New 1490LMT - Custom POI help!!!

avdl1999 · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2009 Posts: 82

Hi

Bit of a lengthy one this................

I have just recently bought a Nuvi 1490LMT from Halfords. Highly recommended and backed up with good user reviews from various sources. Amazon, CNET, trustedreviews etc. Sadly nothing on here?? I did search,honest! Laughing Out Loud

Anyway. Overall I am happy with the look and feel of the device and the software it uses for updating etc.

However, I am having considerable difficulty with Custom POI's and the alerting thereof. e.g. Alerting way to early of a speedcam if using the express setting within POI loader.

I have tried the manual setting too but this doesn't make any difference if I decide to be alerted based on proximity (my preference.)

I have alerts telling me of cameras on the opposite side of the road. I have alerts for cameras on adjoining roads before I've joined them! Very annoying. Then it will ignore the redlight camera poi completely or after I've driven through the lights, not on red I will add!

The biggest bug of all is when the satnav is giving you direction instructions and the poi alert interrupts this or vice versa.

I have successfully added POI's with POI loader onto the device. I haven't created any sub folders and I've not used an external MicroSD card yet. Is this the issue?? I use sox.exe within the poi loader directory so I can use the .wav voice files for PGPSW database.

I am at the point of returning it as not fit for purpose. However, it could be me doing something very wrong.

If anyone can clarify what I'm doing wrong I would be most grateful. I have read various forums and advice from Phil Hornby (I think this guy is the guru on Garmin POI's !) Laughing Out Loud

To end I want to think I have done the right thing buying this. I have become extremely annoyed at TomTom for the lack of development with the (new??) GO 1000 and have decided on Garmin.

Thanks for reading this and please tell me if I've not explained clearly enough. I'll be honest and say I'm in knots over this. Is it really this difficult??

Thanks,

Andy

sussamb · Posted: Sun Jan 15, 2012 1:01 pm Post subject:

Not sure that you can return it as 'not fit for purpose', Garmin POIs, red light and speed camera warnings etc work fine, I've had a 1490 for over a year now and am well pleased with it.

The problem you're having is loading non Garmin info onto it, and that can be tricky if you don't know what you're doing. Have a search of this site:

http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/garmin.gps/pageinfo.htm

which goes into great detail on how to make poi files alert correctly. You might also get good advice from others on here.

Kremmen · Posted: Mon Jan 16, 2012 7:37 am Post subject:

I think your problem is something I have highlighted a few times here.

The Garmin, when loaded with .CSV files via POI Loader forces the Garmin to set the default 'proximity' distances.

This default is 36 seconds which I consider far too soon and also it allows other POI's to come into range from other roads, which you are finding.

I attacked this by writing my own converter to allow me to convert the .CSV files into .GPX files (renamed XML files with a bespoke schema actually) which has a different format and allows individual proximities to be set.

After trial and error I have my proximities set to 14 seconds for approach and another warning at 6 seconds if I'm still overdoing it. All possible within the .GPX framework.

Unfortunately I don't have the means of making my program readily available so an option is to look at Ash10's offering which also allows custom proximity setting.
_________________
Satnav:
Garmin 2599 LMT-D (Indoor test rig)
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3
Car Average MPG :

avdl1999 · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2009 Posts: 82

Thanks Kremmen

I have used the converter you suggest. I then uploaded the .gpx files with poiloader manually. I have set the speeds as default as trying the proximty setting didn't have any noticeable affect (what I mean is the 36 second rule appeared to be over ruling the proximity setting.) I'll see how it goes.

Whilst I appreciate that such converters exist and clearly you're clever enough to edit .xml files to suit your own custom poi's, if you don't mind me saying what an arse of a system Garmin use!

Why am I forced to edit each individual file so I can get the proximity just so??

TBH, if I had known this was the situation I wouldn't have bought a Garmin.

Halfords won't refund it because it isn't a hardware fault. As it's software related, Garmin need to be informed and they will assess and authorise any refund. Obviously it isn't faulty, it's just the way it works for Garmin!

I will persevere and hope I can get it doing what I want it to do.

After all said and done, I appreciate your help and suggestions, and I really hope my current efforts pay off....................

Cheers,

Thanks ash10 for making your converter software available. I'll use it properly from now on. I notice I can set the 14 second timing as suggested above.

Kremmen · Posted: Tue Jan 17, 2012 7:29 am Post subject:

If you've got that far then it's just the final tweaking that will make a difference.

What you will need to do (I forgot to mention) is to rename the .GPX files from say GATSO_30 to GATSO_Thirty or whatever you fancy as long as you get rid of the numeric 30, 40, 50 etc from the filename because as you've found out Garmin will override the internal proximity setting.

I can confirm that it is possible to set your own proximity and it will work - eventually Smile

_________________
Satnav:
Garmin 2599 LMT-D (Indoor test rig)
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3
Car Average MPG :

avdl1999 · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2009 Posts: 82

Great!

Thanks Kremmen.

I have just used the Camera Manager software courtesy of Ash10.

This by default names the speed files GATSO_thirty etc.

I have amended the time it takes to inform me of the camera (14 seconds as per your setting/recommendation) and the possible overspeed warning too.

I will test this on tomorrows daily commute. I may need to be in touch for further help and guidance! Thanks again dude!

So far so good and if this continues I may fall in love with this device! Laughing Out Loud

As the song goes "what a difference a day makes"

Andy

Kremmen · Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:52 am Post subject:

No problem Smile

_________________
Satnav:
Garmin 2599 LMT-D (Indoor test rig)
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3
Car Average MPG :

sussamb · Posted: Wed Jan 18, 2012 9:49 am Post subject:

avdl1999 · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2009 Posts: 82

Thanks

I would like to say todays test was a success but sadly not. For some reason some cameras were not announced or displayed.

Is there a particular file structure to the poi folder?

The help guide on this forum suggests that no more than 32 files should be allocated per directory and recommends sub folders within the main POI directory etc. e.g cam1 and cam2 folders.

Is this still the case?

What software is that Kremmen?? Is this the software you have developed?

It looks great!

I've made a few other changes to match your screen shot.

I'll be in touch..............

Thanks again for the support

Smile

Kremmen · Posted: Thu Jan 19, 2012 7:37 am Post subject:

The structure before POILoader v 2.6 is used should be:

Gatso_Thirty.GPX
Gatso_Thirty.BMP
Gatso_Thirty.WAV (or .MP3 for compatible devices)

Once you have these all in place in a unique Windows folder with no other .GPX files in any subfolders then you're ready to roll.

Ensure you have an older version of SOX.exe in the same folder that the POILoader.exe is.

Then run POI Loader.

That program is the one I wrote last year and is still going strong for me Smile

It can have issues if you don't have full Admin rights on a Win7 or Vista PC as it reads and writes from the program location which is usually C:\Program Files and Win7 especially doesn't like non admins playing in the Program Files folder and refuses write access.
_________________
Satnav:
Garmin 2599 LMT-D (Indoor test rig)
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3
Car Average MPG :

avdl1999 · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2009 Posts: 82

Thanks again Kremmen! Smile

I have followed your instructions.

I have used the Camera manager software from ASH10 for amending the speedcam database (full speed zone) prior to it downloading.

I have disabled the overspeed setting and changed the camera settings from default 30 seconds to 12 seconds.

I have placed all files in the root of a POI directory.

I can confirm I am running poi loader 2.6.1 and sox.exe is a older version from poi factory. Both executables are located here :

C:\Program Files (x86)\Garmin\POI Loader.

The problem I am having is each camera poi repeats itself three times! This is very annoying! Any clue what to do next? The satnav just doesn't shut up! Laughing Out Loud

Do I need to use the express or manual mode with POI loader?

My thinking is the amendments have already been done through the GPX files so manual mode would just mess things up right?

Does the fact i'm using windows 7 64 bit have any bearing on matters?

I really appreciate the help you've been giving me Kremmen and I apologise for all the newbie questions! Rolling Eyes

Cheers,

Andy

Kremmen · Posted: Fri Jan 20, 2012 7:51 am Post subject:

Yes, yes and yes Smile

First thing to do is use POI Loader to remove all device POI's via it's option. This will ensure you're starting with a clean sheet.

Secondly, with Win7 it is inadvisable to work from 'Program Files' as Windows 7 does tend to protect itself by often banning writing to 'Program Files' unless you have full administrator privileges. Even using the Win7 'Take Ownership' command doesn't always play ball.

Create a dedicated folder for the CSV/GPX files and ensure you only have one set of GPX or CSV files in there. I use a dedicated folder I have created on my D:\ partition which is well away from C:\

POILoader will pick up any and all compatible file variants so if you still have the CSV files in the same folder as the GPX files then you will have 2 sets of identical cameras.

Then bear in mind that Ash and I use the same ploy of separating out the Approach and Overspeed by changing the @ to a # within the GPX file to force the approach warning.

Garmins have a nasty habit of not always giving an approach warning if you're under the speed limit. By replacing the @ with a # you always get a warning. You'll only confirm this by looking inside the GPX file.

Therefore the ploy is to always force the approach warning with the # symbol and back this up with an identical line using the @ symbol but with a closer proximity.

The end result is that you will also receive another warning if your still overdoing it and are now closer to the camera.
_________________
Satnav:
Garmin 2599 LMT-D (Indoor test rig)
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3
Car Average MPG :

avdl1999 · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2009 Posts: 82

Thanks again mate! Thumbs Up

It would appear I'm doing everything right then. Must be just the way it works. I'll get used to it. That doesn't mean i'll stop tweaking! Laughing Out Loud

Anyway, any chance you're gonna make your software available?

I notice from the Ash10 Cam Manager thread that you were going to release it for test?

I'd be willing to pay or donate if you did want to go down this route. I'm sure others would be too. I appreciate your efforts and also cost implications for host file downloading.

Not sure if this would be discourteous to Ash10 and his developements though.

Thanks again mate.

Cheers,

Andy

Kremmen · Posted: Sat Jan 21, 2012 2:57 pm Post subject:

You have a PM

I don't want any payment, it was a 'labour of love' Laughing

_________________
Satnav:
Garmin 2599 LMT-D (Indoor test rig)
DashCam:
Viofo A119 V3
Car Average MPG :

avdl1999 · Regular Visitor Joined: May 16, 2009 Posts: 82

You're good! I sent you a PM in response.

Cheers,

Andy

	PocketGPS
	Web