Awesome "free" satnav!

[Wandering vagabond]

If you have an old 7" pad with inbuilt gps thats just sitting in a drawer doing nothing, you can turn it into the most awesome sat nav ever!
All you need to do is use the wifi to download an offline map app to it and order a cheap windscreen mount i got one off ebay for under a fiver delivered. The only other thing is a usb charging lead for your van.
I did it with an old 7" zenpad i had lying about ... even programmed it so it comes on when i turn on the ignition and goes straight into the satnav programme as i have safe parking so can just leave it ready to go.The best 2 apps i have found are "here" and "sygic" both available from google playstore or itunes if you were to use an 8" ipad. I have used both and in both cases the maps are up to date.
If you use the sygic app it has worldwide maps so you can choose an area e.g. europe ...it also has options for an heads up display and even has a dashcam feature so if you mount it on your screen it gives you a satnav, because you are using offline apps you dont need the internet ... you may have to add a 32gb card depending how much storage your tab has, but its well worth it.
Full details of the programming are on youtube.
I am sure you could also add the wildcamping p.o.i.'s without too much difficulty, i am going to do this sometime soon when i have a few minutes and will report back.
Obviously if you dont already have a pad you can probabbly pick one up for 20 or 30 quid , so still have an awesome 7" sat nav for under 35 quid.

Rick

 

[chaser]

I have both, started with here maps in the old Nokia days then went t sygic for the better lane instructions, but have found in practice if you are going a long way sygic gets it's knickers in a twist and goes off just when you need it, whereas here , although it isn't so concise will always get you there and you can download maps to that as well for use offline and as a matter of fact Merc and Audi and other makes of car use here mapping as standard in their car sat navs.

 

[gradyp]

If you have an old 7" pad with inbuilt gps thats just sitting in a drawer doing nothing, you can turn it into the most awesome sat nav ever!
All you need to do is use the wifi to download an offline map app to it and order a cheap windscreen mount i got one off ebay for under a fiver delivered. The only other thing is a usb charging lead for your van.
I did it with an old 7" zenpad i had lying about ... even programmed it so it comes on when i turn on the ignition and goes straight into the satnav programme as i have safe parking so can just leave it ready to go.The best 2 apps i have found are "here" and "sygic" both available from google playstore or itunes if you were to use an 8" ipad. I have used both and in both cases the maps are up to date.
If you use the sygic app it has worldwide maps so you can choose an area e.g. europe ...it also has options for an heads up display and even has a dashcam feature so if you mount it on your screen it gives you a satnav, because you are using offline apps you dont need the internet ... you may have to add a 32gb card depending how much storage your tab has, but its well worth it.
Full details of the programming are on youtube.
I am sure you could also add the wildcamping p.o.i.'s without too much difficulty, i am going to do this sometime soon when i have a few minutes and will report back.
Obviously if you dont already have a pad you can probabbly pick one up for 20 or 30 quid , so still have an awesome 7" sat nav for under 35 quid.

Rick

Do either "Here" or "Sygic" have downloadable European maps ??

 

[EX51SSS]

I've tried a 7" sat nav but it's too big. I much prefer the 6" models.
On another score, I use an old (ish) car dvd player as my reversing camera screen.

 

[Wandering vagabond]

Do either "Here" or "Sygic" have downloadable European maps ??

Yes both do ... sygig comes from the states so has maps all over the world

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[mitzimad]

weve just fitted an android head unit in the van and we downloaded sygic found it very poor and in three weeks on the continent it got us extremely lost on three occasions .were now trying the free tom tom app but the free trial only gives you 50 miles which isnt enough to really evaluate it so will probably buy the upgrade as it seems to work

 

[Wandering vagabond]

I have both, started with here maps in the old Nokia days then went t sygic for the better lane instructions, but have found in practice if you are going a long way sygic gets it's knickers in a twist and goes off just when you need it, whereas here , although it isn't so concise will always get you there and you can download maps to that as well for use offline and as a matter of fact Merc and Audi and other makes of car use here mapping as standard in their car sat navs.

I have used both quite a number of times as a default i do use here never had a problem with sygic offline but dont need all the extra features as i already have a dashcam

Rick

 

[Wandering vagabond]

weve just fitted an android head unit in the van and we downloaded sygic found it very poor and in three weeks on the continent it got us extremely lost on three occasions .were now trying the free tom tom app but the free trial only gives you 50 miles which isnt enough to really evaluate it so will probably buy the upgrade as it seems to work

Try the here software free download and so far i have found it works really well

Rick

 

[chaser]

weve just fitted an android head unit in the van and we downloaded sygic found it very poor and in three weeks on the continent it got us extremely lost on three occasions .were now trying the free tom tom app but the free trial only gives you 50 miles which isnt enough to really evaluate it so will probably buy the upgrade as it seems to work

T
Give here maps a try first, don't think k you will be disappointed.
Sygic useless in European countries

 

[chaser]

I have tried and tried to get on with sygic, as I paid a couple of quid or something for an upgrade, but have ditched it now since it got us into some back roads in holland then decided to go black and switched itself off and had to fire here maps up to get us back on track.

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[Wandering vagabond]

I have tried and tried to get on with sygic, as I paid a couple of quid or something for an upgrade, but have ditched it now since it got us into some back roads in holland then decided to go black and switched itself off and had to fire here maps up to get us back on track.

Great feedback , i havent used sygic outside the uk where as i said its always done ok , but i just prefer here so will stick to just recommending that in the future, thanks again for the heads up n

Rick

 

[Reallyretired]

I quite like Here but it gave me some strange routes on roads I know while testing it. Still gets you there though. Google maps is also ok and free. They dont allow you to put in dimensions.