Bridges

[Tommy710]

Hi - I'm brand new to satnav, brand new here and have owned my TomTom 710 for about a fortnight (hence don't have much of a clue). This site is clearly an indispensable resource and I am grateful for it having already done much reading. I'm about to try some of the free POI files and have signed up to get the speed camera file. One POI category I would love to find - even pay for - is BRIDGES since I suffer from vertigo and would cause a huge traffic jam if I found myself about to go over the Severn Bridge for example. Little bridges are ok but anything which takes more than 5 seconds to cross just paralyses me and I will take a huge detour to avoid it. Advance warning via my TomTom would be my idea of highway heaven. Anyone seen such a file?

I guess that such important things as toll booths on motorways are already marked on UK and European maps? I haven't got around to checking yet.

(Would also be grateful to learn what all these different types of speed camera are and why I should want to programme them in by device instead of classifying them all the same?) Thanks a lot.

[Andy_P]

Can't help with the bridges I'm afraid. I know that truckers have been asking about one for LOW bridges for ages, but that's for going under not over!

Toll booths themselves aren't marked AFAIK, but if you calculate a route through one, the TomTom will flash up a whole new screen saying something like "Toll charge - Do you want to re-route to avoid it? Yes/No" This even worked very well for the London Congestion Charge zone (until they extended it and TT haven't altered it on the "new" maps

As for the camera database, admittedly knowing whether it is a Gatso or a Redlight camera is not of huge importance, but the useful aspect of splitting them up into types, is that they ALSO get split up into speeds. By creating seperate POI categories for them, it means that you can have a speed limit sign flash up on the display (much larger than the normal icon on the map) and also an audible alert that can actually say "Gatso ahead 30 miles per hour" or "Mobile site ahead, 50 limit".

[Tommy710]

[Andy_P]

By "default" I assume you meant the TomTom-supplied cameras?
Those are limited in that you cannot alter either the alert distance or sound (it's just one of the siren noises). No one knows why TomTom crippled them like this. Also there are loads of cameras missing from them!

Any normal user-added POI category can have a flashing visual picture and a sound file played as you approach.
The picture, the sound and the alert distance are all customisable.
However, each category can only have ONE picture and sound. This means that if you put ALL the cameras in one category file, you can only have a generic camera icon (maybe this one ?)

But, if you want different icons (like these that I use maybe........... )
you need to split the cameras up into types and speeds and put them into seperate categories.
Make sense?

This is why, if you download the full "speed-zoned" set from here, you end up with 24 seperate categories:

gatso_20: Known fixed speed cameras in a 20 mph limit
gatso_30: Known fixed speed cameras in a 30 mph limit
gatso_40: Known fixed speed cameras in a 40 mph limit
gatso_50: Known fixed speed cameras in a 50 mph limit
gatso_60: Known fixed speed cameras in a 60 mph limit
gatso_70: Known fixed speed cameras in a 70 mph limit
gatso_tba: Known fixed speed cameras without a reported speed limit.
gatso_var: Known fixed speed cameras with a variable speed limit (e.g. M25 ganntry cameras)
mobile_20: Known mobile "speedtrap" site in a 20 mph limit
mobile_30: Known mobile "speedtrap" site in a 30 mph limit
mobile_40: Known mobile "speedtrap" site in a 40 mph limit
mobile_50: Known mobile "speedtrap" site in a 50 mph limit
mobile_60: Known mobile "speedtrap" site in a 60 mph limit
mobile_70: Known mobile "speedtrap" site in a 70 mph limit
mobile_tba: Known mobile "speedtrap" site without a reported speed limit.
redlight: Known "Redlight jumper" camera
specs_20: Known average speed recording system cameras in a 20 mph limit
specs_30: Known average speed recording system cameras in a 30 mph limit
specs_40: Known average speed recording system cameras in a 40 mph limit
specs_50: Known average speed recording system cameras in a 50 mph limit
specs_60: Known average speed recording system cameras in a 60 mph limit
specs_70: Known average speed recording system cameras in a 70 mph limit
specs_tba: Known average speed recording system cameras without a reported speed limit.
temp: short-term cameras in roadworks etc.

EDIT: The above list is now OUT OF DATE. See here for a newer version:
http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=569676#569676

Your files you would put into the map folder for fixed 20MPH cameras would therefore be:
pocketgps_uk_gatso_20.ov2 - the data file
pocketgps_uk_gatso_20.bmp - the icon
pocketgps_uk_gatso_20.ogg - the audio/voice file (optional) - If you wish you can just use one of the built in sounds instead.

Cor! Long post! Quicker to do, than to describe...

[Tommy710]

[Andy_P]

Any collection that uses the standard POI system will be customisable.
TomTom's own camera database used to be done just the same way.
It is only recently that they altered it to use a special menu, and at the same time managed to lose the distance/sound options. Everyone said it was daft, but they haven't changed it back or improved it yet.

As for whether the distance is the same for all speeds I cannot say for certain as I have never used them myself, but according to this quote from another forum, it IS the same for every speed - 500 metres (or yards?):

[dead-letter]

Various low bridge POI's are available, but only for the UK. It seems that noone has these POI's for Western Europe, although I am trying to get them from the ADAC, the German equivalent of the AA.

Try this link

http://www.lowbridges.com/description.htm

THis company sell their Low Bridge POI for about £10

[era]

I have the low bridges for tomtom one.........ur welcome 2 them if they will down load 2 ur sat nav..........e.mail me perpetualnite@hotmail.com

[Andy_P]

OP didn't want low bridges (going under them)... want's POI of long/high bridges to avoid going OVER.

[DennisN]

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