Go720 FM Transmitter

[RFI4U]

Greetings,

I'm considering the purchase of the GO720 and I was wondering if anyone could give me their opinion on the fm transmitter of the unit.
My critical questions are:

1. How well does the fm transmitter work? Is it clear audio on the radio assuming there is no stations near by that are transmitting on the same frequency and it the music in stereo or mono?

2. If while driving you are listening to MP3 files, can you still see the driving nav screen or does it go to a Mp3 player screen only?

3. While playing MP3 files will the music stop or get temporarily muted so the unit can tell you to turn or make a maneuver and then continue playing?

4. If the unit is paired to a blue tooth phone and you make or receive a call will that override the mp3 player and will the phone audio come over the car stereo while using the fm transmitter?

5. Will the unit broadcast over the fm transmitter any sound the unit generates or are there only certain things it broadcasts and some things it does not?

If you can think of any info that might be helpful such as quirks or benefits
please include that as well.

TIA

 

[dafisher86]

1) transmitter works good found no problems try to use higher channels seems to work better less interferance

2)yes

3) yes

4) dont know never tried

5) don't know

 

[tonedog06]

my take on it

i have had mine for about a month now. so far i use it everyday to play the music i have stored on it.

here are my answers :

1. YES sound very good, my unit is in the middle of my dashboard & my radio antenna is in the front of the car. ( i have seen some post that people who have the radio antenna in the rear say it does not come in that great. i use it on a low station 97.9 and it works just fine

2. YES as soon as you start to play music the screen goes back to the nav screen for driving directions.

3. YES the music is temporarily shut of so the unit can announce the instruction, them it returns to the music.

4. NO the phone call can not be played over the car speakers. ( even if you could, the person you are talking to would get terrible feedback from thier own voice ) the one time i was listening to music and i got a call on my cell, i was not able to answer the call. not sure if this was just something i did wrong or a one time thing.

5. YES you will hear any sound that the unit makes over the car speakers.
besides directions the unit does not really make much noise, not to many beeps or stuff like that.


lot of benefits, great directions, text to speach, map corrections & map/software updates. it is my first gps and i really like it.

 

[canderson]

Greetings,

I'm considering the purchase of the GO720 and I was wondering if anyone could give me their opinion on the fm transmitter of the unit.
My critical questions are:

1. How well does the fm transmitter work? Is it clear audio on the radio assuming there is no stations near by that are transmitting on the same frequency and it the music in stereo or mono?

2. If while driving you are listening to MP3 files, can you still see the driving nav screen or does it go to a Mp3 player screen only?

3. While playing MP3 files will the music stop or get temporarily muted so the unit can tell you to turn or make a maneuver and then continue playing?

4. If the unit is paired to a blue tooth phone and you make or receive a call will that override the mp3 player and will the phone audio come over the car stereo while using the fm transmitter?

5. Will the unit broadcast over the fm transmitter any sound the unit generates or are there only certain things it broadcasts and some things it does not?

If you can think of any info that might be helpful such as quirks or benefits
please include that as well.

TIA

1. Handles stereo just fine if provided a stereo input. Signal strength is adequate, although I've noticed that with rear window antennae and dash mount, orientation can make a small difference, especially in areas with adjacent FM channels.

2. You can park the thing on whatever screen you like (e.g., traffic, navigation, MP3 list, etc.). I often park mine on the traffic update screen instead of the navigation screen. I know where I'm going, I just want to see what kind of mess is up ahead!

3. Yes -- the unit will place any multimedia audio on hold (e.g., MP3 or "Talking Book") while it updates you with new navigation information or traffic information.

4. Be aware that the FM transmitter can't be set up to handle your hands-free audio. That comes only via the speaker in your 720.

5. Everything EXCEPT hands-free audio can be routed via the FM if that's what you want. You can set up your "Instructions" and "Music" for different outputs if you like. For example, you could set up the navigation system to send data through the unit's speaker, and then send your MP3 music through a hardwired audio cable or the FM transmitter instead. Not sure I'd want to do that, though. The instructions over the FM are just to easy to hear to run them through the unit speaker!

 

[RFI4U]

Thanks for the great info and speedy replies, sounds like
it will do exactly what I want.
I had an XLS but the biggest thing for me was not being
able to hear the TT over my usually loud stereo.
Now I can jam and still not get lost
Unit should be here tomorrow, can't wait to play

 

[canderson]

Thanks for the great info and speedy replies, sounds like
it will do exactly what I want.
I had an XLS but the biggest thing for me was not being
able to hear the TT over my usually loud stereo.
Now I can jam and still not get lost
Unit should be here tomorrow, can't wait to play

Subsequent correction to my original #1 answer, above... and I'm NOT happy!


There are two connectors associated with an iPod on the bottom of the unit. The USB connector (for control of a remote device), and the 1/8" phone jack for the audio.

Somewhere along the line, TT has disallowed the use of the 1/8" audio connector alone as a simple pass-through for music, and now requires that an iPod device be found on the USB connector in order to route music to the FM transmitter. Unless/until the TT discovers the iPod connection at the USB connector, it will not process the audio input at the 1/8" jack.

Sorry state of affairs, this, and I cannot imagine why they chose to incorporate that requirement in their current specification. Those with non-Apple audio devices would, I'm sure, love to be able to play them via the car radio (heaven knows there are enough FM transmitter adapters out there to do exactly that) while at the same time getting their instructions from their TT unit. That TT seems to have unnecessarily forced the user into a particular product brand for this function is both a mystery and an annoyance. A person can't be tuned to two stations at once. The whole point of the TT design is to make using a single station possible. What gives here?

TomTom -- are you listening out there? The multiplexing of your spoken commands audio and an audio source at your 1/8" audio input jack should not require a specific manufacturer's audio device!!! Please drop the requirement for a concurrent USB connection!

Anyone interested in a dongle that does nothing more than answer back with Apples's iPod Vendor and Product ID over a USB port? Hmmm???

 

[steakman]

I would agree with Canderson in that the FM Transmit Signal Strength is adequate....but don't think about driving at 60mph with your window open and listening to your mp3's...it ain't gonna be very satisfying. But take it from experience, when your Sat radio is on the blink in the middle of the mountains and you've got 6 hours of driving to go...those mp3's were a blessing...!!! happened to me this week.

On this I am totally in agreement:

Somewhere along the line, TT has disallowed the use of the 1/8" audio connector alone as a simple pass-through for music, and now requires that an iPod device be found on the USB connector in order to route music to the FM transmitter. Unless/until the TT discovers the iPod connection at the USB connector, it will not process the audio input at the 1/8" jack.

Sorry state of affairs, this, and I cannot imagine why they chose to incorporate that requirement in their current specification. Those with non-Apple audio devices would, I'm sure, love to be able to play them via the car radio (heaven knows there are enough FM transmitter adapters out there to do exactly that) while at the same time getting their instructions from their TT unit. That TT seems to have unnecessarily forced the user into a particular product brand for this function is both a mystery and an annoyance. A person can't be tuned to two stations at once. The whole point of the TT design is to make using a single station possible. What gives here?

TomTom -- are you listening out there? The multiplexing of your spoken commands audio and an audio source at your 1/8" audio input jack should not require a specific manufacturer's audio device!!! Please drop the requirement for a concurrent USB connection!

I have a BlackBerry 8830 and it too has a 2Gb MicroSD within. I have mp3's on that card as well. It also has an audio out port. Why I cannot connect this device to the TT and subsequently run my mp3's & transmit to the vehicles stereo that way is a drag and in my mind stupid. (Wish I hadda researched that a bit more before buying...oh well), If I could do that, then I would have plenty of room on my TT's SD card to put photos or other data...like maybe a different set of maps or whatever. Too bad.


rgds,

stk

 

[baggss]

I've been using my 720s built in FM transmitter for the last week or so and I have been surprisingly happy with. No static or interference from outside sources has been noticed.

 

[RFI4U]

Well well well....
It arrived and I been playin and tinkering like a mad man
I'm very well pleased with the unit so far, the FM transmitter is working just fine,
no static and I get plenty of volume to hear my MP3's and the directions at 70MPH
with my windows cracked or down all the way..

Steakman: That 1/8" audio jack is an output not an input according to the user manual.


Mine came with Home 1.6 and the older map and firmware but a quick tether
to the PC and I got the new firmware 7.221 and home 2. After using the latest
map guarantee it upped me to 710.1584 but downgraded my firmware to 7.220
Well that was not cool so i just took the already D/L file of 7.221 i had and
slipped it back on with no issue, added the support file to the ASR folder and
even got my Voice recognition working. I even managed to squeeze the larger
POI file (263mb) from map NA 710.1609 in there