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Posted: Mon Dec 12, 2005 11:54 pm Post subject: Guide to using POIObserver with a PDA
OK. I've been talking about doing a write up on how to install and use POI Observer on a PPC based device for a while now and haven't got around to it so here goes.
The following tutorial is based on any PDA running Windows Mobile 2003 Second Edition. I have done similar on an Acer N35 with first edition but don't have one to hand so you may have to think latterally about locations for stuff on the PDA if thats the case.
Overview:
Destinator in any of guises has a disastrous user defined POI approach. lets not dwell on it as it's well documented but suffice to say that even if it works it slows down the device to that of a snail with a flat tyre so POI Observer comes to the rescue. And yes its completely FREE!
POI Observer is capable of all sorts of wizardry beyond my skills so all I'm going to do here is to show you how to get overlays to pop up on your screen to warn about speed cameras. Adding further POIs is simple enough and I'm sure it'll get expanded by others. POI Observer is something I stumbled across thanks to several folk in here and I nearly gave up on it. However, its worth the slog coz once its up and running its fine. Its a small program that produces overlays for your screen. This means that if you have POI Observer running underneath Destinator (or any other program) it will pop up icons, give you a countdown to the POI and give an audio alert. It doesn't show the icon on your route a la Tom Tom but in practice this isn't a problem. For cameras, you want an app that will warn you clearly and accurately and POI Observer does this. But bear in mind that this proggie has been pulled together by a group of enthusiastic non-profit making folks on a forum so its not too intuitive, a bit 'techie' to set up and not for anyone looking for a wizard button. But it works well once you've cracked it. Everything here has been scraped together mainly from www.navifriends.com or figured out by me. However, navifriends is pretty much all in German and there seems to be links to POI Observer all over the place so I presume the links are correct. As I can't edit on this forum I suggest you read any subsequent replies for links to updates, improvements or just to correct the mistakes I'm bound to make! I imagine some German speaking gent will arrive soon and correct me on various bits and bobs but for now this will at least get us English folk up and running with it.
You'll need MS.NET on you're desktop PC. It's free from Microsoft. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=262d25e3-f589-4842-8157-034d1e7cf3a3&displaylang=en I'm also assuming you have ActiveSync installed and device is paired as you will be transferring files. This guide will be in 2 stages. The first one is the hardest covering initial setup and the second is the just monthly maintainence. There is documentation available in english on the navifriends website but its strewn allover the site because its a forum not a webpage.
NOTE: In this guide I have based the details around placing the files on your PDAs main memory. I did try running all files from the storage card but there is a problem there with my setup. POI Observer is a seperate app to your GPS software and needs to be started seperately after a soft reset. Its easy to forget this (until you see a flash in your rear-view mirror!) so I wanted to place a shortcut to it in my PPCs windows/startup folder but if its on the storage card it struggles to do this as I think it reads the card last so you just get a 'can't find' error. The total size of my final folder with sounds and images is a mere 0.97mb so I can live with that.
OK lets give this a whirl.
Setting Up POI Observer:
The key to managing this program's setup is to keep everything organised. On your main PC , first create a folder called 'POI Observer master' in the root of c-drive. I suggest this location because its a common location to us all. Thats good for us to be able to discuss anything later. If you use 'desktop' or 'my documents' it'll mean relative paths to files that are only on your PC and it'll get messy. Within this folder also create a new folder called 'edited ini files'. You'll need this later.
Next, Go http://www.navifriends.com/phpbbForum/viewtopic.php?t=1368 and download POIObserver_Batcher.zip You'll need to sign up to the forum to get this. It'll be missing from the page if you're not logged in. Log in then paste that url again and it should be there. Unzip to somewhere and cut and paste the resulting 'POIObserver_Batcher' folder (not just the files) into the 'POI Observer master' folder. Then go to http://www.navifriends.com/phpbbForum/viewtopic.php?t=1611 and get POI Configurator plus (and grab the english manual while you're there.) Once again unzip and copy the POI_configurator+ folder into your 'POI Observer master' folder. (Note: when you unzip it you'll have a POIConfigurator+ folder with another POIConfigurator+ folder inside it. Copy the second one to keep things neat.) So you should now have a folder called 'POI Observer master' in which there should be threefolders called 'POIObserver_Batcher' 'POIConfigurator+' and 'edited ini files'.
Now we'll set up the Virtual com port. This is a little application which runs on your PPC and allows POI observer to use the info from the GPS reciever and then pass it to a virtual com port for use by your GPS software. If you have a non-phone PDA go to the 'c:/POI Observer master/POIObserver_Batcher/POIObserver_Virtcom' folder, highlight the and copy the VirtCom.dll file then use explorer to browse to the windows folder on your pocket PC and paste it there. If you have PPC phone edition do the same but use the .dll file of the same name found in the 'POIObserver_Virtcom für PhoneEdition-PDAs' folder.
So we've stuck the DLL in there. Now we need to copy files we'll need to the PDA. Browse to your PDA from your desktop and in the Program Files folder create a new folder called 'observer'. Return to your desktop folder and copy the files VirtComMgr.exe, POIObserver.exe, POIObserver.ini and ObsGlobals.ini (NOTE: chose the right folder - remember the special folder for Phone edition users.) Put them into the observer folder on your PDA.
Now do whatever you do normally to get a GPS signal to your PDA (might involve hopping in the car). On the PDA use file explorer to locate VirtComAVMgr in the observer folder and open it. The box on the left labelled 'source' should be set to whatever your Nav Software used before you started this tutorial, i.e. the port on which your GPS signals come in. set the baud rate too. If you now press 'raw' or 'test GPS' and your settings are correct, you should see data start to come in in the box below. Stop this process with the ,stop raw' or 'stop gps' commands. The box 'Virtual Com Port' should give you a list of available ports to set as the virtual com port. select one and make a note of it. The button below it obviously activates the port but most importantly the button next to it labelled 'Res' should be pressed to turn it black. This means the port is active by default and will save you a lot of messing about later. Press activate and then OK. The app is now running in the background and should be feeding GPS signals to you new 'virtual' port. Open your GPS software and go to the GPS settings. Select your new virtual comm port as the source and your GPS software should be getting signals well and good. If it isn't retrace your steps because I've set this up on several PDAs now and usually the error lies between the PDA and the chair :-) so be methodical and all will be well. If its not you could try an alternative virtual comm port if it gave you the option. Check your GPS works healthily with a whizz round the block. Spotting any problems at this stage will save you some serious grief later.
OK. Now return to your PC. Create a folder called 'Pocket GPS speedcamera database' in the 'POI Observer master' folder. Download the Pocket GPS speed camera database from this site and unzip it to that folder.
In your 'POI Observer master' folder create a folder called 'observer files'
Now you need to decide which speed cameras you want to be alerted to. For this tutorial I'm gonna create seperate alerts for Gatsos, UK Mobile and Specs cameras as these are the ones I want but you could add more if you wanted. Fisrts of all browse the 'Pocket GPS speedcamera database' folder you created, go to the 'alternative bitmap files' folder and and find the bitmap files for pocketgps_uk_gatso.bmp, pocketgps_uk_mobile.bmp, pocketgps_uk_specs.bmp. Highlight all three (click each one while holding ctrl button) copy them then past them into the 'observer files' folder. Now you need to be a little creative because some months the wav files aren't included. You need to find some audio files from somewhere. A cheat here is to find a program on the web which has a trial such as an alarm program or similar. You'll probably get some good alert sounds there. Once you've found three files you like copy them to the 'observer files' folder too. But you must call them the same as the bitmaps. So for the sound you want for gatsos, rename it to pocketgps_uk_gatso.wav and do the same for the pocketgps_uk_mobile and pocketgps_uk_specs sound files of your choice.
You're probably losing the will to live by now but stick with it coz it'll be a breeze with next months new cameras, honest!
Now, still on your PC, browse to the 'POI Observer master' folder, open the 'POIConfigurator+' folder and double click the POIConfigurator+.exe icon. (NOTE: if it won't run you were a naughty boy/girl and didn't install ms.net!). You'll be met with a GUI which looks a bit daunting but follow carefully and you'll be ok. First under navisystem select DestinatorCSV, click the overlay button so overlay is on. Change soundpath to \program files\observer\sounds\ and click update list. Now click 'add' on the top bar. This should add a line to the list on the left. Check soundpath is still set to \program files\observer\sounds\. In the Cat Name (subcategory) box, type UK_Gatso then click the Update List button. Under ASC file, click the arrow and browse to the 'Pocket GPS speedcamera database' folder and then 'asc files' and select 'pocketgps_uk_gatso.asc'. Click Update List. Under Bitmap file, do as above but browse to your 'observer files' folder and select pocketgps_uk_gatso.bmp. Click update list. For column seperator change it to a comma ',' click update list. For the wav file do as above but select your pocketgps_uk_gatso.wav file. Click Update List.
Now click save, followed by Convert (yellow exclamation mark at the top). The program should very quickly convert the data. You might get a couple of lines with error messages but these are just the headings for the columns usually and can be ignored. If the conversion takes an eternity and gives a massive error list, you probably didn't have a comma selected in the 'column seperator' section.
So what you've done is created an OBS file with all the relevant data in it ready to dump onto your PPC (not yet though!!!) If you're still looking at the report of the conversion, click close and you should return to the POIConfigurator+ GUI. Click 'ADD'to create a new category and repeat the above process but for UK_Mobile remembering to locate the relevant bitmaps, sound files etc and click 'update list' whenever you make a change. Be especially careful with the column seperator because it tends to default to a ; when a , is needed. Repeat for the SPECS cameras and you're done with this section. You'll see the pattern here. You create a new catgory by adding a new line. You point it to all the right places ready to create a file with all your info in.Close the app when you're done and answer yes to whether you want to save the file.
In the 'POI Observer master' folder look in the POIConfigurator+ folder and you'll see some new items. In the folder POI you'll see a file called observer.obs. Thhis is a database of all the info you've just told POIConfigurator+ to mash together. Copy it and paste it into the root of your 'observer' folder overwriting any previous versions.
When you return to make changes in POIConfigurator+ open the app and go to file -> open and browse to your c:\POI Observer master\POIConfigurator+\ and you'll see a file called 'Mypois.nav' Thats the file you want to open to edit the stuff you've done previously.
OK. Now the messy bit (yes even messier than so far!). POI Observer will by default cover your screen with heaps of info overlays and turn your Destinator (or other apps) screen into a complete disaster. So heres what you have to do:
We only want the info for the speed cameras so we're going to edit the POIObserver.ini file to get rid of loads of the stuff we don't want. If you browse to the file located in your POIObserver_Virtcom or POIObserver_Virtcom für PhoneEdition-PDAs folder. You can't open the one on your PDA so we'll copy it across to the PDA later. It'll open in notepad. Its broken down into sections. You'll see the first one as [POBS] which we'll tell the program to ignore by 'commenting it out' i.e. change it to [//POBS] by adding the two 'slashes'. Do the same for [//TIME] [//HGHT] [//SPED] [//HEAD] [//HDOP] [//COOR] [//TMCS] and then save it to your 'edited ini files' folder keeping the same name 'POIObserver.ini' All we've done is told the program not to display stuff you already have in Destinator (or other). But we're not quite finished. My SPV M2000 has a display size of 240 x 320 and I always view in Portrait so I want the box to appear in the right of my screen. So under Anno I change it to:
[ANNO]
PosX=170
PosY=125
SizeX=68
SizeY=68
Likewise for ANDI it becomes:
[ANDI]
PosX=170
PosY=193
SizeX=68
SizeY=18
You may have to experiment with the screen size if yours differs. All you're doing is positioning two windows.
If you are sure you're using the same screen size and orientation as me and you just want to copy and paste then copy everything below (but not including) the >>>>>>>>>> lines below to the >>>>>>>> further down and replace the whole of your and POIObserver.ini file with this.
Don't forget to copy your POIObserver.ini file back to your PDA, observer folder once done: Using active sync, browse to your mobile device and find the 'observer' folder in 'program files'. Open another window and browse to your 'POI Observer Master folder. Open the 'edited ini files' folder and copy the POIObserver.ini file across, overwriting the original on your PDA. (make a backup if you want by adding 'old' at the end of the filename of the original). While you're there create a new folder in the observer foldercalled 'sounds'. On your PC select all the files in the 'observer files' folder and copy them to the \program files\observer\sounds\ folder on your PDA.
OK. You can now unplug your PDA and open file explorer. Working on the basis that you've already set up the virtual comm port and all your files are transferred, you can browse to the observer folder and open POIObserver.exe . Don't activate it yet. Press T.Wnd to test the window location. You should see a red box with a smaller red box beneath it to the right of your screen. This is the position of the overlay. Press T.Snd and you will get a warning regarding speed limit wav files. More on this later. Press 'YES' to hear the next sound and you should see your gatso icon and hear the sound. Pressing yes again will do the same for tmp cameras and so on. If this works then you're done! Click 'activate' then 'minimise' and its running. You'll hear a descending tone which means its waiting to be activated.
Now the clever thing is that POIObserver won't open the port until you open your GPS application. It just sits in your system tray until something starts to use the virtual comm port and then it switches on which means that if you're using a bluetooth device it doesn't have to be active all the time. You'll hear an ascending tone when POIObserver gets a signal from the GPS reciever and its running in the background. You won't see anything until you aproach a camera and then you'll get the overlay you tested above appearing on the right hand side of your Destinator screen.
A couple of tips. I copy a shortcut to POIObserver to the startup folder so if I do a soft reset I don't forget to activate it. It means you're greeted with the POIObserver activation panel but all you have to do is click activate and minimize and it'll always be there ready for when you navigate.
Secondly, I've never worked out how to switch off the speed limit warning. I got around this by creating a blank audio file called SpeedLimit.wav which just plays nothing. Its a bodge but it worked for me and i can still use the speed limit thingy in Destinator if I want to. Dump this file in the sounds folder on PDA. It'll stop the damn thing coming on each time you hit 100KM/H.
I have also, in Destinator PN, switched off the 'low signal' and 'gps not found' options as they are replaced by the more pleasant ascending and descending tone in POIObserver and confirms that I have GPS signal AND POIObserver is running.
Monthly Updates:
So now its all set up, each month I just dump the contents of the PocketGPS speed camera database into the folder we created in c:/ overwriting the old ones. Then I just run POIConfigurator+, create a new OBS file and copy it across and it gives all the new cameras in 3 minutes. Its a breeze. No need to copy the audio or bitmaps, they stay the same. I can add new categories too. I have the congestion zone setup so it warns me 1km from crossing an entry point with a CC logo as the image.
Hope you can get your heads around the above. It seems a lot of work but we're all cheesed with Destinators POI rubbish and this means we at least stay safe and un-fined without the frustration of Destinator.
Furthermore, I know I've been a bit 'nannying' with the creation of folders and naming etc. You can experiment with different locations but if some want to adhere to the above it makes problem solving and sharing of files easier.
Good luck. _________________ Tom Tom GO 720
Orange M3100, Orange SPV M5000
TomTom Navigator 6, Destinator 6
Holux GPSslim
Ah dear. Wish I'd seen that before I spent several hours doing the above. Celery, as the French say.
That aside, thanks Roadsleeper. Anything that helps us get around the Destiantor POI nightmare is appreciated! _________________ Tom Tom GO 720
Orange M3100, Orange SPV M5000
TomTom Navigator 6, Destinator 6
Holux GPSslim
thank you for reply and sorry for my bad English. It's long ago, I learned your language at school.
In the next days there will be a new version of program POIObserver, supporting COMs up to 8 programs at the same time. Also TMC will be supported much better.
You can download the new manual after new POIObserver is uploaded to our server.
Hey Roadsleeper, what do you mean apologies for your English? If you hadn't said anything I wouldn't have noticed :-) Forums are full of people writing bad English and its their native tongue. You should hear my German
Thanks for the info. I've been running POIObserver for several months now and I love it so I'll be looking at the updates with great interest.
Are you involved in the development of the product? _________________ Tom Tom GO 720
Orange M3100, Orange SPV M5000
TomTom Navigator 6, Destinator 6
Holux GPSslim
no, I'm not involved in development. But the author is a very good friend of mine.
The first difference to the old version only will be the name of VirtCom.dll. (New: VirtComNG.dll, NG = new generation) So, when the new version is uploaded, you have only to change this file.
The second difference will be: The new file is common for PDA, MDA and XDA.
The new pogram is in test phase now. In a few days you can download it.
As I wrote (step w in manual), the file observer.obs must be stored in the folder POIObserver. (This is the main folder and there also must be the file POIObserver.exe).
Indeed, .wav-files are stored in subfolder Sounds, see step 8, page 2.
I recommend installing the program POIObserver on a storage card.
By this way you can save a lot of space in RAM.
Roadsleeper,
Is ther a way to get POIObserver to autorun on a soft reset? You may have noticed in my write up I said:
"NOTE: In this guide I have based the details around placing the files on your PDAs main memory. I did try running all files from the storage card but there is a problem there with my setup. POI Observer is a seperate app to your GPS software and needs to be started seperately after a soft reset. Its easy to forget this (until you see a flash in your rear-view mirror!) so I wanted to place a shortcut to it in my PPCs windows/startup folder but if its on the storage card it struggles to do this as I think it reads the card last so you just get a 'can't find' error. The total size of my final folder with sounds and images is a mere 0.97mb so I can live with that."
The problem was really only related to the startup issue. I ran it from the Storage card for quite a while but I usually soft reset before a long journey and a the last time I zapped off into London without the cam warnings and nearly got flashed! _________________ Tom Tom GO 720
Orange M3100, Orange SPV M5000
TomTom Navigator 6, Destinator 6
Holux GPSslim
Joined: 02/11/2002 22:41:59 Posts: 11878 Location: Massachusetts, USA
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2005 6:18 pm Post subject:
Storage card wakes up last, and only after \windows\startup is processed. If you really, really need to start that program with each soft reset you need to put it into main memory or iPAQ File Store (if present) _________________ Lutz
load down the file MortScript-CAB setup, copy this file to your storage card and run it. Now the suffix .mortrun is known by Windows.
After this create on your PC a textfile, called: POIObserver.mortrun
Insert the following lines:
Sleep 3000
If wndexists "POIObserver"
show "POIObserver"
else
Run "Storage Card\POIObserver\POIObserver.exe"
endif
Sleep 3000
MouseClick ,230,50
close and save the file. Copy it to: \Windows\Autostart on your PDA.
After each softreset, POIObserver will be auto started.
You can change timeout in 1. and 7. line if you want.
By this way you can keep Observer on storage card and not in RAM.
on sreen of VirtCom.Mgr.exe in left upper corner set the COM-Port your mouse is sending data.
In right upper corner set the Virtual Com Port your Navi is listening data.
Then click to Activate. Field Res now must be black. Then click to OK and call program POIObserver.exe. Activate and minimize it.
Next set your Navi to the same Virtual Com Port.
If you can't select Virtual Port 6, try another in VirtComMgr.exe and Navi.
Generally, file VirtCiom.dll and WN 5.0 are not good partners.
In a few days on our server will be uploaded the newest version of POIObserver, working well with WM 5.0.
A file like POIwarner.mortrun is a simple exercise for beginners in writing cumputer programs.
By adding additional lines in file Observer.mortrun you also can start other programs.
For exemple you can call your Nav after starting POIObserver. Just type in: Run (path to wanted program). Set timeouts if necessary, set mouse clicks and so on.
I hope, it was helpful to you.
After installing the programm on PDA, in folder Programs a subfolder will be created, called MortScript.
If you want to save space, copy this subfolder to your PC.
Now you can delete on PDA the following files:
commands.txt
liesmich.txt
readme.txt
If you want to learn a little bit more about, open the file readme.txt on your PC by using a simple text editor.
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