RoadReady

Garret Toomey just upgraded my Z3 HD and installed the latest maps. (he has previously unlocked the drive). The best part -- 5 days total, Tuesday to Saturday, from Tennessee to Texas and back! Unreal turn-around time! Haven't been anywhere to comment on the map quality, but one change jumps out. Driveways and private drives are now in a different color from streets. If you have an Avic you gotta have Garret!

Another great update. Garret got my HD, uploaded the new maps and had it on the way back in less than an hour! Great service.

Will it show genres besides those built in? You can't input a different one in edit mode and it puts country Cds in as 'other.' Strange that it has some rather odd genres and won't allow country or gospel. Surely GraceNotes doesn't have that limitation.

So haw many satellite "bars" do you guys usually get? Mine usually shows 4-6, averaging 5. The antenna is sitting on top of the frame, picking up the signal through the plastic body. Mapping seems OK but not as accurate as the N2 it replaced wih the same antenna location.

Yep, PC. See what happens when you read manuals!

Yep, Garrett, had nothing to do with it ripping CD-Rs because of the "Serial Copy Management System" which prevents tranferring second-generation copies..... manual, page 112. And boy, am I glad he had nothing to do with it!!!!

Surprise, surprise, Garrett's security unlock also does away with the lockout on home burned CDs! Maybe everyone else knew this, but it was a shock when I stuck an, ahem, backup CD in to play and the AVIC started ripping it! Hadn't seen that mentioned. Great! This means I can save Internet radio recordings to the Z and not have to bother with the CDs or the Zune.

Actually, at this point it is more a gadget, a gizmo than a safety device... something to impress passengers and turn on at car shows. But, hey, I might be convinced otherwise. No way to turn if off, huh? I hoped maybe it picked up a mirror image signal from the camera.

Big 10-4 on the lawsuit happy hippy left wing incompetant/retards!!! You can't cure stupid with a dumb caution that 99.9% of the people don't need. Makes me rethink even putting in a camera.

Does the Z3 HAVE to show the unnecessary backup camera warnng "Caution image may be reversed" or can it be turned off? About to order an ND-BC2, but the caution messages looks like it would be irritating .... kinds like the dumb 'I Agree' to get into the map views. How about with the universal no-name cameras? Thanks

The mailman delivered my drive to Garret at 1:33 p.m. on Friday and he had it back in the mail at 5:44 the same day, priority mail. I had it before lunch on Monday. That is fast! If you have trouble finding a Torx T8, try an auto parts store. I got a set of 8-9 sizes that fold into a handle for $5 and change at Advance Auto.

Sent my Z2 hard drive to Garret Toomey for his upgrade/unlock service. Man, is he FAST! The drive was delivered to him at 1:33 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14 in Mansfield, Texas. He put the drive back in the mail at 5:44 p.m. the same day. Wow. Plus, he shipped priority mail. Guess what was in my mailbox at lunch today (Monday)? Is that fast or what!! Now I got a Z3 and a big smile at the bucks saved. When the newer maps are ever released, guess how I'm going to upgrade. Now if that guy in Michigan making the C5 DD console was as fast......

Do all pioneer models use the same map data? I'm considering getting a Z3, but the series 80 maps in my D2 have major errors-- like highways being labeled totally incorrectly!! That really screws up a nav route. So, will I have the same stupid errors in the Z as I do in the N? Looks like the Kenwood's Navteq maps are much better, but the AVICs have a much more useful screen display. JVC has Navteq and a good interface, but I can't find a source for new maps in the future. (After ranting about stupid mistakes, I first posted thisin the N forum by stupid mistake.)

Do all pioneer models use the same map data? I'm considering getting a Z3, but the series 80 maps in my D2 have major errors-- like highways being labeled totally incorrectly!! That really screws up a nav route. So, will I have the same stupid errors in the Z as I do in the N? Looks like the Kenwood's Navteq maps are much better, but the AVICs have a much more useful screen display. JVC has Navteq and a good interface, but I can't find a source for new maps in the future. Rant: with the best total package out there why can't Pioneer get decent maps!

The D3/N4 disks work in the N2, right? How about the disks just marked D3? Both are the equivalent of MT-70? Thanks for the help.

All good to know, guys! Can't imagine how anyone could own one of these things without the Forum!!

Looks like the update price isn't so bad--comparably speaking, of course. One known factor is the ease of use of the navigation software and the multiple routes. Can't imagine anything else could be better. Are disks for updating the Z maps available on the forum? Thanks guys, Jim

Do all the navigation/radios have the inconveniences of the Pioneers-- the warning screens that require pushing a "Lawyer Button" to get to the nav, and complicated bypasses to use them without parking? Ah, but also have the really great nav features of the AVICS, even though the map data has plenty of errors? Are they all as expensive to upgrade maps as the Pioneers (or is there an, ahem, "economical" upgrade like the 'backup' disks sold for the N series). The flip screen N2 has to go (it blocks the main AC vent, not tolerable on a 100-plus degree day down South) for a double din, pro

It appears from a number of postings that the series 70 maps have more errors than the 60 that I am still using (N2). When are new maps released, and can the 80 series be expected to work in my N2? Thanks, y'all

Ugh, 8 characters would be hard to decipher. Thanks

Any idea how many characters? Thanks

I have read on here that the N2 has limited display when using the iPod adapter. What exactly does the N2 screen show? Do you see the names of the albums and the files? I have a crappy Creative Zen and the screen is almost impossible to read in the daytime, and totally blanked out with the top down--useless and it's got to go. Would I be able to pick an album and then a song from the N2 screen with the iPod adapter? Or, is the iPop screen viewable in bright daylight? Thanks in advance

I found a big-time difference in accuracy with VSS hooked up. Much more accurate.

OK, thanks.

Is there a way to hook up the voice command microphone other than to the accessory harness on the HU, maybe to the brain? I will never use the RCA plugs on the harness and the wire bundle takes up a lot of room in the limited space. Thanks,