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Article by Lutz, Richard and Mike

A TomTom World Exclusive: Spoken warnings for POI alerts!

PocketGPSWorld.com have been producing their Safety Camera POI database for three years now, this worked very well with third party add ons which used wav format sounds for warnings. TomTom then released the Navigator for Palm, TomTom Go, TomTom Mobile and most recently TomTom Navigator 2004/HP Edition. In doing so they introduced a proprietary sound encoding system. Well PocketGPSWorld.com can now replace the original bells and beeps with genuine spoken phrases.

Some of you may know that it is possible to replace the voice commands for the new TomTom products. Alex (ghostwheel) from Germany has written a tool called viftool that allows you to compile your own collection of voice commands (check out this thread on our friend Tobias Bischof's pocketnavigation.de site).

Well Lutz has taken that excellent work to a new level and used the same approach to decipher how TomTom have constructed their sound files for POI warnings. That's right you no longer need to have to put up with strange bells and whistles, now you can have spoken warnings when approaching "accident blackspots".

We have changed the voices assigned to the current warning sounds to the following phrases:

WARNING

The new sound files are not guaranteed or warranted in any way. You install them on your system at your own risk. By downloading these files you absolve PocketGPSWorld.com Ltd from any and all liability in the operation of your navigation system.

Instructions for the various versions of TomTom software are described below. Please scroll down to find your version.

Installation for TomTom GO

All you need to use this is the ability to connect your TomTom GO to a computer, or to have an SD card reader on your computer. Copy a file over reboot and off you go.

Firstly you need to check the current version of your TomTom GO software. You can find this by tapping the screen, then selecting Change Preferences, then tapping the next icon until you se the about icon. This will give you a display similar to that shown to the right.

The magic numbers that you should be looking for are App 4.400 (2843/... or App 4.420 (2852/... It will NOT work with any other version.

TomTom GO Version 5.1 Update

TomTom have now released version 5.1 software for download. This will show version App 5.100 (5186/... if you have this version than you can download the customised voices by clicking here. Do not try to use the link below.

TomTom GO Version 5.0 Update

TomTom have now released version 5.0 software for download. This will show version App 5.000 (4109/... if you have this version than you can download the customised voices by clicking here. Do not try to use the link below.

You are now ready to make a backup copy of the original file. This is an important step and must not be omitted.

To do this either connect your GO to a computer using the USB cable or place the GO SD card in a card reader.

The file to copy is the data.chk file. You should either rename it on the SD card or copy it to your hard disk drive. You will find this in the root directory of the SD card.

The next thing to do is to download the new PocketGPSWorld.com data.chk file by clicking here. When prompted save it to disk. You can save it directly onto the SD card. This will save the file with the name 2852_new.data.chk. Rename this file to data.chk and you are finished.

Remove the USB connector or re-insert the SD card into the GO and you system will restart and the sound files will have been replaced. You can then assign these as POI warnings in the normal manner.

What to do if you do not have the right version of the GO application?

If you have a version of the TomTom Go application other than those stated above then this file may not be compatible with your system and may cause it to fail in an unpredictable manner. If you have another version then please copy it from your SD card and email it to tomtom@pocketgpsworld.com stating the Application version and build number as shown above. We will do our best to create a version for your build. There is no guarantee that we will produce a version though.

The installation for TomTom Mobile is the same as stated above, with the exception that the application will be "4.430 (3130)" it may also report (313) This file will only work with build 3130.

The data.chk file will be found in the TomTom sub-directory. For TomTom Mobile you will need to click here to download the 3130_new.data.chk file.

What to do if you do not have the right version of the TomTom Mobile application?

If you have a version of the TomTom Mobile application other than that stated above then this file may not be compatible with your system and may cause it to fail in an unpredictable manner. If you have another version then please copy it from your SD card and email it to tomtom@pocketgpsworld.com stating the Application type, version and build number as shown above. We will do our best to create a version for your build. There is no guarantee that we will produce a version though.

Installation for TomTom 2004 or HP Edition

The installation for TomTom 2004 and HP Edition is the same as stated above, with the exception that the application will be "4.400 (2850)". This file will only work with build 2850.

The data.chk file will be found in the TomTom application sub-directory. Mine (HP Edition) was found in the /program files/navigator directory. Lutz found his in the /TomTom directory. For TomTom 2004 or HP Edition you will need to click here to download the 2850_new.data.chk file.

What to do if you do not have the right version of the TomTom 2004/HP Edition application?

If you have a version of the TomTom 2004 or HP Edition application other than that stated above then this file may not be compatible with your system and may cause it to fail in an unpredictable manner. If you have another version then please copy it from your SD card and email it to tomtom@pocketgpsworld.com stating the Application type, version and build number as shown above. We will do our best to create a version for your build. There is no guarantee that we will produce a version though.

Installation for TomTom Navigator for Palm

The installation for TomTom Navigator for Palm is the same as stated above, with the exception that the application will be "4.400 (2840)". This file will only work with build 2840.

The data.chk file will be found in the TomTom sub-directory of the SD card. I used a SD card reader to backup and copy my files. For TomTom Navigator for Palm you will need to click here to download the 2850_new.data.chk file.

What to do if you do not have the right version of the TomTom Navigator for Palm application?

If you have a version of the TomTom Navigator for Palm application other than that stated above then this file may not be compatible with your system and may cause it to fail in an unpredictable manner. If you have another version then please copy it from your SD card and email it to tomtom@pocketgpsworld.com stating the Application type, version and build number as shown above. We will do our best to create a version for your build. There is no guarantee that we will produce a version though.

Addendum

In response to requests for more volume. We decided to test the alert volume in the most extreeme conditions we could find. The best thing we could think of was a roaring sports car, so not doing things by halves we got hold of an Aston Martin DB7 Vantage. Of course there is no point in just running down the road past a few cameras so we took it on a 150 mile trip.

It was very interesting especially as the roads were a bit damp. As there was a shortage of cameras on our route I set the GO to warn us when we past Petrol Stations (especially as we could do so at speed). The most interesting thing was the sound of the BIG V12 as we opened up the throttle. It is quite amazing how quickly a 6 Litre V12 can launch you from 0 to (um honest) 70mph, and the roar of the engine... I am saving my pennies.

So how did it GO, I nearly forgot about that: We have compiled a short movie (and editied out some bits) to give you an indication. Click here to Launch the video. The sound volume was OK but could do with a bit more volume.

So with that in mind all the above sound files have had their volume increased by 6db. When you download these new files and install them in the same manner as you did before you will get louder warnings. The links for the files are in the sections above related to your TomTom Navigator application.

Resources

Lutz / Richard / Mike