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Boydie76 Occasional Visitor
Joined: Oct 15, 2008 Posts: 8
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 11:52 am Post subject: Possible TOMTOM convert...Advic Needed On GARMIN units... |
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I have been using my wife's TOMTOM (720T) and have always found it an excellent unit - and from what I have read the PGPSW database integration is excellent
I was ready to buy a TOMTOM to "permanently" install into my car (by this I mean hide the wires as I have a storage bin at the top of the dash so I was going to leave it in there for speed camera alerts when not using for nav)
However, having fought my way through the myriad of range options in the TOMTOM range I was disappointed to find out that the TOMTOMs do not turn on and off with the ignition!
I am therefore looking into Garmin units and have the following questions that I hope you may be able to help with to choose the right GARMIN unit:
I already have bluetooth for phone and IPOD integration built into the car so I do not need these functions
The most important functions for me are:
1 - The unit will turn on and off with the ignition (i.e. if "hardwired" into a switched cigarette lighter socket)
2 - The unit can be updated with the PGPSW database
3 - The camera warnings can be set up so the unit calls out "GATSO 30" for Gatso cameras in 30mph limite etc. - this is more of a desirable feature - any audiable warning would be OK
4 - The cameras show up on the map with different icons for Gatso, Specs, Mobile etc. - again, non-essential as long as there is an icon but would be nice
5 - Non-Subscription Traffic Avoidance - I understand the limitations on the TMC traffic via FM reception but this has always worked well for me on the TOMTOM - do the GARMIN units function in the same way?
6 - I would like to have UK and Europe maps
The unit I am looking at currently is the 1340T
Will this unit do everything I want it to do?
Sorry for all of the questions but I had researched the TOMTOMs and I am now starting from scratch with the Garmin units
I suppose the final question is - are they any good!?!?!? |
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darrengsaw Lifetime Member
Joined: Jun 03, 2009 Posts: 107
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:20 pm Post subject: |
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The answer is yes to all your questions.
The 1340 would do a good job for you I think.
You can get voice warnings to work fine with the Garmin range. The 13xx don't have mp3 so you would need the wav files which is a little fiddly, but I have it worked out just fine. If you have any problems there is plenty of help available on here. Please feel free to PM me if you wanted a run through how that works.
I use RDS-TMC, and I think it works ok. From what I gather TomTom live users are somewhat annoyed with HD traffic at the moment.
It's nice and easy to update firmware and maps, so I would say it's a reasonable choice of device. |
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Boydie76 Occasional Visitor
Joined: Oct 15, 2008 Posts: 8
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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THANK YOU!
Looks like we have a winner!
It looks like I will definitely need help with the MP3 to WAV thing - how "fiddly" is it - is it a do it once and it is done for ever thing?
Is it worth looking for a unit that does everything listed above that also copes with MP3 (if so which model?) or is this really not an issue with the "WAV method"?
Thanks again for the help and having the "on-off with the ignition" is going to be great! - I can't believe TOMTOM don't have this option! |
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GerryC Pocket GPS Moderator
Joined: Mar 01, 2005 Posts: 1513 Location: West Mids
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Posted: Wed Nov 18, 2009 2:25 pm Post subject: |
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Boydie76 wrote: | Thanks again for the help and having the "on-off with the ignition" is going to be great! - I can't believe TOMTOM don't have this option! |
TomToms used to be able to turn on and off with the ignition but no longer. This is to discourage users from leaving them in the car. As they are really designed to be looked at and not hidden away, this was a deliberate decision.
Of course, with any action like this, someone with an idea such as yourself will loose out.
On your other point, I understand it's just a matter of loading the mp3 into a prog such as Audacity and "save as..." a wav file. It should be a one-off doing the conversion. _________________ Gerry
TomTom730T
Cameralert for Android
Brodit ProClip mount |
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Boydie76 Occasional Visitor
Joined: Oct 15, 2008 Posts: 8
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 4:01 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the advice guys - my new 1340T should be arriving tomorrow
Quote: | Please feel free to PM me if you wanted a run through how that works. |
darrengsaw - Thank you so much for your kind offer - keep an eye on your PMs over the weekend
I watched the video about installing the database onto GARMIN units (great job by the way!) and it says that there will be a second video showing how to change the "bongs" to voice alerts - e.g. "Gatso 30"
Does anyone know if that video is available or whether there are instructions on how to do this on the GARMIN units?
I will hopefully be sorting everything out over the weekend
Thanks again for the help |
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Boydie76 Occasional Visitor
Joined: Oct 15, 2008 Posts: 8
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 5:56 pm Post subject: |
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OK, I need help loading up the Voice Alerts for speed camera warnings!
I have downloaded the "Andy Sidwell" set for my speed camera database (speed zoned) and the file names all appear to match up perfectly - so far so good
I tried converting all of the MP3s to WAV files and have put them in the folder but I get an error when I try to upload using POI Loader
I tried Stereo and Mono versions of the WAV files with the same results - the errors relate to "cannot find .sox" (or something like that) followed by something like "Garmin cannot convert file" etc.
Interestingly when I tried just putting the MP3 files in the folder instead everything uploaded!?!?!?!
I am assuming POI does not convert them to WAVs as part of the upload and that the MP3s wont play on my unit?? - I haven't had the chance to test it out yet
So - can someone **COUGH** darrengsaw **COUGH** help me out with getting the voice alerts working in my 1340T
Fanks |
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BigPerk Frequent Visitor
Joined: Sep 06, 2006 Posts: 1618 Location: East Hertfordshire
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 7:07 pm Post subject: |
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PhilHornby's post on SOX in Quote: | Voice Warnings on nuvi 255 | might help. _________________ David
(Navigon 70 Live, Nuvi 360) |
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darrengsaw Lifetime Member
Joined: Jun 03, 2009 Posts: 107
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:32 pm Post subject: |
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Hi Boydie,
Sounds like you have it pretty close to sorted, try this and you might be away and running.
You need to place the sox.exe file into the folder you have you used to store all your files.
This should get your voice files working.
Here is the link: http://rapidshare.com:80/files/139638423/sox.zip
Have you downloaded Ash10's camera manager?
This is a really handy utility that lets you customise your alerts in several ways. The sticky at the top of the garmin forum page will direct you if you want to download it.
Hope that helps. |
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Boydie76 Occasional Visitor
Joined: Oct 15, 2008 Posts: 8
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Posted: Tue Nov 24, 2009 11:32 am Post subject: |
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SORTED!!!!
Thanks for all the help and advice
Everything has worked out exactly as I wanted - here are a few "points of interest" for anyone else in the same situation:
To get the voice alerts working you need to convert the MP3 files to WAV files (standard "Windows PCM" if you are given multiple WAV options) and put them in your POI folder with the PGPSW databases and images
Make sure you have the SOX.exe file in your GARMIN install file (not the POI folder)
I did have a bit of a scare that I thought had ruined my whole concept of just leaving the Garmin to turn on and off with the ignition without the need to touch it
When the Garmin turns on you get the legal disclaimer where you have to hit "I Agree" and then after this you would need to click on "View Map" to get the speed camera alerts!
Fortunately I discovered that if you just leave the Garmin unit alone it will automatically clear the disclaimer screen and default to the map view with speed camera alerts all working properly!
Basically - I am sorted!
Thanks again for the help and advice
The next step it setting up ASH's Camera Manager... |
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TonyIshUk Occasional Visitor
Joined: Aug 10, 2005 Posts: 52
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Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 4:50 pm Post subject: |
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Hi,
I have been following this thread with interest deciding between a TT XL IQ or Nuvi 1340T (both with euro maps)
Q1) I use the TomTom Itinery quite a bit, Does the NUvi do the same ?
Q2) I would like to load both UK and Euro Speed Cams does this prosent a problem in any way,
(I use a TT6 on a PDA at present and load the euo data on one SD card and the UK data on another so keeping the data seperate)
Comments on either SatNav would be welcome
Thanks
Rgds |
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Darren Frequent Visitor
Joined: 11/07/2002 14:36:40 Posts: 23848 Location: Hampshire, UK
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Posted: Fri Feb 19, 2010 9:22 pm Post subject: |
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GerryC wrote: | TomToms used to be able to turn on and off with the ignition but no longer. This is to discourage users from leaving them in the car. As they are really designed to be looked at and not hidden away, this was a deliberate decision. |
Not quite how I recall it. The 910 mount had an issue where a jolt interrupted power and it switched off.
As the mount couldn't be re-designed they disabled the power on/off with external power and have chosen to leave it off on every device ever since.
They may have decided to dress up its omission as a purposely intended 'feature' for security but that's BS.
We've asked them time and time again to re-introduce it but no sign of s change of heart as yet. _________________ Darren Griffin |
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dales Frequent Visitor
Joined: May 04, 2008 Posts: 752 Location: Knaresborough, North Yorkshire.
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:42 pm Post subject: |
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Back to the questions from TonyIshUk.
Yes the Garmin can handle multi-country camera data easily enough. There's a sticky about how to do it, near the top of this page. And Ash10's Camera Manager does it automatically.
Sorry I don't know what the TT Itinerary function is. Somebody else will have to chime in here.
Dales. _________________ nuvi 2599LMT-D, oregon 700, basecamp, memory-map. |
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Darren Frequent Visitor
Joined: 11/07/2002 14:36:40 Posts: 23848 Location: Hampshire, UK
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Posted: Sat Feb 20, 2010 6:48 pm Post subject: |
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dales wrote: | Sorry I don't know what the TT Itinerary function is. |
That's just a facility to plan a multi stop trip i.e. waypoints. Garmin can do that too.
However, unlike Garmin, TomTom's Itinerary cannot do route optimisation.
That allows you to input a number of addresses and it will plot the optimum route between them all. Very popular with couriers! _________________ Darren Griffin |
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stuart Frequent Visitor
Joined: 20/04/2003 11:51:10 Posts: 405 Location: Dorset, England, Great Britain
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 3:33 pm Post subject: TomTom GO520T to Garmin 765T Convert |
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I have also been following this thread with interest. Up until today I have been a TomTom man (TTG500 and TTG520T), but have now purchased a new Garmin 765T. So like TomTom, I need to backup all data onto my computer BEFORE turning it on and updating etc. Assistance required please.
Also adding PGPSW cameras seems straight forward enough and doing various tweaks. Can the map colours be changed ?. I will copy my 'Favourites' from my TTG520T, convert them and add them to the 765T.
But if anyone else out there can give me gentle guidance and advice I would appreciate it.
Edit for minor error |
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gatorguy6996 Frequent Visitor
Joined: Feb 16, 2008 Posts: 695 Location: Florida, USA
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Posted: Mon Feb 22, 2010 9:08 pm Post subject: |
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You will probably never use a back-up from your Garmin (unlike the need to do so on a TomTom). I can't think of any posts where someone has had to do a restore of their device, other than an occasional map or the current.gpx file where favorites and routes are stored. They are very much like Apple in the sense that they keep a tight control on how their interface can be modified or customized, and restrict how 3rd party apps can interact with their OS. Therefor it it much more stable, less crash-prone. But that's not really what you asked is it?
You'd do a back-up just like you would for any other drive. Just be sure to enable/include hidden files. The OS itself can't be accessed by a consumer, so that's not going to be backed up anyway. And because the OS is so tightly controlled, there's no 3rd party map colors either. If it's in the interface, those options can come only from Garmin. That's a downside to having a more stable OS. _________________ Garmin 1695 / 255 / 760 w/MSN - Droid w/Google nav + Navigon - Navigon 8100T - Dakota10 - GPSMap76C - GeoMate Jr. |
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