iPhones sat nav set up

[Mickthecat]

Are any of you guys using the iPhone as a sat nav ?. Would be interested to see the set up.


My Zumo 550 just died & was thinking about a phone set up before I shell out on another dedicated sat nav.


Many thanks.


Mike

[Chad]

I've used my iPhone for the past 6 years as my satnav. On previous RT's I just bought a waterproof cycle mount/case & attached it to the standard RT bracket that curves across the top of the dash near the screen. I powered it with a simple adapter plug from the power take off. Using the satnav will eat your iPhone battery in an hour or less without a charging lead. I used Bluetooth to connect to my Interphone intercom system, and can honestly say the system has worked faultlessly. Benefits of using the iPhone is that you can listen to music, answer your phone and when the satnav gives a command, the music softly reduces in volume. The only downside to the older IPhones (IPhone 3 or4) is the screen is a little too small for me. However my new iPhone 6 is outstanding. Far superior to any satnav you will get.
Word of advice, do your research before you choose a satnav app. I bought Copilot app for £40 with lifelong updates. It has always got me to my destination but for reasons known only to copilot, it has a VERY annoying habit of directing me off autobahns, through towns & villages before leading me back onto the same autobahn! Its set up correctly and only does this in Germany. France is fine, Barcelona fine & the UK fine. The next app I will buy is Tom Tom. I have it on good authority that these satnav apps are fantastic. One other point to note; if your pillion also wants to listen to your iPhone music/satnav you will need a bluetoothe splitter, which plugs into the earphone jack on your iPhone. Mine cost about £50, but it works exactly as it should.
incidently, the iPhone 6 has a bigger and higher resolution screen than the Nuvi's and fits very nicely in the satnav space on the RT LC!

[Spencert231]

Oh Chad where were you when I forked out £600 on my Sat Nav V :-\

[Chad]

Oh Chad where were you when I forked out £600 on my Sat Nav V :-\

probably being re routed off an autobahn somewhere...

[Mickthecat]

Chad that's great thanks very much.


I'm due an upgrade soon so going to get the iPhone 6 or even the 6 plus.  I do intend to use a power lead to keep the phone topped so when you say the "power take off " do you mean the accessory socket on the dash ? ( you'll have to excuse me as I'm very new to this bike ).
A pic of the set up would be good.


I've got Navmii downloaded to the phone so was going to use that. Not tried it out yet though.


I'll also be taking a look at some Bluetooth  intercom systems. If you can recommend me one of those also that'd be appreciated. Is Autocom a decent enough set up ? 


Thanks


Mike

[Chad]

Yes- the accessory socket. I think Dayglodavid posted a photo or a link to the adaptor needed. It basically just plugs into the socket on the bike & has a USB socket so you can use your own charge lead. I'll put the photos on- the intercom looks much bigger on the photo then it actually is. The bluetoothe splitter is shown plugged into the iPhone. It holds its charge for about 5 hours.

[Chad]

Re autocom, they're very popular & I'm sure they are fine. At the time I bought mine, I believed the Interphone to be the best for the money that did everything I needed. I also tested a few out. I was particularly impressed with the clarity, quality of sound and simplicity of use with the Interphone system. I've used it countless times & it never lets me down. The range helmet to helmet is impressive. I've even used the system as a bike to bike. It's fine to a point & then the signal starts to drop- but it isn't advertised as a bike to bike so I can't complain. I would buy it again.

[Mickthecat]

Thanks Chad, very helpful replies, much appreciated


Mike

[Levisp]

I have the BMW SatNav V for the bike but have used my iPhone in the car. I have very successfully used my iPhone 4S with TomTom in the US. Works a treat. I bought TomTom US and Canada with lifetime map upgrades for about £40. The reason for choosing TomTom is that their maps are downloaded to your phone so you are not using valuable data when on the road.  Do not like the idea of having to have a data connection for maps to work so I would check this out before buying.

[Mickthecat]

I have downloaded Navmii which can be used offline without using any data. I've yet to use it yet though so can't comment on its performance. Apparently it uses a fair amount of phone memory, it'll be primarily used for Europe so I can install & delete the app to the cloud as needed.


That's the plan anyway ;0)



Mike

[Chad]

Levisp highlighted a good point about the maps being downloaded to the device- it's much quicker this way. Those that need Internet access to down load the map before the gps satellites can locate you, can be very slow, especially if you don't have 4G. The downside to having all the maps installed however is memory. I have used a 12gb of memory with my apps/music/copilot sat nav app so all has been fine for me. I don't download videos/ movies, but if you do have stacks of music & videos/photos you may be wise going for the 64gb iPhone 6. If however you only download the maps that you are likely to use eg Western Europe & UK then a 16gb phone will be absolutely fine. Incidentally, the Samsung Gallaxy s5 is a cracking phone & the screen is actually better than the latest iPhone (higher resolution & quicker refresh rates which is interesting for satnav users...)

[richardbd]

You should think very carefully before setting for a phone app, instead of a dedicated satnav.


If all you do is use a satnav on the bike like you would in a car - just to get you home - that's fine.


If you're happy building a touring route on your phone app, that's also fine.


However, if you like to build detailed touring routes using something like Basecamp and then transferring them to your satnav, that's not so fine.  I don't know about other apps or planning packages but as far I have found so far it's not possible to build a route in Basecamp and then transfer it to the Garmin iPhone app.  the app won't work with the cloud either.


Horse for courses but look before you leap...

[Mickthecat]

Thanks for your replies.


As an update to this, I will shortly be the owner of a replacement Zumo 550 to match mine that failed.


I'm a member  of the UK  KTM forum as I also have a 990 supermoto. One of the guys on there has sent me his old unit that he's upgraded from in return for a donation to the air ambulance charity in my area.


A very honorouble gesture that has benefitted a charity & given me a new satnav to boot ! 


Mike

[Spencert231]

Good news for you Mick and good news for Air ambulance which in turn is good news to us all. Win-Win all round now that's what the biking community is all about or at least should be. 

[Dogbreath]

I've always used my car portable sat nav for the bikes I've owned over the years. For about £150 you can have a Tom Tom,  free lifetime map updates, waterproof case, ram mounts and lead.


It can be used for car and bike and routes can be done on PC before setting off.