[TFA]

2 Questions around the Navigation System...

1.
Is it possible to reset the system, or teach it exactly where it is? Mine is consistently off by about 30 yards. I have driven many cars with various Nav systems in Europe, and they were always right on target. So compared to those experiences, 30 yards seems like a lot.

2.
Can the Nav units be swapped out in the field?
My MCS was uilt in February 2003. BMW says that they have only begun installing the DVD-based systems in the March production cars. I am disappointed, as I was told that the 2003 MINIs would be DVD-based. BMWs production problems getting this into their cars in time should not be my problem. I have asked them if they would be willing to swap mine out.
ANyone else encounter this or know if it is possible?

Thanks.

[donbross]

I don't understand. I have a Dec 2002 build and I have a DVD navigation system. This, I understand, has various DVDs for different areas. Mine covers all Western US states except California which has its own.

[TFA]

Curious...They did ask me for my VIN before they could tell me what kind of system I had. I fear I am the victim of some production foul-ups in Munich!
You definitely have a DVD, not a CD??

Thanks for the input.

[dgszweda]

Donbross,

I believe that you are mistaken. Your system appears to be CD-based. The DVD-based system covers the entire United States and Canda on a single DVD. The DVD units were put on Minis with a production date of March 1st or later. A few of us have received ours with a production date in the last week of February and we have CD-based systems. I contacted MiniUSA and they confirmed the March 1st cutover.

With that being said, I have contacted Navtech and the makers of the Nav unit, and both have said that no new features have been added to the units except for the DVD drive. The only performance advantage you may or may not see is the difference in the DVD read rates and compressed data. It appears to be pretty split by those I have talked to on whether you would see a performance advantage. I best I heard you may see an negligible advantage. The real benefit is that the DVD contains a detailed map of the entire US and Canada allowing the system to access more data at one time, and being cheaper to purchase new discs (1 instead of 8).

Also, no information from Mini at this time on a possible upgrade to a DVD drive for the system. Hope this helps.

[Adriann001]

Should be possible to upgrade the system after all it is only the drive that has changed. I would think that the conectors are the same and the software may need an upgrade to the latest version. You may also be able to use the old CD's in the new drive too.

[ChrisN]

I had heard that because of the war in Iraq, the US Government was going to decrease the accuracy of the consumer portion of the GPS satellites. If I remember correctly it was reduced from 3 yards to 20 yards. Not sure if they went throught with the adjustment yet.

[David-MCS]

What you're talking about is "Selective Availability" (SA). Until just a few years ago, Selective Availability was always "ON" for GPS. That meant that the accuracy of GPS for a non-military user was within about 30 meters (this is from memory; should be "close"). With SA turned "OFF" (which happened a few years ago), the accuracy was increased for civilian users; and the error was decreased to about 10 meters. Last week I believe SA was turned back "ON" due to the war in Iraq. The military has access to different GPS codes & frequencies, and is able to obtain better accuracy than civilian receivers (with SA either "on" OR "off").

After SA is turned off again (which it will be, after this war is over), you will have your accuracy improved by about a factor of 3. Even with SA in the OFF mode, however, it is still possible for your GPS receiver to be off by as much as 10 meters. Which is still not a trivial amount (ie, don't try and drive up into your driveway, blindfolded).

Extra bit of information: the SA is created by a "random" error that is intentionally "injected" into one of the GPS signals (precisely for the military operations we're now witnessing). Also, the "accuracy" of your GPS receiver (hand-held, or in your MINI) is a function of the SA status, and a number of other factors; including the "geometry" of the GPS satellite constellation. Most commercial receivers have readouts that allow you to "read" the estimated accuracy of your receiver under the "instantaneous" satellite constellation geometric conditions. Since my MINI is still about 5 months out, I'm not sure if the MINI Nav system has this feature on-board (although my Garmin III+ does).

I hope this helps!

[donbross]

Sorry, You guys are right. I have a CD on my Dec build, not DVD.

[TFA]

Many thanks to all for your assistance. Excellent information.
I took delivery on my MCS last week, and so far have found this forum quite useful.