Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 263 Location: Winter Springs, FL
Cool things I didn't know about MSN Direct Sat Jun 21, 2008 8:45 pm
Here's a few things that I've noticed about the MSN Direct service that I found kind of cool, or at lease I didn't expect. Please add more if you've stumbled upon others.
#1: There's a battery in the 12V power plug that allows the MSN receiver (not to be confused with the GPS receiver) to accept updates even when the plug isn't powered.
I started suspecting this when I sent favorites via Live Maps while the car was off (my 12V plug is off when the car is off) and several hours later when I started the car and GPSr the favorites were immediately there. I assumed that the MSN service wasn't wasting bandwidth by retransmitting my favorites constantly for hours, so I was a little confused. I later noticed that the manual mentions the battery and how it will last for a few days.
#2: Weather warnings cause a little cloud icon to display on the screen, which when pressed will display more detailed information.
I've only seen this once so I don't have details of when the icon will appear. But in this one instance the weather warning was for two counties ~40 miles away. We've had storms almost every day for the last few weeks here in Central Florida and this was the only time the warning appeared. So I'm thinking that the warning is only for sufficiently severe storms - perhaps in this case with a chance of tornados or hail.
The weather warnings appear based on National Weather Service alerts. found it real useful a few months ago when I was planning a trip to a customer in Hardee County ( you know where that is, right?) and a weather alert showed a tornado watch there. I put off the trip till the next day, even tho I was on the road already.
Joined: 13 Mar 2008 Posts: 263 Location: Winter Springs, FL
Sat Jun 21, 2008 9:33 pm
gatorguy wrote:
The weather warnings appear based on National Weather Service alerts. found it real useful a few months ago when I was planning a trip to a customer in Hardee County ( you know where that is, right?) and a weather alert showed a tornado watch there. I put off the trip till the next day, even tho I was on the road already.
Yep, I think I know where Hardee County is - somewhere in the middle of the state - the hotbed of tornadoes, houses on wheels and ufo sightings. (No offense intended to the good people of Hardee County. I spent a lot of my growing years in trailers.) I wonder if MSN Direct has a pop-up icon for ufo sightings?
Joined: 10 May 2008 Posts: 86 Location: Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
Re: Cool things I didn't know about MSN Direct Sat Jun 21, 2008 10:29 pm
HappyFunBoater wrote:
#2: Weather warnings cause a little cloud icon to display on the screen, which when pressed will display more detailed information.
I've only seen this once so I don't have details of when the icon will appear. But in this one instance the weather warning was for two counties ~40 miles away. We've had storms almost every day for the last few weeks here in Central Florida and this was the only time the warning appeared. So I'm thinking that the warning is only for sufficiently severe storms - perhaps in this case with a chance of tornados or hail.
Not being a real fan of MSN because of the lousy reception in Pittsburgh, I seen the Storm Icon the other day. It was for a county in WVA 60 miles away. Meanwhile 10 miles north of us was being pounded with a localized cell that caused flash flooding. I suppose the storm that was close may not have been a NWS alert. MSN has a lot of potential but with the crappy reception in Pittsburgh it is almost useless.
The 760 comes only with the traffic receiver. You can buy the MSN Direct receiver separately for $129 U.S and you can get 10% off accessories on Garmin's website when registering your new Nuvi. When you buy the MSN Direct receiver separately it comes with 1 year service.
The 780 comes with the MSN Direct cable in the box however it only comes with 90 days service.
Joined: 10 May 2008 Posts: 86 Location: Pittsburgh Pennsylvania
MSN Cable Sun Jun 22, 2008 4:54 am
I have a 5000, and I had to buy the cable extra. I believe Garmin prices it at $129.00, I got it for $105 from Amazon.com. Buying the cable gives you a 12 month subscription. It does use FM transmission. If you live in a very hilly place (like I do Pittsburgh) reception is very patchy. I am not impressed with it, but other members seem to like it.
The 780 comes with the MSN cable but you only get a 3 month subscription and then you must either go for a year at $49.95 or endless for $125. The endless is a little dicey. It is endless for the life of the cable, but service is not guaranteed beyond 2012. So figure about 3 years or until your cable breaks which ever occurs first.
A 760 with the MSN cable can often be had for about the same or less money as a 780. The 760 FM traffic is also only good for 3 months and then you have to renew for $60 for 15 months. (Don't hold me on the prices and lengths--I am going by poor memory--check it out on the Garmin site).
The 750 and 5000 do not come with either service but are compatible, if you wish to buy the extra cable / antenna. Again buying the service extra gives you a 12 month subsciption. Neither model has Bluetooth.
When I registered my MSN cable / antenna, they offered an additional 6 months for $10. So I have another 17 months to make up my mind about it. But so far for me, I can't see renewing. I seldom get signal on it. But in all fairness, I seldom head into the city with it either.
The hardware involved on either receiver is just a replacement 12 volt power cable that also contains an antenna.
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