Redlight files vs. TourGuide files

On the 265wt without sox.exe installed I've come to the conclusion that TourGuide type files are utterly useless. With sox.exe installed I get an audio cue with no icon until I'm BY the location and the icon is NOT in the correct position relative to my location.

redlight type files are essentially the same except I get a beep instead of wav file announcement.

I've come to the conclusion that a favorite displaying an icon in the correct relative position is FAR more useful when IDing locations off the highway.

So that leads me to .... is there a way to install series of locales from a long csv designed as a POI into Favorites or do I have to manually save each and every one?

I have the 265WT and have the 006D135900.GPI file.

I am just now testing with TourGuide entered in the file name and it appears to work. I have only tested using the simulation and I am getting voice notification where I did not before.

The redlight files must operate on a radius. I have gotten the alarm when driving on a parallel street and therefore have reduced my distance to 800ft instead of the default.

You see I WANT that type of alert (but not for cameras - for Burger Kings...but I also need the correct relative position of the location simultaneously.
Auditory alerts work in redlight files but not in TourGuide unless you install Sox.exe and convert the mp3 file to a wav file. Whether I hear a "beep" from a redlight type file or a auditory message "There is a Burger King around here someplace but good luck finding it" makes little diff to me.

The TourGuide file I'm using is a list of Burger Kings. I do a lot of highway driving and I want to know when there is a BK anywhere in the area (not on the highway itself).

Locations saved as food favorites (not pois) give me more advanced noticed and the correct relative position of the BK's.

My problem is the position of the icon when it pops up from TourGuide is wrong relative to my position and the icon frequently pops up AFTER I go by the location. (like the BK symbol may pop up in front of me after I've already passed it)

Auditory alerts aren't very useful when driving at 65 mph unless accompanied by the correct relative position of the location. It isn't practical to pull off the breakdown lane and look up the location.

TourGuide may have some value for some purpose for somebody but it has no value for my needs.

Oh, and I figured out that 006D135900.GPI file has something to do with airport info that serves no purpose but does no harm. I was afraid it was a corrupt file.

You are spending a lot of time on this and my experience is you will be disabling the BK alerts in less time than it takes you to get them working to your satisfaction. I can think of no reason I would want to be alerted about the location of a restaurant every time I came within a couple of miles of one. I probably passed over 50 within the area I traveled just today. I had enough distraction listening to directions and warnings about cameras without having "Approaching a Burger King" constantly repeating.

Most new users go overboard on setting alerts - I know I did before disabling all but a very select few. That way I don't miss any important announcements. It is just so much easier to punch Menu->Where To->Extras->Custom POI than to listen to the GPS announce every BK within 3 miles.

Sadly, I am addicted to diet Coke...not just ANY diet Coke....guess where I like it best (got to be from a soda fountain).

Now as I guzzle the fizzy caffeine delivery solution guess another reason I need to stop more frequently than there are rest stops?

I don't actually EAT there oddly enough.

MckyD's are more numerous but their diet Coke tastes funny (to me anyway) so I just use BK as a rest stop and refueling station.

How often do I stop? About once an hour. I enjoy the break.

As for the time I'm putting in...it's teaching me all about how to operate my 265wt. That is more important to me than finding BK's actually.

Now if you're worried about me turning out to be an unsub in the next episode of Criminal Minds you needn't worry. I'm pretty normal otherwise.

Thanks for your help.

If BK has Coke, I think in my neck of the woods, McD's has Pepsi (competition ), that's probably why it tastes funny to you!

TourGuide changes my alerts to radius. I now get alerts when traveling on the interstate with the POIs located off of the access roads. It did not do that before. I had to be on the access road.

IMO it would be nice if there were an option to turn on or off alerts w/o muting everything

You may not like it, but you can turn proximity alerts off. Like mute, it turns them all off and you can't say turn off BK while leaving RLC on.

It's sometimes hard to have it your way with a garmin

(Spits 7Up on monitor..)
HAHAhahahaha...

Obviously I don't know HOW to turn off proximity alerts on my Garmin 265wt. Don't forget if you only have TourGuide type files you have no proximity points listed under tools/settings. Even when the option IS there for redlight type files it only allows you to choose steady tone or short beeps. No "mute" option. Obviously, I don't want to mute the directions I get while navigating - only the alerts.

BTW, if I set my redlight type pois distance manually at 15000 feet I still get no beeps until I am about 100 feet away.

It depends on your unit, but if you uncheck custom poi it will not sound alert tomes for any enabled poi.

If I uncheck custom POI's I lose the Icons. I wanted to keep the icons and lose the noise.

Actually, now that I've added sox.exe with my own novice making some silly remark I don't mind the noise. Ever hear of a guy who is in love with the sound of his own voice? LOL

What if you recorded a very short duration of silence (or something with REALLY low volume) and specify that for your audio alert file? I would think it won't know what's IN the audio alert file. It should just 'play' the silent audio alert file when the alerts are triggered. That way, you would still have the icons show on the map, the alert message would appear at the top of the screen, but you would hear nothing. It's worth a shot...

Have you looked at these FAQs-
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6764
or
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/13824 ?

You might be interested in my article

RUN SILENT -- RUN NO-PEEP
------- Silent and Semi-Silent Alerts

It's on Page 2 of the Custom POI section

You will find:
-- soft sound
-- soft sound with silence
-- silence

in .mp3 and .wav versions

You can listen to them and or download them from the WEB page

Garmin nuvi Tricks, Tips, etc

http://bit.ly/garmin_gps_tricks

Gary Hayman

I don't think you can have it your way with TourGuide files. They are supposed to be set up as a self-conducted tour of an area or attraction. They are intended to play a mp3 file whenever you get within a certain distance of an entry. The mp3 file should be different and will need to be referenced in each entry.

There doesn't seem to be a default alert sound for TourGuide files, at least my 750 doesn't play one.

If you have a BK on the corner, you will need POIs for each street. If you set the alert distance to 15,000 feet (2.8 miles) the damn thing will be going off all the time but you will be too far away for an icon to show on the display.

Good luck
Jack j