Modding my TomTom to XR standards - now with DIY

[Timmeh]

Well, after having the TomTom for a little while now, I got bored and started seeing what I could do with it.

After an hours play, and merely because I could, I changed the blue arrow into my red XR6!



Just because I could.



I must say it looks alot better on the smaller TomTom screen but you get that.

Timmeh

[Riksta]

LOL, that's fantastic, awesome work

[AdzT3-146]

Thats awesome,

what version tom tom do u have?

[chief]

Talk about customising your car lol

[ebxr8240]

why !!!

[deesun]

Originally Posted by ebxr8240

why !!!

Because he was bored and because he could. And a blue elephant would have looked just silly. :togo:

[Rodp]

Oh, that's great!

[the_scotsman]

Originally Posted by AdzELXR

Thats awesome,

what version tom tom do u have?

Only V7 allows you to mod your car from memory..don't know if you were being more specific though? As in 7.*

[XHUTE6]

I have a TomTom One XL. How do i do that?

[Timmeh]

Thanks for the comments. It's just a TomTom One v3. It doesn't have a feature to change the car icon normally.

Timmeh

[fordel]

Yup it looks brilliant

Cant wait to do mine hehe

[Fev]

that is so cool

[Timmeh]

Originally Posted by XHUTE6

I have a TomTom One XL. How do i do that?

You need a TomTom hacker program, some patience, and a good set of instructions so you don't crash your TomTom like I did the first time.

fordel - lucky you have the same car as me, making your colour wasn't too hard heh.

I can post a DIY on it if people are interested.

Timmeh

[RSgerry]

Hiya Tim. How's that project of yours coming along? I got some Cougar rims for mine for the princely sum of $150 and they look sensational. I just have to do something about that ride height...and get some more power in the Mini...and some more power in the RS...and some Konis for the front of the RS...and some paint work done on the RS................................................ ...........

[Hybrid34]

Originally Posted by Timmeh

You need a TomTom hacker program, some patience, and a good set of instructions so you don't crash your TomTom like I did the first time.

fordel - lucky you have the same car as me, making your colour wasn't too hard heh.

I can post a DIY on it if people are interested.

Timmeh

Hey mate,
Wow JOBLESS! haha something i would do!, yeah i love it, can you put a doco up on how to do it? (how did you get yourcar up there?, is it an image from the web? or did you take a birds eye view of your car)?,
I've got a tomtom v3 n would love to have my car up driving around

good work!
- Ash

[Timmeh]

I actually took a photo of a model BA I had and then went about making the image so that the TomTom would recognise it. I'll post a DIY when I get a chance when I get home from work. It's pretty easy to do.

[Timmeh]

Originally Posted by RSgerry

Hiya Tim. How's that project of yours coming along? I got some Cougar rims for mine for the princely sum of $150 and they look sensational. I just have to do something about that ride height...and get some more power in the Mini...and some more power in the RS...and some Konis for the front of the RS...and some paint work done on the RS................................................ ...........

Hey there!

I actually had to sell my Mondeo. I shattered my kneecap and the manual clutch was tearing my healing knee apart. It's a long term injury so I ended up selling the Mondeo (with Cougar rims and all) to my brother.

Glad to hear you scored some Cougar rims, they look fantastic on the Mondeo!

Timmeh

[mr_xr8]

awesome work
bring on the diy :

[Timmeh]

Ok, here is a step by step guide to modding your TomTom One. It should work with any TomTom but I cannot guarantee it as I have only done this on my TomTom One. I have uploaded the files needed to my web hosting space (thanks fordel).

------------------
Modding the icon on your TomTom One

1. Download these files by right-clicking and choose Save As. Note that you only need to download one of the XR icons:

TomTom program - http://www.stfocus.net/timmeh/TomTom/tthxplrr.zip

TomTom Falcon XR icon (red) - http://www.stfocus.net/timmeh/TomTom/xrred.bmp

TomTom Falcon XR icon (grey) - http://www.stfocus.net/timmeh/TomTom/xrgrey.bmp

Yes, the pictures have red all around them, TomTom requires this so don't modify the BMP files when you get them.

2. Connect your TomTom to the PC with the USB cable. Choose Yes to connect to the computer. Then choose to Browse the TomTom (as opposed to running the TomTom Home program).

3. Select everything in the TomTom folder and copy it to a folder on your computer. This is a backup, just in case. Leave the TomTom connected.

4. Unzip the file tthxplrr.zip onto the computer anywhere and run the setup.exe file. This will install the TomTomHeavenXplorer program you need.

5. Run the program TomTomHeavenXplorer. The first time it runs, it will create a new folder on your TomTom called Art and inside a folder called Cars. Important! Do not browse the TomTom just yet to check!

6. Important! Close down the TomTomHeavenXplorer program before browsing the TomTom again. The first time I did this, I didn't close the program and I had to reset my TomTom.

7. With the program shut down, browse your TomTom. Go into the Art folder, into the Cars folder, and paste in the XR icon of your choice. When the file has finished copying in, go on to the next step.



8. Run TomTomHeavenXplorer again. It will automatically take you to the car icon change screen. It will do a quick search for icons and then show you what you have available. Select the XR icon and press apply. The program will tell you your new icon is ready to use.



9. Close the TomTomHeavenXplorer progam. Disconnect your TomTom from your computer. Your TomTom is now ready to use with your new icon.

10. If you ever want your original icon back, connect your TomTom to the computer with the USB cable, select Yes to connect. Run the TomTomHeavenXplorer program, select the standard icon, and click apply. Close the program and the TomTom will be just the way it was when you started.

Disclaimer: I have not used any other features of the TomTomHeavenXplorer program and accept no liability for them. In fact, I accept no liability for anything, but this procedure has worked for me and others fine.





Also, I have refined the XR images a bit to reduce the bulge around the rear wheels, so the files that are available for download look lightly better than the ones pictured.




------------------
Making your own icon tips

TomTom icons are easy to make, but there are some very important tips to follow to save frustration. I found these out the hard way.

1. Don't make the icon much bigger than 80x80 pixels. The image seemed to get too squashed at very large sizes. I found best results with 80x80.

2. The icons need to be saved in a Bitmap (BMP) format, Windows 24 bit. 16 and 32 bit icons did not seem to work for me.

3. The way the TomTom software works, the icons need to have red around them, and this red disappears when the icon is displayed. True red (255,0,0) is detected around the icon and forms the edge of the icon. Therefore, you need to ensure true red is set. Any other red will be seen around the icon on the screen.

4. For best results, define the edge of your icon with a one colour one pixel line. I used a light grey, the same colour as the grey on the TomTom screen. This ensured a nice clean edge.

5. Keep your icons nice and light. They seem to appear darker on the TomTom screen than on the computer screen. It's all about trial and error. Just remembering when testing to always close down the TomTomHeavenXplorer program before browsing or changing files on the TomTom to avoid potential resets of the TomTom.

------------------

If anyone wants the XR icon in a particular colour, feel free to modify my files or you can ask me here. I can do my best to photoshop it in, but it'll have to be when I get a chance, as I get pretty busy with work at times.

Alright, I hope that helps people. Enjoy it.

Regards, Timmeh

[Timmeh]

I had some spare time today so I tried making an EF Falcon.



Can be downloaded here, right click and choose Save As:

http://www.stfocus.net/timmeh/TomTom/efgreen.bmp

Although the model EF I had was a Futura, I am sure I could make it look like an XR easy enough.

Anyhow, interested to know how people find it.

Timmeh

[fordel]

Awesome program that.

Just installed it onto my TomTom ONE, worked perfectly.

Though the install screen was in french, so just watch for that

Also didnt have the default.bmp cursor file either but who would want that now anyway !

Thanks for showing me this Tim !

[Timmeh]

Originally Posted by fordel

Awesome program that.

Just installed it onto my TomTom ONE, worked perfectly.

Though the install screen was in french, so just watch for that

Also didnt have the default.bmp cursor file either but who would want that now anyway !

Thanks for showing me this Tim !

Yeah the installer is in French but it doesn't matter as it goes straight to the screen you want.

That's odd about not having the original cursor, mine kept it. I want people to have backwards capability in case you get sick of it, so I have uploaded the original cursor here too. Right click and choose Save As:

http://www.stfocus.net/timmeh/TomTom/-default.bmp

The original cursor is named -default.bmp originally, so keeping the same name should avoid any problems. Solved.

Timmeh

[HSE2]

Very clever and well done.

[NZ]

Made mine the green EF Looks much better than the arrow. I found the program took about 15 mins to install seemed very slow but it worked in the end. I've also changed the (I guess you'd call them login / logoff) images. That simply involved making a file of the same dimensions with a picture of your choice and over writing the original file using the same file name.

[Timmeh]

Excellent... yeah it's easy to modify the TomTom how you want it. Nice work.

Timmeh

[Timmeh]

If anyone wants a Blue EL XR8 I made one up.



http://www.stfocus.net/timmeh/TomTom/elxrblue.bmp

Regards, Timmeh

[LUXO_8]

very cool, gave my navman away, so looking for a new unit... might have to grab a tom tom

[Hybrid34]

Originally Posted by Timmeh

If anyone wants a Blue EL XR8 I made one up.



http://www.stfocus.net/timmeh/TomTom/elxrblue.bmp

Regards, Timmeh

What about an Artic blue NL Fairlane ?!

[Timmeh]

Originally Posted by Hybrid34

What about an Artic blue NL Fairlane ?!

I've got no idea what arctic blue looks like but if you post a photo of the rear of your car (rear quarter or direct rear, doesnt matter, its only for reference for me), I'll make one for you.

[Hybrid34]

Hey mate, heres a pic of my car, only rear end picture i got, :S, how long does it take to make?
cheers
- Ash