TOm Tom and UK Postcodes

cvpd · Occasional Visitor Joined: Apr 13, 2004 Posts: 1

I am new to GPS world and have found it a great resource - thanks. I am trying to use Tom Tom with another application that uses UK 7 digit postcodes. Having been persuaded to use Tom Tom I now find that I can't use them, but this is the only reliable method of location I have. You mentioned in your review some add-ons that might be available, and though I have searched the site I can't find any - could you point me in the right direction? If all else fails I may have to junk Tom Tom and buy another package - do you have any recommendations that use 7 digit postcodes?

Thanks again,

Charles

Carll · Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2004 7:51 pm Post subject: TT2/3 with full postcodes

http://www.digitools.co.uk/home.php
Niels has created this free addon that works just fine.
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iPAQ 5550; 400MHZ - 256 SD Card - TT wired GPS - TTN3 UK - PPC 2003

PONDEROUS · Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 2:54 pm Post subject:

Charles

I hope this is some help:

I too need 7-digit postcodes; in fact, who doesn't if they are going to work outside the large urban areas? I also need to see at a glance, for planning "on the hoof", which addresses that I have to visit are near my present location. This means that I have to be able to download to the map, quickly and in a single operation, all of the addresses that I will visit on a contract.

Microsoft Autoroute is supplied with a Pocket PC companion programme named Pocket Streets. This programme satisfies all three of the requirements that I have outlined. It is also inexpensive: you should pick it up for £50 or less.

What Pocket streets does not do is voice guidance. For that, you need a separate package that will run in the background so that you can "flip" between it and Pocket Streets at will. The first package that I purchased for this purpose was TomTom. I do not know if anything has been changed, but I found that TomTom appeared to prevent Pocket Stgrees from accessing the GPS port, even when TomTom was not running!!! That was with Tom Tom 3 and Pocket Streets 2004. Perhaps, with advice, you could solve this problem. I could not, and I ended up with Copilot by ALK Technologies and a third-party bluetooth GPS receiver. The combination cost about £100 more than TomTom and its bundled receiver, but, in my case at least, it was money well spent

I have found CoPilot 5 and Pocket Streets 2004 together to provide pretty close to a comprehensive navigation system - good enough for my purposes anyway.

One further tip:

Do make sure that you can use a Bluetooth audio headset with the PDA that you purchase, if it is not too late. This will enable you to use the navigation system and still use your car radio.

Paul

Darren · Posted: Sun Oct 10, 2004 5:01 pm Post subject:

Thanks for your detailed post. As the Original Poster has TomTom already he can use the excellent (and free) UKPostCodes Plug-In from www.digitools.co.uk to provide full access to 7 digit PostCode entry without having to resort to using AutoRoute. I believe this makes TomTom unique at present.

TomTom does by default block access to the BT Com Port for other apps but there is a simple work-around that has been documented in detail here on this site that will restore access.

A BT Headset will not allow you to hear voice promts on the majority of BT equipped PDA's as few feature the necessary AudioGateway profile.

We do not allow edit permissions on forum posts but I have removed the first two messages you posted.
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Darren Griffin

PONDEROUS

Thank you for your reply. I might still be interested in Tom Tom in view of what you say. Therefore, could I ask a little more, please?

Does Tom Tom allow downloading of address lists and display them as POIs on a map that is independent of voice-guidance? If so, it could make Pocket Streets superfluous for my purposes.

Incidentally, I could not quite understand your apparent objection to my paragraph on the use of bluetooth headsets. I had already made it clear that a PDA may or may not include the facility, and however few of them so so, the possibility is, surely, worth knowing about. Isn't passing on useful suggestions what your forum is, at least partly, about?

Darren · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 3:46 pm Post subject:

I'm not sure I understand your query with regard to downloading of address lists? You could certainly create a custom POI Database i.e. Clients and create a unique Icon for this group. This could then be viewed in Map View which is a standard North Up Map View without Voice etc. Is this what you had in mind?

What makes you think I objected to your post on the use of BT Headsets? I was simply pointing out that as so very few have the necessary BT Profile it 's not a feature that will find many solutions, indeed the only ones that I am aware of that have it are the Dell X30. The HP 2210 can be modified to access it as can the 54xx and 55xx iPAQ's but all are old models and for many having to manually 'tweak' is not an option.

All information is welcome and the community here is as good as any so please don't be put off from posting! I apologise if my reply suggested your information was not 'worthy', it was and everyone's posts (so long as on topic!) are heartily welcomed Thumbs Up

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Darren Griffin

PONDEROUS · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 4:51 pm Post subject:

Darren

Thank you for that reassurance.

What I mean is that, in Autoroute 2004 or (albeit only with 5-digit postcodes) Copilot 5, a complete address list can be downloaded from a spreadsheet. All of the addresses can then be displayed together on the map as pushpins. This enables me to see where the addresses are relative to my location at any time.

My original understanding was that Tom Tom might take a small list of addresses into its address list from Pocket Contacts, but not from a spreadsheet, and that these addresses can be displayed as only text within Tom Tom, and not on the map.

I would be pleased to hear if you know different.

Thanks again.

Paul

PONDEROUS · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2004 5:16 pm Post subject:

Darren

Sorry about the further duplicate message.

Reading your last message again, I think you have already answered much of my query. However, could you please say whether, say, 500 addresses can be downloaded from an Excel spreadsheet, and the results displayed as pushpins with name/identification labels. Also, does this capability utilise the 7-digit postcodes that you mention? Finally, Is it possible to isolate and act upon unrecognised postcodes during the download, as there are usually some of these?

Thanks once more.

Paul

DavidW · Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2004 10:17 pm Post subject:

There are ways of getting pushpins from Autoroute into a .ov2 TomTom POI file - albeit with a few problems to do with points moving slightly.

Richard (who, as Oldie, is one of my fellow moderators here) has provided various free tools to do this kind of manipulation. Take a look at his web site here (click the smaller text for a link).

David

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