POI Loader Talk

It means ignore the named file with respect to manually setting alerts.

It means you want to be alerted when your actual speed is greater than the speed you put in the box and it would alert you when you are 36 seconds away from the point.

If you put zero in the box it would alert you at any speed you were driving. It would essentially be indicating that you are approaching a stop sign.

60 miles per hour is 88 feet per second, so if you were approaching said stop sign while driving 60 miles per hour, you would be alerted when you got within 3168 feet of the sign. (88 feet per second times 36 seconds)

When using poiloader in the manual mode and you select ignore that file will not be loaded to the gps.If you don't want alert for that custom poi you click next not ignore.

I stand corrected.

But then when has the obvious always been the correct path?

That's one place where the default is the correct option. Selecting custom folders is one of the 'advanced options' allowing you to build the resulting POI.GPI file in a designated location. This option is especially useful if you are updating several units with the same information. You put the file(s) in a folder on your PC and then copy it to the units.

As Charlie stated: it means ignore the file.

There are 3 ways to set a speed alert. The first is by using the @ symbol in an individual record. A sample would be "School Zone @20." For CSV files, this goes in the 3rd or "C" column.

The second method is to set the speed as a POI Loader option. This sets the same alert speed for all entries in the file. I personally haven't played with POI Loader to see if the lines with @ are overridden using this method, but I suspect not. The third method is to include a speed as part of the file name. Enforcement Zones20.CSV (GPX) does the same thing as method 2, but you don't have to run POI Loader in manual to set it.

As others have also stated, speed alerts are interpreted in a hierarchy. Entries using the @ symbol will override any other method. Setting a speed alert in POI Loader will override an alert as part of the file name, but you must run POI Loader in manual to set the speed. Also, there are two speed alerts. If you are at or below the alert speed the unit will notify normally or once. If you are above the speed, you get the "urgent" treatment in that the alert will keep repeating until you slow down to - or below - the alert speed. So zero isn't always the best option.

Yes, there is an upper limit. Gary Hayman discusses this on his web site. I don't have that link handy, but do a search on his name and you will find multiple links to his Nuvi Tips & Tricks site.

The loader isn't the friendliest piece of software out there and a lot of the little 'gotcha's' are covered in the help file, but then who reads those?

Perhaps the best piece of advice regarding POI Loader is to build your input carefully. Extra time spent on building the input files will make running POI Loader a lot simpler.

I personally use a lot of GPX files I build from converting the CSV ones posted here allowing me to run POI Loader in the Express Mode. With a GPX I can set either (or both) a speed or distance alert into each point (like using the @) or keying in a proximity when the file name shows in POI Loader. The disadvantage to converting files that have the @ symbol is this information is overwritten and only the default value in is used. The advantage is I set it once. Then, unless the file changes I don't have to remember the setting - it's part of the file. As examples, my RLC file is converted to a GPX weekly with a set distance of 600 feet. My speed camera file is massaged to add the @ symbol in all the lines containing a speed setting (and yes, I add 5 to the value). I then name the file En Cams25.csv. This sets a default alert of 25 for all those entries that don't have speed listed.

Why RLC and En Cams for for file names you ask - it gets around the keywords POI Loader looks for. Speed, GATSO, Redlight are all keywords POI Loader looks for and will set default values. I don't necessarily want those defaults.

All in all, POI Loader is a pretty sophisticated piece of software needing some help with the documentation. Running POI Loader - and running it well is akin to Rocket Science.

For those of you with IBM compatibles that want to play with converting CSV files to GPX, I strongly suggest you pick up a free copy of Extra_POI_Editor from Turboccc.wikispaces.com and experiment. Using EPE is a whole 'nother learning experience as this also is a very powerful program with a lot of hidden features.

There are a lot of good topics you can find information listed under poiloader help.Start with Proximity and alert information.Found this also on the web http://www.gpsinformation.org/penrod/poiloader/poiloader.htm... and it states 37 miles as max for setting distance for poiloader in manual mode.Not sure why anyone would want that much notice but sure there may be reason for it.

Ignore... explains one of my non-results.

I'll do a reload tomorrow and see if I've improved my understanding of the options.

When you run POI Loader, it asks if you want to use
Feet and MPH or
Meters and KPH.

POI Loader DOES NOT read the MPH and KPH tags in the POI name, only the @NNN, where NNN is the speed.

The POI-factory speed camera file mixes MPH and KPH in the same file. These mixed units will not work properly. They all have to be converted to one or the other and it doesn't matter which, MPH or KPH.

But it is simple with various text editors to convert. Here's the vi commands I use:
:%s/ [0-9][0-9] MPH/@&/ !# Put @ in front of speed
:%s/KM\/H/KPH/ !# Change KM/H to KPH
:%s/ [0-9][0-9] KPH/@&/ !# Put @ in front of speed
:%s/ 1[0-9][0-9] KPH/@&/ !# Put @ in front of speed
:%s/@ /@/ !# Remove extra space
:%s/50 KPH/30 MPH/ !# Convert KPH to MPH
:%s/60 KPH/36 MPH/
:%s/70 KPH/42 MPH/
:%s/80 KPH/48 MPH/
:%s/100 KPH/60 MPH/

The edits could include a longer list to add 5 MPH to each speed if preferred.

I use Gvim, a free GUI vi for Windows, a very powerful editor for us Unix transplants available at www.vim.org

What I thought:

By experimenting I find that the alert distance is not based on your actual driving speed, it is calculated based on the speed you put in the manual mode Default Alert Speed box.

The calculated alert distance is the distance that would be traveled by driving for 36 seconds at the “Default Alert Speed”.

On my 255W the resulting Distance is shown in miles (and not feet) so the calculation would be Distance (in miles) = .01 times speed in miles per hour.

[Distance (miles) = (36 seconds divided by 3600 seconds per hour) times speed in miles per hour]

The exception is that any speed under 20 miles per hour results in a distance of 0.2 mile.

Thus:
The alert distance when zero is put in the box is 0.2 mile
The alert distance when 15 mph is put in the box is 0.2 mile
The alert distance when 60mph is put in the box will be 0.6 mile

I've found the opposite; that is the point at which is starts alerting is 36 seconds away based on the speed you're going at the moment. Whether or not it continues to alert depends on the speed setting of the POI. Therefore, having a 1 MPH setting results in an alert at 36 seconds out regardless, but it won't stop alerting until you're under 1 MPH.

I have a couple of speed limit POI's set up where it transitions from 55 MPH to 45 MPH. If I'm approaching at a higher speed, it alarms further out. Other speed limit POI's I have are near stop signs; it will alarm on the approach to the stop sign, then again upon starting up after stopping.

I know that is also what others have stated and it is the way I thought it should be, based on that being the logical way to do it, but I am not getting that result.

This is a screen shot of a poi from a simple csv file with no speed information in the names, loaded with POI Loader in manual mode and 30 mph in the “Default Alert Speed” box.

Note the alert distance was calculated as 36 seconds away based on the alert speed. (The screen shot was taken while I was sitting on my couch at home.)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v469/evstringer/GPS/30mph....

You using simulation and others experience while traveling. My speed indicators seem to be based on the actual speed I'm traveling, but then I only have a speed setting for cameras.

I was not using simulation (the ‘GPS Simulator” was “Off”). The screen shot I posted would be the same that I would see if I were actually driving.

The wording in POI Loader seems to indicate that the alert distance for speed poi is based on the alert speed rather than actual speed:

Notice that the above states that POI Loader calculates the "Prompt Distance" for a speed related poi– it does not say the GPSr will calculate it.

POI Loader has no way of knowing how fast you will be driving as you approach the poi so, could not determine the alert distance based on actual speed being traveled.

You have brought up some interesting points about poiloader calculating based on speed information.Looking at number 3 it does read that way.

Using this poi in a csv file:

-103.264920,44.077535,Canyon Lake & Humphrey,Rapid City South Dakota 57702

and with POI Loader in manual mode I put 1 mph in the “Default Alert Speed” box.

After POI Loader sent the poi to my 255W, I went to [Where To], [Extras] etc to view the poi and the GO screen shows the following:
========================================
Canyon Lake & Humphrey

Alert Information:
Distance: 0.2 mi
Speed: 1.0mph

========================================
Notice that the minimum distance of 0.2 mi was used rather than the 36 second distance (0.01 mi for a speed of 1mph).

So if you were alerted at 0.2 miles away as indicated in the GO screen above, you would get 720 seconds warning if you were traveling 1 mph and would get 12 seconds warning if you were traveling 60 mph.

Note that to get 36 seconds warning at 60 mph you would have to be alerted at 0.6 miles instead of 0.2 miles.

Road test alert speed/distance

I made a csv file named “SturgisTrip.csv” with several points along Interstate 90 west of where I live. Typical point looks like this:

-103.3028984,44.1537523,I-90 and Mill Rd,

I used POI Loader in manual mode to send the points to my 255W, and put 20 mph in the “Default Alert Speed” box.

On my 255W, the points shown under {Where to?} {Extras} {Custom POIs} {StrugisTrip} all show the Alert Distance and Speed as shown by this typical poi:
…………………………………………………………..
I-90 and Mill Rd

Alert Information:
Distance: 0.2 mi
Speed: 20.0mph
……………………………………………………………

Note that the alert distance was calculated by POI Loader and is the distance that would be traveled in 36 seconds while traveling at the alert speed of 20 mph.

I headed toward Sturgis with my cruise control set at 60mph.

As I approached each of these points I noted that I was alerted 0.2 miles away and I counted approximately 12 seconds from the time the alert went off to when I came to the physical point.
(Note that agrees with the time that one would calculate it would take to travel 0.2 miles while driving at 60mph.)

That and since the distance that would be traveled at 60 mph for 36 seconds would be .6 miles, it is apparent to me that my 255W does not recalculate the alert distance based on actual speed at which the point is being approached and thus does not give the alert 36 seconds ahead of arriving at the point when one is driving at other than the “Default Alert Speed” entered in the manual mode.

Indeed the alert distance is that as calculated by POI Loader and is the distance that would be traveled in 36 seconds at the “Default Alert Speed” entered in the manual mode.

The actual amount of time it will take to get to the point after the first alert can be calculated thus:

Time(sec) = [Alert Distance(mi) divided by actual speed(mph)] times 3600(sec/hour)

I believe the same result would result if the Express Mode were used provided that the 20 mph speed was indicated in the name of each point, or in the name of the file containing the points.

Perhaps other models recalculate the alert distance based on actual driven speed but I am certain my 255W does not.