Tom Tom Go 300

[Jacktaylor5]

I've just acquired a Tomtom Go300, and as I always like to play around a bit with anything thats new - shiny and gadgety, I would like to use it to navigate me to the nearest road to a cache site, and then use my Etrex to locate the cache. If I enter a Caches' Lat Long in decimal format into the TTG300 using POIEDIT, (Lat Long as shown on Geocaching.com cache page), the Tomtom plots it quite a few miles away from the real location. Why? As far as I know, the TTG300 uses wgs84.

[+rutson]

OK, let's use oone of your caches as an example, coordinates posted on gc.com:

 

N 54° 11.529 W 002° 49.857

 

In decimal format that's

 

54.192150 -2.830950

 

Which I suspect is what you need to enter?

 

(FYI I did the conversioon with a windows application called Geocalc though there are plenty of website that will also do it)

[+John Stead]

Rutson just beat me to it while I was loading up PoiEdit to check the format.

He is of course right that you need to enter degrees, decimal degrees (dd.ddddd) into PoiEdit whereas cache pages give you degrees, minutes, decimal minutes (dd mm.mmm).

To convert you don't really need a program just a calculator as all you need to do is to divide the minutes complete with the decimal part by 60 and add that to the degrees. In Rutson's example you would divide 11.529 by 60 and get 0.19215, add that to 54 and you have 54.19215. Much quicker than reading what I have just written and than booting up a program.

The easier way though in my opinion is to use the excellent GSAK programme and create the .ov2 file from there for transfer to the PDA. But maybe that is because that is what I am used to as I create overlay files for Memory Map at the same time.

Edited June 21, 2005 by John Stead

[+rutson]

Would usually suggest GSAK, but didn't on this occasion beause the OP is not a premium member. Mind you you can still download loc files and load them into GSAK, they have enough information.

[+rutson]

Just realised something else. On the cache page, three lines below the coords there is a link:

 

"or convert to NAD27 at Jeeep.com"

 

Click on this, et voila, decimal coords without windows apps or John's slide rule

[+The Wombles]

You can change TomTom Go300 to use the degrees/minutes format as follows:

menu>configure gps>configure>minutes

Edited June 21, 2005 by The Wombles

[+Learned Gerbil]

Doesn't help with POIs though as they are stored in decimal degrees. There are tools for PPC that will now convert OS grid and D:M.M to a POI file, or add a POI to an itinerary file. I doubt there is anything for TTGo though.

[+John Stead]

Would usually suggest GSAK, but didn't on this occasion beause the OP is not a premium member. Mind you you can still download loc files and load them into GSAK, they have enough information.

Sorry I had not noticed that - but I would encourage anyone to become a premium member if only for the use of PQs and the presorting which they enable. Coupled with GSAK it makes it so easy to maintain a file from which you can extract tailor made batches of caches which enables you to limit the size of files in TomTom to those you want.

I am grateful to this topic though for reintroducing me to POIEdit which I had not used for a time and which does seem to be a more efficient way to load POI files to TomTom than cutting and pasting.

[+Learned Gerbil]

POIEdit is also a great way of sharing POI files also - Over on geocacheuk.com forums there is a discussion on automating POI updates between geocacheuk and TomTom using PoiEdit - currently it is still in public beta as POIEdit has an outstanding bug where user names include a space. But it works - although I have had to create a second Geocacheuk account with no space in my name!

[Jacktaylor5]

Thanks to you all. There's plenty there for me to go at. I'll try one of the methods very shortly. I was obviously entering the co-ords in the wrong format, and I'm sure things will be right when I do it properly. While on the subject, I'm afraid TTG300 let me down slightly a few hours ago when I was on the way to Bertie Berries Purple Passion travelling from Carnforth. "Jane" told me very pleasantly to venture down an unmade track that ended in a dead end at Wood Farm, and a slight bit of embarrasment with the farmers wife in a landrover. She asked me where I was going, and when I told her my Sat Nav had told me to come down here, she looked at me a little askance. She then asked me where I was looking for, and I didn't have the heart to tell her I was looking for a tupperware box somewhere. Again on the return from the cache, "Jane" tried to send me into the woods just before the ford. However, common sense prevailed the second time at least, and I continued down the road to get the car washed in the ford instead. Not perfect, but who is ?

[+Learned Gerbil]

I almost never get TomTom to take me to a cache - it isn't designed for navigation to off road locations. A far better idea is to use a map and generate a Favourite or POI for the point where you plan to leave the car. That way TomTom can do its job properly. If you don't do that, TomTom will try and get you as near as possible, even if there is a volcano or something in the way.

[Jacktaylor5]

I quite agree, and thats what I intend to do. Its just that when I get a new boys toy, I like to play a bit to see what it does. With the cache being offroad, Tomtom had snapped to the nearest road to the cache, and took me to the correct point on the road for access to the cache. (Iwill experiment a bit more to see if that always happens). The errors "She" made were in the actual navigational route of the road journey, and must be mapping interpretation errors of the system/mapping interpretation around the Winster ford area. Incidentally, in regards to my original query, I was indeed entering cache waypoints in the wrong format. I made up a little spreadsheet on the divide by 60 formula, which I tile onscreen along with the Geocache co-ords page and the Poiedit screen while updating the Tomtom. I then cut and paste the new co-ords into Poiedit. It works for me. Thanks for the help. Jack

[+Mr'D]

Had my TT300 for about a week or so now.

If like me you are in no rush to get anywhere it really takes the strain out driving to strange places!

Only seriously let me down once so far - took me off the M4 just into Wales and then back on again?

Anyway, I agree with others, the TT is not designed to find caches!

I do wish however the TT would accept full coords and not just Postcodes or streetnames.

Using the 'go to a specific point' on map is a real bind.

To navigate to a parking spot for a cache, I currently I pull the streetmap map up, convert to postcode, feed that into TT and then navigate about TT to get the exact spot and then save as a favourite.

Very long winded!

Given a cache page, with suggested co-ordinates for parking, what methods do others use to program their TT to get you there?

Jon

[+Pharisee]

Using the 'go to a specific point' on map is a real bind.

Ahhh...... now if you'd bought a 'proper' PDA in-car navigation thingy like my Garmin iQue 3600 it's an absolute doddle. From the CacheMate record it just a couple of taps on the screen and off you go...the silicon implanted 'lady' in the box tells you exactly where to go.....

[+Learned Gerbil]

Given a cache page, with suggested co-ordinates for parking, what methods do others use to program their TT to get you there?

Jon

If you had the PPC version of the same software your TTGo uses, you could run a freeware program called OS GPS. This allows input of Lat/Long and OS Grid and outputs conversion plus a TT POI file.

 

The TTGo can't do much, so the only way you can do this would be to get a cheap PPC with an SD slot, take the SD card out of the TTGo - use OS GPS to create the the POI file in the map folder and then place the SD card back in the TTGo and navigate there.

[JackiePenn]

If you had the PPC version of the same software your TTGo uses, you could run a freeware program called OS GPS. This allows input of Lat/Long and OS Grid and outputs conversion plus a TT POI file.

I use that when needing to put a co-ord into tomtom5 such a cache carpark.

 

It is a neat little converter but I am not sure it fully compat with the TT5 version as there is a strange ascii character added at the end of the POI coordinate (but seem to have no negative effect on the function of the POI) also the application immediately quits (as if it crashed) after exporting to a TT POI.

[+Teasel]

into the TTG300 using POIEDIT

Just point POIEdit's AutoUpdate Manager at http://stats.guk2.com/caches/poiedit.xml (you need to click the Set/Change password in POIEdit and type in your GeocacheUK username and password too).

 

Due to bugs in POIEdit, make sure there are no spaces in your username or password (a new version was released last week which may have fixed the bugs, but I've not had time to check).

 

You'll need to register on the G:UK stats pages first, and you'll need to download a file from the G:UK website manually once (just click the button on the home page and select a random file format, as Groundspeak require us to make you sign their disclaimer before providing downloads, and POIEdit doesn't provide a disclaimer-signing mechanism.

 

You can comfortably fit all 7000-odd UK caches (and 7000 trigpoints too!) into TomTom without noticing any slowdown (don't try this with MemoryMap!), so you might as well grab the whole set every week or so. GeocacheUK should spot caches you've logged, and show them with a different icon in TomTom.

[+McDeHack]

Just to add a point here. You can cache with a Tomtom Go.

GUK downloads has ALL UK caches that can be downloaded into the TTGo It works and I have found many with my Tomtom Go.

Edited July 27, 2005 by McDeHack

[+Mr'D]

Thanks for all replies.

OK, I have no problem getting geocache locations into TT300, found a POI file with these. However I much rather use the GPS60 for the final hunt.

The pain is getting locations of nearest parking co-ords into the TT.

Think I am right in saying TT does not accept Long/Lat or OS locator input?

Anyone else actually use a TT and the method I use, or is there a better way?

Jon

[+Learned Gerbil]

If you have handheld GPS a better way is TT for PPC and a cable. As I pointed out above, with this setup you have free tools to input OS or Long/Lat position data into TT. If you still want to use the TTG then use a PPC to create the TT compatable data on the SD card as described in my prevous post.

[+Mr'D]

GUK downloads has ALL UK caches that can be downloaded into the TTGo It works and I have found many with my Tomtom Go.

Enough said!

 

[+Simply B]

It is a neat little converter but I am not sure it fully compat with the TT5 version as there is a strange ascii character added at the end of the POI coordinate (but seem to have no negative effect on the function of the POI) also the application immediately quits (as if it crashed) after exporting to a TT POI.

As the author of OS GPS Convertor, thanks for the positive feedback, everyone. On the points raised in the quote:

1 - By "odd character" do you mean the asterisk after the degrees value? This is actually the degree symbol ° in the file. It displays fine in TomTom 3, but one of the new "features" in TomTom 5 seems to be that it now displays incorrectly!

2 - My program intentionally exits and brings TomTom to the front after it has created the POI. This is meant to be helpful, as I assume that you have now finished with my utility and want to use the POI in TomTom. By contrast, it doesn't exit if you create an Itinerary entry, as I don't know whether or not that's the last point you want to create

[JackiePenn]

Hello...

 

By "odd character" do you mean the asterisk after the degrees value? This is actually the degree symbol ° in the file

 

Here is an example of what it looks like in TOMTOM5 :

 

'N51*16.2200'
W2*02.4400'ðher'

 

It is the "ðher" I am refering too as the odd addition. Visually the "ðher" looks like it starts with an "ð" or it could be a "ò" or simular ascii.

 

My program intentionally exits

 

Okay, thats fine, I am indeed finished with using the app at this point after I press the TT POI BUTTON. Maybe a quick "job done, exiting..." message ?

 

and brings TomTom to the front after it has created the POI. This is meant to be helpful, as I assume that you have now finished with my utility and want to use the POI in TomTom.

 

I usually do not have TOMTOM5 running when using your app. I seem to remember tt5 locking the file and not allowing OSGPS to write to the file. But I also recall reading some about this in the OSPGS documentation so not an issue to me.

Edited July 28, 2005 by stonefisk

[+Simply B]

Hi

 

I nearly always use my program with TomTom running and have no problem with the POI file locking. It only occurs for me if I ask TomTom to navigate to the POI when TomTom doesn't have a satellite fix, and even then it's only sporadic. Once locked, the POI file then remains locked until I exit TomTom. I do appreciate that it may be more of a problem for some people. It's all explained on the web site, as you say.

 

The extra character(s) issue is a concern. You're the first person to report it, so thank you for that. Could you send me an OSGPS.OV2 file as created on your Pocket PC, so that I can see how it differs to one of mine? I'll email you separately so that you have my address.

The new version 2.1 has shortened the number of digits returned for lat/long values to a more realistic length for the accuracy of the conversions. When I input your values in 2.1, what I get back is one digit shorter:

N15*16.220' W2*02.440'

So if you upgrade to 2.1 the problem may just go away, though frankly I doubt it!

[JackiePenn]

The extra character(s) issue is a concern. You're the first person to report it, so thank you for that. Could you send me an OSGPS.OV2 file as created on your Pocket PC, so that I can see how it differs to one of mine? I'll email you separately so that you have my address.

here is the file : OSGP FILE 1

 

Here is another : OSGP FILE

 

seems the 'odd' character changes with a change in the co-ords.

 

Now have dl and installed OSGPS-2-1-0.zip.

 

Repeated test ...

 

and the 'problem' did indeed go away

 

doh.