Tool to import speedcams in COMAND

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MBSpeedCams

Member
Joined
Jan 5, 2013
Messages
30
Car
C180
Hello,


After some searching on how to import speedcams in the COMAND navigation, I've noticed that many people are looking for the same, but only a few actually found how to do it easily.
In the end I started looking myself for an easy way to do this, based on the different posts on different forums. The result is that I've written a tool, MB SpeedCams, that can easily generate a COMAND POI file with the files from the scdb.info website.


I've tested it myself in different countries (Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Belgium, France) with good results in my C180 (year 2012).


I like to share this with other Mercedes owners that are looking for the same, so I've build a website where you can download this tool for free and also info on how to use the tool.


I'd like to get some feedback from other users to see if I can add improvements or if there are any problems in using the tool.


You can visit the website here:
http://mb.jack-nicholson.info


Important to know:
- During testing I've hit a hard limit of 30.000 POI items.
- I didn't find a way to play a sound when approaching a POI, while this is possible in other navigation systems (TomTom, Garmin etc).


Thanks in advance, and enjoy the tool :)
 
Has it been tested in the UK?

NB It is illegal to use any speedcam alert in France and anyone doing so and caught will be fined.
 
You better be careful, lots of patents and copyright issues here... MB will be down on you like a concrete.
 
You better be careful, lots of patents and copyright issues here... MB will be down on you like a concrete block.

He's right dude , lose the Mercedes logo and official looking titles/ text from that page -------- you will present less of a target.:dk:
 
Has it been tested in the UK?

NB It is illegal to use any speedcam alert in France and anyone doing so and caught will be fined.


Not tested in the UK, but feel free to do so. Not sure if it's allowed in the UK.
I know it's illegal in France and Germany, I only tested it there with fake speed cams to see if other countries also worked.
So use at your own risk and in accordance with federal laws in the countries you drive to (which is also mentioned in the disclaimer btw).

He's right dude , lose the Mercedes logo and official looking titles/ text from that page -------- you will present less of a target.:dk:

OK, will work on that one in the upcoming days. Basically all I do is automate the creation of a POI file, which you can already do manually. So I don't think that will cause issues, but I understand that making the site less official (which was not my intention) by removing the logo/title will make it more clear that it's just a side project, not at all associated with anything official by Mercedes-Benz.

Thanks for the feedback already :)
 
Last edited:
OK, I removed all references to the name Mercedes-Benz, COMAND, etc, got rid of the official Mercedes-Benz logo on the website and in the tool.

I've updated the text on the website, to make it more general (not specific to Mercedes-Benz, but all car manufacturers).

Also changed the banner (which had a Mercedes-Benz car in it) to a more general banner.

Looks much less official and not related to any car brand now to avoid problems I think?
 
OK, I removed all references to the name Mercedes-Benz, COMAND, etc, got rid of the official Mercedes-Benz logo on the website and in the tool.

I've updated the text on the website, to make it more general (not specific to Mercedes-Benz, but all car manufacturers).

Also changed the banner (which had a Mercedes-Benz car in it) to a more general banner.

Looks much less official and not related to any car brand now to avoid problems I think?

That should certainly help- good luck with the site.
 
PocketGPSWorld has had it running for a few months now, with detailed info for Mercedes Comand. However no way to have audible warnings as yet as Mercedes have disabled them internally.
 
PocketGPSWorld has had it running for a few months now, with detailed info for Mercedes Comand. However no way to have audible warnings as yet as Mercedes have disabled them internally.

Was not aware of the project at PocketGPSWorld for this.
Looks like the same as what I'm doing, except that with my tool there's no need for subscription and looks that I provide more freedom in choosing icons, timings, names etc.
Other than that, PocketGPSWorld also provides mobile cameras, and as far as I know scdb.info only provides the fixed cameras.

About the audible warnings, I'm not sure if Mercedes will ever enable that.
When I asked my dealer about this, they stated that it was unlikely to be enabled since it would go against the safety image that Mercedes wants to bring out.
 
Other than that, PocketGPSWorld also provides mobile cameras, and as far as I know scdb.info only provides the fixed cameras.

I have a free life sub for PGPSWorld, so thankfully don't have to pay anything. The camera coverage (fixed, mobile, traffic light, motorway) is second to none but there isn't any customisation options which would be great.
 
Version 2.0.0 released, and can be downloaded from the website (see first post).

Change log:
- Added option to convert any POI file using basic conversion.
- Added option to merge 2 .GPX files
- Added option to choose destination of output file.

Basically it's now possible to take any POI file (in the .KML format) and convert it so it can be used in the Mercedes COMAND navigation.
I had a question from a user who wanted to import camping POI's, so I've added support to do a basic conversion, which takes just the GPS coordinates and the title from the input file.

I've also added the option to let you choose where you want to save the output file.
By default it will save to the location of the program exe file, and using the default "PersonalPOIs.gpx" filename. But when you want to combine a custom selection of countries or sources, it's most useful to give you some freedom over the output names during the conversion.

In addition to the previous option, I've added another feature that allows you to convert 2 .GPX files into 1 .GPX file. So this way you can take any POI source, and save it to seperate .GPX files on each conversion, and then in the end convert them all to 1 .GPX file.

Please keep in mind that there is a hard limit (30.000 for 2012 models) in the COMAND system for POIs in the file. If you go over that limit, the POI file will not be loaded at all. Use the Calculator (in settings) to keep track of the number of POIs in your files.

Any remarks or questions? Reply here, and I'll see if I can answer them :)
 
First of all a big thanks for sharing.

I have followed your instructions but alas have been unable to load the file and would appreciate some additional guidance.

Everything goes fine until I try to load the poi file. I choose NAV and then POI option = Standard, Personal POI or None.

After selecting Personal POI's I instantly get a screen asking me to choose the POI's that I want. Am I supposed to find speed cameras in the list?

I never see a notice showing "Importing Data" :confused:

My car is an E Class 2011 loaded with version 7.0 Nav software. The folder containing the file is named identically per your instructions and does not appear to be corrupt. The folder / file is loaded on a CF memory card via a Transcend CF card to PCMIA adapter.

Initially I left my music files on the card and simply added the fold, I have now tried without music files present without success.

Any pointers would be much appreciated.
 
When you open your Personal POIs you should see a category there that has the same name as the name that is used in the tool in the settings screen (by default it is set to "speed cameras").

If you don't see that, then the file is not being imported.
This can be because:
- The navigation version you have might not support personal POIs (but since you see this option I think it does support this)
- The POI file you try contains too many items (2012 model has a 30.000 limit).
To see if this is the problem try setting the limit to 10 in the settings screen (then it will stop converting after 10 items), and then see if the car will load that file.
- The POI file has a syntax error (it should be xml compliant). Normally the tool should take care of this, but maybe I didn't cover all the weird characters that are out there. If the first 2 options are not the problem, send me the POI file and I'll see if I can find something wrong with it.


When I have some time I'll take some photo's of the menu's in the car navigation to illustrate the manual on the site. That's probably a bit easier to follow than plain text :)
 
I have tried everything I can think of but still no cameras. This link will allow you to download the files I am using along with a photo of my screen grab and an XML compliance report. Hopefully you will be able to something dumb that I have done or not! ;)

Finger crossed:D
 
Syntax looks OK from what I can see.
I'll try your file in my car tomorrow to see if it loads on my navigation. If it does, then we need to look for a difference between what I've tested on my car, and how your navigation works.

Meanwhile, can you try if you can save a POI in your navigation (any location will do).
Put an empty SD card in the console. Then open your navigation, you should be able to save your current location as a Personal POI and give it a name. When doing so, it should save this in a file on the SD Card. Check if it does (if not then that is probably the issue), and send me the file including any folders where this file is stored, so I can compare on possible syntax differences or naming differences (in file and/or folder).
 
I do not recall seeing an option to save POI's. Could it be that V7.0 does not have this facility?
 
Could be, I've only had the pleasure to drive (and test the tool) on a 2012 model. I don't have knowledge on previous models.

From what I recall while doing my research, personal POIs are a rather new feature, so it could very well be that this was brand new in my car.

If there is no option to save a personal POI in the navigation console, then I'm afraid that we can conclude that importing POIs is not possible in your version.
To be sure you could ask about this in your garage on the next maintenance, maybe it just works a bit differently, or maybe they can provide you with an easy upgrade.
 
I tried your file this morning, and it doesn't load in my car, so that could be a good thing for you. Meaning there's something wrong with the file and it might work after all if I can find what the problem is.

Give me a few days to investigate this :)
 
Does this tool work with the COMMAND system in S and CL?
Because as far as I know the navigation software is different to the rest of the range.
 
Try and see, unfortunately I don't own an S or CL :)
The software may be different, but I don't think they will use different formats in the imported files, so good chance that it will work.

If it doesn't work, and if you can save your own POI to an SD card, then send me the contents of the SD cards in a zip file, so I can check how to include support for those models as well.
 

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