Maestro 3225 Questions!!

I don't think you can change voices....

You can update your POI files.

You can add POI including red light photos.

I emailed you for more tips....

Still a bit Confused, Recieved your email, but how would I go abouts loading it onto my GPS? an which of the 2 shown, do I download? Need help, as said dont know to much! thanks!

Keep reading through that thread that I emailed you....It gives you complete details as to load the .poi.

Just think of your GPS as another DRIVE, FLASH DRIVE, ETC. You will be basically drag and dropping it to your GPS.

First, when you plug it in does your computer recognize your GPS? I have computers in my house and 1 can't seem to recognize it.

Yes, Mine Doesnt seem to reconize on my computer either, as soon as I plug it into the back of my computer, then plug the other side into the GPS, all my GPS does is come up with the screen, saying USB has been connected, But does nothing on my computer? no windows, nothing? the CD-ROM that came with it is just like, a REDME file. (imformation)?

I'm in the same boat as MagellinMaestro... have the same product, though Magellan's website has next to nothing as far as documentation and such for the Maestro product. I'd love to import all my printed out Google Maps into the GPS unit, but I have addresses... not Lat. and Long.

Any suggestions, csv examples, tutorials you can send me or point me to? Hand typing everything to start off with is time consuming on the device itself.

Thanks

Sorry folks you are going to have to invest a little time in learning about what a POI file is, how to create them, and get them into your GPS, either via an SD Card or a USB Cable.
You should have received a CD with your unit that has a Magellan POI Editor and a Tools program you need to install on your PC and then learn to use. If you are an Excel user, you will also find it useful for manipulating .csv files. You need the GPS coordinates from your Google Program for exact locations, but you could build an address file from that info from Google.
Don't waste too much time looking at the Magellan site or documentation. It's generally from poor to atrocius. Find a thread on this forum regarding Magellan POI file construction. Its pretty much the same for all Magellan units.
Sorry no immediate fixes. Lunch is free but you have to dig it out yourself
Luck
Crossover GPS

Now, when you click MY COMPUTER or WINDOWS Explorer:

DO you see the MAGELLAN PLUGGED IN? Can you actually physically see the folders of your GPS? I don't mean when it says USB plugged, I mean actually see folders of your GPS on your computer???

I have 4 computers in my home, and my main computer would not read the folders. It acknowleged that the GPS was hooked up, but couldn't see the folders. I switched to a different computer and it read it fine.

(Hmmm...To think back about it now, I probably could have reassign it another drive letter.)

Also don't use any usb hubs, connect it directly to usb....

If that doesn't work, I suggest buying a SD card, very cheap. That way you don't even have to worry about plugging your GPS to your computer....Let us know.

Don't worry we will get you guys going....

I know what a POI file is, however, the Magellan software should allow you to *get* latitude and longitude from an address like the unit does... but unfortunately doesn't. It's a multiple step process to initially build a POI file of a set of addresses as you have to get the coordinates. Easiest I've found is with the tip found here: http://www.tech-recipes.com/rx/2403/google_maps_get_latitude... , though it'd be nice of the included software did that all for you. I find it's quicker to simply add directly into the unit. Oh well.

I am a newbie as well. I tried to download the 6 mil POI but for some reason it opened 2 different screens and didn't combine the two like the instructions said. Also, is it possible to download all the POI's on this site at once without having to go through each one?

sorry, that is not an available feature on our site.

Miss POI

Sorry to hear that you can't download everything at once. It would make it much easier.

As for the reason behind the files not combining and having two seperate screens open with the two seperate files. Why is this occuring? I tried following the instructions but didn't have any luck.

The reason is that Rapidshare only allows files that are 100 mb file unless a premium member. Thats why they broke it into two files.... It should automatically combine the two files into one.

Yeah, for some reason it did not. I actually went to bit torrent and found the 6M POI download. It was way easier to download than going through winrar and dealing with all the steps. All I did was hit download, saved file to my desktop, copied the file, pasted it in my map file, my computer asked if I wanted to replace existing file, I said yes and that was it. Now I have 6 million POIs. If you don't know about bit torrent I suggest that everyone who wants the 6M POIs uses it. Sooooo much more user friendly.

For those who ran into the same problem that I did...

If you load enhanced POI files into a Magellan Maestro 3225, make sure you save them in [GPS DRIVE:]/USR/CPOI. They must be there for the system to recognize them. This was not in the Magellan docs. I found out through trial and error.

This does not apply to the 6 million POI file, which replaces the file in the MAP directory.

Cheers.

spetch,

you seem to be in the know about this and i'm hoping you can help me out further... you're tip about the location of saving pois to was helpful. When i load the pois to the usr/cpoi dir, do they need to go in a dedicated folder (as in the instructions in the poiedit program) or can they go in cpoi?

The POIedit program indicates that they can be loaded directly to the gps unit, while the gps manual indicates that they need to be loaded onto a sd card, which works best for you?

Also, any tips on naming conventions? spaces, no spaces, will the gps accept special characters?

I've tried everything (minus the sd card) and i get a message that 'my poi files have not be loaded on the mag gps.'

I've read through the forums and i'm at wits end... please help!

Jeff

Check out these:
http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6571

I'm kind of muddling through it too, but I can tell you what I did...

I don't have an SD card, so I installed onto the internal memory. I used the POI editor to convert a POI file into a .MGLN file. Then I hooked up the unit to the computer with the USB cable. It showed up as a hard drive [G:TFAT]. I browsed to the g:\USR\CPOI folder. I copied the file to that location (no dedicated folder) just using drag and drop in the Windows explorer. Then I disconnected the unit.

I turned it on afterward and browsed to the enhanced POI menu that says "select POI file" or something like that. It showed up, and I could select various things. I've attached a copy of a POI file that I know works (although it's not very complete).

Do you have a better version of the POI editor than I do? I have Version 4.1.1.0. The help instructions for loading POIs onto the system say "If the opened file is a new file or a computer file, a Save As window will pop up. The default folder in the Save As window is the Magellan GPS. The speed traps POI files must be saved in the "SPEEDTRAPS" folder (if this folder exists). Type the name of your file in the File Name box, then click the Save button." That's all it says. It was no help in telling me what directory to load it into. I just did it by trial and error. Also, I do not have a SPEEDTRAPS folder.

There is a nice site that has an overview of the procedure http://www.gpspassion.com/forumsen/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=103020

I just got an account and I'm trying to find out how to download POIs for my Magellan Meastro 3225. Do I have to download each category/store one at a time or is there some way to download a bundle of ALL the POIs you offer? Please help me with step by step instructions. I am very NEW to this so I need help that starts after I turn my GPS on! Thanks!!

Yes, one at a time.
Look around here a bit, THEN if you still have questions ask away.
You're gonna have to help yourself just a tiny bit!

BE patient, you will learn a lot from this POI Factory by browsing around.

Check this thread out.Lots of info for your unit http://www.poi-factory.com/node/6666

I downloaded the two files from Rapidshare.com, and they combined when I used the Rapidshare utility. Returning to the Rapidshare site, however, it appears that they are not online. Perhaps a broken server is the culprit.

It is not broken still. I just checked it today.

Hi
I'm new to this, can u tell me how to update poi's for a magellan 3225. I can't see staples or tim hortons stores in my town( abbotsford, bc, canada) even though they exist.
email: cabax@hotmail.com

any help is appreciated.

these tips are great thanks

Since nobody else responded, I'll give it a shot.

You can NOT update the built-in POI list unless and until Magellan issues a new POI file (without some hacking, that is).

Moreover, NOBODY knows how they make their POI list and what goes into it. Some things that YOU AND I think should be in there never will be.

You can ADD your own POI files........that's what this site is all about. Hopefully you have figured that out by now!

When you loaded the 6 million POI file, did you get more POI's within previously existing categories i.e. more restaurants in the Restaurant category, more gas stations in the Gas Station category, etc., or did you just get more categories full of POI's for the new categories?

It gives you more restaurants, gas stations, etc in the same number of categories. It works well and is easy to do. It basically replaces the complete POI file that came with the unit.

The cheaper GPS units have fewer POIs. This gives you a complete set of POIs similiar to what comes with the higher priced Garmin units.

Yes, I did get more POI's w/in the categories as well as new categories. It gave me way more than the lousy 1.3 POI's. Also the download was way easier than the one they tell you to use on this site.

Also try looking on Bit Torrent. I found the 6 mil POI download. It was simple.

Do you need to "install" Bit Torrent software in order to download the file? Where on Bit Torrent do you look? (Sorry about the dumb questions, but I have never used Bit Torrent)

Is there a web site where the US48_POI.POI file with the 6 million POI's can be downloaded as a regular old .zip file? Dealing with WinRAR or Bit Torrent seems a bit iffy......

Two additional questions regarding the 6 million POI file: 1) Do the POI icons still show on the Map screen? and 2) Have you been able to determine if the POI's in the 6 million POI file are as current as the POI's in the original file that came installed on the 3225? My understanding is the maps and POI's that came on the 3225 are current as of 1st Qtr. 2007. Thanks again for all your help.

O.K. I downloaded WinRAR, downloaded the two .rar files, did the extraction, backed up my US48_POI.POI file from my 3225 to my computer, renamed my US48_POI.POI on my 3225 to US48_POI.sav (yes, I am anal), then copied the new 6 million POI US48_POI.POI file to the 3225..... and it worked perfectly!! I have all the new categories and POI's, and they seem to be as current as the original POI's. Thanks for this suggestion. Now, does anybody know if WinRAR stops working after the 40 day trial period, or does it just nag you to register it?

I'm not sure how current they actually are, or relevant, for that matter. For instance, in the Electronics subcategory under shopping, a store that has been out of business for almost 8 years is listed, but a Best Buy that has been in a nearby location for 7 years is not listed. In addition, I found several apparently home based business, including my neighbor's auctioneering business. It would be great if that 6m POI file could be updated a bit.

WinRar just nags you to buy it but never stops working if you don't reg it.

For anyone worried WinRar will do everything WinZip will and more.
Highly recommended

Hi, I just get the Maestro 3225 today. I'm pretty interested to upload the red camera alert. could you email me the tips about this? Thanks a lot

I just upgraded my POI. Would also like to get the red light camera alert.

Enjoyed the 3225 for more than one week. Last week when my wife went for job interview, I asked her to bring with the 3225 even she took the public transportation. It's good to get more road instruction even when walking.

Here i have one question about the touch screen. I noticed it's not function well when I touch the space button. Eventually i figured out I have to touch the top half part instead of the center point of the space button itself. It has the similar problem on the "More", "Number" button. Any others have the similar problem? Thanks for your sharing.

I had the same problems with my 3225 and my 4250. But it's a minor thing so i'm ok with it.

Thanks for your info. My wife also suggest me to tolerate this minor problem. No big deal.

For those of you needing the 6 million POI download without having to have WinRAR and without having to type in a password, here it is:

http://rapidshare.com/files/168275938/US48_POI.POI

Unfortunately, it is almost 200 MB, so it mihgt take some of you awhile to download!

AND if you already have ~ 4M POI file, it is probably not worth the trouble. The 6M file seems to be "bloated" with a lot of useless trash.

how do i update my magellan maestro 3225 for us in canada as i'm visitng there next week. thanks