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Mercedes Garmin Map Pilot SD Card Navigation System
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Nemesis1
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 8:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Been doing loads of fiddling, but no good.
I will post what I have done on the odd chance someone can make sense of it.

I the Garmin POI folder is a file called ECE_V12.0.gpi Every time you move it, or nest it or even change the name, the system overwrites the entry in the GarminDevice XML file I mentioned in the post above to match whatever you have done. I tried to rename it and then name my own .gpi file to match, but it just goes and finds that actual file, so it must have some sort of ID tag. The only way for it not to find it is to take it off the card completely. Then however it deletes the entire entry in the XML file even though my file with the matching name is in the folder.

Even with no POI files at all on the card, the built in ones appear on the map, so they must be in the map data itself. So what is that ECE .gpi file? its over 1Mb in size, so it cant be my stored locations or anything as I haven't got any yet.

The system must be reading the PGPSW data file at some level as I do still get the occasional audio warning of a camera, just very few, 6 in total today on a round trip from Sheffield to South Wales. The IOS app picked up all the cameras, some of the sat nav alerts did not correspond to a camera on the app.

I noticed today that only one icon of my downloaded POI's is showing on the map, and that is the attractions one. I have downloaded the camera DB, attractions, Healthcare, Landmark and Transport. This is the only icon that displays (apart from the built in ones).

I have contacted Garmin and Mercedes, they both want to pass it to the other.....

:-\

Just don't think it is going to work, any other ideas I can try?

Thanks.
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M8TJT
The Other Tired Old Man
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Joined: Apr 04, 2006
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

C'mon you Garmin experts, give Nemesis some ideas re file system layout and where to put the POI Loader file etc.
(You are creating the camera db file using POILoader I assume Nemesis?)
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Nemesis1
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I am mate, and putting it in the POI folder on the SD card. Like I say, it must be reading some of it for me to get any alerts at all. I'm just not getting anywhere near as many as I should, and no icons are displaying.

:-/

Are there any other car makes that use Garmin based systems does anyone know? I will research this car owner forums and see if there are any clues there.

:-)
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 9:47 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I would have thought that by now, using the iOS App would have shown you how good that is, far superior to any of the satnav downloads (same database, just handled sooooo much better).
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Nemesis1
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 10:11 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

DennisN wrote:
I would have thought that by now, using the iOS App would have shown you how good that is, far superior to any of the satnav downloads (same database, just handled sooooo much better).


Maybe, but not an option. I only have a work iPhone, and as my company is fully signed up to the 'Hero' anti-distracted driving campaign, they will as of Sept 1 this year push a phone blocking app to all company phones. This prevents all functions of the phone other than emergency outbound calls and one pre defined inbound number while the phone is moving above a set speed. So as of then I won't even be able to use my subscription that way as I hoped :-(

I need to get this working somehow. The thread OP seems to say he got it working, but every thread on every forum I can find about the Merc system all say otherwise. I wish he would come back on and explain exactly how he did it.
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Nemesis1
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PostPosted: Mon Jun 01, 2015 11:53 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

More experiments.....

I have downloaded a single file version of the DB in Excel and converted it to .csv
Tried that, audio alerts but no icons. (I am now only using the camera file, I have ditched the other POI's)

Remembering that one of the free POI icons did display, I copied it's .bmp file and renamed it to match the single .csv file name I made, created the .gpi and tried it.

Audio alerts, and 2 (in the whole of Sheffield) icons.

:-(

What the hell is going on????? I just don't get it, it is clearly reading the POI file to know when to sound an alert, why won't it put the icons up? And why does it put 2 icons on the map for Sheffield when there must be 100+ cameras of one description or another.

I can say one thing, you don't need an audio file for this Garmin unit, so long as your .csv file name contains a Garmin 'code' word like 'GATSO' or 'SAFETY' the system adds the sound itself, and turns the text box red if you are traveling over the limit of the camera (if you have the speed warning set to on in the nav options) all the Garmin code words can be found on their website. I'm sure you knew that already though. The last thing I can try tomorrow (got too fed up with it tonight) is I know Garmin partner with Cyclops, so I am going to name my single file in accordance with the Camera POI file on my mates Garmin PSN with cameras and see if it recognises it somehow?


Confused
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 5:57 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

What colour is your car? Not black, I hope.
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Nemesis1
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 6:43 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

DennisN wrote:
What colour is your car? Not black, I hope.


If that's wit or sarcasm it's way too clever for me I'm afraid.
:-/

?

My actual car is white, and the car on the sat nav is a blue arrow.
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 7:07 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Black and I would have stopped feeling any sympathy for you.
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Nemesis1
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:54 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Don't you like black cars?

My old Audi was black, wasn't my choice as a new starter it was a pool car.

Anyway.....
Drove to Licoln today, got more audio alerts and icons for 4 of the 7 cameras I passed.

If I could even get all the audio alerts working and have confidence in them I would take that. They are directional it seems, but it still missed 3 that were on the app.

I am way early for my meeting so am going to have another play now.
Icons seem more frequent if you set the map detail to 'Normal', I am thinking this us possibly to do with the draw rate of the map, as even the in built ones are more stable where they were popping on and off when distant and only stayed fully displayed as you got close.

I'm hoping that as time goes on, Merc might update the firmware and allow more options.
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DennisN
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 10:16 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

It's not actually dislike black cars, more like fear them. Their owners also own the roads and drive like I shouldn't be using them.

Anyway, whatever you have, it's worth a large mint of money and for that sort of cash, you'd think they could get you a satnav that does what you and many others want. I mean, it's not like my cheapo white Renault van - you can expect peanuts in this tin thing, and that's exactly what you get (well, you don't even get that good, the worst TomTom unit I have ever experienced). But a shiny bright Merc? That's never fair - you pay twice as much as I (or more, I don't know), but you still get a rubbish satnav that costs a fortune extra and doesn't do what a standalone does - indeed, the only way it beats a standalone satnav is it is built in and doesn't need unplugging every time you go out.

Isn't there a Merc forum somewhere to ask about this? Apart from the few who have posted here, are you the only Merc owner who cares about POIs with audio and icons?
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Nemesis1
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 02, 2015 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

:-)
I have read every forum of every type I can find, not just about Mercs, but Garmin and POI troubles - the lot.

I have made a bit of progress and have found some things by trial and error.

It seems changes were made to the actual software and how it works from v2.2 onwards. Many people report icons disappearing on the Map Pilot display after this update.

You can use .csv and .gpx to make POI files for this system.
You can have .bmp of any size from 16x16 to 64x64 (I have tested this myself)
I get more icons appearing if I use a .gpx file, although I have no idea why this would be?

You need to set your alerts manually or they default to 400 feet with on a fast road is way too short.
But.
You can also have multiple POI.GPI files in the folder and it will use them all. I'm sure there is a limit, but it's more than 5. So you don't have to update all your POI's when the camera file changes. So I have 2 camera POI files both made up of the consolidated DB. One has the alerts manually set at 1320 feet distance, and the other was created in express mode with the speed sensitive settings. Both work.

I am still missing some alerts where the app is giving them, but the situation is improved.

:-)

If anyone else has a play and makes further progress please update this thread.

I have raised a ticket with Mercedes with a request for a 'personal POI' function. See how we go. I still don't know what the .GPI file already present in the POI folder does; it isn't the factory POI's, they appear whether the file is in the card or not. Unless, the locations are on the map itself, and the details (phone number etc) are in the file?

Thanks.
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Nemesis1
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 12:52 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Right.
More research tonight suggests that some POI are vacinity and threshold (speed in our case) dependant on this system.

So.....

I have created a POI file with essentially 3 versions of the consolidated (the Merc sat nav has in built speed zone indication so don't need that one) PGPSW DB in 3 sub folders, all with larger 64X64 .BMP icons.
The first is set to trigger the audio alert on speed as you approach a camera. (The express install in POILoader)
The second is set to trigger the alert at 1320 feet. (Manual install)
And the third set has had all the name info and speed info removed from each file for every location. This (I hope) will trick the system into thinking the locations are 'normal' POI and display the icons permanently. I have had to give each location a unique name, so I just got Excel to auto number that column.

I hope, this means I get what I already had via a previous experiment, speed and distance triggered audio alerts from the first 2 sets, with, all being well, all the icons showing now it thinks that one set of locations are just standard POI. Basically I have read that some icons only appear if triggered by speed, vicinity or distance, so I have removed from one set of camera .CSV files everything by which it would know, I've changed the file names and edited the name of each individual location so it's just a number.

Does that make sense? I can't be bothered to go out to the car and try it now, so it will be on way to work in 6 hours. Sorry, I'm rambling I know :-/

Bloody hell! Is that the time!......
Haha

Night folks.
:-)
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M8TJT
The Other Tired Old Man
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 8:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Nemesis, I must admire you for your tenacity. I seem to remember from sometime in the past that Garmins will (may, could do???) sometimes not alert unless you are over the limit for the cam.

It seems like we have failed miserably to attract an input from one or more of the Garmin experts for some reason or another.
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Nemesis1
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 03, 2015 10:45 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

M8TJT wrote:
Nemesis, I must admire you for your tenacity. I seem to remember from sometime in the past that Garmins will (may, could do???) sometimes not alert unless you are over the limit for the cam.

It seems like we have failed miserably to attract an input from one or more of the Garmin experts for some reason or another.




:-)

I am happy to report success this morning!
Came over to Manchester, every alert on the app matched by an alert on the sat nav, and every icon visible if within the systems catchment range. I learned late last night that apart from the built in ones, it will only put custom things on the map within a certain area around your location.

To Summarise:
My POI file (now just the one) contains 3 versions of the consolidated PGPSW Camera database.
My main folder is called POI_IN_USE
In it are 4 folders.
One is called CAMS_SPEED and contains a copy of the consolidated database with 8 bit 64x64 icons.
The next is another copy of the DB exactly the same but called CAMS_DIST.
This is so when I manually create the .GPI as it opens each window for the files I set all the DIST ones to alert at 1320 feet, all the SPEED ones are left with the default values.
The next is another copy of the DB in a folder called CAMS_ICON and these .CSV files have had all location entry names changed to just numbers (you can simply delete the entire column and then get Excel to number the column in sequence) this means the sat nav just sees these locations as bog standard POI and puts the icon on the map regardless of direction, speed or anything else, so long as you are within the systems range for custom POI, I don't know what that is; any other users of this system will have noticed even the built in ones for such as McD's etc flickering off and on the display. This just ensures the icon does appear if you are near it.
The forth is a folder containing some of the free POI I downloaded.

So run the POILoader, set the distance alert for the relevant files and that's it :-)
Audio files of any kind don't work that I can see, but the system 'bongs' anyway as standard. I used .GPX DB files for the speed and distance ones. I pulled over and clicked on one of the icons and the details just gave a number as the name, so it's clearly populating the map from that file, so I suppose you could even ditch the .BMP files from the other 2 DB's. I will leave them for now.

What I need now is for some nice person to make me some nice sharp icons at 64x64 please, as the stretched ones don't look that good.

Thanks.
:-)
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