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Ash10's Voice Utility Software
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cyautoman
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Joined: Oct 05, 2008
Posts: 4

PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2008 10:18 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Following my previous post, has anyone manage to succesfully replace the Bong sounds of the speed alerts of the English_American_.vpm.

I replaced all wav files with the Bong and blip sounds with my custom wave file but I still get the Bong sound. Specifically, I replaced files 021,025,026,039,064,065 & 107. I also replaced file 081 with silence and I got rid of the "Recalculating" alert.

Does the Nuvi 860 use a hidden wave file for the Bong and not those in the VPM?


Last edited by cyautoman on Sat Oct 11, 2008 12:31 am; edited 1 time in total
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BigPerk
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2008 12:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I had this question quite some while back in another thread, and a couple of us eventually came to the conclusion that the code for these bongs is possibly in the base operating code in the Garmin unit and so inaccessible (except to reverse engineers of course Cool ).

Obviously can't vouch for this, but you will find quite a number of people on these forums have wrestled unsuccessfully with this particular sound.
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(Navigon 70 Live, Nuvi 360)
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iansworld
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PostPosted: Sat Oct 11, 2008 3:16 pm    Post subject: Re: Ash10's Voice Utility Software Reply with quote

Wonderful software Ash !

Please, please, please start your license server !!!!

After a brief test of split and join a few months ago, I decided on a gift for my father-in-law tomorrow.

I have had my three children in a recording studio, and we have re-recorded all .wav files. I then spent hours and hours editing each one to sound the same as the original, and finally finished this morning. All I need to do is re-join them...

please ...!

Edit : Decided to see if you use the settings in Internet Explorer to access the Internet. I use IE for work (firewalls, proxies, etc) and Firefox at home (open broadband).
I changed the settings in IE to work at home and Voice Utility worked.
Perhaps you could expand the error message explaining this ?
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on30trainman
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Joined: Oct 28, 2008
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Location: Philadelphia, PA area

PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:28 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hi - I am new to this particular forum but not to GPS.
I think this question is mainly aimed at Ash 10 and your Voice Utility.
Just today I found a new non-TTS .vpm file on the Garmin site called Halloween (http://www8.garmin.com/vehicles/voices/halloween.html) and it seems to work fine on my nuvi 200W. Have only tested it in the Simulator mode since the weather here today is very cold and rainy. But - I find that when I try to parse the .vpm file into it's .wav components with Voice Utility I don't get the files - just the first one labeled 000. Any idea why? The .vpm is large - over 5M when the other Voice files are about 1M.
Thanks for any info anyone can provide.
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BigPerk
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PostPosted: Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:12 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Have a look at this thread:

Quote:
Do New Units Have Same Commands as Older Ones?
,

where RyanT had a similar problem (I think) due to the 60-character preamble in the voice file.
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(Navigon 70 Live, Nuvi 360)
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Frovingslosh
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 11, 2008 10:26 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

on30trainman wrote:
... But - I find that when I try to parse the .vpm file into it's .wav components with Voice Utility I don't get the files - just the first one labeled 000. Any idea why? ....

I'm having the same issue, trying to parse the Elfred.vpm file from the Garmin site. Utility insists that I give it a "sound samples" file name, appends _000.wav to the end, and creates this one, empty, file (not a valid wav file format). Does anyone have any insight on what is happening here or how to properly use the tool?
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Frovingslosh
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:25 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's Crippleware!!!!

The author seems to indicate that this software is free for personal use. But after spending a lot of time to build over 100 wave files for conversion into a new voice file, I hit some nasty surprises:

!) The software insisted on connecting to the Internet. If you don't let it connect to the Internet you can't make a vpm file. Supposedly it want's to connect to it's "License server" WTF? I never got a license! Shouldn't need one!

2) The software informs you that because you have modified over 50 sounds, You need to make a PalPal "donation" to use it. It says it will still make the vpm file, but some samples will deliberately be of "reduced quality", whatever that means. There is no clue as to which samples will be mucked with.

3) It does make a useable file, although there are some issues with it. One annoying one is that no matter what you name the file, it still shows up in the Garmin menu as the name of the voice file it was created with. I sure would have expected that this could be adjusted somewhere in the making of the new .vpx file. Not a deal breaker, but annoying.

4) I certainly wouldn't pay someone who does such a crappy thing as to tell you you have to pay after you put all the time and work into making new wave files, but I also wouldn't make the "donation" through PayPal. He likes PayPal, fine. He has that right. I hate it and consider it evil, I will never use it. If I had been told that this software was only for someone willing to use PayPal I would have skipped by it and gone on to other things.
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Piet22
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 3:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Frovingslosh wrote:
on30trainman wrote:
... But - I find that when I try to parse the .vpm file into it's .wav components with Voice Utility I don't get the files - just the first one labeled 000. Any idea why? ....

I'm having the same issue, trying to parse the Elfred.vpm file from the Garmin site. Utility insists that I give it a "sound samples" file name, appends _000.wav to the end, and creates this one, empty, file (not a valid wav file format). Does anyone have any insight on what is happening here or how to properly use the tool?


A search with Google reveals that these two voices only work on Nuvi's that have the newest software installed. Also, if you open a "normal" non-tts vpm file with a hexadecimal editor, they always begin with the characters AUDIMG200. Not so with DrNightmare. So it appears that this is a new voice file format that only works with newest system software.
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Piet22
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 3:48 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Error
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Frovingslosh
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 8:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Piet22 wrote:
...A search with Google reveals that these two voices only work on Nuvi's that have the newest software installed. Also, if you open a "normal" non-tts vpm file with a hexadecimal editor, they always begin with the characters AUDIMG200. Not so with DrNightmare. So it appears that this is a new voice file format that only works with newest system software.

I have the newest firmware. But if you read the above you should have seen that the discussion was not about using these files on my Garmin (which does indeed work) but in using the conversion software in this thread to try to take apart either of the two new files. The software just doesn't deal with the file correctly.

Doesn't really mater though, since I found out that it's crippleware and it deliberately degrades your audio samples if you try to update a whole set of waves unless you cough up a "donation". I consider that pretty sleazy, since the crippleware is never mentioned up front, rather the software is supposedly free for non-commercial use. You only find out about the crippleware after putting hours into building a new set of wave files.
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Ash10
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PostPosted: Fri Dec 12, 2008 9:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Frovingslosh wrote:
You only find out about the crippleware after putting hours into building a new set of wave files.

Alternatively you might have considered reading the instructions and related discussions before you started - did you not think to test your new voice as you were going along?
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marknav
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Joined: Dec 16, 2008
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:00 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hello Ash, I'm new to this forum but this software looks great and just what I need for a personalised Christmas present! However I'm not sure I'm doing everything correctly. I've downloaded the Dr. Nightmare.vpm voice from the web to experiment with. When I click on Split it just gives me one file (in my case test_000.wav) which is empty (0Kb). I was expecting all the voice files which I could then modify and join back into into an .vpm file. What am I doing wrong? Thanks for creating this great utility - let's hope I can make it work!
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Ash10
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 1:17 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

marknav wrote:
I'm not sure I'm doing everything correctly. I've downloaded the Dr. Nightmare.vpm voice from the web to experiment with. When I click on Split it just gives me one file (in my case test_000.wav) which is empty (0Kb).

The Dr.Nightmare and Elfred voices use a different VPM file format, which Voice Utility doesn't yet handle - try splitting an existing VPM file from your own Garmin device first.

The quick way to tell the formats apart is the file size - the new voices are huge (5Mb+), whereas the original ones are only about 1Mb...
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marknav
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PostPosted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 2:06 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Sadly I don't have a Garmin. My customisation is intended for a friends Christmas present. Are there any voices available I could download to experiment with? The destination device is a Zumo 550.
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TekPete
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Joined: Dec 27, 2008
Posts: 6

PostPosted: Sat Dec 27, 2008 7:50 pm    Post subject: Voice Utils limited alerts Reply with quote

I can't believe that I was up until 2.00am reading the comments on this forum.
There was nothing in the readme files to say the software was restricted in any way, however my version is from 2005, it might be version 0. I was going to ask a friend's child to voice the commands, but it seems to me
that there's no point because the utility has been disabled in this way. I quote: "If this utility proves useful, feel free to make a donation". Perhaps it should be changed to "Give me a donation anyway". If I'd been able to
create a full set of voice commands I would have made a donation.

I understand Ash10's annoyance at some unscrupulous people exploiting his efforts and making an easy profit, but why punish everyone?

As far as I am concerned this utility is more or less unusable, I don't know if the old version I have will let me create a full set of commands. I'm not bothered about the "Recalculating" sound in itself, I just get annoyed when it keeps recalculating for no good reason.

There was a website where you could upload your wav files and for £15 they would create the vpm file for you to install on your GPS. I can no longer find this website, if anyone knows it please let me know, I suppose those who have already created their wav files would also find this service useful.

Another thing, this Ash person doesn't answer most of the questions sent to him, like how much money does he want for a full-working version as asked by atilioc of Venezuela. Would $10 be enough to get a full working
version?

Does anyone know if NIKO-007 managed to get a response from Garmin about acquiring the use of their utility? I don't think they'll be much help, they told me I couldn't back up "My favourites" (saved destinations) and yet I found a utility to do it; EASYGPS, in fact Garmin supply a utility with their map updates which will do it, which isn't much use if you did a Master Reset before running the utility (as they instruct you to do). Anyway people good luck with getting the voices you want. I sympathise with you all, especially those who put a lot of effort into creating your waves only to find you can't use them.

I have some other minor questions, but at this moment I'm too disillusioned to bother posting them here.

All the best:
-Pete
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