School Speed Zones - Garmin

 

I was web crawling looking for POI files (have I mentioned I'm getting way too addicted to this thing), and ran across a site claiming to have 77,000 school speed zones in a POI file. I thought, "That'd be cool to have."

Then I remembered all the discussion here about what triggers proximity alerts: having to be on the same street in map mode or within the proximity distance in routed mode, etc.

Am I missing something or is the list i found seriously gimped if it lists school zones only by the school's address? If I am understanding correctly, unless you're approaching the school (and encountering the speed zone) on the street it is addressed on, nothing will happen (a/k/a no alerts). Have I missed something really obvious?

Thanks!

--
Tanga309 ~ nuvi 660

Default Alert Type

The default alert type set by POI Loader is called "Along Road". It triggers when you are the specified distance "along the road" from the POI. When in Routing mode, the whole route is considered one road, when computing the alert distance.

In this example, imagine you are travelling up the screen on Road A. You could turn right onto Road B and pass a School after 0.5 Mile.

Say Point {X} is 1 mile from the intersections of Road A and Road B (not easy this!)

I wrote:

^
|
R
o
a
d
|
A
|
|
+-Road B----0.5 mile to [SCHOOL]---->|
|
|
|
|
|
X <-Point X
|
^

Map mode
If you set a Proximity Alert for the school at 1.5 miles, the alert will sound when you turn right onto Road B (i.e at 0.5 miles).

If you continue driving up Road A you will probably not get an alert at all.

Routing Mode

If your Route involves making a right turn onto Road B, then the alert will sound at 'Point X' - 1.5 miles from the school, by road.

Alternatives...

If you set the alert as a TourGuide audio alert, these are circular and the alert will always sound. To get it sound at "Point X", you could set the distance to 1.118 miles (straight-line distance, from "X" to the school).

[edit]
There must, presumably, be some margin of error allowed, for the positioning of the alert-because there's no 'width' defined for the road (it's just a series of connected points). I have no idea what this is, but maybe it's the (width of an average road)+(average satellite error) ?

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

good POI

Sounds like a cool POI when will it be ready?

--
Garmin nüvi® 350

Alert Type / POI

Okay, so if you load the POI with the words "TourGuide" in the file name (if I remember correctly), it will do a radius alert rather than an along the road alert. Do I have that correct?

The file I found web crawling was at http://www.gps-poi-us.com/school.html. I wasn't terribly impressed with the site. I think POI Factory has it (and others I found) beat hands-down with POI and supporting files and knowledgeable helpful people.

--
Tanga309 ~ nuvi 660

keep in mind that we don't

keep in mind that we don't post files that come from other sites smile

Miss Poi

TourGuide

tanga309 wrote:

...with the words "TourGuide" in the file name..., it will do a radius alert rather than an along the road alert. Do I have that correct?

Yes.

You will need an .mp3 file as well, with some sort of audio tone or message. The .csv and .mp3 need to have the same name, both containing "TourGuide". The "TourGuide" part is case-sensitive. You can set the proximity in manual mode, or by another slightly less obvious means:-

TourGuide's are never speed-related, but, POI Loader uses any speed information to alter the proximity distance. Using this method, the minimum distance is 1/4mile, the maximum is just over 6500 ft (1.25miles). The distance is adjusted to give 36seconds warning, based on the speed. (So you can use speeds from 25->124mph ... (1/4mile@25mph =36 seconds). 124mph is the highest allowed speed.

You can have different Proximities for each POI (using the @speed syntax or you can put the digits in the file name:


Schools_TourGuide_124.csv +
Schools_TourGuide_124.mp3

would create a file where all the poi's have an alert radius of 1.25 miles, when loaded in automatic mode.

Whenever you're within the proximity circle, you'll have a red "TourGuide: Schools" banner on the top of the screen (and a speaker icon or similar on the map). You'll have to enable TourGuides to play automatically - it will probably only play once.

When created from csv input, all the POI's will play the same audio.

All slightly bizarre, I know !

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

Margin of error

I wrote:

There must, presumably, be some margin of error allowed, for the positioning of the alert-because there's no 'width' defined for the road (it's just a series of connected points).

I've just finished doing a series of tests. From my initial experiments, I would say the margin of error is around the 100' mark.

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

update

Earlier I wrote:

I would say the margin of error is around the 100' mark.

I did some more tests, and the actual margin seems to be closer to 75'

See this image for my test setup.

The numbered circles on the image are the actual points from the map that make up the roads. (Navteq seem to favour the 'racing line' :-)

Point "W" has a 250' "Along Road" alert. If I drive down the 'Purple' road (in 'Map mode'), this will alert, so long as it is within 75' of it (the purple road, that is). The alert actually triggers at the alloted 250'

Moving the Point "W" more than 75' away from my route and the alert doesn't trigger at all. Altering the alert distance does not influence whether it will trigger, just when it will trigger (if it does).

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

School Speed Zones - Garmin

I am very new at this GPS/POI stuff just got a 670 for Christmas. Our city has differing degrees of speed zone areas around schools. If I was to pin point the start of each zone could I write a set of POI's that would then activate a proximity alert for any street approaching a school? It appears after reading the other comments in this tread that it would be the best way to ensure not being pulled over for speeding. Also the school zones are only in effect certain times of the day and not weekends. Are there ways to include that type of information to narrow the alert?

Wow, they want $45 for that

Wow, they want $45 for that file? That's outrageous.

I'd much rather stick to a free, user-driven site like this one.

Voyager of discovery.

The_Grizz wrote:

If I was to pin point the start of each zone could I write a set of POI's that would then activate a proximity alert for any street approaching a school?

The issue is, that these are alerts for Points of Interest, not Zones of Interest. So your mission, is to mark some Points (with alerts), that give the required warning, without too many false alarms.

Using the example from above (http://geepeeex.googlepages.com/view.jpg)

Imagine the "Green" road has a 10mph limit, so we want to set an alert for it - the other roads have some other limit.

If you set 'normal' i.e. "along road" alerts for Points 15 + 23 on my map, of say 250', they would 'guard' the whole road, when in "Map" mode. You should get an alert, the instant you turn onto the Green road, from either end - which should continue all the way along it.
If you were to drive down the "Purple" road (in "Map" mode), there would be no alert (Points 15+23) being far enough 'back' to avoid this.

However, if you were in "Routing" mode and selected somewhere on the "Green" road as your destination, the alerts would start much sooner - because now it could work out 250' by road, along your computed route. (So the alerts would trigger somewhere on the "red" or "purple" roads.)

If this isn't acceptable, then you'd have to consider a larger number of Alert points, each with a shorter distance. Or, use the 'circular' TourGuide alerts to cover the area (they would not necessarily be centred on a road at all.)

Hope this hasn't just confused the issue wink

He also wrote:

Also the school zones are only in effect certain times of the day and not weekends. Are there ways to include that type of information to narrow the alert?

No.

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

Pin Poits

Thanks for the suggestions. I will try this out and let you know how well it works.

POI distance or speed alerts

Is there a way to have both distance and speed alerts using Garmin's POI loader? I would like to set a speed alert but only if I am within a specific distance of the POI. If I set the speed to 40km/h the distance is defaulted to 400 meters. I am trying to set the speed alert to 40km/h but with a distance alert of 20 meters.

Streets and Trips

Hello,

Does anyone know if these POI files will work with streets and trips?

.

The_Grizz wrote:

Is there a way to have both distance and speed alerts using Garmin's POI loader? I would like to set a speed alert but only if I am within a specific distance of the POI. If I set the speed to 40km/h the distance is defaulted to 400 meters. I am trying to set the speed alert to 40km/h but with a distance alert of 20 meters.

Set the speed to 40 by putting the number "40" in the file name. Then run POI Loader in Manual Mode and you can set the distance at whatever you want. You should be aware that 20 meters is pretty close to the GPS accuracy, so you might not get alerts consistently.

Oh, and Phil will probably be along shortly tell how to easily do it with a GPX file. : )

He knows of what he speaks!

.

boutiliera wrote:

Does anyone know if these POI files will work with streets and trips?

You can use the Import Data Wizard in S&T to import CSV files as pushpins.

.

The_Grizz wrote:

Is there a way to have both distance and speed alerts using Garmin's POI loader?

Strictly speaking, the Alert is either a Proximity alert or a Speed Alert. But what you are asking, of course, is how to alter the distance at which a Speed alert is to be considered active.

POI Loader sets a distance for Speed alerts that would give 36 seconds warning (or a minimum of 402m) . If you use manual mode, and alter the distance, it sets a Proximity alert (with no speed component) instead.

In order to get the degree of control you require, POI Loader needs to be fed with a .gpx file as input. The speed component goes in the POI name

<name>School@40<name>

and the distance at which it is considered active does in the proximity tag.

<gpxx:Proximity>20</gpxx:Proximity>

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

.

Thank you, Phil!!!

:-)

drat - too slow again smile

Motorcycle Mama wrote:

Set the speed to 40 by putting the number "40" in the file name. Then run POI Loader in Manual Mode and you can set the distance at whatever you want.

I don't know if I ever investigated this combination...and I was going to have an early night wink

I'll be back smile

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

It turns out...

Quote:

putting the number "40" in the file name. Then run POI Loader in Manual Mode

What it seems to do, when you select Manual mode, is default to a 40km/h Speed Alert, but if you then select Distance, it then ditches the Speed component and becomes a Proximity alert again.

Thinking about it, this is the reason this software: http://www.cbrom.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/3.html?submenu=2 was written.

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

.

Well, I can't confirm it that works or not because all the speed alerts in my Zumo are showing up with a distance of 1524 feet regardless of the speed in the file name and regardless of the setting I put in in Manual Mode. I'm going to try to convert the files to a different format and see if it works differently.

They keep the speed alert, though, even when I changed the distance. But the distance was wrong.

I could have sworn that I've changed the distances before. I wonder if this version of the Zumo firmware it causing it.

My experience as well with manual mode...

Hornbyp wrote:

What it seems to do, when you select Manual mode, is default to a 40km/h Speed Alert, but if you then select Distance, it then ditches the Speed component and becomes a Proximity alert again.

Ya, that is my own experience. If you use manual mode, then you can set either prox or speed but not both and if you use manual mode it overrides the settings in the file name.

So I just use the file name method (e.g. @20) and don't use manual mode and then you get both speed and prox, but as stated above, the prox is calculated for 36 seconds so you get what you get. For me, it is good enough. As long as I am reminded of an upcoming school zone, does it really matter if it isn't immediately when the alarm goes off but rather a block more down the road?

PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

.

Ok, here's what I figured out. The speed files I was loading were GPX files that I had converted at some point from CSV files. Somehow, the 1524 distance must have gotten encoded in the GPX. But the speed data stayed even when I changed the distance.

So, I reloaded the POIs with the original CSV files and the original (and correct) alert distances were there.

But when I changed the distance in Manual Mode, as Phil indicated, the speed alert goes away.

Hmmmmm ....

I'm certain I have both proximity AND speed at the same time

I have a "Speed Trap.csv" file that I loaded in manual mode and asked for a 5000 foot proximity. The name of the POI that is inside the file is "Name@65". I get an alert close to a mile away that there is a "Speed Alert Ahead 65 Mph". It will ding twice and leave the red bar at the top until I pass the POI. If I am also going over 65 Mph, I will get a second warning of "Speed Alert 65 Mph" and a single ding. It will continue to give this single ding every 10 seconds until my speed is under 65 Mph or I pass the POI.

Maybe the filename enabled both speed and proximity alerts on the same POI with a Nuvi 350.

.

Oh, you can get them at the same time if you leave the defaults as they are. The speed data will alert at a corresponding distance (ie greater speed alert = greater distance).

The problem we were generating was when we were try to change the distance on a speed alert in Manual Mode in POI Loader.

?

johnc wrote:

I have a "Speed Trap.csv" file that I loaded in manual mode and asked for a 5000 foot proximity. The name of the POI that is inside the file is "Name@65". I get an alert close to a mile away that there is a "Speed Alert Ahead 65 Mph". It will ding twice and leave the red bar at the top until I pass the POI. If I am also going over 65 Mph, I will get a second warning of "Speed Alert 65 Mph" and a single ding. It will continue to give this single ding every 10 seconds until my speed is under 65 Mph or I pass the POI.

That sounds for all the world, as though it's been through the program I mentioned above - and converted to gpx (with each alert 'doubled-up' - the program refers to this as "always alerted")

'Ding-twice' (or "bong" "bong", as I call it smile ) is a Proximity Warning alert. The higher-pitched, single tone is a Speed Alert.

But these are two separate alerts...

--
------------------------ Phil Hornby, Stockport, England ----------------------               http://GeePeeEx.com - Garmin POI Creation made easy           »      

Whups - I was using Express, not Manual

Hornbyp wrote:

That sounds for all the world, as though it's been through the program I mentioned above - and converted to gpx (with each alert 'doubled-up' - the program refers to this as "always alerted")

'Ding-twice' (or "bong" "bong", as I call it smile ) is a Proximity Warning alert. The higher-pitched, single tone is a Speed Alert.

But these are two separate alerts...

I have misspoken. The file name is "Speed Traps.csv". The line below is one of the POI's listed in the file. But I loaded it in Express mode, not Manual.
-88.203752,41.803680,"Rte 59 & I-88 Speed Trap@65","Westbound ramp trap."
But the behavior is as I mentioned.... Double ding and "Speed Trap Alert Ahead". If I am going over 65 Mph, an additional "Speed Trap 65 Mph" and a single ding goes off about every 10 seconds until I either slow down or pass the point. The proximity warning was pretty consistent at .75 miles or so. I'm guessing now that it was nn feet X mph that was giving me the proximity distance, not the manual mode. As I thought about it, the few times traffic was backed up and my speed was more like 35 Mph, the proximity was much closer than .75 miles.

Like most of us, I experimented with tons of permutations trying to get a POI alert to trigger properly. After I read the responses, I remembered that I had not used Manual mode in quite a while.

School POI

lannister wrote:

I'd much rather stick to a free, user-driven site like this one.

We do have a school POI file here.

http://www.poi-factory.com/poifiles/us/schools

--
nüvi 750 & 760

Proximity tag??

Ok being new to this game, here is what I've done and what I am not sure about. I started with setting POIs in Google Earth. I saved the file as a KML and then opened it in PoiEdit. It shows the file in three different columns. Name/Lat/Long. I believe what you are saying is to change the name of each POI to include @40 at the end (for the speed alert). Quick question does it matter if there are spaces between the text? I have then saved the file as a GPX. When I open it in note pad I can see the following:
"*****School Zone 2 @ 40"......but I do not have a proximity set as of yet so there is no "proximity tag" present. How/where do I add the proximity tag to the file in PoiEdit? Do I add another column and where?

I'm wondering how accurate

I'm wondering how accurate the school zone and speed camera files are. Are the coordinates set right at the camera or school zone sign and then it alarms a predetermined number of feet from that point?

For example, on the 101 in Phoenix, the speed camera at one exit going north is right near Raintree. But going south is a half mile before the northbound cameras. Essentially, they are not directly across from each other, so you would want to have a different coordinate for each or you would need a greater distance warning. I've not tried the school zone material yet to see how accurate it might be.

John

School Zones

Motorcycle Mama wrote:

The problem we were generating was when we were try to change the distance on a speed alert in Manual Mode in POI Loader.

Ok. So maybe I'm asking for too much. Using the system for the last couple of days (newbie)I have realized that by setting the school zone POI's to alert at 50m the speed is irrelevant. It gives me the warning I am looking for. This being said, as all the zones are posted, I found the best way is to set a POI for each school at each sign location indicating the zone. This way no matter which street you approach the school you will get an alert. Also by keeping the distance down to a minimum I shouldn't get many errors and still gives enough time to slow down.

School Speed Zones - Garmin

Has anyone successfully gotten this to work? if so, I am interested in a file to do this. I have had no luck, I don't think I am smart enough :0)

Creating a Proximity Alert

Am I just being stupid, or just plain missing something? I am wanting to put a Proximity Alert in my Nuvi 700 for school zones. I have read all the comments here, but can't for find instructions on EXACTLY how to do it. HELP!!

I downloaded the poi file with the schools for my area, but how do I set the alert to let me know when I am about to run down a kid or worse, get a speeding ticket? smile

--
Halby

Good luck

Hey, you are doing better than I am. I can't even figure out how to get it to beep for a certain speed.

How do you set the Proximity Alert?

--
Halby

.

Run POI Loader in Manual Mode instead of Express Mode when you load your Custom POIs and you can set the alerts as whatever distance or speed you wish.

pretty much a hobby killer if you ask me!

tanga309 wrote:

Okay, so if you load the POI with the words "TourGuide" in the file name (if I remember correctly), it will do a radius alert rather than an along the road alert. Do I have that correct?

The file I found web crawling was at http://www.edited-us.com/school.html. I wasn't terribly impressed with the site. I think POI Factory has it (and others I found) beat hands-down with POI and supporting files and knowledgeable helpful people.

why on God's earth would anyone pay those high prices?
That's a hobby killer if you ask me!

Bob

--
Using Android Based GPS.The above post and my sig reflects my own opinions, expressed for the purpose of informing or inspiring, not commanding. Naturally, you are free to reject or embrace whatever you read.

Put the speed in the file name...

halby58 wrote:

Am I just being stupid, or just plain missing something? I am wanting to put a Proximity Alert in my Nuvi 700 for school zones. I have read all the comments here, but can't for find instructions on EXACTLY how to do it. HELP!!

I downloaded the poi file with the schools for my area, but how do I set the alert to let me know when I am about to run down a kid or worse, get a speeding ticket? smile

I do it the lazy man's way. I don't like to mess with the manual POI loader and have to spec each POI file. I use the file name method and use Express loading of POI files. So for my school zone files I simply rename them with a 30 in the title to give me an alert when approaching the school zone and I am going over 30. The POI loader calculated the distance away to start the alert.

So for example, if I downloaded "schoolzone.csv" I change the title to "schoolzone_30.csv" which indicated to the loader that I want a 30 mph speed alert and will set it up for me in my garmin.

By the way, most school zones around me are 20mph but the alerts keeps going off until you get down to the alert speed or lower. So if you set it for 20, it will go off the entire way through it. I find setting it to 30 reminds my if I am 10+ mph over the speed limit and will stop alerting once my speed falls below 30. I have a bitmap icon that goes with it showing the 20MPH speed limit symbol, so even though my alert goes off for 30 mpg, I see on the screen a 20mph zone ahead by the icon. Works well and when I go by there at night, summer, weekends, I don't actually have to slow all the way down to 20 to stop it from bugging me.

Cheers,
PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

Another School Thread

Another thread on School Alerts got started at:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/11000

You may be interested in the alert info there; particularly the info on the priority of csv alert settings; i.e. Manual mode, number in the file name, and number within the file in the 'Name' Field (Name@30). If the file's 'Name' field contains @30, the manual mode will not override this.

RT

--
"Internet: As Yogi Berra would say, "Don't believe 90% of what you read, and verify the other half."

My lazy = my like express mode.

Yes, I am aware of the priority order of how alerts are determined. But as I said above, but I am TRULY the lazy man I said I was. smile I don't use manual mode at all and load all my POIs in express mode.

The ones I don't want alerts have normal file names and the ones I want alerts I just add the number to the file name. That way I never have to give it much thought. When I add a new POI to my GPS, I just toss it in my Custom Poi folder and load the folder in express mode. Anything already there loads like it always did, with alert ones loading automatically as alert files.

I don't use that many POIs to begin with, so it isn't a big deal, nor takes much time, for me to reload them all each time (vs. the rename method).

Cheers,
PT

--
Garmin nüvi 200 (my first GPS), 780, & 3700 Series. And a Mac user.

School-Zone

Guttermouth wrote:
halby58 wrote:

Am I just being stupid, or just plain missing something? I am wanting to put a Proximity Alert in my Nuvi 700 for school zones. I have read all the comments here, but can't for find instructions on EXACTLY how to do it. HELP!!

I downloaded the poi file with the schools for my area, but how do I set the alert to let me know when I am about to run down a kid or worse, get a speeding ticket? smile

I do it the lazy man's way. I don't like to mess with the manual POI loader and have to spec each POI file. I use the file name method and use Express loading of POI files. So for my school zone files I simply rename them with a 30 in the title to give me an alert when approaching the school zone and I am going over 30. The POI loader calculated the distance away to start the alert.

So for example, if I downloaded "schoolzone.csv" I change the title to "schoolzone_30.csv" which indicated to the loader that I want a 30 mph speed alert and will set it up for me in my garmin.

By the way, most school zones around me are 20mph but the alerts keeps going off until you get down to the alert speed or lower. So if you set it for 20, it will go off the entire way through it. I find setting it to 30 reminds my if I am 10+ mph over the speed limit and will stop alerting once my speed falls below 30. I have a bitmap icon that goes with it showing the 20MPH speed limit symbol, so even though my alert goes off for 30 mpg, I see on the screen a 20mph zone ahead by the icon. Works well and when I go by there at night, summer, weekends, I don't actually have to slow all the way down to 20 to stop it from bugging me.

Cheers,
PT

Thanks for the instructions that work for me, I did the automatic mode too.
yankees6

Tourguide without MP3

Hornbyp wrote:
tanga309 wrote:

...with the words "TourGuide" in the file name..., it will do a radius alert rather than an along the road alert. Do I have that correct?

Yes.

You will need an .mp3 file as well, with some sort of audio tone or message. The .csv and .mp3 need to have the same name, both containing "TourGuide". The "TourGuide" part is case-sensitive. You can set the proximity in manual mode, or by another slightly less obvious means:-

TourGuide's are never speed-related, but, POI Loader uses any speed information to alter the proximity distance. Using this method, the minimum distance is 1/4mile, the maximum is just over 6500 ft (1.25miles). The distance is adjusted to give 36seconds warning, based on the speed. (So you can use speeds from 25->124mph ... (1/4mile@25mph =36 seconds). 124mph is the highest allowed speed.

You can have different Proximities for each POI (using the @speed syntax or you can put the digits in the file name:


Schools_TourGuide_124.csv +
Schools_TourGuide_124.mp3

would create a file where all the poi's have an alert radius of 1.25 miles, when loaded in automatic mode.

Whenever you're within the proximity circle, you'll have a red "TourGuide: Schools" banner on the top of the screen (and a speaker icon or similar on the map). You'll have to enable TourGuides to play automatically - it will probably only play once.

When created from csv input, all the POI's will play the same audio.

All slightly bizarre, I know !

Hi there,
Is it essential to have the .mp3 file, will it not work with the standard tone?
Regards,
Paul

Proximity Alerts using TourGuide naming

If I understand correctly so far, if I place the word "TourGuide" in my POI filename, proximity alerts for the POIs in this file will be of the "Radius" type. I will set this radius alert distance using POI Loader's Manual Mode.

Am I correct so far?

Questions:

Does POI Loader use this file to create a TourGuide?

Must I play the TourGuide route/tour in order to receive these alerts, or will they play automatically any time I pass within the radius alert distance?

If you use the word

If you use the word TourGuide in the file name you will get a 1/4 radius alert using the express mode.To increase the radius use manual mode.You can also add mp3 file for voice alert.Name the mp3 file same as the csv or gpx except for the extension.It also will have TourGuide included in the name.If you don't add mp3 you will get the bong alert sound.You load the file using poiloader

--
Charlie. Nuvi 265 WT and Nuvi 2597 LMT. MapFactor Navigator - Offline Maps & GPS.

Updated school zone POI file

I see the files on POI Factory are from 2006, and woefully incomplete at that. Has anyone found a free school zone POI file that is reasonably complete and up-to-date? Not pay sites, please.

--
DC Area, Nuvi 2797

School Zones and Proximity Alerts

First, for those new to setting up custom POI files, a fantastic set of tutorial information has been provided by Gary Hayman at the following Web address.
http://home.comcast.net/~ghayman3/garmin.gps/pagepoi.htm#pag...
I created a POI file of the schools around the Portland, OR metro area using Garmin Mapsource. It was very easy to do, I just searched for schools in the area, added the schools as waypoints, named the file Portland OR Area Schools_20.gpx. (Mapsource output is created in GPX format).
When I used POI Loader to load it to my unit I used Manual mode, and gave it a 1320 feet proximity alert, (1/4 mile). I added an icon and created a .wav file that alerts me. I used .wav because my 265wt won't accept .mp3 files.
By the way, Portlanders, the file is available here in POIFactory. Hope this helps.

--
John Feraud Sr. Elk Grove, California, USA

Help me understand

jferaud wrote:

... named the file Portland OR Area Schools_20.gpx. (Mapsource output is created in GPX format).
When I used POI Loader to load it to my unit I used Manual mode, and gave it a 1320 feet proximity alert, (1/4 mile).

My understanding of alerts is
(1) the "20" in the title of the file and the probable use of "feet and MPH" in that POILoader would generate a "speed" alert (at a distance of 36 seconds times 20 = 720 feet) if you were exceeding 20 MPH
but
(2) the use of Manual mode in POILoader generated a proximity alert of 1320 feet based on the entry in the proximity field.

So, there will be a proximity alert at 1320 feet, but will there be another alert at 720 feet if you were traveling over 20 MPH?

Two ways to do it

jferaud wrote:

...named the file Portland OR Area Schools_20.gpx...

...When I used POI Loader to load it to my unit I used Manual mode, and gave it a 1320 feet proximity alert, (1/4 mile)...

John, thanks for submitting the Portland School Zone POI file.

There are two ways this file can be loaded. One way, like you said, is to run POI Loader in manual and select proximity alert at a distance of your choice. You would be alerted to the school zone no matter what speed you were going.

The other way would be to run POI Loader in manual and select speed alert, and leave the speed at the default zero. Since the filename includes 20, the alert would be given at 20 mph or faster, and at 720 feet like jgermann says.

dobs108 smile

garnin 2597

stopped alerting school zones

Turn em off!

bullshipper wrote:

stopped alerting school zones

Well if you can figure out how you did it, that could be worth something. I find the school zone alerts to be pretty much a nuisance...that is why they have all those school zone signs with the flashing lights. All summer I get school zone alerts and of course school is not in session. When the GPS gets to be too much of a nanny I'd like to turn off the alerts.

Maybe it's working

bullshipper wrote:

Garnin 2597
stopped alerting school zones

Welcome to The Factory!

I'm not sure about your 2597, but for the 3597 which may work the same as yours, School Zone alerts don't activate on weekends. Given that today is a Monday, could you have concluded this from this past weekend?

From the FAQ: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/42419

Newer Garmin automotive GPS devices now offer school zone alerts. These alerts are amazing in that they alert in various ways depending on day-of-week and time-of-day. My experiences with a nuvi 3597, a 2014 Garmin device, to date show that Garmin's factory-installed school zone alerts behave in this way: driving through one on a school day during school hours gives a visual and audio alert and the nuvi speed limit is lowered to the school zone speed limit; driving through one on a school day before or after school hours results in the same alerts but without the speed limit change; and on weekends, no alert occurs at all.

Firmware

CraigW wrote:
bullshipper wrote:

Garnin 2597
stopped alerting school zones

Welcome to The Factory!

I'm not sure about your 2597, but for the 3597 which may work the same as yours, School Zone alerts don't activate on weekends. Given that today is a Monday, could you have concluded this from this past weekend?

From the FAQ: http://www.poi-factory.com/node/42419

Newer Garmin automotive GPS devices now offer school zone alerts. These alerts are amazing in that they alert in various ways depending on day-of-week and time-of-day. My experiences with a nuvi 3597, a 2014 Garmin device, to date show that Garmin's factory-installed school zone alerts behave in this way: driving through one on a school day during school hours gives a visual and audio alert and the nuvi speed limit is lowered to the school zone speed limit; driving through one on a school day before or after school hours results in the same alerts but without the speed limit change; and on weekends, no alert occurs at all.

My 2597 is hit or miss on the school zone alerts. The firmware needs much improvement before it becomes reliable.

--
Frank DriveSmart55 37.322760, -79.511267