Mapnav - rejecting the modern digital waze..

[gs.davies]

If any of you have read my ramblings on my build thread lately, you might have read that I'm getting really bored of modern gadgetry in cars and have found myself resorting more and more to the old ways of doing things. Planning a route in advance, reading a map, following signs and all that sort of thing. Some of it is to the bemusement of my kids and wife who just can't understand why I wouldn't want to leave the arrival at my chosen destination down to an algorithm and some frankly useless in-drive directions ("take the road on the left.." when in fact the road just turns left.. etc etc). Indeed, trying to use a satnav in a classic car is often unhelpful as the default option generally involves the 'fastest' roads, which often aren't as nice, or as safe as the more minor A roads, especially given the prevalence of the deathly smart motorways.

In the olden days, membership of the AA or the RAC often came with a nice book of the road, comprehensive maps, street plans, information about where one could find a hotel, golf club, mechanic in pretty much every location in the British Isles, and I think this is something that's sorely missed. I seem to remember having one in the mid 90's as an RAC member. When did these publications stop? Who else is likeminded with navigation and what maps are you finding useful? Is there even a modern equivalent the old style of 'gazetteer' road book, or has the internet done for that too?

I have to admit, the European Map I bought to support us on the run to IMM last year was frankly awful, scale far too small to be able to make proper sense of where one was heading, particularly where the road networks are quite dense, and actually where you need the map the most.

[hanlminiman]

Oh dear
When I was a teenager I used to spend time with my Dad learning to drive on a private track and then returning home getting to grips with 1" OS maps directing us home through the Essex lanes the longest way. Recently I was in Essex and relied on a combination of in car Sat Nav and Google maps (for road updates). Could not believe the size of Colchester and Chelmsford now and the number of roundabouts set to rival Milton Keynes.
Modern map books seem to be printed on glossy paper with names of places moved to a convenient place close by which drives my wife mad. She prefers maps so when I get prompted to "turn around when possible," she will say "See, you were going wrong."
Sat Nav also led me to lose my sense of direction but I'm over that now.
I remember the AA/RAC route instructions but in those days the signs were clean and not hidden behind the overgrown hedgerows etc.
You didn't mention the reclassification of road numbers. I still call it the A11 through Epping Forest but when I was a lad it was not 40 mph!
I did like TomTom around 2008 as it did have the facility to choose a non motorway route which led to some interesting road trips to retail parks which were not in the rural areas. A bit like Waze now.
Hey ho. Those were the days.

[MiNiKiN]

I only navigate using my BL Unipart map, of course

Map.jpg

Kidding, I really like the conveniance of google.maps. With a little effort and setting the right parameters you can make google-maps provide you just the roads you want. Without the (dangerous) hassle of checking the paper map. I get the panic even thinking about navigating a city nowadays without sat-nav. Still have horrid memories of before sat-nav times

[gs.davies]

I only navigate using my BL Unipart map, of course

Map.jpg


Kidding, I really like the conveniance of google.maps. With a little effort and setting the right parameters you can make google-maps provide you just the roads you want. Without the (dangerous) hassle of checking the paper map. I get the panic even thinking about navigating a city nowadays without sat-nav. Still have horrid memories of before sat-nav times

That looks like nice clear mapping. Not like this dogs breakfast with which we navigated Luxembourg..

FB500FB8-30C4-4E9B-9176-F60DBAFE1E3F.jpeg

I think there’s a place for Google maps, but it does distract from the driving in my mind.

[Polarsilver]

cannot trust that sat nav woman who lives behind the dashboard of my Camper Van ..when she gives me directions these always seem to somehow be wrong .. my working lifetime involved traveling in GB ..so i probably know where i am going anyway and if the Sun is out i can double check if my n,s.e.w directions of travel are near enough to the time of day.. anyway most times that She who lives behind the dash gets stroppy if do not obey her instruction .. and she then shuts up ..that is until she opens up again eventually to then tell me "you have reached your destination!".. yes i found this destination without your help Mrs.. I would rid of but She is hid somewhere in my CanBus,
Winge 1.. new road maps because they do not show ALL the roads . they leave none designated roads off the print ..why is that
Winge 2.. Dirty Roadsigns .. maybe the sign cleaner has lost his job due to the Council cuts but they have enough in the pot to pay the Chief Exec ?
Winge 3.. Today i get less Hobnobs in the Packet & they probably cost more than i paid Tesco last month .. maybe OK if the reason is to save the Planet

[mab01uk]

I've had enough of sat navs and their quirks too and gone back to using this large 2025 'Easy Read' scale spiral bound map book for GB as a fail safe backup:-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/2025-Philips-E ... AnSA%3D%3D

The AA also do a similar large spiral bound at the same scale.

I also jot down a note of road numbers and place names and used to navigate all over Europe that way before sat navs...most youngsters I know don't have a clue how to use a map..so when the GPS satellites get taken out or jammed by our cyber enemies it will only be us 'oldies' who can work out where we are going!

[kit of bits]

Norman you can probably change the satnav settings to a man’s voice this may help with correct directions
I always check the map before I travel, I find Apple Maps ok if you type in the place/ building name not the postcode..
D

[Peter Laidler]

I suspect that I'm like the rest of us regarding satnav v maps. If I've got to go to Carlisle, I know where it is and a quick glance at a Big Boys Bumper Book of Maps map book (as shown above.....) just confirms it. The map book confirms the small village, say Houghton. But the sat-nav will get me to the road and house!

The trouble I face is that wifey does it by stuffing the small screen of her fone under my nose and gobbing off about her way being better than mine. Until I tell her again - and again, that I found my way from Kuwait up to Basra n the road to hell, in a Landrover when the USArmy had turned the satelite mappers off..... using a map and compass!

[gs.davies]

I suspect that I'm like the rest of us regarding satnav v maps. If I've got to go to Carlisle, I know where it is and a quick glance at a Big Boys Bumper Book of Maps map book (as shown above.....) just confirms it. The map book confirms the small village, say Houghton. But the sat-nav will get me to the road and house!

The trouble I face is that wifey does it by stuffing the small screen of her fone under my nose and gobbing off about her way being better than mine. Until I tell her again - and again, that I found my way from Kuwait up to Basra n the road to hell, in a Landrover when the USArmy had turned the satelite mappers off..... using a map and compass!

Ah, a compass, or Magnav as I'd have to explain it my sons. I wonder if I can find room for a 52mm one somewhere on my upcoming custom dashboard project..?

[hanlminiman]

Norman you can probably change the satnav settings to a man’s voice this may help with correct directions
I always check the map before I travel, I find Apple Maps ok if you type in the place/ building name not the postcode..
D

A good friend of mine many years ago downloaded Ozzie Osborne's vocal directions for his Tom Tom. It wasn't "turn around please." It was "you've f***ing gone wrong you "Bleep" turn around." If you see what I mean?

As an aside. Have any of you been on the internet and watched any streams with auto generated commentary? Quite interesting. Especially on Motorsport videos which include pace notes !

[AndyPen]

I still have a trusty screen compass in my Cosworth

[timmy201]

I think one of the best paper alternatives these days is to program the route into a reliable maps guide on your computer and print out the directions (which will provide a distance between each turn) and go through and check them off like pace notes. The benefit of doing this in advance is that you can review it manually and get your head around the entire trip

That said I still use satnav every single day on my trip to work. Due to traffic, breakdowns etc it can be somewhere between 17 minutes and 50 minutes, so the obvious way drive on the freeway isn’t always the quickest, and the best way to get there can change on my way there. It’s no fun getting stuck in 10 minutes of stop start traffic in my modern manual Mazda, let alone in the mini

[roger mcnab]

hi timmy
i still prefer to drive my 1985 ford laser 5 speed manuel instead of the wifes 1999 mazda auto it is no effort using the clutch in fact our 2 daughters only drive manuel cars pity all new cars are autos a lot of old people get in trouble with the 2 pedals
cheers roger