More on flourescents

yes

yes

weird! Have you got a bad batch? You know the tube works ok.

NT

The new starter I tried was a different make altogether, translucent blue, I can see the thing flashing in its own (smaller) way.

Try swapping the tubes over ... if the 'faulty' tube acts the same in the other side it would be a fault with the tube. If the same thing happens the the tube you swapped over, then it would be a fault in the original circuit where the'faulty' tube came from. You would expect the a tube to carry on being lit once it has started with the starter. Did you swap the starters over? Dave

I'll try that lot tomorrow. Thanks.

I'm hoping to tap into the UK-DIY SatNav knowledge base!

My MIL has expressed a desire/need for a SatNav for her car. This is good as we had decided to buy one for her this Christmas.

As a Garmin Zumo user I'm not well placed to make an informed choice of MIL-friendly SatNavs and seek the advice/opinions of the subscribers here.

IMO she needs: UK mapping only, full TTS instructions, full UK postcode searching and simplicity of operation. Not much really! I'm open to arguments as to why she may not need TTS etc.

I don't want to rush out and buy a TomTom One without giving the matter careful consideration. Especially as Misco are offering this:

TIA

Richard

No longer available!

I shall be interested in responses.

Odd, I was able to add it to my basket 5 mins ago.

Have you noticed how difficult it is to get a GPS these days, rather than a SatNav?

I have a TomTom SatNav, but they aren't a great deal of use if you leave the road, say to climb a mountain, or expect to navigate to a particular NGR...

I suppose I should have been a bit less honest when I retired about three years ago, and 'lost' my official Magellan Meridian GPS :-)

Richard Savage coughed up some electrons that declared:

Not so much a suggestion, but my experience:

I've been happy with the Garmin Nuvi, although I've been in a car with a TomTom and my Nuvi side by side[1] and the TomTom possibly gives slightly better verbal directions.

I went with the Nuvi 2 years ago because it came with full European maps (no extra charge to use them, watch out for that with some products) and TrafficMaster was included which I find generally useful.

As to the postcode searching, Nuvi is fine with this provided you have a numbered house - it can't cope with house names, though it will still get you to the right road.

Cheers

Tim

If you're looking at the bottom end of the market CPC had refurbished Garmin on offer the other day which looked like a good deal. Unfortunately I've deleted the email.

I no longer use 8 ft fittings, as they are always a bit temperamental.

Colin Bignell

Surely just put some random stuff n a box.

After all, you want her to get lost. Don't you?

That's the one. I oft wonder what they mean by 'refurbished'. Checked to be complete and working would be more like it - I can't see them doing anything else.

IME it often means brand new and unopened. For the manufacturer it's a way of shifting stock without being seen to be undercutting their retailers.

I have a refurbished Garmin 12XL. They get properly refurbished, case cracked, 100% inspection and repair/replacement of components and then reassembled and resealed. It's done by Garmin themselves and the units are certificated with a schedule of repairs.

Or at least they were when I bought mine. The one I got was a "returned from the Gulf - no longer needed for a war" unit. It still works well.

Swopped the tubes and now they are both stable!

Roger coughed up some electrons that declared:

I agree. It's partly a limitation of the map data, of which there are two main sources AFAIK. I *think* TomTom uses the other source to Nuvis and there's similar whinage on forums regarding both.

Cheers

Tim