Uploading Speed Camera (Safety Camera) & User POIs

[Tell]

All had been good till the end of May 2018 (but not so bad if you read on - there is a standalone Windows program that can be used) when VW pulled the site link to the personal POI upload process for MIB2 standard and high so the documented process covered in

https://forums.seatcupra.net/index.php?threads/uploading-speed-camera-pois.437989/

Stopped working.... reported in boards by people that use it.

Withdrawn link

http://rollout.volkswagen.de/content/de/brand/de/navigation/discover-pro/poi-listen-sammlung.html

I've edited some notes in at the top of the thread as I tried assorted avenues. The Skoda site MyDestinations should work as a substitute but it doesn't.

http://mydestination.skoda-auto.com/

Their output file contains assorted errors in the checksums but after correcting these it still doesn't work.

There is a POI program, POInspect0r that I mentioned on the link - can now report it works on the MIB2High - you need release 6.4 or above.

http://poinspect0r.blogspot.com/

It works for the standard (Seat MIB2 with maps held on the SD card) and high MIB2 (Seat MIB2 Plus).

Whilst the program can be tested with small datasets of less than 50 records a modest donation is required to unlock the program (9 Euros minimum) to get it unlocked for proper use.

Too unlock Poinspector you register by paying the Paypal donation invitation box. Take the Paypal Transaction ID contained on the email from Paypal and paste into the Online SN Registeration box under Info button (top right} of the app. Restart the app and it's then registered.

So this program which has been around for a while first for the RNS510 then enhanced for Discover series to the current Mib2 and MIB 2.5 all work.

http://poinspect0r.blogspot.com/

Here's ten records that can be cut and pasted into a file with the extension .asc using Notepad.

14.30467,46.62362,A KLAGENFURT Hotel Sandwirth,A,B,C
14.30298,46.62433,A KLAGENFURT Parking for Hotel Hiligengeistplatz,A,B,C
13.05037,47.73615,A SALZBURG Esso on border road,A,B,C
4.95054,51.30373,B BELGIUM Fuel E34 Route,A,B,C
3.33896,50.61982,B BELGUIM ... FRANCE BORDER,A,B,C
6.1534,50.75432,B BELGUIM GERMANY NORTH ROUTE SHELL,A,B,C
3.73613,51.01963,B Gent - Campanile,A,B,C
5.079962,50.142992,B WANLIN IN,A,B,C
5.077577,50.145079,B WANLIN OUT,A,B,C
7.07463,49.91638,D BERNKASTEL-KUES Tourist Information kastel-Kues,A,B,C

It will delete any user Pois you might have stored at the minute thou, so you will need your original files to get back to else you will loose what you have at the minute. Good to know whether this works the same as the VW site on the standard Mib2 in the Ateca. It supports the warble sound if you toggle it on via distance field. The MIB2 standard and high (Seat Plus) set at 0 for no warning, 1 for a warning warble. The MIB2 High at least computes your speed and distance to warble in time...

The screens are easy to navigate around. The documentation does cover the file input format which VW and Skoda have deleted off their sites. The linked documentation doesn't mention the Discovery export menu but it is there.

On the MIB2 POI refresher course the newer MIBs in the Golf 7.5 which is called the "MIB2.5" the VW site did not generate an the import file structure that worked - academic since the VW has been withdrawn. The Mapfiles for the standard and high version of Mib2.5 version are the same - I checked those. Poinsptec0r has been adapted to work with MIB2.5. VW seem to see Carnet as the way forward but they don't support the warblers. Ozzie's aren't happy since they have new shiney Golf 7.5s, with MIB2.5 but Car-net isn't supported in Australia so have no way of importing POIs.....(look no further). The Seat Tarraco will almost certainly have MIB 2.5.

If anybody finds that VW have re-installed the link post up. You never know the Skoda site may get fixed - but apparently the Skoda site hasn't worked for aegis so Skoda people used the withdrawn VW site. VAG complete shambles at the minute. But you have POInspect0r that does work and generates the upload to the car for MIB <2.5.

So I would encourage anyone to look at this program it's reported to work for the Mib2 Standard whilst it hadn't been tested on the Mib2 High till I came along. The developer has been good at recompiling the program and it's all fine now for the MIB2 High release 6.4. The prior release had been tested with the Mib2 Standard but not High.

Will add a follow up post on actually using it, you got to get your siblings and children right !. They are all siblings in the root for the Discover unit. Icon size must be correct. They need to be 34x39 or 39x39 you can take the standard GPS World ones and scale in paint producing PNG. BMP > PNG or copy them out of your last working VW download. You want to use the newer standard 39x39 icon size (Quick start guide )

Edit.

Note the issue with the firmware / hardware combination for the standard unit for Seat My19 and My20 cars with the Wi-Fi (Ateca & Leon) which prevented the unit from importing POIs is fixed. Update if a current user to 6.m or later (recompiled and republished on 2nd March 2020).

As far as Mib3 is concerned at the time of writing it has not been tested on these units. If user Poi import is supported offline as a legacy product the same as previous Mib units then the knowledge of the identifier of the hardware can be used by the software developer to adapt the program if the identifier is new. That identifier is contained in firmware updates.

Mib3 units inspected did not contain the same user Poi import screen as Mib2 or apparent ways to delete or show specific user Poi as Mib2. This would suggest the functionality has been withdrawn from within the unit least in the first My21 Seat firmware releases (0777).

Unable to check online import. In the VW / Skoda Mib2.5 units Poi import was available the same as Mib2 but connect service also allowed user Poi import but did not enable the "dong" warning. You need Poinspector for that where the "dong" is user controlled.

A last piece of hope for Mib3 may be the software import icon which is present might import user POIs but as said specific front screens to control for how user POIs are shown is absent on these first release Mib3 units. (October 2020). Any readers with Mib3 and familiar with Poinspector feel free to experiment.

 

[Tell]

Using the Point Inspector to Generate the Upload File (POInspect0r) (for Mib2 standard / high and MIB2.5 standard / high - with warbles)

Recreating the POI safety camera upload / download using Point Inspector (PO) the app should look like this ($) if you use Pocket GPS World to cover fixed and mobile cameras for Europe, although I'm using one extra file based on my destination favourites that I also import. That's 4 files from the subscription safety camera site Pocket GPS World - others are available.

($) the example below was produced on an earlier version, the current version may require the cameras to hang off PersonalPOI - which is not shown in the examples below, they drop down from PersonalPOI. See post 108 & on (edit: 22/10/2019).

On Pocket GPS World I download the safety cameras in GPX format taking the four files from the database, fixed and mobile, UK and Europe wide in the type Other down load box. They call it "single file" select UK and then Euro downloading two zip files that contain the four GPX files and four bit maps.

It is important to construct the category sets as siblings hanging off the root as shown above for the Discover infotainment unit - top left tree structure. Discover infotainment unit only handles siblings on the route and nothing else.

Prepare your Icons

You can generate the POI categories taking the default graphics within the program then change them to your preferred as shown above. First prepare your icons. The program only reads in PNG images and they can now be in the standard MIB2 format 39x39 with 6.5 version of the program or above - so no need to resize to 34x39 which was the old RNS510 standard. You must enable 39x39 import in preferences if you are using this format.

If you already have a working VW produced download POI update file from their system, then you can copy out the icon's it already has produced of the correct size and file type and use them - they are already 39x39 and ready to be used.

These are in the directory of your last working download from the VW system

MIB2 High (Seat Plus):

\PersonalPOI\MIB2HIGH\PersonalPOI\Package\0\default\bitmaps

MIB2 Standard:

\PersonalPOI\MIB2TSD\personalpoi\ppoidb\1\default\icon

If you don't do it this way you can use Paint to derive the PNG files.

You put your PNG icons in a folder in your own directory somewhere and call it's Icons. It's this folder of icons that you can import into the program using Tools, Icon, Folder Import. You do that after you have set up the proforma with the default icon.

Having setup the proforma you can then load your data into it. Unlike the VW site you do not need to read the icons back in, just delete the POI data in the category and import the latest. I use the GPX file structure for this:

During import you toggle on the warble alarm for the MIB2 Standard and High by setting the distance to 1 metres as the alarm distance since the distance and timing is sorted out by infotainment unit based on speed. The previous RNS510 unit which the developer wrote the program original for needed the distance to warn specified. The developer has now provided a check box that you can use instead.

• 0 metre means no warble alarm for that POI set
• 1 metre a warble for that POI set

Or use the check box instead which is now shown on the updated screen.

Having read in the data you hit Tools, Transfer current DB to SD card toggling on the MIB2High if that's the unit. Recent version of the software you choose which option you require to export out to rather than toggling. Either way it hangs of the
Tools, Transfer current DB to SD card.

You can use a USB stick as an alternative. You need to delete the contents of the SD / USB card before writing the results. Also you need to select Discover output. If it gives you a database error that's probably because you have the drop down pointing to a drive with nothing in it - remember to click to the correct drive for the SD or USB:

(Nb. Revised screen is slightly different to the image above, you select between standard and high).

The program can be downloaded from here:

http://poinspect0r.blogspot.com/

Release 6.4 or higher is required for the MIB2High, 6.3 is probably fine for standard MIB2. Think this will work for MIB1 as well. Basically everything since the RNS510 to MIB2.5.

At the Car

The card is placed in the infotainment spare SD slot in the car (for the standard unit) or USB for either. You do not use the the map card - the POIs are read into the unit from an SD card or USB. The card or USB can then be removed. You then select update POIs via the settings manage memory menu and follow the instructions.

At this stage if it's the first time you have loaded personal POIs into the unit you may wish to bring up the loaded up POI categories for display. The Mib2 allows up to 10 POI categories to be displayed. This may need to be adjusted if you have taken up all 10 slots so you can see the safety camera icons and any other favourites imported. I tend to use 5 for the inbuilt POIs and 5 for my users POIs (4 european safety camera files and 1 for my favourite destinations).

Note. On the Standard Mib2 the imported categories to show on the screen need to be rebuilt after each POI update. For the MIB2 High the categories remain unchanged. These are selected off the Map sub menu.

The volume of the warble is at the same level as the inbuilt navigation speech. This can be adjusted with a destination set in, by pressing the right steering button on sum MIB2 units (the same button / control for display options) or the lowest right icon below the automatic zoom activation on some recent 2018 / 2019 unit or on all units pressing the right button the MIB2 all units. It will repeat the navigation commands, use left button / dial to adjust the navigation volume to desired. That right button is the one you use to get the navigation voice to give you directions on command - like you didn't hear or you want some now - this one works on all units. Volume can also be controlled by a sub menu but easier during driving to cause the unit to repeat directions again whilst setting the volume.

To test the upload, a simulated drive can be taken by using the advanced menu of the infotainment unit. Put the unit into demo mode. Enter the cars location close to a safety camera by street address, then navigate a route that goes through it. You should hear the warbles if you have toggled them on. You can check the warning distance or leave it for a real drive. Demo mode can be toggled back off again.

The POInspect0r guide also provides useful documentation to import your own favourite POIs. It's a standard VAG Mib program layout for import, the program takes ASC files (comma separated but must have the ASC extension). With changes in Vag sites the record layout can get lost in the mists of time:

http://pi.radas.net/files/Personal POI Quick Start Guide v1.0.pdf

Page 7 shows the ASC field guide:

ASCII file format description

Supported fields:

lon,lat,name,country,region,city,street,house#,phone#

Example:
14.443444, 50.050892, "Speed cam, 50kmh", UK, ,London, a Street, 2118, 005221454787

The layout above can be used for your own favourites. Note the lon and lat column order are swapped from the normal order in the VAG import (normal as in sat nav, Google etc). You can import your own favourite POIs this way, save as a normal destination and in principle the side information on telephone numbers should populate that part of the infotainment system. This is how people who change cars frequently re-populate the cars destinations. It is this approach that I used to get my original Co-pilot destinations into the car, all 180 of them. Destinations defined this way means they show on the map.

https://forums.seatcupra.net/index....m-external-satnavs-to-the-cars-system.438041/

Hint

I keep a back up copy of the exe file which are updated, so if a release has an issue you can go back to the one that works for you... unlike the VW site that just deletes the web page. Probably a good idea to keep a back up of the database to save having to rebuild if there is a mishap (DB3 files stored in the PI directory). If the programs starts to do weird things then a clean install just copying in the existing DB3 files is recommended (worked for me).

Since posting, the development has moved on a pace from support MIB2 Standard and High to supporting MIB2.5.

Thanks go to the developer Radas for this excellent program to cover the gap that the VAG group have have created . There is a micropayment for the program of 9 Euros but you can test first on smaller datasets. A sample file is given on post 1 of this thread.

Footnote January 2019

Currently the release is on 6.k it works with the 2019 Seat Standard and Plus. The map software of the app which had an issue after Google changed license agreements has been fixed. Now having access to both the 2019 version of the Mib2 in Standard without Wi-Fi and Plus form the warbles come on at about the same time. So anybody having an issue with an older release needs to update. It's been fixed for use in the southern hemisphere as well.

The developers blog provides details of the changes.

http://poinspect0r.blogspot.com/

 

[Jim45]

Took the plunge today and being a Mac user I grabbed an old but perfectly useable Windows Laptop that was being tossed aside by a friend, donated to POInspect0r, renewed my subscription to PocketGPSWorld and had a crack at creating my speed camera poi’s as per Tell’s brilliant instructions.

A bit of a learning curve as I haven’t used a Windows PC in maybe 12-15 years and I’m no genius so I read all there was to read and an hour or so later the speed cameras are on my mib2, complete with modified icons and it all works. Chuffed.

Big thanks to Tell and the program developers.

 

[Tell]

Pleased it worked for you. There is probably a Windows PC emulation box on the Mac or perhaps not.

I'm happy with Radas' program since when VW pulled the plug on it's site you were stuck and then if you had set your heart on a car with Mib2.5, their site in any case didn't work with it even if they hadn't pulled the plug on it and Seat doesn't support Carnet type of site and Carnet doesn't support warbles... So what it means is business as normal even if the VAG group don't want it like that .

 

[Jim45]

You can dual boot your Mac with a Windows partition added but it’s a faff, free laptop is better!

I set the warble to 100 metres which is about right particularly on town roads.

 

[Jim45]

Can I make POI’s for the National Trust from a file from the internet that is labelled GPX for Garmin using the same method I used for the speed cameras?

 

[Tell]

You should be able to. I did read one person on his site having a gpx issue in the past. GPSBabel is a trusty utility if you find there are issues you can reformat and play about with stuff.

https://www.gpsbabel.org/

Basically I think GPX is a Garmin file format standard... that what I loaded up the speed cameras in.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS_Exchange_Format

It's whether other data attributes are used that you can peel them off with GpsBabel if you locate what the issue is... but it will probably go in first time...

 

[Jim45]

You should be able to. I did read one person on his site having a gpx issue in the past. GPSBabel is a trusty utility if you find there are issues you can reformat and play about with stuff.

https://www.gpsbabel.org/

Basically I think GPX is a Garmin file format standard... that what I loaded up the speed cameras in.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/GPS_Exchange_Format

It's whether other data attributes are used that you can peel them off with GpsBabel if you locate what the issue is... but it will probably go in first time...

Thanks Tell, I used gpx for my cameras as I copied your modus operandi, so I guess the way it handles one gpx file will be the same as any other. Now as I seem to have got the hang of it, I’ll maybe give it a go tomorrow.

 

[Tell]

An advantage with Radas' program over the deleted VW website is that you can update each component individually. The VW site you had to run through all of your camera POI files, add the graphic and toggle for sound and all of that was in German.

As I did note one person did at one point report an issue with a GPX file, Radas is very good with his bug fixes. There are no issues with the GPX Pocket World files.

Basically I keep a file of my favourite Poi's which I load up and save as destinations, then the temporary ones which I'm only going to visit once I'll see if I can find them on the Android Here We Go app, compare with Google. Launch up Android Map Coordinate App, find them there. That one allows you access to Google Maps and you can walk street maps better than you can in Google Maps, toggle to Openstreet and you can toggle between degrees, minutes and seconds (DMS), the default VAG input or decimal degrees. The former go into the car via the On Map thumb wheel screen. If I see them on the Here We Go app then a good chance of finding what I want on the in built POIs.

Then if I'm feeling really good I'll digitised in Google Maps, Here Maps and Openstreet once finding something missing - correct any garbage around the location. Temporary ones I bookmark and dial in via the Map Coordinates app at the car. The multiple visit ones I imported in via the POI file so you see them on the car's sat nav. If I find them in Here We Go then they are likely to be in the car's in built POI database - that which gets updated with the maps. Of course Openstreet is more useful for outdoor activities than Google Maps which is more about commercial activities, although some people are busy digitising footpaths and tracks into Here Maps - they got a way to go thou.

Google Maps only people say I just pick them off, that's assuming the POI is on the map then you get a blob that the navigation takes you too. By manually doing it you end up at the entrance to the car park - Google doesn't do that. In built Here Map Poi's are based on a destination and routing point, so say for a church, the blob is placed on the church, the routing point is the church car park. So Here Map Poi's are more sophisticated in how they are designed. Downside is they use Facebook to import users Poi's that generate a lot of dross in the database. If you really want to be sure you get to the exact location better to look it up and fix the coordinates yourself. Google is a bit more demanding on data quality but once dross is in there difficult to get out unless you got a photograph to show it's wrong. Google doesn't give you that last bit of information on entrance to use just proximity. I prefer not to drive up and down looking for the entrance to a car park hence why I dial the stuff in or use POI Import to get the exact final location to park up or start looking for parking.

 

[Jim45]

I want to add more POI’s to my database but it states the database is locked, what is the procedure for adding and updating the database within POInspect0r please?

As the PGPSW database updates regularly I obviously would like to update my POi’s on a regular basis.

 

[Tell]

I tried to generate the problem but I couldn't. You can append into the ones already set up, that worked for me. Doesn't appear to be clipping the SD you get that data base error.... wondered whether he had put in my suggestion on that.

I updated from 6.6 too 6.8 the latest. I still couldn't get that error still.

I loaded the program in C:\ with a directory off that. If you have it within the Windows program directory I guess it could generate errors, admin rights etc. When I do have programmes in the Windows program directory I still have to frig things around when I copy stuff in myself - unrelated to this even thou I have admin rights. So this one I decided was never intended to go in the Windows program directory so put it outside of that.

I'd email Radas.

 

[Jim45]

Not sure why it happened, rebuilt a new Personal PIO file and added The National Trust PIO’s with 39x39 NT icon to the Speed Cameras I already had, copied to SD and now working fine in the car.

I guess I am still on the learning curve which at my advanced years gets steeper everyday!

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Tell]

I did have one point when I was doing it a couple of weeks ago when it did something bizarre, it was copying out the source database to the SD card plus what it should be doing. I did a clean install then it was fine. There are some macros or something that can be left in place - what I decided, Radas was perplexed. I had done a database rebuilt so probably not a good idea.

I think once you got a proforma working one can stick to that. Seems to be reliable then. I wasn't going to update to the latest version since it was working fine for me . I'll check it's all fine in the cooler part of the day or Friday shopping trip. It did go threw quite a few releases when I was checking it. The developer puts it out there for testing. The feeling I had. Bit like I use to do when working... ah yesterday's results, these are today's... we can always improve.

 

[Maypack]

Anyone manage to get the warble to work with MIB2 Standard? I've just uploaded the Speed Camera's to my Sat Nav but there doesn't seem to be any warning tone. Also if the warble does work will it annunciate only when there is a route set up in my Sat Nav or will it annunciate whenever I get near a Speed Camera as long as the POI is selected to be on?

As a side note, great bit of work Tell. Appreciate all the time and effort you've put into this.

 

[Jim45]

Yes my warble works, have you set the distance? If you have left it as zero it will not work AFAIK. I have set mine to 100 metres and yes it did warble when I had the Nav on screen without a route being set.

 

[Maypack]

Yes my warble works, have you set the distance? If you have left it as zero it will not work AFAIK. I have set mine to 100 metres and yes it did warble when I had the Nav on screen without a route being set.

I've got mine set to 300m...don't want to be caught out lol. Not tried it yet though, so that's an excuse for a run out.

Will it still warble even if the Sat Nav isn't on screen or being used? As in a background mode?

 

[Jim45]

I've got mine set to 300m...don't want to be caught out lol. Not tried it yet though, so that's an excuse for a run out.

Will it still warble even if the Sat Nav isn't on screen or being used? As in a background mode?

Not sure haven’t tried that yet, have had the Nav on screen, only did mine Tuesday.

 

[Tell]

It will warble even if a destination is not set. If you are passing close to a side road with a camera it will also warble... one can cope with that.

Maypack you can put it in advanced demo mode and test it without going anywhere which I mentioned towards the end. Now there are some early mib2s that won't warble, they are prior to at least 2016. I know all Ateca's whether standard or plus (high) are capable of generating the warble sound. I'd have to Google further to identify it exactly. I recall it's given as a build week.

Btw I credit Radas with the program. I hunted it down from early reading after VW pulled their site and mib2.5s don't support warble via the VW or Skoda connect sites and it didnt work with the VW withdrawn site format till Radas fixed it whilst we were sorting out the issue with mib2 high. Having sorted that out, he identified why it wasn't working with mib2.5 in his car. So we were all happy .

 

[Maypack]

Now there are some early mib2 that won't warble, they are prior to at least 2016.

Mines a 2017 so should be ok. Will do a proper test later just so I can go for a run lol.

Thanks again.


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[Maypack]

Been for a run out and I can confirm that the warble does work if you have anything other than the Sat Nav in your screen. As long as the Speed Cameras are selected as POI’s on your map you will be informed by a warble.

One thing I would like is to be able to increase the warble sound independently of the radio or other music input. If anyone (Tell, I’m looking you lol) can figure this out I’d be in their debt.

For those not sure about doing the upgrade it’s well worth it, could just save you from a ticket and fine.


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