Really...really hard time with proximity alerts on nuvi

From the Menu page, you can select Volume. I assume that the volume is set toward the high side of its range and that the box next to Mute is NOT checked.

Ok,

Today is a glorious day in navigation!

For any other Nuvi Newbie user that might have a similar problem getting proximity alerts to work ...this is what I FINALLY found was the culprit....

Lattitude / Longitude translation error.

Apparently, Mapsource can provide Long/Lat data in many formats but the default will not work on a Nuvi 205 (at least mine). so if you go to EDIT ---> PREFERENCES ---> POSITION in Mapsource in the Grid text box choose Lat/Lon hddd.ddddd it will start working! VOILA!!!

I searched HIGH and LOW and even spent a great deal of time on the phone with Garmin and they never suggested that. Nor did I ever see it in my searching.

The reason I had problems with my data in POI loader was a totally different situation. I was trying to filter out data I didnt need from the redlight and Restarea files using a spread sheet. Problem was that unknown to me, the spreadsheet was truncating off a lot of the Lat/Lon numbers and so the POI's and Waypoints ended up being WAY far from where they were supposed to be.

Had I simply imported the files exactly as they had been downloaded they would have worked just fine all along.....but NOOOOOOOOO I wanted to customize the data. Silly me.

So FINALLY I can get Proximity point alerts and the world is once again a merry place

MP

Welcome to the club of "I'll do it my way" folks (which includes me) who learn the hard way.

Thanks for posting what had happened. Hopefully someone will read it and avoid a similar problem.

Well, after being elated yesterday about finally getting POI proximity alerts to work, it seems it worked on only one file and not on the others?

I've tried to look at the one (with a single entry) vs the others (with lists of entries) but they seem formatted the same.

Even if I directly load a file exactly as it is from POI factory I don't get proximity alerts.

I'm using the manual option and selection the 2nd alert option and I've tried entering various distances (in feet) to no avail.

This is a bit depressing

As you have discovered setting proximity alerts can be a hit-or-miss situation.

Standard proximity alerts can be thought of as a box that is bout 50 feet wide and the alert distance long. This "box" will be from the POI to the street you are on and if you enter the box, you will get an alert. The box also sits parallel to the street, so if the point is more than 50 feet or so from the street, you will not get the proximity alert.

Check the location of the POI using something that will allow you to enter the coordinates and display the location. Google Earth and www.itouchmap.com/latlong.html both work extremely well. This can explain why some work when you are driving and others don't.

It would also help us diagnose your problem if we knew which files you are using. A lot of the restaurant and store files mark the building and they may be more than the 50 feet or so from the road.

Double check that you have alerts turned on in your GPS, (and that the two files your refer to are the same kind of alert.)

As a_user says, tell us which files.

Let me ask... did you load both files during a single run of POI Loader? Did you use POI Loader manually or did you let it make its own decisions? If manually, did it ask and did you set "both" files with the same numbers (and what were they?)

Something I'm not quite clear on. Does setting a proximity alert using manual mode in POILoader override an alert built into the POI file, or does it add an alert at the distance you specify?

This is stright from poiloader help.

You can use Manual mode to override the default speed and proximity information included in the file names of the data files you are loading. For example, if you are loading a file named "Speed_30," but you want the default speed to be 25, you can enter a speed of 25 in Manual mode. See Understanding Speed and Proximity Alert Information for more information.

I had read most if not all the information before posting. I seem to be getting multiple alerts for Rest Areas. The file name contains nothing to determine the alert speed or distance, but the data might.

[quote=Aimless
I had read most if not all the information before posting. I seem to be getting multiple alerts for Rest Areas. The file name contains nothing to determine the alert speed or distance, but the data might.

The rest stop combined file http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6643 has no alerts built in.The only way to get them to alert you is by using poiloader in manual mode and setting the alert or building the alert in with a gpx file.Alos using certain key words in the file name.For example TourGuide,speed,redlight,gasto and mobile will give you a 1/4 mile alert in express mode for poiloader.

You may be getting an alert for a Rest Area which is actually in the opposite direction of travel.
Just look at the screen to see what direction the Alert is for. ie: WB / EB etc

Sometimes I cannot separate the coordinates enough to avoid this.

That is the file I'm using.

To answer other questions:

I got the file from POI_Factory

I've called it "RestAreasCombined" and I ran it in manual mode setting the alert to 5 miles.

My impression is I'm getting the alert at my designated distance, but then again when I am closer, maybe 3 miles, and I thought there was one more right as I got there. It is a little difficult to know the exact distances from the location.

However, the fact there is nothing in the file itself means it is coming from somewhere else.

It is possible that one on the other side of the highway, or 2 in close proximity is what's confusing me. Will run it in simulator mode and see if I can tell.

Thanks for all the help.

This will happen when the rest areas are close together on the opposite sides of the road. The West Virginia Turpike is especially bad for this since it is so narrow. I get an alert on every rest area on the turnpike, no matter which direction I am traveling.

I get multiple alerts as well. Sometimes twice after I passed already intersection with the red light camera.
I guess the best way is to look at the screen to see where the icon is.

OK, I believe I understand what's happening. The primary cause for the multiple alerts is the fact that there are 4 different rest areas in close proximity to each other, 2 for each direction of the highway, so the alerts overlap. There is one truck rest area/weigh station on each side, and one rest area for the rest of us (no trucks) on each side. I would have thought the areas on the other side of the highway would be far enough to not cause the alert, but apparently they are not (thanks everyone for pointing this out as a possibility). However, one of the confusing aspects of this is that the small info popup that you get with an alert does not go away until you've passed that location, so when you get the subsequent alerts you're still seeing the information for the previous alert and may look like a duplicate alert. Once you pass it then the next one will pop up.

Thanks for posting what you found. Maybe you can continue and we can all learn from it.

You know how to run in simulation mode so maybe that will help debug the problems.

I am interested in the "overlap" alerts and do not have any ready answers. What happens if you touch the alert or scroll closer?

Since you did not have TourGuide in the name of the POI file, you were operating "along the road" for alerts. I have read that the "side" distance from the "along the road" travel is in the 50 to 75 feet range so the problem may be in exactly how close to the road the coordinates were set. Also I am wondering if curves in the highway cause the GPS "road" to "wander" internally from the actual road surface. These ar things a simulation might reveal.

Thanks again for the report.

jgerman,
Thanks for the encouragement.

It is not clear to me whether this is a very unusual circumstance, and therefore not really worthy of a lot of effort to get it just right, or whether it is actually fairly common. In this case I'm not talking about rest areas opposite eact other, but that fact you have the addition of two truck only rest areas, all within close proximity. One thing I don't know, the exact distance between the two types of rest areas on the same side of the highway. A slight tweak of the alert distance might resolve it, at least in this case.

Also, I believe I did try to tap the alert on the screen, but nothing happened. However, I really need to try it again and be certain.

There might be any number of factors. I wonder if something as simple as traveling in the left lane as opposed to the right lane would matter enough to get the alerts for the opposite side of the highway. One of the reasons I didn't think the other side would trigger an alert in this case is because there are HOV lanes between the two direction of travel lanes, so the road is that much wider.

Will let you know if I can determine anything more about it.

Aimless,

If there are HOV lanes, one would think that rest areas on the other side of the highway would be more than the 50 to 75 feet I am told constitutes being "along the road".

We had a posting several weeks ago about rest areas where the coordinates were not quite right. If you are familiar with Estra_POI_Editor, you might open the file in EPE and search for these rest areas and see exactly where the coordinates point.

That's what I would think.

Something I thought of regarding testing it in simulation, is it really the same as actually driving it? Would I get different results?

I haven't used the program, but I'll take a look.

Aimless,

I do not know if it is exactly the same but have to believe that it is close.

I pulled the coordinates out of the file and simply used Google to locate them. I'm assuming doing that is accurate enough.

One truck rest area is marked at the very beginning of the exit lane. The other truck rest area is a little further along the exit lane, not right at the start.

One non-truck rest area appears to be positioned in the wrong place, not at the rest area at all but at an exit ramp. The other non-truck rest area might normally be positioned correctly, however, this particular rest area I believe has a very long approach because it combines the rest area entrance with highway exits and entrances. In other words, you have to actually get off the highway well before the rest area itself. An alert distance of a couple miles might be fine to make it.

I think at the very least the one non-truck rest area should be corrected. The second non-truck rest area should probably be repositioned to account for the long service road approach. The truck rest areas might be fine. I don't know if any of this matters as far as the multiple warnings goes. Marking the position a little further off the highway might help for the problem of getting alerted to the rest area on the other side of the highway, if that is what's happening. How much off the highway I don't know. But as far as overlapping alerts for the two rest areas on the same side of the road, that's probably not easily "fixed" other than maybe an alert distance that is shorter. But this is just one case and there are probably other similar cases. The main thing is that you get alerted.

I'd like to tweak them in the copy of the file I have and try it in simulation mode. Unfortunately, my time is a little tight, so it might take me a little time to get to it.

The Rest Area file may not be the best file for your testing. It appears as if every effort has been made to mark the entrance ramps so an "along the route" alert can be generated when you approach the exit. The placement of the marker will vary between programs because of differences in how the map/satellite view is presented on your computer and the actual spot when at the particular location.

I personally wouldn't complain over the fact I received an alert for both the east and west bound entrance to a rest area, I would be thankful someone took the time to mark the approximate position.

I wasn't complaining, simply trying to understand why I was seeing the multiple alerts. As I said in my post, "The main thing is that you get alerts." It would appear it is simply a result of the circumstances, multiple rest areas close together.

Thanks for the caution, but how much variance are we talking about. In the case of one rest area it doesn't even mark the rest area, as I stated, and in the other it does mark the rest area, but at the end of a long approach not at the beginning. Again, maybe I'm mistaken, or missed something. I will leave it for others to make the determination and correct.

The four in question are:

-77.2875, 38.64105 NB I-95 (NT) Not correct?
-77.2984, 38.61836 SB I-95 (NT) Maybe move?

-77.3151, 38.59802 SB I-95 Truck
-77.3166, 38.59188 NB I-95 Truck

For the one that I think needs correcting the coordinates I came up with are:

-77.298898, 38.615450

I just checked those coordinates (-77.298898 & 38.615450) using Google Maps Latitude and Longitude and it appears that the coordinates are set at the entrance to the rest area. This is the way that they should be set. The one that you have marked-Not Correct?-could possibly be moved just a bit. Maybe to -77.2876 & 38.640827. But, where it's now located should not prove to be a big problem. You should still get the alert in plenty of time.

This is satellite view for 36.64105,-772875 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=...

Satellite view for 38.61836,-77.2984 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=...

Satellite view 38.59188,-77.3166 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=...

38.59802,-77.3151 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=...

The coordinates that you say you checked are the ones I came up with, not the ones in the file. And those coordinates were suggested as replacement to the ones I felt were incorrect. But since I am mistaken, and the coordinates in the file are correct then then there is no need to change them. I guess my experience with placement using Google is not accurate.

The first one is the one I've been questioning. It is not the rest area. It looks like the entrance to a fly over that I think puts you in the HOV lanes. If you look further south, using the coordinates I proposed, I believe that is the rest area.

I believe you are right after looking at this view for 38.615450,-77.298898.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=...

And just FYI regarding the second link. That is the one that I was referring to that actually has a long approach on a service road before you actually get to the rest area. It is marked well enough to exit in time, so probably isn't an issue, just something I noticed.

I believe all the others pretty good.The one you have question about just let MrKenFL know about it.He is the expert on these and this is one of the best files on site as far as coordinates.

I just rechecked coordinates that I used for the entry ramp off the highway on the 4 Rest areas in question with Google Earth.
Basically, I found nothing really wrong - I massaged the coordinates in the 5th and 6th place after the decimal points.
Sometimes people check coordinates using the rounded off coordinates when viewed within Excel or Works.
I try to get the coordinates to the 6th place. Rounding off the numbers can place the coordinates off somewhat.
At this time, I don't see any problem.
But then again, my 74 year old eyes could be deceiving me.

If my calculations are correct, coordinates at the equator with 6 decimal places to the right of the decimal point (.000001 degrees) is about 4.4 inches. 5 decimal places (.00001 degrees) is about 3 ft. 7 inches, 4 decimal places (.0001 degrees) is about 36 1/2 feet.

I got into this thread out of an interest in the "along the road" alerting. Some use 50 feet as the off road distance. Others say it is up to 75 feet.

If there are HOV lanes involved, one would assume multiple additional lanes on both sides and that the distance from the, say, EB side of the highway to the WB side would be more than 75 feet.

Do we really know what the alert separation is?

Alternatively, if the alert distance is far away maybe the Nuvi geometry is looking in space but not really "along the road" on the ground.

Any additional thoughts?

Is the first one 36.64105,-77.2875 http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=... .If you zoom in on it it doesn't look like the rest area.If you put these coordinates in and zoom it looks more like the rest area.
38.615450,-77.298898.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=...

Unless I'm reading it wrong - I have the following in the file at the point where you EXIT I-95, then you following the access roadway to the Rest Area entrance

-77.287412,38.641079,"(NT)REST AREA NB I-95 MM155","RR, PT, VM, Pets, HF"

-77.298391,38.618358,"(NT)REST AREA SB I-95 MM155","RR, PT, VM, Pets, HF"

Maybe I'll get a chance to check it out today since I'm heading home from our trip and will pass that area today - depending on whether we stop and visit friends on the way.

In either way - I'll research the areas further when I get home early next week.

Regarding the northbound NT rest area, look at the ground level view in Google for the point you reference and note the sign indicating restricted lanes (HOV) and gates in the closed position.

I have research with Google Maps and modified my Master file to make the corrections.

The NB Rest Area (NT) is now shown in my Master file at
-77.298819,38.615515

Will be updated at POI Factory after I get home next week !

Thanks for the correction info.

Hope youre having a nice trip.Hopefully we will get on the road in August for cross country.Got delayed for the June start.