POI Data

So that POIAlert can function, first POI data must be imported. At present POIAlert supports files in the formats Map Monkey and Google™ Earth.

The data of the European stationary speed and red light cameras in these booth formats can be downloaded for free from SCDB.info. For that just a registration is required.

As an alternative data source the POI database of the NaviFriends is supported. It contains also mobile speed traps. But they are not updated on a daily basis. A free registration is required as well. Don't enable option "ohne Kommentar" before download!

Both providers support the selection of the desired countries before the download. Due to the long duration of the file import, only the really required countries should be selected.

With conversion the POIs from pocketnavigation.de and from PocketGPSWorld.com can be used too. The latter is particularly interesting for UK users.

POI data of non-European countries can be found in several formats e.g. at the GPS Data Team. If the format of the desired file is not supported, a format conversion can be taken into account. In particular a conversion of a CSV (Comma Separated Values) format into the Map Monkey format can easily be done. For a conversion into the Google™ Earth Format the program PoiEdit can be valuable.

Map Monkey Format

The Map Monkey Format is a simple CSV format. Due to the simple structure the file import is faster, than with the Google™ Earth format, and it needs less memory. For the first tests therefore this format is recommended.

However the data from SCDB.info contain in the column Type only the value MANUAL. Therefore combined cameras for speed and red light or cameras with variable speed limit cannot be indicated as such. For a non zero speed value the related speed limit sign will be indicated. Otherwise the traffic light sign appears.

ASC files of the NaviFriends can be converted with the Excel® macro NaviFriends_makro.zip into the Map Monkey format. With the converted file all camera types are indicated correctly.

Google™ Earth Format

The Google™ Earth format (KML) is a XML format (eXtended Markup Language). Since the several fields are used differently by the POI providers, the import functionality has to be adapted specifically for each provider.

The SCDB.info download file has an extension of "kmz". This is a ZIP file. The file must be unzipped and afterwards copied to the Data inbox directory on the mobile phone.

The file google_earth_Blitzer.kml from the NaviFriends can be imported directly.

POIs from pocketnavigation.de and from PocketGPSWorld.com can be converted with the program PoiEdit into the Google™ Earth format and afterwards be imported.

For technical reasons the actual progress during the import of Google™ Earth files can be indicated only by the counter. Instead of the progress bar appears an animation, which depends on the type of the mobile phone.

If you expierence problems during the import, please take into account this hint.