New Xmas Toy

[DonBoon]

Hi everyone, merry christmas. Thats what I should have being doing instead of spending all my time trying to figure out how to set up my new HP iPAQ rz 1710 with tomtom "HP version". Does that mean, inferior product? So now I've found that the HP isn't quite as good as all the others but so what it's probably smarter than me and as long as it does the job I'm going to live with it. Can anyone help me figure out what programs I need to get my limited version of tomtom to show where the speed cameras are. I'm ok with PC's and I've got the PDA connected. One last favour, I'll probably need instructions on how to install the stuff.
Many thanks.

[Privateer]

Hi Don,

to the forum.

You’ve actually got a reasonable set-up in the “HP version” and it isn’t an inferior product. You’re running the newer version of TT Navigator that uses the “common engine” as found in the TT GO, TT Palm, and TT Mobile. Yes, there are a few features that are in TTNav (for the PPC) that aren’t in the “common engine” versions, but you can live without those features.

You’re fortunate, you don’t need third party software to act as a “POI Detector” as you already have a proximity alert built into the TT software.

1. Download the zip file of our free camera databases
2. Unzip them (you will get a number of .OV2 and .BMP files plus others)
3. Select the databases you want (I’d ignore the Continental one unless you travel abroad)
4. Copy all of the .OV2 (database) and their associated .BMP files to the map folder on your PDA’s storage card
5. Ensure that TT Navigator is shut down (best to do a SOFT reset of the PDA)
6. Launch TT Navigator and ensure that your POIs are shown on the map and navigator screens. On TTNav 3.07 it is Properties | POI and ensure the required POIs have a cross in the box.

You will then hopefully see the POIs as you drive about. You then need to set-up the Proximity Alert within TTNav itself.

BTW, I don’t have the “HP version” or any TT product that uses the “common engine” so apologies if I’ve given you any duff information!

Regards,
_________________
Robert.
iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 14.0.1: iOS CamerAlert v2.0.7
TomTom GO Mobile iOS 2.3.1; TomTom (UK & ROI and Europe) iOS apps v1.29
Garmin Camper 770 LMT-D

[DonBoon]

Hi Robert and many thanks for your welcome and cheering me up. Actually all I needed was some third party evidence to convince my wife that I hadn't wasted our money. This should come in handy for when we go caravaning next year and the PDA avoids carting around a massive desk filofax.
I'll try to follow your setup advice and post you the results.

Best regards

Dave B
(Boon comes from being a dead ringer for Mike Elphic who starred in the TV Boon series and the Don comes from living in Spain for several years).

[DonBoon]

Hi Robert

I have just followed your instructions after making a backup of the original file. I removed the continental files as suggested but I cannot download all the other files as there is insufficient memory so can you please explain what else I can do?
I took a look at the program and it showed trafic lights and a Gatso nearby. There are now 5 new POI listed and they are clearly different types of camera however I suspect that some will not work properly as not all the files have been copied over. Are there any files that I can do without either from your download or from the original program?

Best regards
David B

[Privateer]

Hi David,

Ideally you need all camera types for the greatest protection.

Are you saving the files to the storage card?
If you are, what type of storage card are you using (I presume that it’s an SD one) and what size is it?

I know that the storage card supplied with TomTom GO is just big enough for the maps. TTGO users who want to download the PGPSW camera databases have to either use a larger storage card or delete unwanted files (i.e. foreign languages) from the storage card.

If you wish to use a larger storage card then 512mb cards are now a reasonable price these days (less that £50, from internet stores) and a card reader (which is also a writer) is a very good investment for copying large amounts of data from the card to the PC and then back to another card. Card readers are much faster than using ActiveSync!

Finally you said that you are going caravanning next year. Do you use Caravan Club Sites? If you do then you can download a Caravan Club Site POI from this website that could be useful for you.

Regards,
_________________
Robert.
iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 14.0.1: iOS CamerAlert v2.0.7
TomTom GO Mobile iOS 2.3.1; TomTom (UK & ROI and Europe) iOS apps v1.29
Garmin Camper 770 LMT-D

[DonBoon]

Hi Robert and once again thanks for looking after me.
It does seem as though I'm getting the hang of this the more I play with it.
The solution I trust is pretty obvious.
I am trying to download the files to the original TT and it does look as though its purposely filled to its limit.
I have tried getting advice from TT about using a larger Mem card but they wouldn't comment about it only saying that it won't work. I asked specifically about the 4 CD's that came with the package to find out if they were backup programs and could I transfer them to a larger mem card because I wanted to store lots of personal files plus the TT on the same card rather than keep swapping. They wouldn't agree to the idea and insisted I used separate cards.
However if I can put both the TT program and other personal data onto a bigger Mem Card then the jobs done as I've already ordered both items earlier today. 512mb @ £28 and USB2.0 12-in-1 Media Reader/Writer @ £12 I don't know if you allow dropping names so I've kept the suppliers name out unless your interested.They should arrive tomorrow and I'll give them a wirl.
Any further advice on partioning/folders etc for the new mem card?

As a matter of interest the TT card according to the PDA specs is 119.83MB and without any other files there is 119.60 in use.

As to Caravaning. I bought a caravan last year due to disability preventing me from taking normal hols but I'm still not able to use it much. We joined the Caravan Club because they have lots of friendly sites where club members are willing and able to help us set up and make the most of our holidays.

It sounds as though your caravan club site POI is just the ticket so as soon as I can get this PDA upgraded I'll take a look.

It sounds as though I've found another really good site and who knows I hope to be able to return the help one day.

Best regards

Dave B

[Privateer]

Hi Dave,

I’m afraid that I don’t know either the HP iPAQ rz 1710 or the TomTom "HP version" that is included in the package. However I would expect that the software would be installed on the PDA’s memory and the map data would be on the storage card. If it came preinstalled or if you used the default locations then there is a large probability that my expectations are correct.

It sounds like you have a 128mb card (which when formatted has a slightly less capacity) hence the 119 limit.

PocketGPSWorld is an independent site, the moderators don’t get paid for moderating – we give our time freely in order to help others, to continue learning the subject of GPS and SatNav, and also because we enjoy it. We’re happy for people to mention and recommend brands and retailers that they’re happy with and also those that they’re not. In fact we have an area on the forum for writing about retailers.

You should find that you can copy the contents of your original storage card to a folder on your PC, swap cards and then copy the data back to your new larger card. You should find that it’ll work with no problems. I wouldn’t change the partitioning/folders on the new storage card – I’d leave “as is” unless you find that you have a problem.

Scandisk SD cards have had a bad press on this forum, for PDA SatNav applications. Although recently Scandisk have had a better name. Well-liked SD card brands are Kingston and Panasonic. The acknowledged expert on SD cards is DavidW who is also a moderator on this site.

The Caravan Club Site POI may be a little out of date as it is a year or two old. It would be worth checking that the site you wish to use is on it.

I’m glad that you’ve found us. We like to think that it’s a friendly and informative site. Please let us know how you get on with the larger storage card.

Regards,
_________________
Robert.
iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 14.0.1: iOS CamerAlert v2.0.7
TomTom GO Mobile iOS 2.3.1; TomTom (UK & ROI and Europe) iOS apps v1.29
Garmin Camper 770 LMT-D

[DonBoon]

Hi Robert
A final note until I get the new equipment
The new mem card I ordered is the Kingston 512MB from http://www.globalpositioningsystems.co.uk/

As far I am awareThe TT was not pre installed as there was no sign of it on the PDA until I inserted their card and carried out a set of procedures.

From the short glimpse that I got it looks as though the thing will work once I've got the bigger mem card fitted, I'll keep you posted.

The Caravan Club Site POI details you supplied are:
Author : 06/05/01, by Brain
Contact : mailto:BrianMcGuckin@ecosse.net
and it lists about 189 sites. As you say it is a bit out of date and could be
improved by several hundred if the Caravan Club approved.

Is it difficult to write these POI's because if not I'd like to make some contributions?
I'm Chairman of a couple of disability organisations and various other voluntary groups and I can think of some realy useful info to put onto these POI's now that I've discovered what they are. For example: disabled parking spaces, shopmobility centres, disabled friendly sites, get the idea?

If you've got any further advice and the time I could give you my email.

Many thanks for your time and help

Best regards
Dave B

[Privateer]

Hi Dave,

GlobalPositioningSystems is a good company to deal with. In fact I’ve purchased the majority of my equipment from them. I haven’t updated my signature (tut tut ) but my iPAQ 3970 is currently using a Kingston 512mb SD card, which incidentally, was also purchased from GlobalPositioningSystems.

It’s not difficult to write POIs, Bo Peep has written an excellent article on it here.

Richard (Oldie) is the author of WinOV2 and POIConverter that Bo Peep mentions. These programs are free and can be downloaded from here.

PocketGPSWorld publishes POIs. If you write some and wish to share them with the community then please send them in so that they can be added to the POI downloads page.

Regards,
_________________
Robert.
iPhone 6s Plus, iOS 14.0.1: iOS CamerAlert v2.0.7
TomTom GO Mobile iOS 2.3.1; TomTom (UK & ROI and Europe) iOS apps v1.29
Garmin Camper 770 LMT-D

[DavidW]

Anything relating to facilities for people with disabilities is of interest to me; amongst other things I'm a power chair user. I've got about half the London Blue Badge parking map in a POI file, which I must get round to finishing some time. It's been laboriously hand entered, and I don't have permission to distribute it - though I did think of contacting the Association of London Government

POI files are easiest done by getting longitude and latitude data from someone, together with permission to convert and release it.


SD card recommendations get ever trickier. As Robert (Privateer) says, Sandisk are best avoided for use in a PDA such as a Pocket PC. I've actually got little experience with Kingston. Toshiba and Panasonic are excellent, but, particularly in the case of Panasonic, are pricey. Because of this, I haven't come across any brands rebadging Panasonic recently; they've all switched to cheaper cards.

There's far more brands than card manufacturers - many just rebadge cards bought in from a manufacturer, which means that the underlying card design can change from batch to batch. You may like to look at this post of mine for a few thoughts on card brands. The most up to date list of troublesome cards by markings can be found in this post - which is in a part of a thread we got into when talking about a troublesome Kingston card (but an old one, I think).

Seeing as you've ordered the Kingston card now, I'd try it and see if it's any good. I agree with Robert - globalpositionsystems.co.uk are a good company to deal with. Much of my kit came from them; of what's in my signature, the iPAQ, Clip On and TomTom Navigator software all came from them, as did much of my older setup that another family member is now using.


You can't partition an SD card; it doesn't have a partition table. Most software insists that folder names remains unchanged, though the first thing I do with a new storage card I'm going to use on a Pocket PC is to reformat it (most cards come in as FAT16 with 16KByte clusters; I usually reformat cards that are going to be used on a Pocket PC as FAT32 with 2KByte clusters).



David

[DonBoon]

Many thanks for the signposts Robert. I'll have a good look.

DavidW, nice to meet you and thanks for your votes of confidence as well as some sound advice.
Seems we share more than just names as I drive a Powertech F50.

I know what you mean regarding your london map project as I do similar projects on a national level although I can't understand why you feel you need someones permision to publish your own copyright. Is it right that you need someones permission to release longitudes and latitudes and why do they need converting?

I know what you mean about re-branding. Ever bough new batteries and thought they look familiar? Hopefully the Kingston brand is as good a name as the suppliers.

I have managed to test the TT today and found it to be brilliant and again tonight to see what it's like in the dark. It does lack a brightness control within the program and that could present a problem whilst transfering from bright day to night time driving. Obviously you can set the brightness before you start or stop at some point in the journey to alter it.

Can anyone advise me as to the accuracy of these devices?
I have a private parking space behind my property but its not shown on the map as it's a private courtyard for residents parking. The problem is when you try to set up your home position by the address method and my vehicle is actualy 40 yards from the property. When I load TT it shows the vehicle at some other location such as the street behind or to the side and this always causes confusion as to which direction I have to take to get away from my home position. Is there any way of modifying the map to include this parking area? I have tried setting the home position by not using the address and using the GPS centering position but that then puts my vehicle on the street behind or to the side again and both these locations are at least 40-50 yards away. My vehicle is parked off road and central to a triangle of 3 roads. Any ideas on how to fine tune this device.

Well I'd like to think that I can rest easy tonight knowing that if my TT doesn't work tomorrow I can tell the wife it wasn't my fault.

Once I tell her I know another David and he uses a power chair she'll know it's a conspiracy.

Anything I can do for you on the disability just give me a call.

Best regards to all

Dave B

[DonBoon]

Good news
The new mem card and reader arrived this morning and as per your advice the program was copied across plus your downloads.

Everything is working fine although there does appear to be a slight time lag with the display whereas before the graphics were extremely smooth.

Could it be that the new mem card hasn't been reformatted to Fat32 and now that there is a lot more data to sift through it's slowed down a bit.
If I were to reformat the mem card to Fat32 am I likely to suffer any problems with it and would the process be reversible. My current OS is XP Pro.
One last point about using the reader to transfer files from the PC to the new mem card. I did this but then found that the TT program couldn't find any maps. I checked the newly transferred files and noticed that some of them were .xls so I deleted them and then transferred the .xls files through the PDA which converted them to .pxl.

Are there many files that have to be converted like this for the PDA and is there another way of converting them automatically on the PC before transferring them to the card reader?

Best regards

Dave B

[DavidW]

I'm using a Lomax Mobility Modular Vitesse XHD, which I've found to be a very good chair. I'm rather near the weight limit of a standard chair, and this chair has, so far, been pretty bomb proof; it's massively over-engineered.

It took long enough to get that chair out of the NHS, but it was worth the wait. I think you are sufficiently near me that you may know the joys of the Bedfordshire Wheelchair Service (and particularly the head therapist; my GP, my consultant physician and I all do not see eye to eye with her). If you're not in Bedfordshire, I'm happy for you. Especially if you are in Bedfordshire or the surrounding area, feel free to email me as it would be good to chat "off group".


Because I've derived the London parking data from a paper copy of the ALG Blue Badge holders' map, I'm subject to the map's copyright which, under UK copyright law, is in place even if it's not asserted. Indeed, technically, I need permission to derive another work (my POI file) from the map, but I could claim that as it the file is only for my own use, the derivation is within fair use provisions.

I'd be very surprised if I approached ALG and they were anything other than supportive of releasing the map as a POI file - but this isn't always the case. Sometimes copyright holders of anything relating to mapping or geodata are very reluctant to allow its public release, especially if it's in any publications that are sold (the ALG give away the Blue Badge maps - you just have to write or email for one). For example, if you converted the RADAR NKS toilet list to POI format, RADAR might object, especially if they were using the money derived from sales of the book to offset the costs of running the National Key Scheme.


If you wish to reformat the new memory card, the process is entirely reversible. I have heard it said elsewhere in the forums that TomTom recommend FAT32 with 2KByte clusters, but I haven't had it confirmed by them, and I settled on that for my cards as it's the most suitable for the mix of data I put on them. You should be able to find out the existing format of the card so that you can return to it in the future if you want to.

I use Anton Tomov's Pocket Mechanic to format cards on the Pocket PC; that makes it easy to discover the existing format. However, I've not had any problems using the formatter in Windows XP Professional with SD cards. The only cards I've ever had trouble formatting are SmartMedia cards, which are fussy things.

Whatever you do, if you're given the option of having a backup FAT, make sure you select it for the sake of robustness.

Some cards are slower than others. What would be interesting is if you post details of the markings on the back of your Kingston card - any letters or numbers found there, with a description of what they look like. You may find them hard to read - sometimes it's easier to read them if you put the card on a scanner.


Transfer of files - ActiveSync does do some file conversions that a card reader will not. I turn many of them off - that's all those relating to Word and Pocket Word - because I have the excellent TextMaker on my Pocket PC, which will use Word files directly without trashing them (edit a Word file in Pocket Word and Pocket Word strips out everything it doesn't support).

Excel / Pocket Excel files don't come into TomTom Navigator anywhere - the maps thing must be another issue. I find the TomTom Wizard a nuisance and a waste of memory, so I uninstall it. Without TomTom Wizard, I find that if I put my maps in the root directly of the storage card, everything works properly. For what it's worth, I don't have an ignore_my_docs on any of my storage cards; instead I create and use a My Documents folder for much of my data.


You can't edit the maps; there's various good reasons for this. My suggestion is that you set your home location to the nearest point on the roads shown on the map to your parking space. That way, you can at least plan routes away from the vehicle from Home; you may find a bit of replanning going on as you get going but things should soon settle down.


I think that's covered everything!



David

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