Can CP6 be used purely as a camera warning device?

[NigelO]

Now I've read enough of the threads in this section, I have regular warnings about cameras from CP6 when on planned routes.

However, on my previous PDA (iPAQ with CP3) I also used to use Trafcam, which was a standalone GPS camera warning system.

Is there any way I can use either CP6 or the camera database to give me JUST camera warnings. Its a bit of a PITA to have to plot a route purely so I can be told of cameras.

I found the "where am I" facility in CP6 (just plots progress on the map). It shows the camera POI symbol, but no voice message, or even a beep.

Any ideas?

[NigelO]

getting lonely in here.....

OK - lets put it another way - is there any way I can use the PGPS camera database in any kind of standalone way to give me camera warnings ONLY? (like Trafcam)

[PONDEROUS]

NigelO writes:

[Searcher22]

Hi

I agree it would be good to have the function to have POI warnings in what I will call roaming mode i.e. no "trip" running.

I wonder if they will update CP to have such a facility?

[iankb]

I doubt that they will ever enable camera warnings without a route, since cameras are detected according to their proximity to the road that you intend to travel on. If you're coming up to a junction, it wouldn't know which alternate road to check. Warnings are not much good unless they are announced in advance of you getting to the cameras.
_________________
Ian

iPaq 2210
Globalsat BT-338
Seidio G2500 Amplified Vent Mount
CoPilot 6, GPS Tuner 4.2, Navio 3.01
BMW 330ci Sport

[PONDEROUS]

Iankb writes:

[Northernbloke]

CP5 certainly couldn't do what your asking m8 and I didn't see any mention of it on the CP6 blurb when i was thinking of upgrading a few months back, or since.

TT5 does do it though, no route planned, drive round and any POI's you've told it to notify you of get flagged up same as they would if you were driving a planned route.

[Searcher22]

[PONDEROUS]

From what Northernbloke says, it seems that the distances specified in the setup must be what prevent a navigator or speed camera checker from warning of every POI/camera whether on the route or not.

I was going to suggest that this would be a nice selling point for Copilot if it were to take the trouble to introduce it - however much any of us doubt that they will. Northernbloke has knocked that one on the head, though, by pointing out that TomTom can do it anyway.
_________________
Dell Axims X50v & X30 (both WM 2003 2nd Edition). Copilot BTGPS3 and Fortuna Clip-on BT receivers. Jabra BT 250 audio headsets. Welltech 40032/AF32 BT handsfree audio. Copilot 6.0.4.110. TomTom Navigator 5.21. MS Autoroute/Pocket Streets 2005

[PONDEROUS]

searcher22 writes:

[iankb]

I believe that standalone devices must 'look' a certain distance to each side of their current heading, with an increase in width as they 'look' further away, to allow for bends. In that case, they could give a late warning if the camera is around a tight corner.

I think that CoPilot 'looks' at a certain distance to each side of the route, so it can handle bends much better. I think that because one configures 'detection' of POI's by distance from road, and not by the angle from heading that standalone devices would have to use, and because it doesn't report cameras on roads that turn off from my route.
_________________
Ian

iPaq 2210
Globalsat BT-338
Seidio G2500 Amplified Vent Mount
CoPilot 6, GPS Tuner 4.2, Navio 3.01
BMW 330ci Sport

[PONDEROUS]

iankb writes:

[neil01]

As for 'on route' I think it is fair to say that so far as POIs (of which saftey cameras are simply a group) are concerned, CoPilot is pretty dumb - they are simply held as co-ordinates.

So far as I know (based on my experiences) CoPilot does not seem to hold any data to tell it which road the camera applies to - it simply makes its decision based on those co-ordinates. For example, I regularly 'pass over' a 30mph camera which is for the road below, yet I am warned about it when driving on the motorway above. Hopefully, it also thinks that it applies to the road below when you are travelling on that.

I attach the exact wording of the reply I received from ALK :

...the NEAR ROUTE option will alert you to POI's that are within 0.5 miles of your present location (off the current road you are driving on). e.g. if you are travelling North, then you will receive a notification of any petrol stations that are within 0.5 miles East or West of your location within the distance you have specified for the alert (north).

With ON ROUTE, the POI has to be physically on the road you are driving and not positioned off on a side road like some supermarket garages are. Ultimately it depends on how the data has been recorded by NAVTEQ and where the actual physical address lies for the garage or POI.

I hope this explains a little better how our POI Notification system works...

However, my own experience would sugest that with 'on route' this is not quite the case - there may be a small margin; and with the inherrent inacuracy of GPS I would have thought that it would be rather difficult to be that accurrate - certainly with the Pocket GPS database which in theory would not be reported even if only a few feet out. The cameras would have to be recorded with an accurracy much higher than the equipment used to record them (ie us with our pocket GPS) is capable of.

[PONDEROUS]

When I wrote that I had experienced CP 6 warning of cameras occurring around a corner, I should have explained that I had CP 6 set to report them "On" the route and at 0.2 miles.

Perhaps Neil01 has put his finger on it. Inaccurately recorded POI co-ordinates sound quite likely.
_________________
Dell Axims X50v & X30 (both WM 2003 2nd Edition). Copilot BTGPS3 and Fortuna Clip-on BT receivers. Jabra BT 250 audio headsets. Welltech 40032/AF32 BT handsfree audio. Copilot 6.0.4.110. TomTom Navigator 5.21. MS Autoroute/Pocket Streets 2005

[Searcher22]

Hi All

When I rang UK support about various questions I chased this one.

I had a difficult time getting the support desk guy to understand the question but when he did grasp the concept of having the POIs announced even if one was not driving a "trip" he seemed genuinely surprised that they did not already do so!

He said he would escalate the question to get an answer as to whether it will be possible.

I wonder if such a change is part of the upcoming patch, which by the way he mentioned was due for release later next week. Apparently it had to be amended.......hence the delay?

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