Sat nav use in a Minor

[frankie-lou]

Hello,
Does anyone have any experience or advice of using a sat nav in a Minor?
My main concerns would be fixture and battery life.
Any advice much appreciated.
Thank you

[The vast minority]

It doesn't differ from using it in any other car.
Just wire a cig socket with an inline fuse direct to the battery, less than a fiver from Maplins for all you need
As for mounting, the minors windscreen is just as smooth as a modern, so just use the suction mount the sat nav came with.

Al

[bmcecosse]

Make sure the car is negative earth first....

[The vast minority]

Good point Roy
I made the assumption that the poster would do that as a matter of course but your right, I should have mentioned neg earth

[philthehill]

A good piece advice given by our local Crime Prevention Officer (CPO) was not to mount the sat nav on the windscreen with its sucker as the sucker leaves tell tale rings and a not so honest person may see the rings and break into the car hoping to find that the sat nav has been left in the car.
Following the advice of the CPO I purchased a similar mounting pad to that in the attached link:-

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Weighted-Bean ... 3ce57632c4

So no tell tale rings - prevention is better than cure.
Phil

[Plin]

Well we do use a sat nav in our Minor van when going on longer journeys. But with a van you can't hear the directions very well at times!! We don't have the ability to charge it in the van and I would say our sat nav does not really have hours of life so we still take maps and also turn it off when it is not needed (i.e. when going to be on the same main road for a good while). More modern ones may well have a better life.

I also have a sat nav bean mat, can't comment on the use in the Morris van though. It was useless in our Renault Clio as it didn't sit well on the dashboard but it was great on the Volvo estate dashboard!

[viewsonic1]

Another crime prevention tip. If you use the Satnav to direct you home, don't use your postcode but the one of your local constabulary. Should your Minor be stolen, at least your home won't be ransacked, and hopefully plod can apprehend the thief.

[les]

Do people pinch sat navs any more? The world and his wife seem to have it all now, plus a 42 inch TV. Where did it all go wrong?

[mike.perry]

You can't beat a parcel shelf full of 1/50000 Landranger maps. A sat nav tells you where it wants you to go, a map shows you where you might like to go

[gtt1951]

Make sure the car is negative earth first....

I've got a "SatNav" power socket (never was a cig lighter) fitted in my +ve Earth '55 saloon - no problems, just wire the unit (2 wire) to the appropriate connectors (centre lead to +ve, and other lead to -ve), as the all plastic shroud/holder isn't panel mounted - just lies on the parcel tray.
I've used this for powering a Dash-Cam too.

[frankie-lou]

Thank you all for the advice (it is negative earth). I do carry maps but planning a solo drive to Scotland and the dog is a useless navigator! With much appreciation, Lou.

[mike.perry]

Easy, just head North with the sun to the right in the morning, behind you in the middle of the day and to the left in the evening
Sorry I forgot Scotland does not do sun

[gtt1951]

...
Sorry I forgot Scotland does not do sun

Mike, that is an unfair comment. Before I got married in 1978, I did a "tour" of Scotland with my prospective wife in a 1964 2-door Rose-Taupe Saloon. We had a great amount of Sun going up the West Coast, via Ullapool, so-much-so, that I got Sun Stroke, having fallen asleep one afternoon by the bank of a Loch! (I did have a bottle of wine prior to getting "my head down") There are some 35mm print film pictures of me wearing a knotted handkerchief (somewhere), prior to succumbing (if I find the negs, I'll scan them in and Post Up). Totally different story, weatherwise, coming back down the East Coast though

[Biggles1957]

My traveller was my main vehicle for a few years and I made a small bracket that mirrors the shape of the central speedo bulge. It's fixed above the cubby in front of the steering wheel so when my Garmin is fixed to it, the screen is directly in front of me through the steering wheel. I installed a fused socket on a flying lead into the cubby so the sat nav plugs into it. I can also use the socket to power other things like tyre pumps etc., and the socket is tucked away in the cubby when not in use. Doesn't fly around when hooning round corners because I keep other stuff like a cloth and a flat cap in the cubby!
I painted the mount to match the body colour and it's not at all obvious what it's for. Lots of members of the club have remarked on how neat it looks and how in keeping it is - but no one has guessed what it's for!
My car is negative earth, but you can of course wire up the socket to suit either positive or negative. I don't have any problems at all hearing it and because it's directly in front of me, don't have to look to one side to see the map

[moggiethouable]

[frame][/frame]
fits beautifully in the drivers side glove box.

[ASL642]

I use a Satnav in mine whenever I need it using a cigar lighter socket. If you are worried about someone breaking into the car when you arrive hide the Satnav/mount in the glovebox or under the seat, and keep a pack of wetones in the glovebox to wipe the circle off the windscreen!

[neilmorey]

...
Sorry I forgot Scotland does not do sun

This supposed summer that is a very fair comment, gritter was alledgely spotted in Aberdeenshire last week.

[dp]

Just something to add as it might save a flat battery. If you anyone's using a satnav via a USB connection or cigarette lighter to USB adaptor, be aware that the USB bit always uses power, even if there is nothing pluigged into it.

I discovered this when I made up a cigarette lighter socket that was on the 'always on' circuit and left a USB adaptor in situ.