My holiday travels in thailand with GPS why so different results

[WilliamCave]

I was on my usual trip around the north of Thailand and this time I used SYGIC and Google maps .

When I plotted the destinations every day I was not getting the same results on SYGIC and google maps .

The time was never the same and other times the destinations gave a different way to travel .

I would thing that if given the same route that the time on both would be the same and in most cases it was not

I am not sure why but can some one share there experience with both and let me know why I am getting such different results .

Thanks

[wgdanson]

Same here. Different route and distances. And different driving speeds, within a couple of kph. It shows me that the speedo on my 2012 Vigo is 4% low, so I have done 4% FEWER kms than the odometer says. Will my warranty be 104000 km or not !!!! ?

[craigt3365]

I did a long road trip last year and got very different results using TomTom and Google Maps. Especially with regards to driving times.

[ToddinChonburi]

Welcome to the real world of GPS, some times they work great and other times they are junk. You always need to have a back up plan on your map when traveling . That is your paper map. You do need to remember you are in Thailand and they are still struggling with 3G .

[KhunBENQ]

You do need to remember you are in Thailand and they are still struggling with 3G .

No idea what the connection between GPS devices and 3G is.

Maybe you can enlighten me.

Neither GPS nor the (mal)function of these devices are influenced by being in Thailand.

The maps are created by US companies (I guess) as well as GPS is under control of the US military forces.

Does anyone expect that these travel times are more than a guideline?

Also some concrete numbers (how big a difference) and point A/B examples would be helpful.

Otherwise a quite pointless discussion.

speedo on my 2012 Vigo is 4% low,

What do you expect?

Completely within usual tolerances.

Look up, which different tyres are allowed/possible with your rims and do some math.

Edited January 5, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

Maybe I misunderstood the remark about the speedo.

By law, a speedometer must never show a lower speed than the actual exact speed.

Tolerance only allowed to show higher speed.

[curtklay]

Same same, only different.

I find my Garmin GPS to be more accurate than Google maps, although sometimes it chooses very strange routes to get from point A to point B.

[KhunBENQ]

As I don't have a GPS device, I did a comparison between Google Maps and Nokia here (here.com).

Almost same route from Chum Phae to Pattaya (North P. road).

Google: 554 km, 6:39h

here: 556 km, 8:01h

"Almost":

Google still not suggesting the bypass at Saraburi. Poor!

Here suggests it.

6:39h vs. 8:01h: from own experience, the truth is somewhere in the middle. 6:39h is quite optimistic.

(even when assuming light traffic)

Someone interested in comparing results with ones one device?

This is the route on Google:

http://goo.gl/maps/rhm57

BTW: not "my route". I prefer going via Khao Yai mountain route (304).

This one:

http://goo.gl/maps/CwiDU

Google says 533 km, 6:57h.

Edited January 5, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[Tuskfish]

My understanding here is that location services are dependent on either an ISP or a satelittle. The ISP could be a wifi hotspot or a mobile data connection, both of which are unreliable.

I think it also comes down to IP address allocation. I have TrueMove on Samsung Galaxy and sometimes my home city shows up correctly, sometimes I show up 50km, 200km and even 700km away.

I realise this doesn't solve your problem but may direct you to a solution, i.e. there may be some device configuration surrounding where to source location data (i.e. Internet or Satelitte), then the question will then be regional availability. In my city, if I go 15km out of town I end up with 2G so I don't expect much! Especially not accurate location services!

Edited January 5, 2015 by Tuskfish

[In Search of Space]

I guess that you have alot of different factors coming in. Firstly GPS can mis-calculate positions and dont forget that your phone, or SatNav does not have precision-grade GPS receivers, so the signal can be affected by the environment.

Secondly the map data is usually acquired from different sources throughout the world, so different standards and accuracies. An urban, western environment will have far more data available than rural, remote parts of the world.

Regarding planning of routes. The systems will be giving different routes and timings due to the data and software and the parameters you set. If the data is not structured properly, then the links and nodes joining the data will give different routes and timings.

[Doc46]

Same here. Different route and distances. And different driving speeds, within a couple of kph. It shows me that the speedo on my 2012 Vigo is 4% low, so I have done 4% FEWER kms than the odometer says. Will my warranty be 104000 km or not !!!! ?

Sure will NOT

[Doc46]

Maybe I misunderstood the remark about the speedo.

By law, a speedometer must never show a lower speed than the actual exact speed.

Tolerance only allowed to show higher speed.

B S

[Nemesis7]

Satellite Error...lol

[smotherb]

You need to understand how GPS works. It is based on 3-D trilateration of four satellites out of the 24 positioning satellites orbiting the earth at any one time. Your GPS receiver has to calculate the distance between each satellite and your receiver using the time it takes radio signals to be transmitted to calculate your actual position—which can be off due to the fact the earth’s atmosphere interferes with the speed of light and so do some large objects, the satellites themselves can misreport their locations to the electronic almanac used by your receiver to locate the satellites, and the US Department of Defense may be lax in reporting variations in satellite orbits to account for physical changes in satellite positioning. Any and all of these potential variations in satellite position can and do cause variations in finding the specific location of your GPS receiver.

[Loptr]

I've never had good luck finding anything within +/- 5km with google maps... At first I just thought it was just Thailand phasing in and out of this dimension, then I figured it was Larry and Sergey screwing with me...

[Gerard052]

Same same, only different.

I find my Garmin GPS to be more accurate than Google maps, although sometimes it chooses very strange routes to get from point A to point B.

I also have a Garmin GPS and if I follow this one direction it gives me I would be dead. I explain: Going around Khon Kaen to Kalasin, to get on the main road, I have to exit left of course and follow the road and back on the main road, but if I follow my GPS"s direction, it tells me to turn right, if I do so, I would be going over the guard rail onto the road below. I don't think so. They are good but sometimes you have to use a map or your good judgement.

[MiKT]

Maybe I misunderstood the remark about the speedo.

By law, a speedometer must never show a lower speed than the actual exact speed.

Tolerance only allowed to show higher speed.

Which Thai law was that?

Bigger rims on my Vigo make quite a difference (bragging again)

[fobuff]

IT is not a GPS problem but the algorithms that the different companies use to calculated routes, speed, etc....

[KhunBENQ]

Which Thai law was that?

Bigger rims on my Vigo make quite a difference (bragging again)

Don't know about Thai law.

Just remember from Germany and as cars are exported globally there is good reason to believe that this rule applies to all car manufacturers. No car company wants to be held reliable for speeding violations.

Australia:

http://www.trafficlaw.com.au/speedos.html

5.3. The speed indicated shall not be less than the true speed of the vehicle.

UK/Europe

http://www.thecarexpert.co.uk/how-accurate-is-a-car-speedometer/

The UK law is based on the EU standard, with some minor changes. A speedo must never show less than the actual speed, and must never show more than 110% of actual speed + 6.25mph.

Edited January 5, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[KhunBENQ]

Maybe I misunderstood the remark about the speedo.

By law, a speedometer must never show a lower speed than the actual exact speed.

Tolerance only allowed to show higher speed.

B S

Always good to have an expert at hand.

[KhunBENQ]

IT is not a GPS problem but the algorithms that the different companies use to calculated routes, speed, etc....

Yep, one of the core competencies that they have and making the difference.

Bells and whistles (nice colorful display, 3D etc.) is not the decisive point.

Edited January 5, 2015 by KhunBENQ

[Jaggg88]

Maybe I misunderstood the remark about the speedo.

By law, a speedometer must never show a lower speed than the actual exact speed.

Tolerance only allowed to show higher speed.

Perfectly true - and they are mostly set to a higher speed than the actual so you can't sue the vehicle manufacturer in the case of speeding offence or accident. The speedo in my VW differs about 8% from my sat nav speed indicator.

[EnglishJohn]

Maybe I misunderstood the remark about the speedo.

By law, a speedometer must never show a lower speed than the actual exact speed.

Tolerance only allowed to show higher speed.

B S

In the UK a speedometer must not under-read and must not over-read by more than 10%. This makes perfect sense.

Unless they make special ones for different countries, I would say the OP's comment is accurate about the speedo. Dunno about the law here.

Hardly worth calling it BS.

[Gonsalviz]

Google maps is wrong. GPS is right.

[malt25]

Not sure how helpful this is to the OP, but this is my experience.

I've traveled just over 15,000k in most parts of LOS in the past 8 months. I have a Garmin Nuvi purchased in Aussie. When I arrived in LOS I purchased a genuine Garmin SE Asia map memory card thingy. I use the GPS daily for speedo as I know more accurate than vehicle speedo. I've never had a problem with any map or directions. Route distance & time are almost spot on. I'm amazed that GPS shows some completely remote side roads & tracks.

I find the GPS invaluable in locating gas stations, hospitals, hotels & all the other destinations needed.

Just my experience.

Cheers..... Mal.

[Eneukman]

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Maybe I misunderstood the remark about the speedo.

By law, a speedometer must never show a lower speed than the actual exact speed.

Tolerance only allowed to show higher speed.

According to my Garmin GPS, the speedometer on my car is lower by around 2 km / hr.

Same same, only different.

I find my Garmin GPS to be more accurate than Google maps, although sometimes it chooses very strange routes to get from point A to point B.

I've found a similar problem. When I go to my girlfriend's sister's house in Ban Chang from Pattaya, it takes us one route but on the return journey it wants to take us the long way round via Sattahip. Also, it doesn't seem to recognise the road we took to reach Sukhumwit into account on the way back. That said, when we went to koh Chang last year, it directed us straight to the hotel without any problems.

I also find that the arrival time can be substantially out as the GPS does not seem to make any allowance for being held up at traffic lights. I must compare the distance given by my Garmin with that shown by my car's odometer sometime.

Alan

[Kan Win]

Hi Folks,

I always use paper Maps driving in Thailand. They maybe old, however, gets me to the place that I wish to go most of the time, not all, but most ............

http://www.pbase.com/win13/maps

Win

Edited January 7, 2015 by Kan Win

[bkk_mike]

Basically - it's the maps they're using...

In Western Europe, the US, etc., the government (or a related department - like the Ordnance Survey in the UK) has accurate maps that are available for sale to companies producing GPSs, and even there, I've had a GPS take one road out and another, parallel, road back. (but that could have been because the GPS was taking into account traffic... or not...)

In Thailand, I've seen paper maps with road junctions on them that that didn't exist for another 10 years, and "updated" GPS maps that didn't have roads 2 years after they'd opened to traffic.

I think part of it is down to the sheer amount of roads that are still being added all the time, and junctions that change - from crossroad, to turn left + U turn + turn left, to crossroads with lights.... It's a surprise that GPS maps work at all.

Essentially, I use my GPS only when doing long distances, or going somewhere I don't go to regularly, and it's more useful for working out where you are if you take a wrong turning, or the road you're on has extremely heavy traffic, so you take a random turn just to get away from it (sometimes works - sometimes backfires...). With a GPS, you at least always know where you are - even if it can't always tell you the best way to get to where you want to go...

(and of course, the quality of the internet connection - i.e. 3G - does matter if you're relying on google maps... - unless you pre-downloaded maps in advance of your trip.)

[captspectre]

Same here. Different route and distances. And different driving speeds, within a couple of kph. It shows me that the speedo on my 2012 Vigo is 4% low, so I have done 4% FEWER kms than the odometer says. Will my warranty be 104000 km or not !!!! ?

you are confusing thailand with a developed Nation that has up to date road maps and tecnical information! Thailand is a third world nation which has just reccently emerged from the jungle and forrest nation! wait another fifty years and the gps may work!

[wgdanson]

Khun Benq. My Vigo has original tyres, inflated to Toyotas recommended 29 psi, not 40 as Thais do. Still reads 96 when Sygic or Google shows 100. But I just got done for going 124 in 120 zone, fined 400 bht.