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Thread: Hema HX1 Navigator.

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    Travelling Podologist Cuppa's Avatar
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    Hema HX1 Navigator.

    Anyone got one? I’m keen to get some first hand thoughts.

    Finally Hema have brought out a navigator which is Mac friendly. I want to get one but reading the few online reviews I can find (which aren’t from Hema) makes me a bit nervous about shelling out what is not an insubstantial amount. There are some pretty crap reviews detailing numerous glitches & issues. If you have one or have used one what do you think? Please lets stick to the HX1 - not the HN7 or other brands of off road navigators as they will not be mac friendly.

    2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. 425w roof mounted solar, 360Ah Aux batts, BCDC1240, Onboard hot & cold pressurised & filtered water, (25 litre hot water calorifier), ARB fridge, ARB freezer, Built in kitchen, heaps of easy access storage, 240v, 3” Genie exhaust + dynotune, 2” lift, 3900kg GVM upgrade, second glovebox, ROH Blaktrak steel wheels, Bridgestone D697's (now Toyo RT's), Redarc gauges/pillarpod, Hema HX-1, Icom 450 CB, dual rear view cameras, Onboard 30amp Victron mains charger, second glovebox, dual seat conversion, TPMS, Boss PX7 onboard air with 9 litre tank, 350w inverter, Steel bullbar, Harrop Eaton diff lock (front), Warn winch, Snorkel, Dual spares , 160 litre water tank, 180 litre fuel in two tanks (approx 1200km range) 2010 Tvan Tanami. (incl another 70 litre water tank) with matching wheels/tyres (& 3rd spare)
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    Legendary GQtdauto's Avatar
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    Sorry cuppa but couldn't resist , my still under warranty hn7 has to be started with a toothpick , the onroad function is a piece of crap but it's still better than my VMS .
    We had an ARB wang open day recently and the guy was trying to demo the HX but it was almost as if he'd never used one , from what I saw it's as complicated as mine with a few less functions .

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    Legendary GQtdauto's Avatar
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    This link takes you to the only unbiased review I could find of the Hx1
    http://www.productreview.com.au/p/he...navigator.html

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    Travelling Podologist Cuppa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by GQtdauto View Post
    This link takes you to the only unbiased review I could find of the Hx1
    http://www.productreview.com.au/p/he...navigator.html
    Yep, that’s the review I was referring to.

    2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. 425w roof mounted solar, 360Ah Aux batts, BCDC1240, Onboard hot & cold pressurised & filtered water, (25 litre hot water calorifier), ARB fridge, ARB freezer, Built in kitchen, heaps of easy access storage, 240v, 3” Genie exhaust + dynotune, 2” lift, 3900kg GVM upgrade, second glovebox, ROH Blaktrak steel wheels, Bridgestone D697's (now Toyo RT's), Redarc gauges/pillarpod, Hema HX-1, Icom 450 CB, dual rear view cameras, Onboard 30amp Victron mains charger, second glovebox, dual seat conversion, TPMS, Boss PX7 onboard air with 9 litre tank, 350w inverter, Steel bullbar, Harrop Eaton diff lock (front), Warn winch, Snorkel, Dual spares , 160 litre water tank, 180 litre fuel in two tanks (approx 1200km range) 2010 Tvan Tanami. (incl another 70 litre water tank) with matching wheels/tyres (& 3rd spare)
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    Legendary GQtdauto's Avatar
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    I shelled out $800 for the VMS and $800 for the Hn7 , I must be mad , now when I want to buy something like this I google the name of what I want and add "complaints" then check the entries discounting any from the company or reseller .
    I also check forums like this one but sometimes people put up with stuff they shouldn't and sometimes people complain about stupid things and just like to whinge .

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    Quote Originally Posted by Cuppa View Post
    Anyone got one? I’m keen to get some first hand thoughts.

    Finally Hema have brought out a navigator which is Mac friendly. I want to get one but reading the few online reviews I can find (which aren’t from Hema) makes me a bit nervous about shelling out what is not an insubstantial amount. There are some pretty crap reviews detailing numerous glitches & issues. If you have one or have used one what do you think? Please lets stick to the HX1 - not the HN7 or other brands of off road navigators as they will not be mac friendly.
    Yep bought one, the HX1, and promptly ditched it.
    1.You can not add extra maps , i.e. 1:25,000 or 1:50,000 etc.
    2. all route etc must be done via the Hema Cloud.

    Went for a VMS 700HDX. still a bit cruddy but at least I can add maps that run with OziExploria in 4X4 mode. Just have to upgrade the onboard sim card.

    Also if you are in places such as SA and using street mode with the HN7 and I suspect the HXN1 will not show street speed limits that are under 60km/h.
    Hema won't accept this as an issue but pass you off to Here maps, which is useless.

    Lost faith in Hema since they went to Here Maps.
    Also discovered that Here maps don't correctly show fixed average speed cameras and others so they can cause a few problems. $$$ here they come!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  10. #7
    Travelling Podologist Cuppa's Avatar
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    Since I posted previously a sale price at BCF was sufficient for me to take the plunge & get an HX1. $559.20 was the cheapest price I've seen.
    My thoughts on it so far ..... I don't think it's as bad as some reviews suggest, but it is not very intuitive for new users to suss out. However it seems to do the job ok & regular use/familiarity will help. Surprisingly the level of support in the Hema FAQ/knowledge base is very limited. I get the impression that there is far more effort put into 'sales' than there is support. Nevertheless my one phone call to Hema, prior to purchasing, was well handled & helpful. Yes the ability to scan paper maps & use them in the navigator has been lost, but this was never of any use to me before anyway with the previous navigators which used Oziexplorer maps which required Windows software to convert & were not compatible with my Mac. However the HX1 can get more maps at larger scales. (to 1:9000 depending on area) This is achieved via download & requires a wifi connection. I've only played with this a little & still need to get more familiar with the process, which as I said, is not particularly intuitive, but is achievable with a little persistance. Basically you get the machine in the right 'mode', highlight the area on a map that you want a more detailed map of & download it. There is no cost to do this (other than bandwidth cost). Once downloaded you then need to ensure that you have enabled the downloaded map (otherwise it sits in your map list in a 'standby' mode. So you enable it when you need to use it).

    As for the street navigator mode (Igo) it's not the best, but I think it's 'good enough'. Mostly the speed limits are accurate, but not 100%, eg. there is a place I drive regularly where the limit was reduced from 80 to 60 about 2 years ago, but the Hema still tells me it's 80. Not sure about sub 60 speeds, but it does tell me clearly when approaching school zones & warns me of school times.

    The only speed camera it's told me about didn't exist, but was at some roadworks where a 40 limit had been imposed for a few weeks, so I expect that it was a camera location which had been advised but not used.

    I like that it can be set to 'early warning'. I now have it telling me "turn right in 1km" & then "turn right in 300m".

    I still need to use the off road navigation more but I think it's going to be useful. No better than I have on the Hema 4x4 ipad app, but more convenient in the cab, & hopefully less prone to shutting down due to overheating than my old ipad3.

    One issue I found a couple of days ago was after being switched off for several days it took quite a while to find satellites after being switched on, but this may have been due to very heavy cloud cover. I drove around 10kms into town & it eventually locked on to the satellites when I parked in town (& then found & maintained connection ok on the way home, despite being put into sleep mode & hidden in the glovebox whilst I left the car). When away on trips I dont think this will be an issue as it will generally not be powered down.

    Another issue was battery life. I left it in sleep mode in the car for 2 or 3 days & then found the battery had dropped from 100% to 0%. This was one thing the Hema online support helped with. I learned not to leave the wifi connection switched on when in sleep mode as this drains the battery (it was in range of our home wifi). Since turning off wifi on the hema it has maintained it's battery charge ok.

    Overall, my view is that in 2017 the new HX1 could be, & should be better than it is, mainly in terms of user friendliness when compared to most current computer based equipment. 10 years ago it may have been considered 'cutting edge'. But I think it will do the job that we want it to do, which is as a primary navigation aid for touring australia off the beaten track.

    Oh, & the only GPS navigator I've owned was an old Igo unit we had in our bus back in 2007. This version is better, but if you are used to a late Garmin or Tom Tom I guess it's possible you may be disappointed.

    Even at the 'bargain' price I paid for it, it's expensive for what it is, & this can only be justified by the fact that there is little else that is comparable. The fact that although a bit clunky to get, that it has free downloads for life of extra maps for the off road section improves the value. Folk who want to be able to add their own favourite maps as was possible with previous HN models will be disappointed, as will those who want the Hema screen to double as a rear vision monitor. The 3 years of updates of for the Igo street nav means that maybe in 3 years time the mapping may be more accurate for 2017!
    Last edited by Cuppa; 12th April 2017 at 09:36 AM.

    2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. 425w roof mounted solar, 360Ah Aux batts, BCDC1240, Onboard hot & cold pressurised & filtered water, (25 litre hot water calorifier), ARB fridge, ARB freezer, Built in kitchen, heaps of easy access storage, 240v, 3” Genie exhaust + dynotune, 2” lift, 3900kg GVM upgrade, second glovebox, ROH Blaktrak steel wheels, Bridgestone D697's (now Toyo RT's), Redarc gauges/pillarpod, Hema HX-1, Icom 450 CB, dual rear view cameras, Onboard 30amp Victron mains charger, second glovebox, dual seat conversion, TPMS, Boss PX7 onboard air with 9 litre tank, 350w inverter, Steel bullbar, Harrop Eaton diff lock (front), Warn winch, Snorkel, Dual spares , 160 litre water tank, 180 litre fuel in two tanks (approx 1200km range) 2010 Tvan Tanami. (incl another 70 litre water tank) with matching wheels/tyres (& 3rd spare)
    A Nomadic Life (Blog)

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    Travelling Podologist Cuppa's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by outback View Post

    Also if you are in places such as SA and using street mode with the HN7 and I suspect the HXN1 will not show street speed limits that are under 60km/h.
    Went for a little drive locally after posting this morning. No problem with 40kph & 50kph speed limits. Just once it told me the limit was 50 when the signs said 60.
    The speed camera issue got a bit irritating though, it kept telling me pork pies, saying there were speed cameras where there are none. In a 12km stretch (of country road) it claimed there were 4 different speed cameras, none of which were there, & all of which were right on speed zone changes. If I were prone to conspiracy theories I'd have to wonder if these are based on the authorities telling Igo there are cameras there just as an added incentive to get folk to slow down. As it is I suspect that they are past locations for speed cameras. So now I have to decide whether to put up with the 'lies' it tells me in the hope that it also knows where current speed cameras are, or just turn off that feature & just keep the usual look out for the speed signs & boys in blue.

    Clearer skies today - it found the satellites much more quickly when I took the car out of the shed than previously.

    2006 4.2TDi ex-Telstra Remote area Camper. 425w roof mounted solar, 360Ah Aux batts, BCDC1240, Onboard hot & cold pressurised & filtered water, (25 litre hot water calorifier), ARB fridge, ARB freezer, Built in kitchen, heaps of easy access storage, 240v, 3” Genie exhaust + dynotune, 2” lift, 3900kg GVM upgrade, second glovebox, ROH Blaktrak steel wheels, Bridgestone D697's (now Toyo RT's), Redarc gauges/pillarpod, Hema HX-1, Icom 450 CB, dual rear view cameras, Onboard 30amp Victron mains charger, second glovebox, dual seat conversion, TPMS, Boss PX7 onboard air with 9 litre tank, 350w inverter, Steel bullbar, Harrop Eaton diff lock (front), Warn winch, Snorkel, Dual spares , 160 litre water tank, 180 litre fuel in two tanks (approx 1200km range) 2010 Tvan Tanami. (incl another 70 litre water tank) with matching wheels/tyres (& 3rd spare)
    A Nomadic Life (Blog)

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    Legendary GQtdauto's Avatar
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    One thing that really burns by gasket with both Hema and VMS is the massive price drops after you shell out $800 and not even two years later you see them for basically half what you paid or less .
    Hema street navigator is the worst I've seen but the 4wd side of it is great , my true bug bear is having to reset it if not used for a while , because it just displays a rainbow colour screen and locks .

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    Dissapointing to hear these products are not up to what they should be.

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