My brother has a Acura TSX with the navigation and I loved it. It had voice commands which I really liked.

I'm getting my RX-8 delivered in a few weeks (with navi) and I want to know how good is the system. I haven't heard anything bad about it but, what are some of the features.

I have the Nav system on my 8. It rocks, lots of features, voice, Maps for whole US on 1 dvd, turn by turn, memory for like 100 destinations, routes. It gets me in and out of San Fransisco just fine. That's saying something. You'll love it. Check out the threads in Audio and Electronics.

Oh no doubt I'll love it. To me it wasn't a question of not having it but, my brothers navi on the TSX is just awesome. I was/am hoping that it has the feature set an ease of use that it had in the TSX.


The thing that was great was that I'm from Atlanta and I went to visit a friend who lives in Lawrenceville quite a drive from my parents house. Well on the way up there he called me and asked me to go to the liquor store and pick up some drinks. Well if you've never been to Atlanta is it a VERY woody area and lots of people live in backwood areas or roads with no street lights things like that. Well any ways I plotted a course to the store and routed myself to back to his house. Well his house wasn't exactly on the map but, it was close enough that I could get into his subdivision. But, with those dark country roads and being in a new area I would say it was worth every penny my brother spent.

It support detours as well as alternate routes. It will find the liqour store and recalculate the route then after the stop get you headed back in the right direction. It will even give you the stores address and phone number, though data seems to be a few years old.

I used mine quite a bit recently going from Spokane to Santa Cruz and on the way home visiting my brother who is in the Coast Guard and stationed in Ilwaco, WA. Some of the areas I was in were pretty rural and I was still able to figure out where anything I needed was. My brothers street was not on the map but it calculated his house location without the street map and let me know when I was in front of his house. Pretty slick if you ask me. The only time I struggled with it was on the I-90 going back to Spokane I was trying to find a rest area to use the restroom and couldn't figure out how to find them.

i have the navi in my 8, though i've played with the one in sthe tsx.... sorry you'll be disapointed, the tsx has alot more features.. the one in the 8 is nice to have, gotten me out of a couple sticky situations but the tsx has more features, i can't remeber all of them but when i was buying a car i remember i liked the navi in the tsx more... but that wasn't nearly enough.... the 8 is still more fun to drive..... good luck, what you prob could do is go test drive an 8 with a navi and play with it a little, thats actually what i did, and decided against a navi, but somehow still ended up with it (dealer screwed me, and they found another car exactly how i wanted it but it had a navi, so i said i'll take it, and now happy that i did)

That's a bummer. Will the RX-8 Navi "learn" new roads. My brother's house isn't in the system but, the Navi has created plot points maping the path to his house from the last known location.

I know you can define "Marked points" and supposedly routes too. I assume if the route tracking is turned on it will remember how to get you back there again.

Mine didn't with my brothers. He lives in base housing but the area has both base housing and civilian housing. His street showed when I selected the destination but it didn't have a map to guide me in off the main road. So the main highway shows up on the map but the residential streets don't. There was the finish line flag at the correct place where is house was but it looked like it was in an empty field not on a residential (if rural) street.

Originally posted by 93rdcurrent
Mine didn't with my brothers. He lives in base housing but the area has both base housing and civilian housing. His street showed when I selected the destination but it didn't have a map to guide me in off the main road. So the main highway shows up on the map but the residential streets don't. There was the finish line flag at the correct place where is house was but it looked like it was in an empty field not on a residential (if rural) street.


That's fine from what you say it sounds like it operates the same way as the Acura version.

Nav is great, albeit pricey. It would be nice if it didn't take so long to boot up, if the nag screen could be disabled, and if the updates weren't so darn expensive ($200, I believe). It does not accept voice commands, as I think the systems on some BMW cars have. Also, it would be better if it could handle Lat/Lon coordinates. That would allow you to navigate to anywhere, whether the map was updated or not, provided you could calculate the proper place. The only other gripe I have is that it won't allow you to delete points from your history menu.

If you can't afford it, this is a toy you can skip. If you can afford it, it's terrific. I really like the fact that I can drive and drive and drive -- even in the dark, and I always come right home when its time to go to bed.

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
The only other gripe I have is that it won't allow you to delete points from your history menu. lol, just don't go places that you shouldn't and this won't be a problem. ;)

Nav was a "gotta have" for my new car; I'm a geek and I love toys like this. At first I was disappointed with the 8's nav, but after I got more familiar with it I came to like it more and more. I not only could do more with it, but can do so with fewer mouse clicks as I learn shortcuts. I'd like to hear specific features from other systems that the Mazda nav supposedly can't do; we may find it can but you just don't know how.

For those who said to try it out on a test drive, I don't think this'll be very satisfying. It took me a few weeks of focused attention to really get good at it.

Originally posted by MEGAREDS

If you can't afford it, this is a toy you can skip. If you can afford it, it's terrific. I really like the fact that I can drive and drive and drive -- even in the dark, and I always come right home when its time to go to bed.


Affording the options is not a problem. If that was the case I'd by a Sentra ;). It's was never a question of not getting it. My question is more about the functionality of the Navigation system as it compared to Acuras.

Originally posted by Slick_Advanced
My question is more about the functionality of the Navigation system as it compared to Acuras.
Sorry if I strayed off topic. I cannot speak to other auto nav systems, but I played with GPS devices and software for about two years before buying my RX-8. I had hoped the NAV would do several things this one does not do. The car knows what time it is and where you are and it has memory, so it knows where you've been and when you were there. It could do an amazing amount of stuff with that sort of information and I'm sure there are systems that do more. For example, it could let me download POI from my PDA, intended routes from my MS Mappoint software through the wireless network. It could better calcuate ETAs based on prior trips. It could allow for the addition of new roads without a new DVD by recording prior trips. It could recognize my voice commands - I am not sure from your post whether the Acura accepts voice commands, but some systems do. I already mentioned not being able to use Lat./Lon. info, which I would like to do. The "joystick" is also a bit difficult to manipulate. Perhaps someone else could comment on whether the Acura can do any of these particular things. The input of addresses into the RX-8 NAV is difficult if the address is not already in the history.

There is one thing this unit does that none of the other hand-held and PDA units I've used does -- it never crashes and needs to be rebooted. It just works. It might get lost or confused, but it self corrects over time. I really thought that there would be times that I've have to turn the car off to get it to reset. It's just very reliable, and that's by far the most important thing for a unit that you can rely on to find your way home. Again, perhaps someone else could comment on whether other car-based systems require rebooting. Although my Garmin hand-held units never did, they had none of the high-end mapping the RX-8's system has; almost every PDA or laptop system I've used required reboots or at least forced program shut downs, including when running NavTech software. Then again, my experience is exclusively with MS operating systems...

Twice now my Mazda nav was WAAY off course and showed my car going the wrong direction. One time, I just drove and it eventually fixed itself (1-2 minutes.) The other time, I turned off the car, restarted, and the nav instantly fixed itself. Exactly the same thing happened in our 2000 BMW; after a couple minutes it fixed itself. I think this is not a "mazda" problem per se but some quirk of satellite transmission, geometry, signal propogation or timing. But the GPS system is redundant and ultimately all errors are sorted out.

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
Sorry if I strayed off topic.

No prob. I know how it goes. But, I'm always a little irked by the "you can buy a map and save $1998.53" crew or the "I paid 30K for transportation but, the 2K was WAY too much" crew.

I cannot speak to other auto nav systems, but I played with GPS devices and software for about two years before buying my RX-8. I had hoped the NAV would do several things this one does not do. The car knows what time it is and where you are and it has memory, so it knows where you've been and when you were there. It could do an amazing amount of stuff with that sort of information and I'm sure there are systems that do more. For example, it could let me download POI from my PDA, intended routes from my MS Mappoint software through the wireless network. It could better calcuate ETAs based on prior trips. It could allow for the addition of new roads without a new DVD by recording prior trips. It could recognize my voice commands - I am not sure from your post whether the Acura accepts voice commands, but some systems do. I already mentioned not being able to use Lat./Lon. info, which I would like to do. The "joystick" is also a bit difficult to manipulate. Perhaps someone else could comment on whether the Acura can do any of these particular things. The input of addresses into the RX-8 NAV is difficult if the address is not already in the history.

GREAT INFO!!!!! this is EXACTLY the information I was looking for. I have spent a great deal of time in the Acura and I can say that it does have voice commands that work really well. If you had both cars the you would consider the lack of voice a loss in the RX-8 but, if you never plan on driving an Acura then you won't miss it. The Acura needs a DVD for the update of new software. I think this is a technical issue you would think that the the nav system could download terrain infomation dynamically to update new roads on the fly. I'm sure that will be the case in later generation nav systems but no biggy. Does the NAVI speak to you like "turn left at the next intersection" or do you have to constantly look at the map for that kind of info?


There is one thing this unit does that none of the other hand-held and PDA units I've used does -- it never crashes and needs to be rebooted. It just works. It might get lost or confused, but it self corrects over time. I really thought that there would be times that I've have to turn the car off to get it to reset. It's just very reliable, and that's by far the most important thing for a unit that you can rely on to find your way home. Again, perhaps someone else could comment on whether other car-based systems require rebooting. Although my Garmin hand-held units never did, they had none of the high-end mapping the RX-8's system has; almost every PDA or laptop system I've used required reboots or at least forced program shut downs, including when running NavTech software. Then again, my experience is exclusively with MS operating systems...

A PDA unit was never in my sights. I ask myself how much is my time worth? Having to fiddle with a hand held anything when I'm speeding isn't worth it to me.

Originally posted by Slick_Advanced
Does the NAVI speak to you like "turn left at the next intersection" or do you have to constantly look at the map for that kind of info? It verbally tells you, and gives you a coupla heads up before your turn. If you watch the display you will see it counting down the last few hundred yards. It also tells you if you need to be in the right or left lane (like a freeway split) and what side of the road your destination is on.

Cool so in that regard it does behave like the Acura Navi.

Originally posted by Slick_Advanced
Cool so in that regard it does behave like the Acura Navi. I'm telling ya, the Mazda navi is pretty slick, it just takes a while to appreciate all its features. There is a vast amount of info onscreen and on the DVD once you know how to access it. Short of voice recognition, I still haven't seen anyone mention what the Acura can do that the Mazda can't. Do you know of anything?

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
I'm telling ya, the Mazda navi is pretty slick, it just takes a while to appreciate all its features. There is a vast amount of info onscreen and on the DVD once you know how to access it. Short of voice recognition, I still haven't seen anyone mention what the Acura can do that the Mazda can't. Do you know of anything?


Outside of the voice commands I don't know of any difference. I mean I didn't test the Acura sysyem balls to the wall, but I did use the standard functions to navigate across town every now and again. The complaints I have seem to be standard to in car navigation technology and not specifc to one car or the other.


Thanks everyone for responding you all have been a great help in raising my expectations even more.

Furthermore, in magazine reviews of the Honda nav, I've read that voice recognition isn't all it was cracked up to me. I'm assuming it's the same system used in Acura. The reviewer complained it was pretty hit-and-miss as to whether the car could understand what you were saying; an exercise in frustration. Voice command was also used to control audio and climate settings in the car. Anyone have experience with this in Honda/Acura? Is voice recognition really ready for primetime?

Just got back from exploring the NAV system. I found not just one, but two back doors. I am not sure if this is documented on this board or not, but I'll post my pics here for now. Perhaps later, someone can take the time to go through them and properly document what each screen does...

The second back door... (not sure of the stick combination, but pushing it up and down on the version screen should eventually bring up the following screen):

The Nav Signal Screen was pretty cool, showing the location and strength of satellites being received, as well as Lat/Lon position and altitude:

I could not get the GPS Vehicle Info screen to display real time information. The speed function stayed at 0km/hr and the direction never changed from due North. This is a bummer, because this screen might actually get used if it were available to me.

The wiring check screen was by far my favorite, although I've not checked it out to see if it runs real-time as the car rolls. The icons do change, however, as the lights are turned on, parking break is set, etc...

Lots of information available on version, update status, etc., as well as a running clock of the NAV's operation.

I was very interested that the NAV seems to be receiving radio signals (as opposed to GPS signals). Is it perhaps sending its data by radio to the computer? If so there are some great possibilities for uploading and downloading data, although I bet it is encrypted...

Cool stuff. Why would the nav system display info on the cars lights? Does it cause a change in voltage that affects navigation? I'm sure they didn't put it here just for fun...

I also checked the license agreement that came with the system. Unfortunately, one of the conditions of the license is that the user not hook up any type of external device to the system, meaning that any useful hack has to be licensed by NavTech or Panasonic. These type of agreements tick me off, but there ya go... check your owner's manual for details.

There's lots of other screens... I've just posted the highlights.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
Cool stuff. Why would the nav system display info on the cars lights?
The screen dims dramatically when the lights are turned on, to avoid glare for night driving.

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
The screen dims dramatically when the lights are turned on, to avoid glare for night driving. oh yeah, duh...

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
Furthermore, in magazine reviews of the Honda nav, I've read that voice recognition isn't all it was cracked up to me. I'm assuming it's the same system used in Acura. The reviewer complained it was pretty hit-and-miss as to whether the car could understand what you were saying; an exercise in frustration. Voice command was also used to control audio and climate settings in the car. Anyone have experience with this in Honda/Acura? Is voice recognition really ready for primetime?


From what limited things I did with the system it was cool. But, that is limited to "find nearest resaturant/gas station". If you keep it basic then it should be cool.

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
I was very interested that the NAV seems to be receiving radio signals (as opposed to GPS signals). Is it perhaps sending its data by radio to the computer? If so there are some great possibilities for uploading and downloading data, although I bet it is encrypted... I'm betting this is the internal frequency used to communicate between the unit and the sensors, much like some trunk mounted CD changers send out a weak FM signal for communicating with the head unit.

Originally posted by 5Gen_Prelude
I'm betting this is the internal frequency used to communicate between the unit and the sensors, much like some trunk mounted CD changers send out a weak FM signal for communicating with the head unit. You're kidding, right!? You mean these aren't hardwired?

Hell if I know. That frequency is often used in CD changers though

It's possible that only the GPS antenna is hardwired, but even that might not be. I can imagine how much simpler it would be to do an install if all the necessary sensors just broadcasted their information and the NAV or received the info directly from the car's ECU. If anyone wants to experiment, I suppose it would be possible to change the frequency and see if the NAV unit can navigate or identify the status of the headlights or parking brake.

By the way, I played with some of these screens last night while driving, and none of them seem useful while moving. The speed graph on the wiring page does move interactively, but it's jerky. It's also in that crazy Canadian "KM/HR" measurement. ;)

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
It's also in that crazy Canadian "KM/HR" measurement. ;) LOL, damn canadians. They gotta do everything weird.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
LOL, damn canadians. They gotta do everything weird. Yeah, like conforming to rest of the world... ;)

2nd Backdoor 2 fwd 2 back

Originally posted by TheDosDog
2nd Backdoor 2 fwd 2 back

3rd secret menu: 3 fwd, 3 back, 1 fwd, 1 back

The nav sys in the 8 does have some nice features, but I'm not crazy about it always putting the car's position a little short of the intersection where you're s'posed to be turning. It also has given me a wrong position for the house number I wanted on a street. Right street, wrong house - once by several hundred yards. This is something the nav system in my wife's I30 never did, nor even my $700 Garmin Streetpilot CM II

One other thing: I wish some of the backdoor features were available on the main screen. my Garmin Streetpilot CM II allows you to inset a window in the main screen that shows compass heading, speed and time. Since the speed and time are both calculated based on the satellite signals, they're dead accurate. You'd be surprised how often these three pieces of information are useful.

Originally posted by boothguy
Since the speed and time are both calculated based on the satellite signals, they're dead accurate. You'd be surprised how often these three pieces of information are useful.

I suspect NavTech elected not to put that information on the NAV screen because it would contradict the speedometer and clock in the car. There has already been some discussion of how speedometers in the U.S. are deliberately set too fast - to avoid liability for the car manufacturer's for speeding tickets, I suppose (or worse). I don't think the clock in the RX-8 is tied to the NAV, so there would necessarily be a drifting apart of the clocks which would drive people crazy.

Speaking of the Nav clock, does any one know how to set it. Mine is 1 hour fast.

Originally posted by TheDosDog
Speaking of the Nav clock, does any one know how to set it. Mine is 1 hour fast.

Change the option called DST (Daylight Saving Time) in the System Setup Menu. It moves the clock back/forward by 1 hour.

Cool, Thanks

I'm just learning mine after taking delivery of my new RX8 Saturday. It's absolutely amazing. Not just that it shows you exaactly where you are moving on a detailed map. Seems like science fiction has come alive, as you can pick a destination you want to go to by first entering the zip code, then telling it the 1st letter of the street, and it will give you a list of all streets in that zip code the 1st letters you enter. Then you go on to enter the street number, press enter, and a few seconds later it will show a blue path on the as to how to get there.

So you start out on your drive. When on a high-speed highway, a voice will alert you that "turn right half mile", and so forth until you are there. I've still got more to learn about, but it's more than I could have imagined. You'll enjoy it, especially if you go places that are unfamiliar.

Originally posted by quaggy
3rd secret menu: 3 fwd, 3 back, 1 fwd, 1 back
Thanks quaggy. That's the best one yet, IMO. There is a "record" feature here and what looks like a way to hook the system up to another computer.

The radio signals that the Sat-Nav can receive are for the TMC (Traffic Message Channel). In countries where this system operates, this radio channel transmits information concerning congestion and road works in order for the system to re-route accordingly.

Huh? Are you sure about this? Anyone?

I'm not certain if this is the exact system but I did find mention of it on this site:

http://www.panasonic-europe.com/car/

I doubt we have this in the states. It could be a European thing primarily.

Originally posted by RichardJ
The radio signals that the Sat-Nav can receive are for the TMC (Traffic Message Channel). In countries where this system operates, this radio channel transmits information concerning congestion and road works in order for the system to re-route accordingly. I have seen evidence of TMC technology in Japan and England, though not necessarily integrated with this Panasonic system. Once I stumbled upon a panasonic.uk web site that depicted our DVD player with an add-on module that included traffic info onscreen. That would be so awesome, but of course you need the nationwide infrastructure to beam that data to your car and the US isn't quite there yet. Based on what I'd read on the UK site, it seems like our system could be upgraded at some future time to include this. It would be so cool. One would assume it will not only depict traffic flow, but implement algorithms to route you around the worst jams to get you as quickly as possible to your destination. Damn, I would pay big bucks for a capability like that!

Originally posted by RichardJ
The radio signals that the Sat-Nav can receive are for the TMC (Traffic Message Channel). In countries where this system operates, this radio channel transmits information concerning congestion and road works in order for the system to re-route accordingly.
Oh... that explains the 87.5Mhz default frequency. That's on the FM band, right?

Does anyone know how to get to the "System Analysis Menu"?

I've only been able to get in there a few times and I can't figure out the key combination to get back there.

Originally posted by tripwire
Does anyone know how to get to the "System Analysis Menu"?

I've only been able to get in there a few times and I can't figure out the key combination to get back there.

Isn't this the "third secret menu" described above: 3 fwd, 3 back, 1 fwd, 1 back. I've been there. If you don't go slowly and deliberately, you can get the combination wrong.

Yeah, that's it, I'll try it.
What about the NAVI menu? I was in there and did "cold start" o the CD ROM check screen, on accident. I wiped out all of my waypoints.

It would have been nice if they had made a memory slot so you could store all of your entries....

Originally posted by tripwire
It would have been nice if they had made a memory slot so you could store all of your entries....
I wiped out my way points too, and reset my settings. I was bummed at first, then realized that I was glad there is a way to clear out the clutter and start again. I had some pretty dumb addresses in my system from when I was trying to learn how to use it.

The thing with GPS is that it screams to be used in open source programs. There are a zillion cool things that can be done with it, if you can get at the raw data, but none of the companies that make this stuff generally want that to happen. Being able to upload waypoints into the Mazda NavTech system is a good example.

In case anyone has a handheld GPS, there is an amazing shareware program that you've got to try. It's called ExpertGPS (http://www.expertgps.com/) and it will read GPS data and download arial photographs or Topo maps from the internet, then plot the path the GPS is travelling or has travelled onto the photos or map. When looking at aerial photos last year, my brother and I noticed a large triangle shape on desert photographs and drove out to find out what the heck it was... we discovered an old airforce base. When we found a giant oval in another photo, we drove to it and discovered Toyota's U.S. testing facility; he lives 20 miles away from it, and didn't even know it was there. GPS rocks. The Mazda NAV system is great, but it could be made to do so much more.

I'm hoping someone figures out how to use that I/O function. Once we get access to the data from the system... ;)

Hi guys!

I'm very interested in this "secret-menu"-stuff!

Since I'm from Germany, I could test this TMC-Feature for it's available here.

I just came back from playing around with the navi, but unfortunately I couldn't find the needed menu. I tried both combinations: 2fwd 2back and 3fwd 3back 1fwd 1back, but I could only get to the "System Information" and the "System Analysis" menus... None of these brought me to the needed "NAVI ECU information" menu, shown in the first pic on the second page in this thread!

So is there another combination that can be entered? I tried playing around with the stick for a while, but I couldn't find another useful combination of entering directions!

Did I miss anything? Or does it depend on the specific software version?

So, please help me out!!! :)

Thanks alot in advance!!!

I just traded in my 2000 Acura TL for my new 8. the TL had the old Acura Navi that wasn't voice activated, but it was still great. The acura/honda navigation lets you touch screen too (as well as it's voice activated). I like the Mazda navi. It's good, but I still think the Acura is a bit better.

I wish we could find the firmware manual for the Nav system. That way we could find out what everything means. Their may be other menus built in that we haven't found yet. I would also like to access the other voices on the DVD like maybe the UK female voice. Overall though I am sold I will be hard pressed to buy a new car that doesn't have a NAV system in it. When I bought the car I got the NAV because I thought it would be fun. I didn' t think it would be this handy to have.

I've been using Delorme Street Atlas programs for years with their GPS reciever on my laptop and thought it was a neat and somewhat useful. After using the NAV in the car I think the laptop approach is just a pain. Its not as acurate or as useful.

Originally posted by 8_wannabe
I have seen evidence of TMC technology in Japan and England, though not necessarily integrated with this Panasonic system. Once I stumbled upon a panasonic.uk web site that depicted our DVD player with an add-on module that included traffic info onscreen. That would be so awesome, but of course you need the nationwide infrastructure to beam that data to your car and the US isn't quite there yet. Based on what I'd read on the UK site, it seems like our system could be upgraded at some future time to include this. It would be so cool. One would assume it will not only depict traffic flow, but implement algorithms to route you around the worst jams to get you as quickly as possible to your destination. Damn, I would pay big bucks for a capability like that!

$0.02 from Japan...

Yes this would be TMC and it is nationwide in Japan. Non-navi car stereos have a "info" button that gets you an audio traffic info. Electronic road signs in cities and on all highways show traffic and weather info. Very handy and helpful. US cities really need to invest in this.

As i don't actually own a navi myself, I can only say what I've seen in friends'/co-workers' cars and taxis... they all seem to be able to reroute based upon traffic information. They all also have tv tuners and DVD playback capablility in Japan...

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
Oh... that explains the 87.5Mhz default frequency. That's on the FM band, right?

Not exactly... FM band in Japan runs lower frequency than US and has different "stepping" than the US as well. 87.5 FM is a perfectly normal station number in Japan, although reserved for TMC info.

Please pardon the off topic question.... Has anybody been able to locate the nearest Post Office using the navi? If so, where did you find it - how did you search? I have tried time and time again to no avail.

Originally posted by Qhris
Please pardon the off topic question.... Has anybody been able to locate the nearest Post Office using the navi? If so, where did you find it - how did you search? I have tried time and time again to no avail. It's not really off-topic. Anyway, i checked and I can't find post offices either. A very strange oversight...

8_wannabe - thanks for verifying that. It does seem odd in that Post Offices are integral facilities across this great land of ours. They make for great rally points... :)

I live in Indiana where it is One hour behind Eastern time. How do I change the time on the GPS. I looked in all the menues.

Originally posted by glide
I live in Indiana where it is One hour behind Eastern time. How do I change the time on the GPS. I looked in all the menues.
Set the clock to Central or Eastern time (I can never figure out Indiana time... sorry), then use the DST ("Daylight savings time") function to gain one hour. It's the last item in the System Setup screen and described very briefly on page 33 of the NAV section of the user's manual.

Regarding Honda/Acura (Alpine) Navigation unit versus Mazda (Panasonic?) Navi...

The Alpine navigation unit you find in Accords and TSX's and such are much more sophisticated and rich in features in comparison to the Panasonic unit that comes in the new Mazdas. I've done some extensive testing with the Accord's Alpine unit, and I've found the following features to be lacking in the Mazda:

Touch screen interface: the Alpine unit has a joystick on the face of the headunit display, but it's not necessary as you can simply press buttons on the screen. Much quicker than the Mazda's.

Voice command input: the Hondas have a microphone mounted in the dome light assembly which can be activated via a steering wheel button which enables the user to dictate commands such as "show/hide/find/map nearest/all restaurant/atm/bank/gas.." - along with a slew of other commands such as menu browsing, radio/cd/audio/climate control... In the case of restaurants, you can even be more specific and say "show nearest italian" which pops up a list of all the italian joints sorted by distance or name.

Fully integrated: The navigation display unit is hardwired to the heating/ventilation/air conditioning (HVAC) as well as the radio and cd and speaker system. So you can turn the radio on or off, switch cd tracks, raise and lower volume, adjust air conditioning and climate control, and perform navigation functions with your voice.

Comprehensive point of interest listings: the dvd software seems to contain complete volumes of yellow pages for every city in the United States. The Mazda navi unit shows very few listings in comparison. Also, you can choose the categories of points of interests you would like to have marked on the screen, such as having only gas stations and banks marked, and all others hidden.

What's also cool with the Alpine is that you have the option of choosing a male or female voice for reading off directions to you, which are both very high quality.

The one plus I would give Mazda's unit over Honda's is that the display unit can open and close. Honda's display is embedded and does not move.

In terms of navigation functionality, both units are equally good in that the GPS tracking shows you where the vehicle is located, what direction you are moving, when and where to make turns, automatically reroutes courses, etc.etc.etc.

In the end, the Mazda unit works just fine for navigation although it isn't quite as awesome as the Honda's. They're both $2000 options.

Thanks MEGAREDS for finding the additional screens!

I just love finding those Easter Eggs in software. One of them was even titled "secret screen" - the one at SYSTEM ANALYSIS --> RD, I think.

Now here's some caution for others, be careful about what you select in those extra menus, unless you know what you're doing.
I don't think you can break anything, but you might lock it up somehow.

I (by mistake) selected "white screen" from the NAVI ECU --> Display Check screen. White screen, period. I could not cancel it no matter what I pressed. I assume that I was still operating the system, but since the display was all white, I could no longer see what I was doing, in order to get back to undo it. Tried everything, including closing down and reopening the display. A real knot started to form in my stomach.

Hint here - the system is always "on" after you start the car. So as a last resort, I shut off and restarted the car. Bingo, white screen gone. If this had been a "soft setting" in non volitile flash memory (Mars lander, anyone? :( ) , even disconnecting the battery may not have cleared it. I would have had to post here for someone to recite the exact key sequence to get back to that screen and "un-white" the display.

Morale of the story: play carefully out there folks. But have fun :)

Jeff

I'm stuck indoors at work and won't be able to try the backdoors until later tonight. Would anyone care to post all (3?) backdoors here for easy reference?

Backdoor 1:

Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Up, Up

Backdoor 2:

Up, Up, Down, Down

Backdoor 3:

Up, Up, Up, Down, Down, Down, Up, Down

Unlimited Lives and Bonuses in Nintendo/Konami games:

Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, B, A, Select, Start...

GiN - Thanks so much for the listing. I have been hacking at it for a long time and having a lot of fun in the process. The bad news is that I couldn't get the Nintendo/Konami codes to work. But the good news is that I saved a ton of money on my car insurance by switching to Gekko. ;)

Thanks alot for the missing combination!

Actually, I have another question:

How do I get to the "Receiving information"-screen?
That's the one giving the informations about the TMC-control...
I've checked the Nav-ECU screen and the "TMC" in the second line is missing...

So what Software-versions do you have? Is it possible that it depends on that???

Hello All, well I do not have my 8 yet, but expect for it to be delivered in March. I have ordered red, 6 spd, roof and Nav. Anyone have other comments about the Nav system. I love my toys!!

I would recommend the NAV - pricey but very helpful. have it up and running at all times. Limited coverage of Canada - and somewhat dated coverage of US - I would ask your dealer about an update. Update will be available in March or April according to NavTech - but no sign that Mazda plans to pay for any updates. The cost is likely to be $200. John

Speaking of updates being released, anyone know if the OS / Application Program is also resident on the DVD, or is that maybe hard coded in the unit? Based on the startup delay when the nag screen is up, it would stand to reason that th program is being loaded from disk.

Based on that assumption, perhaps they'll update / revise some features in the next release.

Jeff

Originally posted by N5TEV
Speaking of updates being released, anyone know if the OS / Application Program is also resident on the DVD, or is that maybe hard coded in the unit? Based on the startup delay when the nag screen is up, it would stand to reason that th program is being loaded from disk. Good point. Boot time is lengthy plus there's a s/w version on the disk so maybe you're right.

Software (OS) is in the Nav unit, not the DVD. Currently, the only way to update the Nav software is to replace the unit.

I just picked up a new toy from Garmin...their new StreetPilot 2610. It has a touch screen for ease of review and input and it works phenominally. Cost is about $800. Not bad, and it's portable so you can use it in all of your cars.

I'm considering the Navi in an 8 (depending on the total price) so I'd just make the Garmin a standard feature in my wife's Subi. It's so good that I might even forego the built in.

-Eric

I'm considering a Garmin unit for my other vehicle - the PDA based iQue 3600 - anyone got one of these ? - John

Originally posted by TheDosDog
Software (OS) is in the Nav unit, not the DVD. Currently, the only way to update the Nav software is to replace the unit.

It seems perfectly reasonable to expect that the software is stored in some type of EEPROM or flash memory and could be updated from a DVD. I'm not saying that's the case in the RX but it seems possible.

I'm getting my system replaced next week due to "the voice that won't shut up" issue. Currently the only way to update is replacement.

Unfortunate that they'll have to replace the system. I should FINALLY pick mine up tomorrow morning.

its a good sytem...mine is not equipped with it but i used it extensively at the dealer. it is good and reliable, but NO it does not act as a DVD player

Mu NAV is on all the time - heck it cost 2Gs. The way I figure it I have 4 years for it to go south - and still be Mazda's problem.

It's great IMHO - but I will get updated disks when Canadian coverage is improved.

John

Originally posted by RX8_GT
Mu NAV is on all the time - heck it cost 2Gs. The way I figure it I have 4 years for it to go south - and still be Mazda's problem.
What do you do with it "all the time?" Just watch scrolling maps? Is that useful?

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
The Nav Signal Screen was pretty cool, showing the location and strength of satellites being received, as well as Lat/Lon position and altitude:

Why in the Hell is this data not accessible? It should be a display mode that you can easily get to. Without having to go thru some backdoor....

I'm glad it's there though.

I usually keep my NAV on all of the time too.
It has helped me find so many shortcuts in different cities that I've driven through.
Sometimes when I'm in my other car I find myself looking to the center of the dash to see if there's another route, only to realize that I'm in the wrong car and I don't have a NAV in that one.

Paid $2000 for NAV - warranty for four years - it's on all the time. John

Originally posted by RX8_GT
Paid $2000 for NAV - warranty for four years - it's on all the time. John

I'm with you! Even if I close it, I leave it on and allow myself to be guided by voice only. I think it allows me to enjoy the drive even more. And if I miss a corner.... who cares! More driving time for me! :D

I'm confused about the "always on" issue. I thought it's always on whether or not you open it. I assumed this due to the fact that If I go a day without opening it, the next day I drive with it open I can see the little breadcrumb tracks from my previous driving (while it was closed).

Can you actually turn it all the way off, or have I overlooked something obvious?

Jeff

It's a definition of terms. If you program a destination then close it, it'll still talk to you meaning it's still "on." If it's closed but no destination is programmed, it won't do a thing. I guess you could say it's still on, but it's not really doing anything. I don't know about the breadcrumb tracks. I've never seen those. I thought that was for when you went offroad; it's a way to show you how to get back to the nearest mapped road. Are you driving where no roads are mapped?

You can turn on and off tracking. It drops a blue dot every so many seconds, so you can see where the car's been.

I love mine. Work well since I am new to the DC area.

Can someone tell me what the brand name of the Nav is, or even better if you have a web site for me to go to. This way I can find out about updates etc.

Remember I am from Canada, things are a little different up here, may even give us a different nav system.

Any comments?

Originally posted by Doug
Can someone tell me what the brand name of the Nav is, or even better if you have a web site for me to go to. This way I can find out about updates etc.

Remember I am from Canada, things are a little different up here, may even give us a different nav system.

Any comments?

It's made by Panasonic. See this link (http://www.panasonic-europe.com/car/) and try the demo.

Thanks, does not have much for Canada, will keep looking.

Question: Does the NAV calculates an Estmiate time of arrival during guidance ?

yes, it does

I found that the ETA is located on the bottom of the screen, but if I get stuck in traffic the ETA will not change accordingly.

Or am I doing this wrong?

Doug

I want to say that it compensates as you drive, but if you're sitting there it it doesn't increment the time. I'll watch for that the next time I'm out.

What I want to know, is what that little IR-Receiver window does on the front of the display. It would be great if I could save my waypoints through that port, to my PDA or something.

Thanks guys.

That's great, at least with this feature I can give a more accurate estimate on how I will have to budget for each trip.

Originally posted by Doug
I found that the ETA is located on the bottom of the screen, but if I get stuck in traffic the ETA will not change accordingly.

Or am I doing this wrong?

Doug


I've never seen it update for change in speed. If I go faster or stay in traffic the time doesn't seem to update. I hope that this will change in the next revision.

Originally posted by tripwire

What I want to know, is what that little IR-Receiver window does on the front of the display. It would be great if I could save my waypoints through that port, to my PDA or something.
I agree... this should get its own thread.

Originally posted by MEGAREDS
I agree... this should get its own thread.

I was going to start it but decided to do a search on infrared. It doesn't appear that anyone has found "the" solution but the logical deduction is that it's for a non-wired remote control.

If you look at the following Panasonic site you'll see what appears to be a handheld remote control after you pick the appropriate language. In my case (english) I see it located next to the CN-DV2300.

www.panasonic-europe.com/dvdnavigation/

Hmmm. If we could get a remote, I think it likely that it would be pretty easy to reverse program it... no more difficult than using a remote control programmer for a T.V. I should think. I suspect that once that is done, someone could capture the signals and off we go... I'm going to post a thread if you don't... I really want an answer and totally agree... inputing addresses is a total pain with the joystick. I recently went on a road trip for my job and had to make 25 or so stops in one day. It would have been a great help to have the ability to input them at the keyboard, then remote them into the NAV.

I do not believe that the IR Receiver does anything. I think that this part that holds the screen could also be used for a DVD movie if equiped. In otherwords, other models (GM, FORD) etc may use this same part for a DVD movie.

Originally posted by Doug
I do not believe that the IR Receiver does anything. I think that this part that holds the screen could also be used for a DVD movie if equiped. In otherwords, other models (GM, FORD) etc may use this same part for a DVD movie.

I have noticed that my Navi often starts up rather dark and then adjusts its brightness. Could that possibly be a light sensor? Any thoughts?

It's possible but unlikely. I think you're just seeing the flourescent lamp warming up. I think almost every techie friend that gets in my car and sees the navigation system for the first time puts a finger or thumb over the port to see if it is exactly what you suggest. Each and every time there's no visible change in the brightness of the display.

Originally posted by Pavehawk
It's possible but unlikely. I think you're just seeing the flourescent lamp warming up. I think almost every techie friend that gets in my car and sees the navigation system for the first time puts a finger or thumb over the port to see if it is exactly what you suggest. Each and every time there's no visible change in the brightness of the display.

Flourescent lamp as in the back light? Oh yeah. I forgot about that. So then, what the heck is it? An IR port for future Navi upgrades? Uggghh. Enough thinking - I'm goin' for a drive! :D

It seems to be a mystery wrapped in an enigma. I put my PocketPC in front of my Nav unit last night and tried to outpulse IR signals to the unit but it didn't respond at all.

The link below is for a different unit, but I suppose the premise is the same. Who makes our unit again? Panasonic? I'll try to call into their support dept and find out what it is use for.

http://www.twice.com/article/CA370736.html?display=Mobile+Electronics

The SKYNAV 3000 also has an IR port so users of Palm or Pocket PC PDAs can beam an address directly into the unit.

Ya I tried placing my thumb over the spot as well, nothing happened.

It is probably for an option that is not equiped for the Nav system, standard box to hold a screen.

thanks
doug

Regarding the IR window: The UK version of this system has a handheld remote which uses the IR port. Probably due to lawsuits they don't offer it in the US.

Regarding ETA calculation: It seems to compute ETA based solely on the expected speed of the roads you will travel: 65-70 mph on freeways; 35 or so on city streets, etc. It does not factor in how fast you are presently going.

On reflection, I have to agree with their algorithm. If they base it on your present speed, then your ETA will take wild swings up and down due to present conditions. I drive fast (90 on freeways when I can) and I have found the ETA to be remarkably accurate around town. Less so on long open-road trips, but I can deal with that.

Even though it doesn't adjust ETA for speed, it does adjust ETA for your current position. So, if you get way ahead of its calculation it will decrement ETA. Not because you're going faster, but because you have less distance to travel. I have found it to be so accurate, that I wonder if it adjusts expected highway speeds to factor in rush hour because whether in rush hour or dead of night, it tends to be correct ETA to within a minute or so.

We need to get a working UK Panasonic NAV system and capture the IR commands to see if they work. If they don't work, I bet there is a toggle inside the system somewhere to turn the thing on.

@tripwire:

Here in Europe, the navsystem comes with a remote control. That's what the small window is for...

Would the remote work in the U.S. version? How much is a replacement remote from an EU Mazda dealer?

Would the remote work in the U.S. version?
Yes, The remote for the EU market does work on US version, All the features are the same. The remote is for the Mazda6, silver in color, and takes AA batteries. the cradle for the remote is also wired so your not using internal battery or IR signal when inserted.

Looks like you can order for delivery in England and Ireland here. (http://www.panasonic.co.uk/ashop/product.asp?i=CNDV2300N)

This is the remote I found here. (http://www.panasonic.co.uk/car-multimedia-navigation/cndv2300/index.htm) It only comes with the nav system; not sure yet how to order it separately. So you're saying this will work with the US system? I'll take your word for it, but will really believe when someone actually tries it. The controls on the remote seem to duplicate the built-in controls in the car except the numeric keys. What are they used for? Also, there looks like a "mode" key in the bottom left. What is that for? If I can figure out how to order this thing separately I just might, and let y'all know how it works.

If I ever figure out how to insert thumbnails I won't have to link to the pic...
The control Im refering to is Mazda GK3A 66 9L0.

here they are side by side.. i am looking for them.. give me some time.. So far Japan Does not know how to croxx ref that UK part number to a Japan number.. So i am looking in OZ, and UK

here they are side by side.. i am looking for them.. give me some time.. So far Japan Does not know how to croxx ref that UK part number to a Japan number.. So i am looking in OZ, and UK
Hi Thew - any update on this remote?

I just talked to him about the remote...thew has a new contact and we should hear word about it soon :) :) since I really really want to remove the factory controls since there was someone on crack when they were designing the location

hey arufell I just noticed your car is very similar to mine :) :) :)

i know this topis is old, i havent looked thru the lats 6 pages of it.. but why couldnt they jstu give you a touchscreen? grr. i guess it would be a long reach.. bu they, your supposed to be stopped when you use it arent u? ;)

hehe yes.. but they want stuff that wont break allot.. the TS is know for getting wacked as it gets dirty.


MY AUS contact is still finding that Remote.. !!! keep Hope alive :)

thew is exactly right. plus the smudgy fingerprints would be very annoying.

I bought my RX8 sencond hand directly from Japan. It has the factory navigation system but everything is in japanese. Is there anything at all to convert this to english language?

Please advice! :Freak_ani

Can anyone help me out here? I live in Pennsylvania and we just had day light saving time and we moved the clocks backwards one hour. My GPS still reads one hour ahead. I looked through the options and couldn't see a place to change the time. I thought the time was set through the gps satalite system.