Newbie Question on POIs

 

I have a Nuvi 880, but have used computer-based navigation for years (e.g. Delorme's Street Atlas) while RVing. I am trying to determine the value of using custom POIs on my Nuvi (such as Walmart POIs). So far, I have two conclusions:

(1) There doesn't seem to be a way to have all the Walmart icons (from a custom POI file) just show up everywhere on the map, as you might want when planning a trip or looking at the map far ahead of your current location.

(2) The ways RVers get value from a custom POI file for Walmarts would be either selecting a Walmart from a list (ordered by distance from their current location), or by seeing a Walmart icon pop up on their map as they neared it (if the POI file has "TourGuide" or "distance alert" properties).

Are these conclusions correct? Or are there ways travelers get more value from using custom POI files?

Bill Halberstadt

Different purposes

Halberstadt wrote:

I have a Nuvi 880, but have used computer-based navigation for years (e.g. Delorme's Street Atlas) while RVing. I am trying to determine the value of using custom POIs on my Nuvi (such as Walmart POIs). So far, I have two conclusions:

(1) There doesn't seem to be a way to have all the Walmart icons (from a custom POI file) just show up everywhere on the map, as you might want when planning a trip or looking at the map far ahead of your current location.

(2) The ways RVers get value from a custom POI file for Walmarts would be either selecting a Walmart from a list (ordered by distance from their current location), or by seeing a Walmart icon pop up on their map as they neared it (if the POI file has "TourGuide" or "distance alert" properties).

Are these conclusions correct? Or are there ways travelers get more value from using custom POI files?

Bill Halberstadt

The 880 is great for navigating but lousy for trip planning. The Delorme software is great for planning, but lousy for navigating (assuming you have a place to mount the PC).

Setting proximity (distance) alerts is some help, but that assumes you also load icons for display and sound files for custom alerts. The Nuvi won't display custom icons unless an alert is set, and then you have to zoom in real close, like 300 feet in order for it to display. The advantage is that a custom poi is something you can route to and it can display amenities if they are in the file. As you search for custom poi, you can tell it to search along your route if you have one active, your destination, or near you in any direction. It only displays the 1st 50 locations though.

--
Illiterate? Write for free help.

Custom POIs show up when

Custom POIs show up when zoomed in to 300 ft level. They don't have to be alerts to display.

--
Hawk - Nuvi 1450

My Custom POIs Don't Show Up by Default

jthawkin@comcast.net wrote:

Custom POIs show up when zoomed in to 300 ft level. They don't have to be alerts to display.

I would really like that. However, on my Nuvi 880, custom POIs do NOT show up at all by default, no matter how closely zoomed in. If I select one from the custom POI list (via "Extras") and tap either "Go" or "Show Map", then that one POI (its icon) shows, but not the others that have never been separately selected. I can turn on any or all of the built-in POI sets, and they show up, but I can find no way to "turn on" an entire set of custom POIs.

Bill

My Custom POIs Don't Show Up by Default

Bill,

I too am a newbie and have been running DeLorme 2009 on my PC (on the dash). Trucker ya know. Currently, I am running both DeLorme and a Garmin nuvi 1300. I'm also running into the same problem. I have tried the "keywords" (speed,specs,Gatso,etc). I'm trying the "Extra POI Editor" now to see what I can do.
Let me know if you make any headway. I have six years of info from my DeLorme that I'm trying to transfer (Walmarts, truck stops, parking,etc). Its a mess.

8xx custom POI icon display

Halberstadt wrote:

...on my Nuvi 880, custom POIs do NOT show up at all by default, no matter how closely zoomed in. If I select one from the custom POI list (via "Extras") and tap either "Go" or "Show Map", then that one POI (its icon) shows, but not the others that have never been separately selected.

I wonder if this is something that was changed in the 8x5 series. On my 855, the custom POI's that I have installed using custom icons do show up if they are along my route. They show in both 2D and 3D navigation mode if I am zoomed in close enough.

--
Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

Difference Between 8x0 and 8x5 Models?

alandb wrote:
Halberstadt wrote:

...on my Nuvi 880, custom POIs do NOT show up at all by default, no matter how closely zoomed in. If I select one from the custom POI list (via "Extras") and tap either "Go" or "Show Map", then that one POI (its icon) shows, but not the others that have never been separately selected.

I wonder if this is something that was changed in the 8x5 series. On my 855, the custom POI's that I have installed using custom icons do show up if they are along my route. They show in both 2D and 3D navigation mode if I am zoomed in close enough.

That is interesting. Do you have any alerts set in your custom POI file (e.g. in the file name)? I don't, and I just tried again, doing:

Load "plain vanilla" custom POI set (CSV file of 2000+ Walmart Supercenters)
Set GPS simulator "On"
"View Map"
Scroll and zoom to a known location of one POI.
See nearby built-in POIs, but nothing, including the custom icon at the spot
Go back to "Where to", select "Extras" then my POI set and select the POI
Tap "Show Map"
Now see the custom icon at the same spot as examined before.

I haven't seen this mentioned elsewhere as a different behavior between models.

Bill Halberstadt

Experience on 765T

I have some four hundred thousand custom POI locations - all with icons from POI-factory.

I have to scroll in to 200 ft to see the icons - custom and built-in - but both are there. As a matter of fact, the built in POIs for a McDonalds and the AAA office near me show are at different locations from my more accurate custom POIs. The AAA office is shown on a major road in the built-ins while it should be on the road by which one enters the shopping center there.

Custom POI display on 8xx

Halberstadt wrote:

That is interesting. Do you have any alerts set in your custom POI file (e.g. in the file name)?

I have POI files with and without alerts set. The one I used to test on my 855 when I answered your earlier post was the Triple-A file. I don't have alerts set for that file, but I am using the custom icon supplied with the file. The files I have with alerts and custom icons also show at the same zoom level, whether or not they are a destination, via or just happen to be along my route.

--
Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

Icons

Something must have changed with the 880. My 750 shows either my custom icon, if one is loaded, or a gray dot when I'm close to a custom POI and if I'm zoomed in to 300 feet or less. The only option I have is to turn on or off the proximity alert for custom POIs. But that has no effect on displaying the icon. Now here is an oddity, I have a custom POI file that lists all the railroad grade crossings in Ohio. I also have the round, yellow RR sign as an icon. When I'm driving, the alert sounds and the icon is displayed regardless of my zoom level. When the alert stops sounding the icon disappears if I'm zoomed out more than 300 feet. I'm using the keyword "Redlight" in the file name.

As I understand your comment, you would like to use your custom POI file for Wall Mart to plan routes in your camper. The only way I could see to do that would be to use the POI locations as way-points in a route.

Map detail.

Halberstadt wrote:

However, on my Nuvi 880, custom POIs do NOT show up at all by default, no matter how closely zoomed in.

Halberstadt, I thought of one other thing to check on your 880. I am not sure how the map detail setting affects Custom POI display, but I know I have my map detail set to "Most". It may not help, but is one more thing to check.

--
Alan - Android Auto, DriveLuxe 51LMT-S, DriveLuxe 50LMTHD, Nuvi 3597LMTHD, Oregon 550T, Nuvi 855, Nuvi 755T, Lowrance Endura Sierra, Bosch Nyon

Map Detail

alandb wrote:
Halberstadt wrote:

However, on my Nuvi 880, custom POIs do NOT show up at all by default, no matter how closely zoomed in.

Halberstadt, I thought of one other thing to check on your 880. I am not sure how the map detail setting affects Custom POI display, but I know I have my map detail set to "Most". It may not help, but is one more thing to check.

It's fixed. I believe I had a corrupted icon file. Redoing that image seems to have changed things so that now I do see all the icons at 300 ft or closer. Wish it could be at a more zoomed out level, though.

Thanks to all who commented. It was a good learning experience for me!

Bill Halberstadt

Can you provide more details/insight?

Halberstadt wrote:

Thanks to all who commented. It was a good learning experience for me!

Bill Halberstadt

Bill, any other details that you could provide that would help us understand what happened would be helpful in helping others who might experience something similar.

I assume the corrupted Icon file was one that you had loaded as opposed to something like the "Nuvi_drive.ico" file on my 765T. Describe what it was and how it might have been corrupted. please.

Autopsy

jgermann wrote:
Halberstadt wrote:

Thanks to all who commented. It was a good learning experience for me!

Bill Halberstadt

Bill, any other details that you could provide that would help us understand what happened would be helpful in helping others who might experience something similar.

I assume the corrupted Icon file was one that you had loaded as opposed to something like the "Nuvi_drive.ico" file on my 765T. Describe what it was and how it might have been corrupted. please.

Nope. I had created the icon in Photoshop on my Mac, and thought I had been careful to make it 24 x 24 pixels, but may have missed that or one of the other constraints. For the successful one, I started with a downloaded one and just modified it in Photoshop, limiting it to RGB, 24 x 24, 256 color space, BMP format and "PC compatible".

Bill

.

It needs to be indexed, and saved as an 8 bit .bmp.

--
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK

How?

Juggernaut wrote:

It needs to be indexed, and saved as an 8 bit .bmp.

I have always just downloaded icons.

Hate to admit that I do not know how I would do what you suggest. Could you give more instructions, please.

.

Well, you'd need Photoshop, Gimp, or Paint Shop Pro to begin with, or another advanced graphics editor.

After making your icon, you'd then convert it to indexed, then save as an 8 bit, and 256 colours.

It's really very easy.

--
nüvi 3790T | Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable ~ JFK

Combined Search - nuvi 750

Custom POIs make a combined search much easier for me than using the built in POIs. When traveling long distance with my family there I times when we want to eat at either Long John Silver's, Arthur Treacher's, or Captain D's. I have loaded these three custom POI files into directory called "-- Fast Seafood."

So to find the closest one of these, without having to arrow-down through pages of other restaurants I just do this:

Menu
Where to
Extras
Custom POIs
-- Fast Seafood
All Categories

and I get locations for just these three restaurants.

--
- Missouri, Garmin 750 &, 255W

Delorme SA +

Bill,
Street Atlas PLUS has the XDATA import / export feature. I use it to import POI files, run a query on the POI file selecting POI's within X miles of my route. Then save the resulting POI data set. Next select the data set and export it to a CSV file.

There are a couple of other cool feature in XDATA you can use to create POI files as well. Like Address to Lon / Lat and other conversions.

I have also used Microsoft Access to create a DB out of the POI files, then extract records based on various queries. This works too but takes some knowledge of Access and data bases.

I will say Wal-Mart camping has been some of the best RV parks when you are on a travel budget!
Good luck with your 880 and POIs.
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