How to install (camera database) POIs to TomTom Navigator 5+

Privateer · Last edited by Privateer on Tue Nov 28, 2006 2:30 pm; edited 9 times in total

Welcome

Hello and welcome to the PocketGPSWorld guide to installing POIs onto a PocketPC running TomTom Navigator 5 and 6.

If you have arrived at this thread from a link from another website, then once you’ve read this thread, why not have a look in the rest of the TomTom Navigator forum in PocketGPSWorld? Signup and you can then join in the discussions, ask for help, and help others.

Introduction

This is intended as an instruction on how to install POIs (especially the PocketGPSWorld camera database) onto TomTom Navigator 5 and 6.

If you wish to use the PocketGPSWorld camera database, then you are advised to read the beginner’s guide to the PocketGPSWorld camera database before you continue.

A Points of Interest (POI) database consists of:
a file with extension .OV2 (e.g. pocketgps_uk_gatso_30.ov2)
a companion file with extension .BMP (e.g. pocketgps_uk_gatso_30.bmp)

Back up before you continue
As a precaution, before you make any changes to your set-up (e.g. add POIs etc) then please ensure that you have a viable backup of your system and of your storage card. Sprite Backup Pocket PC Edition is recommended for backing up your PocketPC to your storage card. You can then copy the entire contents of your storage card to a folder on your PC.

Why not use the PocketGPSWorld POI Sync service?
(Edited by robbrady: Sorry, POIEdit is not currently supported.)
If you have PoiEdit by Dnote and you have set it up to use the PocketGPSWorld POI Sync service then all you need to do is to place your PocketPC into its cradle and let PoiEdit download the latest version of the POIs to the correct folder on your PocketPC.

Step 1. Download the POI file
Download the POI zip file. Save the file on your computer by selecting “save” when prompted. Save the file in a place where you can easily find it again for step 3 of the installation, e.g. on your Desktop or in My Documents. Unzip the contents.

Step 2. Connect your PocketPC to your PC
Shutdown TomTom Navigator (if it is still running).
Place your PocketPC in its cradle to connect your PocketPC to your PC. Ensure that Microsoft ActiveSync starts and that your PocketPC is "synchronized".

Step 3. Copy the POI files from your PC
Go to the directory on the local hard drive of your PC where you stored or downloaded the unzipped POI database files (.OV2 and optionally .BMP files). Select and copy the POI database files.
You must copy the (.OV2 and .BMP) files - do NOT copy the folders.

Step 4. Copy the POI files to your PocketPC
Ensure that your storage card is "unlocked".
Then go to the map folder on your PocketPC, for example the folder "Great_Britain_Plus-Map"; and "paste" the POI files into this folder.

The POI files are now successfully copied to this folder. You are ready to use your new POIs in TomTom Navigator.

Step 5. Display POIs in TomTom Navigator
Finally, to enable POIs in TomTom Navigator 5 and 6, start TomTom Navigator and select the POIs in your POI categories:

Change Preferences | Manage (or Maintain) POI | Enable / Disable POI
Select POI

They now are displayed on your TomTom Navigator screen in both 3D maps and 2D maps.
Even if you do not display POIs on screen, you can now "navigate to" your Poi’s, find POIs near your location, etc.

Step 6. Set up Proximity Alerts (optional)
1. Change Preferences | Manage (or Maintain) POI | Warn when near POI
2. Select each POI in turn,
3. Select the distance for warning
4. Select the warning sound.
NB sub-step 4 is obsolete if you're using .ogg files
5. Uncheck the "Warn only if POI is on route" box
6. Repeat until all POIs are set up to warn.

NB. If you check the "Warn only if POI is on route" box, then you will not be warned of POIs that you approach if:
1. The POIs are slightly away from the road.
2. You have no destination and therefore no route planned.

Troubleshooting:

The .OV2 file is not in the same directory as the map: see step 4.
The .OV2 file does not contain any POI, or at least no POIs within the borders of the map.
Shutdown and restart TomTom Navigator, alternatively soft rest the PocketPC and then start TomTom Navigator.

Miscellaneous

If you wish to use spoken alerts (instead of the default beeps) on your copy of TomTom Navigator 5, then your can use the free PocketGPSWorld voices. The article can be found here. Please read it carefully before you start and ensure that you have a viable backup of your set-up (via Sprite Backup) and also a viable backup of your storage card (on a folder in your PC) in case anything goes wrong.

If you have TomTom Navigator version 5.100, 5.210, or any 6.xxx then you can use .ogg files for a better sound and/or voice warning. Please see the .ogg file topic for further information.

This post is a "living document" and thus will be updated as and when necessary.

Posts in this thread may be deleted, so as to keep the thread as short as possible. However relevant suggestions or questions (and their answers) will be added to this post.
_________________
Robert.
TomTom 730T, APP: 8.351, Map: W&C Europe 2GB V845.2645 (1758 MB)
TomTom 950 Live, APP: 9.026, Map: Europe V845.2702 (2058 Mb)

Quantum · Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2005 1:26 pm Post subject:

Nice, thanks.

Does anyone know whether there are speed cameras in Washington state or B.C.? If so, is there a database? I'll be moving there soon. No speed cameras in Texas.

Scotty306 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 08, 2005 Posts: 2

Tomtom 5 keeps loosing my 'Proximity Alerts' settings,

I've know i deleted some of Tomtom's directory's while trying to clean up the SD card, but i'm pretty sure they're all back in place Crying or Very sad

Does anyone know where TT5 is trying to store my prefrences?
Or what i've done which has caused this?

linknet · Frequent Visitor Joined: May 05, 2005 Posts: 864

silversurfer · Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 10:37 am Post subject: post subject

i have tried downloading the camera data base using PocketGPSWorld POI Sync service and it keeps coming up error

could not create remote file \sdcard\Great_britain navigator map\pocket gps_uk_gatso_ov2

and the same error for all the other files

any ideas
please
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chris

gooders · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 06, 2005 Posts: 3

Silversurfer, one reason could be is that the sd card is locked and therefore no data can be written to it or deleted from it.

silversurfer · Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 2:26 pm Post subject: post subject

the sd card is unlocked but still getting the error message Sad

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chris

Soulah · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 08, 2005 Posts: 24

I also have the SD card error. But if you select to update to file on your pc and then move them accross manually like the guide above suggests, it will work ok once youve moved them as a work around. If someone could find a solution to this SD card error with POI edit, it would be greatly appreciated Smile

silversurfer · Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 4:39 pm Post subject: post subject

i have now placed a new folder on my sd card and called it

Great_britain navigator map

and now poi sync will download the camera data base to it,

i just have to copy them across now to the new tt5 map folder
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chris

jpfrost · Occasional Visitor Joined: Mar 02, 2004 Posts: 20

I have downloaded the new sound files for the speed cameras. However, all I am getting is a warning that says "Mobile" for all the camera types.

Any ideas?

Privateer · Posted: Wed Jun 15, 2005 11:13 am Post subject:

Hi jpfrost,

Have you used the correct data.chk file for your system?

Have you selected the same sound for every alert (as described in Step 6 of the above guide)?

Regards,
_________________
Robert.
TomTom 730T, APP: 8.351, Map: W&C Europe 2GB V845.2645 (1758 MB)
TomTom 950 Live, APP: 9.026, Map: Europe V845.2702 (2058 Mb)

gooders · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 06, 2005 Posts: 3

When I upgraded from TTN3 to TTN5 my PoI Sync were pointing to a directory on my sd card that was no longer there so I simply double clicked each POI in the PoI Sync prog on my laptop and pointed them to the new map directory on my sd card and they worked fine, I've had no problems.

kibi · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 15, 2005 Posts: 6

I have copied the .ov2 files into the new TTN5 map directory, but when I go to select which catagories to display on the map in the Enable / Disable POI settings, the POI's don't show up, so I can't tick them.
Everything was working fine when TTN3 was installed.
Has anyone else come across this problem?

kibi · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 15, 2005 Posts: 6

I appear to have found out the problem.
You are only allowed 40 POI's in TomTom5, you were allowed 99 in TomTom3.

beach_bum · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jun 17, 2005 Posts: 6

hi,
do you leave the warn closer than: 273 yards, at 273 or change it, which is best?
thanks