Alert when approaching POI

When using the poi loader you have to set that to install on manual and not express. Also all the .bmp, .mps, and .csv file should be all named the same.

To the OP, did you SET an alert when you loaded the Custom POIs? Regular Custom POIs don't alert by default.

You must set an alert if you want an alert to sound. You can run POI Loader in Manual Mode and set whatever alerts you want. Or you can put some alert information in the files themselves.

You can do so in a variety of ways.

If you run POI Loader in Manual Mode instead of Express Mode, you can set whatever alerts you wish.

It's important to understand how the proximity alerts work on Garmin auto units.

The alerts do NOT function as a radius, but rather they function as an "along the road/route" alert.

In order to get an alert several things must be true.

1. You must set an alert either through information in the file or via POI Loader being run in Manual Mode and an alert being manually entered.

2. Alerts must be enabled on your unit.

3. You must be traveling on the road on which the POI is located and traveling in the direction of the POI.

4. The POI must be sufficiently close to the road (typically 50 feet or less).

Check out Phil's great guide for more information about alerts.

Hornbyp's guide to setting alerts with POI Loader
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6764

MM -

In preparation for a trip to Lake Powell, I created a .gpx file for 5 truck stops that are along the route for possible refueling stations. In the .gpx file, I set the proximity alert to 1000 feet. Obviously, none of the truck stops are directly on the freeway, so referencing your comment, does that mean that the alerts I set will not work unless I'm actually on the street?

If you set the truck stop as your destination, you'll get an alert at 1000'. Otherwise, you'll only get an alert as you leave the freeway and turn into one of them

I'm sure MM will agree that to get the proximity alerts to work with Custom POIs the "location", in this case a truck stop, would have to be within 50-75 ft. off the roadway you are travelling on. Since most of the truck stops are much further off the highway your chance of the proximity alert working is very low.
You can always bring up the Custom POI for the next Truck stop and punch "GO" to take you to it and the alert will work when you get close to it on the sideroad.

John, if you adjust the coordinates for your 5 locations so that the coordinates are near to the freeway, then you should get the alerts. If the locations are a greater distance that that specified then you won't get alerted.

Note, that you might want to set an alert greater than 1000 feet since that's less that a quarter of a mile and might not give you enough advance notice.

Since you are only talking about 5 locations, you can move each POI to the freeway where the offramp begins for the street on which the truckstop is located. Since the Flying J's are so easily spotted, it shouldn't be difficult to tell which way to turn when you get to the end of the offramp.

Also, I'd recommend a greater alert distance. 1000 ft will probably not give you enought time to check you fuel gauge, make a decision about whether you need fuel, change lanes, and get off comfortably at freeway speeds. On freeways, I think most users recommend an alert distance of a mile or two.

Finally, there is another solution and that is the use of a tourguide instead of a normal alert. Supposedly, tourguides operate with an alert that is radius-based and you need not be on the same road.

Edit: MM beat me to the punch **again**.

again thanks so much for everyone's help and after reading comments i have just one question - if i set my alert for about a mile or so say for the flying j does this mean that as i am approaching the exit for the fuel stop that the alert will sound and does this also apply for rest areas - thanks again

CW, don't get hung up on what an alerts is. An alert is merely an attention sound that happens when you come within some USER-DEFINED distance of some USER-DEFINDED arbitrary point on the earth. You can use a tool such as Google Earth to locate each of the stops, set its push pin where YOU decide the ramp from the highway starts into the truck stop, rest area, weigh station, scenic lookout, etc., and read the coordinates.
Then, using POI Loader in manual mode, YOU set the distance to where you want to be alerted. No mystery. Once you learn how, it'll be a piece of cake.
IMO, Google Earth is the cat's pajamas when it comes to finding a POINT's latitude and longitude.

If you set your alert for a mile and if the location is set up as described above, you will get an alert starting at a mile away. And you will continue to set the alert for the entire alert distance.

You can set alerts for rest areas the same way. If you download the COMBINED Rest Area file from this site, those locations have all been adjusted to be close to the roadway.

Tell me more about creating tourguides. Is there a post about that somewhere?

Sounds like that would be annoying!

I put the word "Tourguide" in the search field and it showed:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/8748

The audible alert is not continuous for the whole radius. Just when you enter it does it sound. Ihe visual alert does show in the small banner at the top under the NEXT TURN location. The length of the audible is up to you as to what you want to say as "Rest area 1 mile ahead" etc.

Not any more annoying as any other kind of alert.

This will answer some of my questions too.

Thanks to all-

Thanks for this info... I was having the same problems... this is a great site... I'm learning a lot!

I had similar issues using the School POI file. I wanted an alert whenever I got near a school so that I could watch my speed and also watch out for kids.

Altough I am no expert with tour guides, I added the following to the name of my POI file: Tourguide_124

When you run POI Loader manually, that fill will come up. You can change the settings a bit but in my case, it warns me in advance that I am nearing a school and I don't have to draive on the street right in front of the school. And best of all, I do not have to learn how to build tourguide files

Ah - grasshopper ... when using POILoader 'Magic spells', you have to get them just right

(Using Automatic mode)

If you put the phrase Tourguide_124 in the filename, it will just recognise the digits 124 and generate a 124mph, along-road SPEED alert. This will trigger at 6547' (but only if you are exceeding 124mph!)

However, if you put the phrase TourGuide in the file, you will get a 6547' PROXIMITY alert, regardless of speed. This will be a radius based alert, rather than being along the road. You would need a match .mp3 file containing the alert audio.
(POILoader will see the case-sensitive phrase TourGuide - it will use the digits to compute the alert DISTANCE, but then discard the speed component.)

Eye-of-toad, leg-of-newt. Use the force wisely