Traffic Data in South Africa

[aronrana]

Hi there.

I have a Garmin nuvi 3597 LMT with the GTM 36 traffic receiver. My device says I have an active traffic subscription for South Africa, by Altec Netstar. Does traffic data still get transmitted in South Africa for the Garmin traffic receivers (especially the GTM 36) to pick up, or is all traffic data now received via the Garmin Smart Link app?

I hope to hear from you soon.

Thanks
Aron

[Phillip Coetser]

Hi Aron, welcome to the forum. Awile ago we had a similar question about Altech Netstar, and it looks like they don't render this service anymore via thé GTM 36 traffic receiver, and it is very sad that from Altech side there was no mention of service termination.
As one of our members mentioned, we had a lady that used to work at Altech and regularly posted on the forum, but we have'nt heard from her again. Either way, by using the Garmin Smartphone link or any other traffic app. on your smartphone, it consumes data. Im not to sure how acurate the traffic information is on the Smartphone link especially in rural areas. If you have a smartphone with Google playstore or similar, download and install the Waze app. instead.....very good app country wise.Hope this helps.
Regards

[aronrana]

Hi Phillip. Thank you for the welcome and info.

Yes, it’s quite unfortunate that the service stopped quite suddenly. Traffic data received directly by Garmin devices
definitely made things convenient. I know that the GTM 60 receiver collects a different type of data than the GTM 36. Does the GTM 60 still work? If yes, do you think it’s worth it to upgrade?

Yes, I do use Waze and Google maps for shorter trips. Really wished the Garmin traffic services worked, especially for long trips. I will try to find out the source of traffic data on the Smart link app and let you know.

Thanks again
Aron

[Phillip Coetser]

I don't know if the GTM 60 will work on your nuvi and these traffic receivers go for quite a lot of money, so in my opinion, if you still want to use traffic on your unit, use the Smartphone link on your smartphone.
Regards

[Phillip Coetser]

Hi all,
further to this topic, I just connected a Nuvi 3597 to the traffic channel, via the GTM 36 cable and the TMC service rendered by Altech Netstar is still active (screenshots uploaded) and herewith I want to sincerly apologize to Altech Netstar in my previous reply that the service is not active anymore. Connect your Nuvi to the latest Garmin Express on your pc/laptop App, Ver. 7.17.3.0 to determine if there is an update for your Nuvi, if not, whilst your Nuvi is connected to your pc/laptop, click on Tools and Content,click on Utilities, and scroll down on the page to Optional Updates to see if there is a TMC message. Disconnect your Nuvi from your pc/laptop and connect your Nuvi to your vehicle's 12v outlet and wait for the Nuvi to obtain a satelite signal
When you receive the message, Ready to Navigate on your Nuvi, on the main screen click on apps, scroll down to traffic to see if you have an active TMC subscription.
Before purchasing traffic services, check under the Traffic Settings on your device to see if it already includes them. You may just need to activate your traffic receiver.
Regards.

[aronrana]

Hi Phillip

Thank you for your reply.

I have done what you advised. However, I just dont receive any traffic info. My device has perfect signal and appropriate placement of the GTM36 receiver (even using the external antenna cord connected to the GTM36 receiver) but no traffic information is received. My device keeps saying that it is waiting to receive traffic information. I would wait for a few minutes or even after a long drive, but no traffic information is received.

I get traffic info via the Smart Link app. However, it is not accurate despite being advertised as "live traffic", and could lead to inaccurate navigation.

To conclude, Garmin's traffic service (both FM traffic and Smart Link app) has not been up to scratch and I would not use this service. I have disabled traffic reception on my device.

My device has the latest maps and software versions.