Rand McNally RVND 7720 GPS

[Mr_D]

Wish the 7720 and my hearing aids had Bluetooth!

[Warden]

Originally Posted by Mr_D

Wish the 7720 and my hearing aids had Bluetooth!

Now that would be nice in the 7720... my Garmin had Blue Tooth, but I never made calls while driving anyhow

[Floridakamper]

Originally Posted by Scarab0088

Yes, my new 7720 had buzzy/garbled and generally poor quality audio, so I have already returned it for exchange.

My 7710's audio is crystal clear, so I thought it was just my new unit. Here's hoping that it is not that way on all units.

I'll try the male voice but let me know if your replacement is an improvement.

[RandMcSam]

Originally Posted by Warden

Now that would be nice in the 7720... my Garmin had Blue Tooth, but I never made calls while driving anyhow

Exactly. We've done extensive research using Bluetooth with nav and the reaction we get from beta testers and RVers is exactly this.

[W4KMA]

I bought the 7720 a couple weeks ago from Rand McNally and yesterday I returned it for a refund. I used the unit on a recent 300 mile trip and there are several things I don't like about it. My main dislike is that it is not compatible with programs like Streets & Trips. I've always liked the ability to plan a route (the way I want to go) with S&T and then import it into my little Garmin. The 7720 has no route importing feature. The second thing I didn't like is the units routing software. Several times it would tell me to take an exit off a major highway, only to have me re-enter the highway on the other side of the exit. These were overpasses not underpasses so some kind of height problem was not the cause. On the return trip at about 5 miles from home, I had it recalculate to take me home. On a four lane road, it asked me to exit right on a side street, making a 1/4 mile loop to the left and then turn right, entering the highway again. Knowing this to be a dumb move, I didn't take the turn. The GPS recalculated, only to reproduce the same nonsense about 1/4 mile up the highway, this time to the left side of the highway. That was the end of the 7720 for me. I liked the large screen and think I will try the Garmin Dzel 760 as long as it has the ability to import a .gpx file. I wonder what McNally will do about the old GPS I traded in?

Ed

[bdickson]

Originally Posted by W4KMA

I bought the 7720 a couple weeks ago from Rand McNally and yesterday I returned it for a refund. I used the unit on a recent 300 mile trip and there are several things I don't like about it. My main dislike is that it is not compatible with programs like Streets & Trips. I've always liked the ability to plan a route (the way I want to go) with S&T and then import it into my little Garmin. The 7720 has no route importing feature. The second thing I didn't like is the units routing software. Several times it would tell me to take an exit off a major highway, only to have me re-enter the highway on the other side of the exit. These were overpasses not underpasses so some kind of height problem was not the cause. On the return trip at about 5 miles from home, I had it recalculate to take me home. On a four lane road, it asked me to exit right on a side street, making a 1/4 mile loop to the left and then turn right, entering the highway again. Knowing this to be a dumb move, I didn't take the turn. The GPS recalculated, only to reproduce the same nonsense about 1/4 mile up the highway, this time to the left side of the highway. That was the end of the 7720 for me. I liked the large screen and think I will try the Garmin Dzel 760 as long as it has the ability to import a .gpx file. I wonder what McNally will do about the old GPS I traded in? Ed

Well, that does it for me. I'm sticking with my Garmin.

[BobGed]

Originally Posted by bdickson

Well, that does it for me. I'm sticking with my Garmin.

Keep in mind that is one person's experience. I have never had that particular situation happen to me using the 7710 or the 7720.

Have I ever received a strange route instruction? Yes, but I have also had that happen on my previous Garmin units. That's exactly why you cannot rely 100% on any GPS device.

[RandMcSam]

Originally Posted by W4KMA

I bought the 7720 a couple weeks ago from Rand McNally and yesterday I returned it for a refund. I used the unit on a recent 300 mile trip and there are several things I don't like about it. My main dislike is that it is not compatible with programs like Streets & Trips. I've always liked the ability to plan a route (the way I want to go) with S&T and then import it into my little Garmin. The 7720 has no route importing feature. The second thing I didn't like is the units routing software. Several times it would tell me to take an exit off a major highway, only to have me re-enter the highway on the other side of the exit. These were overpasses not underpasses so some kind of height problem was not the cause. On the return trip at about 5 miles from home, I had it recalculate to take me home. On a four lane road, it asked me to exit right on a side street, making a 1/4 mile loop to the left and then turn right, entering the highway again. Knowing this to be a dumb move, I didn't take the turn. The GPS recalculated, only to reproduce the same nonsense about 1/4 mile up the highway, this time to the left side of the highway. That was the end of the 7720 for me. I liked the large screen and think I will try the Garmin Dzel 760 as long as it has the ability to import a .gpx file. I wonder what McNally will do about the old GPS I traded in?

Ed

Hi Ed,

Sorry to hear about your poor experience with the 7720. If you don't mind, can you elaborate a bit on the poor routing where you were taken off an exit only to re-enter again on the other side? Do you remember where this occurred? Your starting point and ending point? I know you've returned the device at this point but I'd like to look into this. Thanks.

*I also posted this in the other thread*

[Fred and Bonnie]

Originally Posted by BobGed

Have I ever received a strange route instruction? Yes, but I have also had that happen on my previous Garmin units. That's exactly why you cannot rely 100% on any GPS device.

Bob, my experiences with Garmin X2. I use GPS units to keep me on track, not be the final word.

fred

[Warden]

Originally Posted by BobGed

Keep in mind that is one person's experience. I have never had that particular situation happen to me using the 7710 or the 7720.

Have I ever received a strange route instruction? Yes, but I have also had that happen on my previous Garmin units. That's exactly why you cannot rely 100% on any GPS device.

I have to agree, I have not had the problem as of yet with the 7720.

[tncruiser]

i just bought a 7 in magellan it has 6 million poi including AAA campgrounds,lifetime up-dates with the 2yr replacement warranty it is a refurb for 112 bux at walmart.com
great value
brianj

[W4KMA]

Originally Posted by RandMcSam

Hi Ed,

Sorry to hear about your poor experience with the 7720. If you don't mind, can you elaborate a bit on the poor routing where you were taken off an exit only to re-enter again on the other side? Do you remember where this occurred? Your starting point and ending point? I know you've returned the device at this point but I'd like to look into this. Thanks.

*I also posted this in the other thread*

My trip was from New London, NC to Myrtle Beach, SC. The GPS plotted the route and I suppose it was wanting me to stay on mostly Interstate roads because right off the bat, it had me going way out of my way. I didn't think too much of this because I figured I'd mistakenly chosen "interstate-type" highways by mistake. As I drove my normal route to Myrtle Beach, the unit kept recalculating until it's route and mine seemed to be one in the same. If my memory is correct, the deal with the intersection happened somewhere on HWY 74 between Wadesboro, NC and HWY 38 S near Rockingham, NC. I believe it tried to make this move again later in the trip but by that time I'd turned off the audio (too much talking for me) and paid no attention to the offshoot.

On the trip home I took a different route when near Rockingham, NC. Since I knew a section of road ahead was new, I wanted to see if the unit would direct me the way my mind wanted me to go. It did not, probably because of using the "most direct" setting (thru town) instead of "fastest" (taking the new road). The new section of road was on the map and after passing the turn, it recalculated to give me the route I planned to take. No fault in its operation for this. Because of this test, I had the "go home" route running instead of having no route running on the unit.

When I was less than five miles from home is when it wanted me to take the weird turns. On HWY 52, north of Albemarle, NC, it asked me to turn right on Knollwood Circle, take a 1 mile counterclockwise loop and reenter the road 400 yards north of the turn. As soon as I passed the turn, it recalculated and wanted me to turn left on Ellis St, circle clockwise 1/2 miles and reenter the road 250 yards north of the turn. There is nothing along this section of a four lane highway that would have caused this.

If other people are happy with this GPS unit, they should comment so. McNally's refund policy is 30 days, so I made the decision that this is not the GPS for me. I couldn't afford to test it on more trips because of the 30 day time frame. As I mentioned before, my biggest dislike is not being able to import gpx files into the unit. Others may not find this at all important. I prefer to plan my route with Streets & Trips. I can choose the roads I want to take or to modify any problems I see and finally save it as my desired route. Not having the ability to easily transfer a gpx file into the 7720 is a big disadvantage to me.

Regards,
Ed

[jimpav]

You can convert any .gpx POI using POI editor. Works great.....I've used it.

[W4KMA]

It's not POI's I want to import. I want to import a route that's been made by a mapping program like Streets & Trips.

Ed