Proximity alerts

and withing approximately 50' or so of the road, if the rest stop is at a greater distance you will not get an alert... This could be the problem..

Are you using the wav file for the alert or the built in alert(bong)?

You don't need to add the name "redlight" to your rest stop file name.

When you fire up POI loader, it will process each of the POI files in sequence.

When it hits the "rest stop" POI list, there will be a choice you can click "this POI has proximity alerts" or something like that. Make sure it is clicked!! It is not clicked by default for the non-redlight / speed camera files.

The rest stop is off the freeway I travel everyday. I have the proximity distance set to 3500 feet so it should alert me while I am on the freeway approaching the rest stop. Everything seems to work correctly when I set the rest stop as a destination.

Steve

The built in alert.

I did both. I used "redlight" in the file name and I set the proximity and distance in POI Loader. Do you think this is what causes the problem? I will remove "redlight" from the file name and give that a try.

Thanks,
Steve

Like aophiuchus stated.The alert will only sound when you are travelling on the same road and the coordinates are no more then 50 ft off the road.Not sure that is your problem though.The author of these files has the coordinates set at the entrance to the rest stop.When you set as the destination is the alarm going off at the entrance or at the rest stop location?

Edit.The author of the Oregon rest stop is not the same as the one who done the rest stop combined file.Could be the location of the coordinates.MrKenFL is the author of the combined rest stop files and has gotten good reviews on them.

The distance from the location to sound the alert, so when you are 3500 feet from the location (as long as it is on the road and not more than 50' away from the road) you should get an alert... The reason for using "redlight" is so you can load it in express mode...

Edit btw which location is it? maybe the coordinates need to be adjusted...

When you use the word redlight in the file it gives you a alert of 1/4 mile and you don't have to use manual mode.Using manual mode with redlight in the file name just over-rides that setting.

Just a suggestion look at the combined rest stopfile and compare the coordinates to the file you downloaded and see if different.

Is the Oregon file has the coord set for the the rest stop and no at the enterance then the alert will probably not work. If it is a interstate rest stop then I would download the reststop combined file that Mrken has loaded up. Then open both files and compare the coord. If it is just state road rest stops then put the coord in goggle earth and it will show you where the coord is actualy set. The alert will not work if you are on the highway and the coord is set inside the rest stop. Hope this helps alittle. good luck

And the first one I checked was not at the exit but located in the rest area.... So quite possibly the coordinates are more than 50' from the highway...

Steve,

This may be way off base but worth checking. Are you sure the rest stop you're passing is actually 'in' the POI file? Unless you've added it yourself there's a possibility it was missed when the file was assembled.

If you're not certain, get the coordinates of the stop, open the CSV file and make sure the coordinate is actually there.

Cheers

Edit Also I have looked at several locations in that file and one I checked is definitely more than 50' from the highway...

I did some checking also. I think you guys are right, this coordinate is off the main freeway. I will load the combined file and see how that works.

Thanks to everyone for all the help.

Steve

Let us know how you make out with the combined file.

Try making it a TourGuide file and then see if it alerts, then you do not have to be on the same road and/or within 50 feet. (Simply add TourGuide to the file name exactly as I typed it and put in your distance for being alerted)

Many rest stops are well off the highway so TourGuide may be a better way to go.

I agree with Tampa8 ... instead of using a proximity alert ... put the word "TourGuide" (make sure it's capitalized just like I wrote it) in both the POI title and the POI bmp and the POI mp3 (or wav, if your GPS isn't MP3 compatible).

Load the file manually ... and you can select the distance you want to be alerted. Can even put 10,400 for an alert two miles out ... so you can give the occupants a chance to voice their needs (and put their shoes on for a quick stop).

Only problem with this approach is you will also get alerts for rest stops on the other side of the expressway (I guess if the need is great, you can pull a u-turn) (I'm joking. I'm joking ... please don't ever pull a u-turn on an expressway).

IF you are using the 'Rest Areas Combined" POI file it is not necessary to make the file into a Tourguide.
The "Rest Areas Combined" has the coordinates for the rest area set to the entrance ramp to the rest area and will alert, making sure you load with POI Loader in the manual mode with a reasonable distance - most users use 3/4 to 1 mile !
You can also load with POI Loader in the express mode IF you use any of the "keywords" in the title of the file.

As far as "false alarms" caused by rest areas in the opposite direction of travel - the alert should show you which direction of travel the Rest Area is in !
Ie: EB, WB, NB, SB

Well, there ya go! Now that you know exactly where it is you don't need the POI anymore I'd guess there's even a sign a mile or so back that says "rest area ahead" or something similar.

I like your sense of humor John. Especially this early in the morning. I have driven this section of the freeway every day for over 30 years so yes, I know exactly where this rest stop is and there is a nice big blue sign that says so. I use this rest stop as a test site so should know if the changes I made work, which I am sure they will. After this test I will probably try the other suggestion regarding the TourGuide file name. I'll try to update later.

Thanks,
Steve

I have changed the rest area POI for Kentucky to only alert me in the direction I am traveling.

I did this by using MapSource and putting TourGuide in the name. and placing the POI 1 mile ( could be any distance you want)before the entrance ramp to the rest area. and setting the alert distance to 0.01 (approx 52 feet).

This will give you in most cases only the alert in the direction you are traveling. If you do this and experience that some rest areas still give you both alerts the you might tweak the ones that do to aproximity distance of 0.007 (37 feet).

A little experimenting in the proximity distance will help you in finding the distance just right for you.

A lot will be determined by the width of the median between the two road surfaces, and the amount of lanes 2 or 3.