Question re TomTom520, safety camera databases

[pjmedlam]

Hello, this is my first post, I hope you can help.

I have a TomTom 520 I’ve just bought. It had preloaded safety camera locations and I have downloaded additional updates using TomTom HOME.

At the moment I’m using the preloaded data base but am considering switching to the PocketGPSWorld.com data base. I just had a question about the comparison in 'alerts' between the 2 databases.

Ideally I'd like reliable data, a brief spoken warning of the camera and speed limit and a warning if i am going too fast. Directional alerts would also be good if possible.

Research indicated that I needed the Talex database for directional warnings and warnings if i am going too fast, but they unfortunately seem to have gone bust (i have read several threads on here).

At the moment using the TomTom preloaded database gives me a spoken warning of the camera type and location 15 secs before the camera and then another spoken one about 7 sec before which also includes the speed limit. Both warnings are long winded but also rushed and with the second one its hard to hear the spoken speed limit.

If I downloaded the PocketGPSWorld.com data base and activate the text to speech warning for each zoned camera type am I just going to get one warning at the distance I have specified (by setting it in the POIs section)? Is there any way for getting a second warning like the preloaded database gives me?

I would like to keep the twin warnings if possible. If I decided to keep using the TomTom preloaded database, is there any way of altering or substituting the ogg files (wherever they are, I can’t find them in the ‘maps’ folder) that are giving me the longwinded and difficult to hear existing standard TomTom spoken warnings for something clearer and shorter?

Hope someone can advise me....best regards....Paul, Preston, UK

[Daggers]

Welcome to the forum, Paul!

First of all, once you try the PocketGPSWorld database, you will realise that it is more accurate and up-to-date than the TomTom version, and you would be unlikely to go back! I may be biased, but there are a lot of people frequenting this site who would say the same.

I'm pretty sure it's not possible with a POI based system such as the PGPSW database to get a second warning as you approach the camera. However there may be a couple of workarounds if you consider it necessary:
a) Install the database twice, and use varying warning distances to the camera (say 500 yards in advance for one copy of the database & 250 yards for the second copy).
b) Create your own ogg files with both warnings in the same file, separated by a period of silence. (I've only just thought of this one, and I'm not over-familiar with ogg files, but I don't see why it wouldn't work - no doubt somebody will correct me if I'm wrong!)

As far as directional warnings are concerned, this isn't possible with TomTom devices. You are only warned if a POI is positioned on the road you are travelling along. Of course with some cameras (Truvelos) it doesn't matter which direction you are travelling - they can get you either way!

[Darren]

[pjmedlam]

Thanks for the reponses, appreciated. A few further questions:

So both versions of the database can exist together in the maps folder?
They have different file names?
It doesn't confuse the TT by having effectively having two POIs in exactly the same place?

[Darren]

The different database types have different names hence why they can coexist. TomTom cares not about two POIs being in the same place.

I would suggest you try with one instance first, so long as the warnings are set at the correct distance it should prove sufficient. Too many alerts may cause you to begin ignoring them which may do more harm than good.
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Darren Griffin

[Andy_P]

Just to clarify, the choice of database won't enable directional warnings, that's down to the TomTom's core program. Even their own cameras aren't directional.
The TT used to do a fairly good job of ignoring cameras on the other side of a dual carriageway, so long as you had the "warn only when on route" option ticked, but they tweaked the software a while ago to make the "capture range" bigger (so as not to miss all of their badly placed POIs, I guess!).

As for the warnings themselves, take a trip to http://www.pocketgpsworld.com/tomtom-ogg-files.php for the collection of different warning voices we've put together so far (more coming if I ever pull my finger out!).

And to answer your query, the TT warnings you've heard, are created "live" by the text-to-speech engine, so that's why you haven't found any .ogg files in your map folder so far.

[pjmedlam]

Andy, is there anyway changing these 'live generated' messages?

For example I would like to change

"safetycam UK 30 tomtom 100yards" - said very fast with no punctuation

to "gatso, 30, 100 yards" etc

is this possible?

[Darren]

Not easily, these are recorded voices, and so without re-recording them it's not possible.
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Darren Griffin

[mikealder]

If you use the computer voice (Kate or Simon) then set the TomTom up using the Text To Speech warnings you can have anything you like said by the device - long or short.

This method will also support two installations of the PocketGPSWorld database on the device for double warnings, you just have to re-name each the files so you would end up with:

pocketgps_uk_gatso_20.ov2
pocketgps_uk_gatso_20.bmp
pocketgps_uk_gatso_20_1.ov2
pocketgps_uk_gatso_20_1.bmp
pocketgps_uk_gatso_30.ov2
pocketgps_uk_gatso_30.bmp
pocketgps_uk_gatso_30_1.ov2
and so on,

if you have a read through This it details setting up the TTS system to read out the warnings, it takes a while to do though and if you go for the double set write down a list of all the camera POI files then tick them off one by one as you configure them - Mike

[Andy_P]

pjmedlam asked the same question in a PM which I answered before I saw it here.
Assuming by "live generated" he means the "computer" / text to speech voices, then Mike has covered it all really, but in case it is of use to anyone else, this is what I said in the PM:

I'm pretty sure you can (have shorter messages), but as I use the PGPSW camera database, I don't have any personal experience of the details.

When you go to the warnings set up, you should get four choices, something like "Speak full warning", "Speak brief warning", "Sound effect" or "Type your own warning".

You could see what the "Brief" one does, but you can certainly type your own warning, although its quite laborious to do it for every camera speed/type.

You get the same choices when you set up warnings for Points of Interest, so this is exactly what I do for the PGPSW cameras which are done as POIs. I had to juggle with the spelling and punctuation a bit to get them to sound the best I can. Lots of full-stops to slow the voice down a bit.

[mikealder]

[Andy_P]

Ahh.. As I said, I'd never tried it.
The best laugh I had was setting the TT-supplied database up with a TTS voice so it said "xxxx me! I've actually found a camera!"
Kept me amused for an hour or two.

[pjmedlam]

Thankyou for your patient and clear explanations. I have had satnav systems before with camera databases (but not TomTom) so i understand what you are saying. The pocketgpsworld database is excellent but there are a couple of advantages of sticking with the TomTom database (one being the distances in the messages being variable, not a pre-entered/calculated figure), also there are some disadvantages of the double data base suggestion.

I understand the options for the different messages on the Tom Tom and have already experimented with each. The most useful seems to be the actual longer self generated message as this includes speed limit and distance (but also other things I would like to edit out, see above). It’s no use putting your own message in with the TomTom database as the database does not differentiate between speed zones so the voice could not tell you the specific speed limit for that camera.

I had hoped that the TomTom messages may be partially stored as text strings that might have been editable. However as the distance part of the message changes in line with your actual speed, (not the maximum speed for that speed zone), the TT messages must be some sort of hybrid with a variable section.

I just want to explore all options before deciding which database to use in the long term.

[mikealder]

You can set the PocketGPSWorld database up using different distances for each of the cameras - this is a distance you choose, not some automatic value.
As you are comparing the two sources of database perhaps it is time to mention quality of data, I have used the TomTom offering but a recent 7 mile drive and the device warned me of cameras that simply are not there twice and on three occasions didn't warn at all for established cameras, these are fixed Gatso type, the database is simply immature in terms of content. Oh and don't forget the mobile camera locations - the TT database doesn't contain them as such - Mike

[Darren]

Just remember that the frills and configuration options are just eye candy, the underlying database is the crucial ingredient.

I wouldn't rely on TomTom's database.
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Darren Griffin

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