TomTom - Motorcycle Dealer POI Search

[Fred W]

Don't know if you can do anything similar with a Tom Tom, but you can download add custom POI files to your Garmin GPS quite easily. The only real "problem" is that the POI files are static and may not be totally up to date. However, it is at least a start and you can try calling the dealership before you go schlepping over there.

Here's a link to the process to add POI files for a Garmin zumo (probably works with others)

And on my FJR NERD Repository I have several POI files available for download.

Edit - While I was typing, I see that DennisJ beat me to the punch with the recommendation to look for the Yamaha Dealers POI file at the POI-Factory web site. That is where I got the file for mine

 

[bigjohnsd]

Thanks, the TomTom doesn't accept the GSX (sp) files that the Garmin uses, however there is a free conversion utility available online.

I'm learning how to use that utility now, no luck yet, and once I have some success I'll post links and instructions.

 

[Fred W]

Actually, even the Garmin doesn't accept the GPX formatted files directly. You have to first use the POI Installer utility (as I mentioned in my diatribe) to convert and install them modickers.

(Modickers... what a great technical term. Seems to have unfairly fallen out of favor in recent years. Must be the PC police enforcement efforts.)

 

[Pterodactyl]

Bought a Tom Tom for the Spousal Unit at the BMW Rally in July. Yesterday the mount broke and the GPS came flying off, held in place only by the wire. Have made an inquiry to Tom Tom about a replacement, but no response yet... understandable since it's a weekend. I hold Big John personally responsible, since he speaks well of this pice of doo doo.

 

[RossKean]

Fred

I just read your great write-up on adding (and organizing) POI files on the Garmin. Well done! Will the Garmin recognize the files if they are stored on an auxiliary card rather than in the unit's main memory? Works for routes (and apparently maps but haven't tried it). Even on the Zumo 665, there is precious little additional main memory available after installing some of the recent LARGE mapsets. I've deleted all of the "extra" languages/voices/vehicles etc. to maximize space but don't have a very large amount of leftover for POIs. Does the system slow noticeably if you invoke the extra POI files? If it is displaying the stuff on the screen, the points must be "living" in the active memory.

I did not realize that the added POI would show up as screen icons - very helpful. It would be nice if Garmin provided the means to edit the stock POI file that comes with the map downloads. I'm sure they take up a large amount of space and the only things I regularly search for are gas stations, hotels and places to eat.

 

[Fred W]

FredI just read your great write-up on adding (and organizing) POI files on the Garmin. Well done! Will the Garmin recognize the files if they are stored on an auxiliary card rather than in the unit's main memory? Works for routes (and apparently maps but haven't tried it). Even on the Zumo 665, there is precious little additional main memory available after installing some of the recent LARGE mapsets. I've deleted all of the "extra" languages/voices/vehicles etc. to maximize space but don't have a very large amount of leftover for POIs. Does the system slow noticeably if you invoke the extra POI files? If it is displaying the stuff on the screen, the points must be "living" in the active memory.

I believe that you can put them on the SD card in the same directory structure that they exist on the unit's internal memory (/Garmin/Poi ) and it will find them. However, I never do that. I just load them onto the device's memory because I have all of my mapsets loaded to the SD cards, which leaves the device memory essentially empty.

I have posted the detailed instructions for doing that (loading full mapstes onto SD card) here. IMO, it is worth doing that on any older Garmin GPS these days as their mapsets continue to grow in size, even the zumo 66X units are getting short on internal memory.

I did not realize that the added POI would show up as screen icons - very helpful. It would be nice if Garmin provided the means to edit the stock POI file that comes with the map downloads. I'm sure they take up a large amount of space and the only things I regularly search for are gas stations, hotels and places to eat.

Yes, the custom POIs are live and get placed on the map in real time. And, if you place a proximity alert in the POIs you will get an alert tone and banner with the POI name across the top of the display whenever you get within the proximity distance you set. For instance, I have a POI file with all 235 of the New Hampshire historical roadside markers with the proximity alerts set to 1/4 mile. Anytime I get within that radius of a marker it alerts me to its presence. I like collecting the photos of the markers with my bike.

I think you are correct that the POIs in the map updates accounts for the majority of their ever increasing sizes. The roads don't really change all that much but new POIs are always being added, and old ones don't always get deleted. I'm not aware of a way to edit the POIs in the mapset, but it really isn't an issue if you load your maps to a big SD card

 

[RossKean]

I have not (yet) found it necessary to load maps onto the SD card but I believe that day will arrive sooner rather than later. I have to wonder whether the ever-increasing size of the Garmin mapsets is their way of rendering older units (with lifetime maps) obsolete. Or, perhaps they have simply gotten lazy - memory has become so cheap and processors so fast that it is easier to let the database bloat than it is to "trim the fat" and keep it manageable. (Remembering the days of huge 10 megabyte hard drives and much less than one megabyte of RAM. Removable storage measured in kilobytes!)

 

[bigjohnsd]

Come on guys, this Garmin stuff needs a Separate thread

 

[RossKean]

Sorry about that! And I'm usually the one who complains about threads going off-topic...

Anyone marketing a GPS that is designed for a specific market (motorcycling) should be aware of the needs of that specific customer base. Maybe we are too small to spend the extra time and effort? Anyway, I hope you have some success with TomTom. Anything new to report?

 

[bigjohnsd]

Sorry about that! And I'm usually the one who complains about threads going off-topic...
Anyone marketing a GPS that is designed for a specific market (motorcycling) should be aware of the needs of that specific customer base. Maybe we are too small to spend the extra time and effort? Anyway, I hope you have some success with TomTom. Anything new to report?

They are still "Looking At It" according to my most recent email.

They seem to sell enough of the damn things and you would think that the data would be provided by the MC Manufacturers in whatever format that TomTom neess for free, in fact if I were a Manufacturer I'd gladly PAY to have my Dealer Network in their POI Database.