Garmin Poi

[+JetMonkey]

Hi everyone,

I read a post a couple of days ago about the Garmin POI software and now I'm interested in it. I know you're able to make custom points of interest and even download ones such as traffic camera locations and then store them on your GPSr.

 

Is there anywhere online that a good tutorial can be found on how to do this? I downloaded the software from Garmin and experimented with a Pocket Query. I expected it to ask me which fie I wanted to open then display all the items in that file then let me edit them as I wished (such as change the icon, name, etc) then ask me what I wanted to do with the new or edited POIs (such as save the file to my laptop, save it to the GPSr, maybe even the memory card in my GPSr. Instead, it wanted me to connect my GPSr then it asked which file I wanted to open then before I knew it, it loaded my PQ file into my GPSr. I have no idea if it sent the POIs to the unit itself or it's memory card. I can find them on my GPSr (60 CSx) and even see them displayed on a map but I'm not even sure how to delete them!

 

I'm hoping in a few months to be able to head to San Francisco on vacation with my family. What I'd like to do is in advance make multiple POI's for areas that I want to take pictures of and attach a note to it. For example if there is a great spot to take a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge that's a mile away from the bridge I would like to make a POI that shows this spot with a note telling me if I should shoot the picture early in the day, later in the day or possibly at sunset.

 

Not sure if this is the route to take or if I'm better off just making a waypoint in MapSource? I also want the ability when making the POI's to be able to save them just to my laptop or possibly to my GPSr's memory card.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Dazed and confused,

 

JetMonkey

[+gpsblake]

I think POI and Waypoints are considered two different things on a Garmin.

 

I know you can put in waypoints in yourself but I think putting in a unique POI requires the use of Garmin's software.

[+Timpat]

I've been experimenting some more with the Garmin POI Loader business and found some very cool things. Here's what I just did for some GC.com PQs.

 

I took a PQ of mine of, "My Finds within 30 miles", and opened the Zip in GSAK. Using GSAK to export a .gpx file, I choose to assign the Waypoint name as: "%name %code", and made the maximum characters a large number (60 is what I settled on for my test).

 

Then in the Cache description format box, I wrote this dialog: "%Name by %By (%Dif/%Ter) %hint".

 

Then I exported the .gpx file to my "Custom POI" folder on my hard drive, and used the Loader to load up ALL my 2,537! custom POIs to date I have made. When I do a Find/POIs/Nearest search, then click on a cache waypoint, I get the cache name, cache code, hidden by, difficulty, terrain, and the hint (if any). By testing this I find my screen is made up of two components; 2 lines for the Name (has 44 characters max), and 4 lines for the comments (has 88 characters max).

 

I work in the GIS field and I survey using GPS as well. I have huge GIS database files and I have experimented with these also. I created custom .csv files in the proper format (this is given in the Help menu in POI Loader) and loaded huge! custom POI waypoint files into my 60CX. The 44 and 88 character fields still apply with .csv files. They are treated the same when uploading. So if you wanted to take the time, you could create any custom file and fill it with text as you desire up to that limit. I still have more experimenting to do with these, but it appears you can type in 44 characters in the column for waypoint name, and 88 for the comment column.

 

Now, these POIs reside on the microSD card and not in the unit where the base map and your tracks, routes, and waypoints reside. You can not delete custom POIs or edit the info contained within that you have loaded. Any custom POI file that is in your POI folder can be loaded, or skipped. When you upload new POI files it erases any previously POIs, just like Garmin mapping is erased (replaced) when you upload new City Select, US Topo, etc.

[vfrpilot]

I just received my [upgrade to] 60c & love it!!!

 

I was under the impression that (hope) that the T &WP manager HAD the cameras & School zones included?!?

 

Where do I get these?? -

 

 

I have mapsource/City Select already, so when I installed the T &WP manager, it said it was merely incorporating it??

 

I'm waiting for my free V7 to arrive.........

 

I am a MAC guy - & use an older laptop soley for my GPS (which works fine) so I don't know all the ins & outs.

 

Is the T & WP manager just for those WITHOUT mapsource??? because I see no difference in the software interface - no additional options....

 

Thanks people!

[GeoidPS]

Custom POIs are stored on the unit, not on the SD card.

[+embra]

Now, these POIs reside on the microSD card and not in the unit where the base map and your tracks, routes, and waypoints reside. You can not delete custom POIs or edit the info contained within that you have loaded. Any custom POI file that is in your POI folder can be loaded, or skipped. When you upload new POI files it erases any previously POIs, just like Garmin mapping is erased (replaced) when you upload new City Select, US Topo, etc.

 

I'm trying to get a better understanding of managing these files. It seems clear they can be overwritten, but not edited. Can they be deleted with Windows Explorer by accessing as an external hard drive (like the link below presents?)

 

Custom POIs are stored on the unit, not on the SD card.

 

I think it was resolved (at least in my mind) that these are on the card. I sure want to know if I'm wrong; the usefulness of Custom POI's for me would be that they are in external rather than internal memory.

Edited February 11, 2006 by embra

[+JetMonkey]

Thanks Timpat for the info, as time permits I want to play around with the POI feature, your tips are a great help! I'm still a little confused as is embra is, can the POI's be stored on the memory card? If so, it sounds like the comment about not being able to delete POIs would be false since being on a memory card you should be able to add and remove data as you wish? Am I close?

 

Thanks again for the help!

[+Rosterman]

Timpat this is great info!

 

Anyone know how to get these to display as the geocache icon (treasure chest)?

[vfrpilot]

people....

 

Where are the camera & school zones???

 

Do I have to WAIT for my 7 upgrade to arrive???

[+Timpat]

Thanks Timpat for the info, as time permits I want to play around with the POI feature, your tips are a great help! I'm still a little confused as is embra is, can the POI's be stored on the memory card? If so, it sounds like the comment about not being able to delete POIs would be false since being on a memory card you should be able to add and remove data as you wish? Am I close?

 

Thanks again for the help!

 

Ok. Here goes. POIs are stored on the microSD card. Period. If in doubt, remove the card and go to: Find. Suprise, suprise, they're gone. I hope this settles that debate. The POI Loader was meant for the Street Pilot type units (w/microSD cards) that don't have the ability to store waypoints. This turns out to be a big bonus for us X users, too.

 

You can not delete custom POIs, or edit them for that matter. To edit you must do so in your text editor program (Excel, Note Pad, etc), put them in your POI folder, and re-load them. As I mentioned before, the only way to delete a custom POI file is to overwrite it with another. Custom POI files are like the Garmin mapping products in this regard.

 

Hope this helps a bit more. Experiment with the custom POIs and enjoy!

[Moun10Bike]

I am really enjoying the use of POIs on my 60CSx (and I can confirm that they are being stored on the MicroSD card). It is easy to take my existing waypoints, categorize them into the appropriate file which I save in GPX format, and then upload them nearly instantly when connecting the receiver to my laptop.

 

The only thing I am having trouble with is upload of custom icons. I believe that this is a bug in the software rather than my own error, as I am using a proper bitmap size and format as indicated by the POI Loader help file and the one that is used by Mapscource and the unit for custom waypoint icons. Rather than getting the proper icon, I only get a small square of it (seemingly the upper left 4x4 of pixels) and it lacks transparency. If anyone has success with this, please post here.

[vfrpilot]

Hey,

 

Can Anyone e-mail the [files] Camera & school zones for New Jersey & Philadelphia??

 

Much appreciated!

 

- Thanks

[Neo_Geo]

I just received my [upgrade to] 60c & love it!!!

POI Loader will only work on the "x" models

 

I was under the impression that (hope) that the T &WP manager HAD the cameras & School zones included?!?

Where did you get that impression?

 

Where do I get these?? -

Heckifiknow. Where did you hear about 'em?

 

Is the T & WP manager just for those WITHOUT mapsource???

Yep.

Edited February 12, 2006 by Neo_Geo