Hello Listers, Firstly, may I apologise for the length of this email, but I
would really like to know whether the GPS mark 2 system performs better in
other countries than it appears to here in the UK. All will be explained if
you read my precis of an email which I forwarded to Pulsedata several days ago.
I contend it raises some issues which demand comment, but, so far, though I
gather the matter is being discussed, no official comment has been received.
Of course, if the GPS system is of no interest to you, please exercise your
prerogative and use the delete command. I am not in the business of knocking
Pulsedata, but I am genuinely interested in knowing if in the States, or in
Ausralia, or indeed anywhere, the system works better for you. Here follows
the email:
I fervently believe that I have not been specially picked-out by Pulsedata,
nor that the area of the Uk in which I reside is a special case. Therefore,
the multitude of faults and weaknesses I have detected in their gps mark 2
system, recently released for use with the Braillenote family of units, are
definitely not the result of potential personal prejudice and undoubtedly could
be replicated countless times throughout this country. The system purports to
guide a person to the very door of a required address, whether you make the
trip by car or on foot. I live in a small village just south of Shrewsbury,
the county town of Shropshire in the west midlands some fifty miles west of
Birmingham in the UK.
The manual suggests that, in "virtual" mode, it can provide a route from
where you live, to where you wish to travel. I was told it was very good on
guiding one in cities. However, as I live in a rural village, I telephoned a
friend who lives in just such an environment. Having set in his address as the
starting point, I asked him to give me the address of a house in his area, the
route to which he knew. Firstly, we fed in the name of the street, which was
soon recognised, however, number 35 produced a negative result. "number not
recognised" said the machine, "will enter zero instead". This seems to mean
that one would be guided to the end of the street in question. Well that's not
too bad, one might say. We began to follow the route suggested by the machine,
fortunately not physically. "Very good," my friend said, as turning by turning
the route was divulged. The snag came when we reached the actual street where
number 35 definitely existed. It guided us to the end of the said street, but
unfortunately, it was a very long street, and when we were at last told we had
reached our objective, we were almost two miles from where we wanted to be. I
subsequently checked whether it was a fairly new house, but was told that the
exact year wasn't known, but it was certainly built in pre-war times; that is,
before 1939.
I have a niece living in Solihull, just south of Birmingham. Anybody
travelling by car from Shrewsbury, would definitely use the A 5' followed by
several miles on the M54 motorway; it is a journey of just over sixty-four
miles. Our GPS mark 2 system, however, ignored both these trunk routes and
suggested a route which took us a long way south, almost to the town of
bridgnorth, before taking us east, and then north, to reach Solihull. Now it
was true that, had we followed the recommended route, we would eventually have
reached my niece, but the journey was considerably longer, being some
eighty-eight miles.
Why was the vital M 54 motorway being disregarded? it was in fact opened
in 1983. Are the UK maps provided with this system really over twenty years
old? that could be part of the problem. However, the car-drivers in the area
whom I consulted, said this was nonsense as even before the M 54' the old A 5,
laid-down by Thomas Telford in the early 1800s, was always a more direct route
than the excessively
convoluted route recommended.
Another of my nieces lives with her husband and two children in a village
about four miles from Penzance in Cornwall. This was a trip which my wife and
I made only a couple of months ago; so we knew the distance was 302 miles. The
manual had warned me it would take some time for the system to work out a
route; it did. At last, however, a route was produced, it seriously suggested
a trip of some 474 miles. I will not bore you with the precise route
suggested, suffice it to say that it commenced by recommending travelling over
40 miles in the opposite direction. No! it won't do.
Finally, though surely no more examples are really necessary, (though I gave
more in my email to Pulsedata), I had to do some work for a customer who lives
on the other side. of Shrewsbury. Now my wife, having lived around here for
many years, knew the way; it was just as well. The GPS system suggested a
route with a distance of 13,49 miles; the actual clocked distance on the
generally accepted route was 9,3 miles.
When one studied the lengthy route to Cornwall, one kept encountering the
word "ramp." I thought at first that it was a modern term for motorway,
however, nobody I've yet spoken to knows this term. I wondered if it was an
American term, but, consulting Webster's dictionary revealed that, if indeed it
was, then they were not aware of it. However, one can get used to new terms,
but surely, if the word "ramp" is synonymous with motorway, then at least it
should be accompanied by the number of that motorway. It is obviously not
helpful to be instructed to turn right and drive for miles on "ramp", without
indicating which one.
A further suggestion is that when asked for a street, pressing an agreed
code, should establish the town centre as your destination. I feel it is
indeed a little curious that I cannot ask for a route, for example, to
Blackpool, (a well known seaside resort), unless I can quote the name of an
actual street. I know I can ask for a list of streets, you should try it, if
you can spare the time, and unless you know the town well, what would be the
point? and of course a postcode, (zip code) search should be included; many
houses have no numbers but are known by name.
Finally, may I say that I consider this system has great potential. The
satellite linkage with the route created in the "virtual" mode, I found worked
very well. However, the advantage of mark 2 over mark 1, is the "virtual"
mode; it must be made to perform better. Though the "points of interest" file
is rather disappointing, consisting as it does mostly of a list of Petrol (gas)
stations, Incidentally, most of these I have checked in this area appear to
have closed-down, in some cases many years ago, yet one can add to this list,
but of course one has to personally visit the would-be location.
Please do reply to the list if you have any comments or experiences which will
help make this system more useful. At the moment, I certainly can't trust it.
Don Cooper.
