2004 COMAND Navigation CD is TMC Enabled.... just....

[pwhite8314]

Hi all

I'm new to the group (glad to have found it after spending time on the US-based Merc forums).

I'm still in 2 minds about the worth of the TMC CD, as I already pay for Trafficmaster info (via my P900/Traffic-i). My commute to work takes in the A12 and junctions 28-14 of the M25, so I would get some value from it, but probably not much more than from Trafficmaster. As I assume that it re-routes via A roads in the event of a jam, why doesn't it show delays on the a-roads? Doesn't that mean that the system is completely flawed, ie. it could send you off on a diversion that has more jams than the motorway?

Anyway - my reason for posting - if you quote ref UK0402 you'll get the CD for £131.75 rather than £155, valid until the end of March.

 

[sjmaxwell]

Nice one! Shame the Navshop has to sting you nearly £8 for the postage though!!

 

[philip888]

This disc is difficult to copy - but it can be done if, like me, you don't like leaving very expensive discs in your car. The disc protection is Safedisc 2/3.
Clone CD / Nero / etc didn't want to know on my system. They all copied the disc with an identical bit count, but the discs just wouldn't work......

Paul G

I copy a 2003/4 GB + BeflfastDX disc from a SL with Nero , and is working 100% in my ML , does anyone know if this disc can work in the BLAUPUNKT TRAVEL PILOT DX-R70 ? which i don't want to try in my wife's car until i know it will work and not cause any damage :bannana:

 

[pauld]

Can anyone clarify the situation regarding TMC/Classic FM and dual tuner...I was specifically told before I took delivery of my car that the comand system had dual tuners so that TMC/RDS worked no matter what station I was actually listening to (It was a bugbear to me as I've been caught with this bu**$hit before) and TMC would work on all roads not just motorways. If you have to stay tuned to Classic FM I'll hit the roof....£100k for a car and an absolutely terrible ICE system (where's DAB, Bluetooth, and now this......Grrrrr).

Paul

 

[pwhite8314]

I'll clarify it:

- 1 tuner. No Classic = no TMC
- Motorways only. THis means that if it did every suggest a diversion, you could well end up on an equally gridlocked A road.

In my experience of using it (for the past 2 weeks), the TMC data is also less reliable than the Trafficmaster data (which I have displayed via my P900). Finally, the constant "the route is being recalcuated taking traffic conditions into account" annoucements are bloody annoying; I wish I could find a way to display the map, but not have the annoucements.

 

[pauld]

Thanks for the quick response.......

I'd kill the salesman except he's not there any more (has anyone else noticed Mercedes seem to be having an extraordinary high staff turnover rate?).

I think I'll take this up with Mercedes head office.

Pauld

 

[pwhite8314]

Good luck. If it's anything like my first saleman (MB Ipswich), the guy knew less about COMAND than I did, and I'd not used it before. It was also impossible for me to get a test drive, as all the dealers had sold their demo models. It's lucky most MB cars sell themselves, as most dealers do nothing to add to the sale, other than pi$$ you off.

 

[saorbust]

To stop the annoucements, when the voice is heard, press and hold the mute key still you get the 'NAVI Voice messages muted'. First button I press after chosing a route !

 

[pwhite8314]

Excellent, thanks.

 

[pauld]

Does anyone in East London/Essex have a copy of the new nav system that I could try in my car to see if it's as bad as I've heard...I'll pick it up and obviously buy you a beer!!

Paul

 

[philip888]

After using the satnav on my ML, i missed my old car ( BMW 330ci year2000)
I think the BMW have a better SAT NAV system and TMC , it actually tell me there is a triffic jam ahead on the A406 and how long is the delay , and it has a dual radio tuner meaning i can listen to what even radio i want. I think mercedes need to do some work on the I.C.E.

 

[Ralph]

Dual tuner is only for locking on to strongest reception of a station. It is not capable of TMC reception whilst listening to another radio station - other than Classic.
Of course you can always listen to a CD - if you have a CD changer....

If the new disc is that bad, can always use it as a beer mat

 

[gIzzE]

After using the satnav on my ML, i missed my old car ( BMW 330ci year2000)
I think the BMW have a better SAT NAV system and TMC , it actually tell me there is a triffic jam ahead on the A406 and how long is the delay , and it has a dual radio tuner meaning i can listen to what even radio i want. I think mercedes need to do some work on the I.C.E.

I will second that, the BMW system I had was pretty poor compared to the pioneer I have used, but it is wonderful comapred to the comand nav.
I like the way on the bmw nav that when you zoom in close you can see the street names on the map too so you can actually see if there is a better route than the nav is taking you.
They really need to bring out an external (from the nav head unit) for the TMC to lock onto.

Having said all that BMW would not sell me the TMC disc as it was only available for the 7 series, so I downloaded it instead.

 

[Ralph]

gizzE
Re your last comment, some elaboration please?

 

[gIzzE]

BMW had sigined a deal with trafficmaster to use on the 3, 5 and old 7 series, and then TMC came out. After which the new 7 was released and they put TMC in that, but because of the deal with Trafficmaster they couldn't put it in any vehichle that was tied into trafficmaster.

So because they would not supply me with the disc I downloaded it from edonkey or emule, peer to peer sharing app.
There is every disc you want including the EPC discs for all the different manufacturers.

 

[Trevor_Tyrrell]

I hope to soon take delivery of a new 2005 C220 with COMAND. Can someone please confirm that the Navshop.com Tele Atlas 2005 / 2006 ITIS / TMC DX will indeed work in this car?

What does the DX prefix mean?

Does it still only work on motorways and still require you to be listening to Classic FM?

Is it worth the extra money over the supplied DVD?

thanks

T

 

[saorbust]

I doubt it.

Teleatlas make the CD. The DVD based system in most of the Merc range (I think all in fact) is completely different.

Regarding Classic FM / Motorways - that is true for the CD based system. I have been informed its no longer the case with the new version - which is due for release any minute now.

 

[Dave Marsh]

Hi guys. I've recently bought a Vito with COMAND and when I collected it they couldn't find the disc. Eventually they came out with a dogeared one and demonstrated it.

It seemed to be working until we went on a long trip and we found that the disc held no information on the Bedford area. It's a tad irritating to be driving along the M1 being told you're 'off road' . Mercedes weren't too sympathetic and so I've invested in a 'back-up' disc from eBay - knowing well that it's dodgy. The seller listed it as v6.3 and it has TMC written on it. I've tried it in the COMAND unit and the disc wont read at all. Do I have to enable the 'dynamic route' feature before it will read the disc? I bought it to try before shelling out even more money to be an original

Also, can anyone clarfiy if the system retains info on the current route with the disc removed? The garage told me it did but I've experienced system crashes as soon as I've removed it en-route. Bit naff really...

Finally, as someone already mentioned, the BMW system is fan-bloody-tastic by any measurement. I've got it in my 3-series touring and it's faultless. The improvements on their system include

>Traffic information is displayed on screen
>The system automatically zooms in closer as you slow down or near your destination - brilliant idea.
>The distances are in miles, not fecking kilometres
>The system is active as soon as you get in the vehicle and is NOT a cd
based system. Why couldn't MB have used an integrated hard drive so that the CD drive is left free?

Any advice will be greatly recieved - perhaps then we can stop taking our portable TomTom out with us !!!

 

[Alfie]

Hi guys. I've recently bought a Vito with COMAND and when I collected it they couldn't find the disc. Eventually they came out with a dogeared one and demonstrated it.

It seemed to be working until we went on a long trip and we found that the disc held no information on the Bedford area. It's a tad irritating to be driving along the M1 being told you're 'off road' . Mercedes weren't too sympathetic and so I've invested in a 'back-up' disc from eBay - knowing well that it's dodgy. The seller listed it as v6.3 and it has TMC written on it. I've tried it in the COMAND unit and the disc wont read at all. Do I have to enable the 'dynamic route' feature before it will read the disc? I bought it to try before shelling out even more money to be an original

Also, can anyone clarfiy if the system retains info on the current route with the disc removed? The garage told me it did but I've experienced system crashes as soon as I've removed it en-route. Bit naff really...

Finally, as someone already mentioned, the BMW system is fan-bloody-tastic by any measurement. I've got it in my 3-series touring and it's faultless. The improvements on their system include

>Traffic information is displayed on screen
>The system automatically zooms in closer as you slow down or near your destination - brilliant idea.
>The distances are in miles, not fecking kilometres
>The system is active as soon as you get in the vehicle and is NOT a cd
based system. Why couldn't MB have used an integrated hard drive so that the CD drive is left free?

Any advice will be greatly recieved - perhaps then we can stop taking our portable TomTom out with us !!!

Buy a genuine / original disk or at least demand one from your dealer. They should give you at least version 6.1 which will show TMC on the screen. Version 6.3 is the latest but the dealers dont have it yet! (I do ) Ebay copies are illegal and notoriously unreliable. There are some on ebay that are genuine sealed disks though.

 

[saorbust]

You can also adjust your system to show miles. Check the manual. Oh, and try another dealer.