into Canada I'm told.

Extra disc was tucked away in the glove box.....why would they do this for us and not the US..??.....maybe Honda has their own theory on American sterotypes....!!! (kidding)

There is so much sprawl in the big Canadian cities, I'm sure I'll be getting the updated Disc at some point......gladly give someone my current version.
That is curious that you got both US and CA discs. Did anyone else get both countries? I would have been thrilled, as we already had our trip planned when we bought our Ridge.

The US version going into CA a hundred miles is a joke. It's only the main arteries and we weren't near any of them. I would have liked a hundred mile band represented. That's what I expected.
 
#11 ·
Truckin' said:
Our recent 3,500 mile tour into Canada took us far outside of our US DVD mapped area.
With NAV you do not get the compass on the mirror. That was fine when NAV didn't give the nasty "Vehicle is out of database coverage area" screen that froze up the few functions that could otherwise still work such as the COMPASS.
QUOTE]

Did you try pressing the Menu & Map/Guide & Cancel buttons and holding them for 5 seconds? I think it is called a diagnostic mode.

The next screen that comes up press the GPS INFO button.

1) You will see a dynamic Compass.
2) Number of active satellites and their location above you or on the horizon.
3) Your current position - Latitude - Longitude
4) Your elevation
5) Date and Time

The compass works great.

Once in awhile I drive around in this mode checking elevation signs just out of curiosity. The Navi seems pretty accurate and in some cases probably more accurate than the elevation signs.

In my area I usually have 7 to 8 satellites active at all times.
I'm experimenting with different window tinting material by holding them over the side windows and watching how many satellites deactivate on the screen. Kind of a neat tool.

Anyway I'm not sure this mode would of worked if your Navi froze up.
But if it froze up because it lacked Map Data this diagnotic mode may have still worked and at least you woud have a compass.
 
#12 ·
I have an Alpine aftermarket nav unit and it came with a single disc for Canada and US. It is dated 2003 and is apparently the latest version. Funny thing is, there are only two major Canadian cities and their suburbs on it. Tonnes of US major cities on it, though.

I happen to live in the greater Vancouver area, so it is great for my use. Everything from Whistler down to Chilliwack is included. Toronto and its suburbs is the other Canadian metro area that has map info. Nothing for Prairie Provinces or Quebec and the Maritimes.

BTW, I did go to my dealership to see if the Honda nav DVD works in my Alpine unit. It worked, but some features on it were not possible. Maybe I need to reset the system. Anyway, I'll have to go back to the dealer and see if I can fiddle around with it some more. Alpine upgrades are like $300 US, while Honda ones are less expensive.

If I can reboot the system in my nav to accept the Honda DVD, I'll be looking to buy someone's old version - making the purchase of their new upgrade more affordable. 2005 version is still better than 2003.
 
#13 ·
Did you try pressing the Menu & Map/Guide & Cancel buttons and holding them for 5 seconds?

Anyway I'm not sure this mode would of worked if your Navi froze up.
But if it froze up because it lacked Map Data this diagnotic mode may have still worked and at least you woud have a compass.[/QUOTE]

I did not try this. Of all the days we spent in Canada (about three weeks) I think the screen only froze half a dozen times or so. It was infrequent and completely unpredictable. It always made me mad.

It is so mountainous up there that I truly needed the compass. I didn't have a clue which direction we were driving most of the time.
 
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