Does Nuvi 3597 support mp3 alert files?

No mp3.You will need wav files and sox.exe for pc. See http://www.poi-factory.com/node/25730

thanks a lot.

You can easily convert mp3 file to wav format using free VLC player. Make sure to use wav container as any mpeg container would not work in your unit.

Wow!

When I read this, I thought to myself - surely it can not be. I have this portable, freeware program as one of a hundred or so programs I have on all my computers and and also carry with me on a micro SD inside a tiny USB "bug". I did not know it would do conversions.

But lo and behold, not only will it convert audio files from one format to another - it will convert video files also.

I have been with the Television Ministry of my church for 40 years now. We stream our full service live and then produce a 30 minute edit of the service for broadcast on our local CBS affiliate the following Sunday. Recently I have been looking for a tool to convert a .f4v file into a .flv file so that we could upload miscellaneous programs to Sunday Streams - which hosts our videos.

I tried VLC to see what it might do with converting video files and it inputted the .f4v file and outputted a .flv file.

Many thanks to jeffH70!

Now - for those who want to try this program, its interface leaves a bit to be desired.

BUT, it does work.

Download the portable, freeware package at
http://portableapps.com/apps/music_video/vlc_portable

Place the VLCPortable_2.1.3.paf.exe file into a folder of your choice and then run the executable. Have it unpack itself into the same folder (and then you can delete the ...paf.exe file).

Note - this program makes no changes to your registry and to get rid of the program, you only need to delete the folder in which it resides.

When you run VLCPortable.exe you get a big black dialog with a menu bar at the top and what looks like a "traffic cone" in the center of the dialog box.

Click on Media > Convert/save
and the "Open Media" dialog will open.

On the right side of this dialog, click on "Add..." and navigate to the .mp3 file you wish to convert. Highlight that file and then click the "Open" button. The file will appear in the "File Selection" box.

Now click the "Convert/Save" button and the "Convert" dialog will appear. Click on the "Browse" button to the right of "Destination File" and navigate to the folder in which you want the converted output file to go (I think the default is the folder from which the .mp3 file came).

In the File name box, type the name to the left of the .mp3 extension and then add ".wav". For example, I brought in my "Arby_s ahead.mp3" file and put "Arby_s ahead.wav" (without the quotes) into the file name box of the "Save File" dialog and clicked the "Save" button.

Now, back in the "Convert" dialog, I clicked the "Start" button and the file was converted.

Thanks to both of you JeffH70 & Jgermann for the excellent info on VLC.