POI/Voice Announcements Now Working!

Snowy · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 24, 2005 Posts: 23

Has some of you may have seen from my previous entries, I have been having problems with POI alerts as have a lot of folks out there. Well it appears the problem may not be with the CoPilot software, but rather its installation via ActiveSync.

I have been in contact with ALK's tech support people a number of times over the last couple of months. Do not try and contact them via email/website as you will not get a response. Phone their tech line and leave a message and they will usually return your call (although not necessarily the same day), or if your like me keep ringing throughout the day until a real person answers the phone. The final stage of this series of phonecalls was for ALK to dispatch a couple of replacement CDs, since we had managed to eliminate the SD card/Mio168 as being the problem or Copilot's set up. At the same time I decided to invest in a Memory Card Readre/Writer from Amazon (£9.99 + P&P). Both parcels arrived the next day.

Due to time pressures, I used both the new CDs and the memory card writer for yet another attempt at resolving the problem and this time I had cracked it :P . I now have my POI alerts working as per their settings and triggering on every enabled option. As a bonus, I now have voice prompts working after travelling down long stretches of motorways which were previoulsy missing, until I had come of the Motorway and had gone across least on junction.

Because I used both the new discs and the card writer together, I cannot say for certain which resloved the problem. However based on the entries in this forum about a number of problems such as POI alerts/installation faults and voice guidance, I would suggest the problem lies with using activesync to download CoPilot onto the SD Card.

I performed the following procedure:

NB I have the latest version of Co-Pilot (V..30), if you have an older version, check to see if you need to update it.
Removed Copilot from my Mio168 (hard reset after backing up data)
Formated the SD Card
Re-installed CoPilot on to my Desktop only.
Followed the Safety Camera Database instruction as per PocketGPS
Downloaded Map data to C drive.
Copied CoPilot and 2577 across to the SD card using the card writer.
Installed SD card into pocket PC which then started the installation on to the Mio168.

Used a saved GPS Track file to run a simulation in CoPilot, to confirm that POIs were indeed working. (If anyone needs more info on how to do this or using the GPS tracks for fault finding, drop me a line).

Performed live road test all OK. :D

Don't give up on CoPilot 5, I've spent a lot of hours working on this as I couldn't justify spending more money on another sat/nav package and the CoPilot navigation had proved very good. Now it does what it says on the tin it's a cracking bit of kit. Laughing

gripp · Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 9:54 pm Post subject:

Yes, when it works OK it's excellent!

I have only ever installed CPL5 on my Mitac using a card reader, never via Active Synch so I think AS is a complete red herring here I'm afraid - and an easy escape clause for ALK support...blame someone else's software!

My gripe is that I've often been on short, simply jouneys where all GATSOs are annonced on the outward trip, but NONE on the return trip along the exact same route. Even done a soft reset at my destination to ensure no "memory loss" before returning home.

I'm left wondering if the log files that CPL5 generates on the outbound journey somehow don't get used correctly (or concatenated) on the return journey when the program is running for the 2nd time after the reboot. Perhaps the file date has a bearing because on the first trip the following day, GATSOs usually start pinging again.

I have three different sized SD cards, 128Mb, 500Mb and 1Gg and the GATSO problems occur whichever card I use...so don't blame the card manufacturer Mr ALK!!

It is truly vexing and intensly irritating, compounded by the fact that I've twice reported the problem to ALK and have had ZERO response.
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Nokia E65 & TT Nav6

Gordon68 · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 23, 2005 Posts: 51

I've experienced missing POI alerts.
I think it's something to do with the on route / near route setting.
The 3rd notch seems to work.

Snowy · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 24, 2005 Posts: 23

gripp wrote

'I have only ever installed CPL5 on my Mitac using a card reader, never via Active Synch so I think AS is a complete red herring here I'm afraid - and an easy escape clause for ALK support...blame someone else's software! '

Just to clarify, ALK didn't suggest using a memory card reader. I chose to try one as per an entry by Dave suggesting CoPilot installation via active sync could be a bit 'buggy'. However if the problem is not active sync, the only other conclusion I have is that my original CDs were faulty as the only other variable was that I used ALK's replacemnet CDs. Do they have a batch problem?

One other point I should also clarify, Since CoPilot has been working perfectly for the last few days and over a 1000 miles, it is the software that I think is good and not ALK! ALK have a serious customer care problem. There is no feedback from their web support or email and you can only call one number. I myself tried to obtain a refund, but their tech support line cannot authorise this, my supplier said it was an ALK issue and the only route left open to me was to take legal action, if I couldn't resolve the problem. They've got a lot of ground to cover in this respect.

nikpro · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 16, 2005 Posts: 42

What version were your original CD's and the replacement?

Snowy · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 24, 2005 Posts: 23

version ......30

nikpro · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 16, 2005 Posts: 42

when I play the GPS tracks that come with the software it announces the POI's perfectly; when I play my tracks it announces them sometimes on the outbound journey but never on the return?

Snowy · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 24, 2005 Posts: 23

I have now checked on the pocket pc and was incorrect in the assumption that the new cds were the same version number (Based on ALK's info that ...30 was their latest version!). The version number that I have been sent is ...48 which is quiet a jump from ..30 as is 30 from ..22 which is the pdate patch available on ALK's site. Have they finally got a version that is de-bugged????

Snowy · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 24, 2005 Posts: 23

Nikpro,

This was exactly what I found when I had all the problems. I noted that there were sometimes sections of map which didn't look like they should or more commonly a strech of road where there would be no voice guidance/ distance to stop indicated. If you pass through one of these the POIs would stop until you selected the POI menu again. Is there one of these 'Holes' near your turn around point I wonder.

I strongly suggest you phone ALK, especially if you've only just purchased the product. If you don't contact them in the 1st month or so they're less likely to attempt to resolve the fault by sending you the 'latest' version.

nikpro · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 16, 2005 Posts: 42

Just downloaded the version .48 from the american website and POI's work great!! V..30 must be buggy as hell... only problem is roundabouts are described as circles on the driver safety screen but the WAV speach still announces them as roundabouts.

Snowy · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 24, 2005 Posts: 23

Nice one Nikpro,

It looks like ..48 is tyhe solution to the problems. A shame ALK UK are not aware of it!

nikpro · Occasional Visitor Joined: Feb 16, 2005 Posts: 42

Think I've found a Bug in version...48!!

Go to options -POI then set slider to the right for the option of on route; then close copilot, the next time I open it the slider has moved one place to the left; it does this each time you open and close copilot; it also fails to remember other options!! Oh Dear CoPilot is still CRAP!!!

gripp · Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 8:44 am Post subject:

Tried v48 yesterday and found that it made no announcements at all!
However, it IS indicating GATSOs with the ping sound, and they are indicated on the screen, but no traffic direction announcements!

Now I've got to remember how to re-install the sound facility without reloading the whole program from the original v22 CDs!

Also, I confirm that the slider is reset to the far left hand side every time you restart the program.

Oh dear....why didn't I buy TomTom???
_________________
Nokia E65 & TT Nav6

Snowy · Occasional Visitor Joined: Jan 24, 2005 Posts: 23

gripp,

This is probably not the problem you're seeing, but here goes anyway!

If your using the pocketgps speedcamera download, any cameras that they have noted the speed limit with (e.g. gatszo 1234@70) won't produce a voice prompt until yhe next turn instruction. CoPilot doesn't like '@' it appears.

Also, I to have noticed the slider shifting to the left.

I guess we have to await ...60!!!!!

I to wished I hadn't purchased CoPilot and had gone as I originally planned with Tom Tom but I was seduced by the more upto date maps and Dave's reveiw.

ALK will have to do an awlful lot to obtain my business in the future.

gripp · Posted: Sun Feb 27, 2005 11:08 am Post subject:

Snowy,

I always do extensive editing of the GATSO files to remove the @ and delete all latitudes above 52 degrees (because I never go there!). So this, unfortunately, is not the cause of my latest "no speech" problem.

Since yesterday I've reinstalled the UK TTS speech from the 2577 CAB file on the card, and will try it when I go out soon.

I really can't recall any piece of software that has given me so many problems...and at £135 it's my worst purchasing mistake. The only good thing about CPL5 is the desktop maps and the ability to plan routes on the big screen for later download onto the PDA.

If I can't get the speech to work again with this US 48 version, I'll have to revert to my previous UK 22 version....and suffer erratic POIs.

What a sad joke this has become!
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Nokia E65 & TT Nav6

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