user13371
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Posts posted by user13371
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MaxB, you're mistaking the SporTrak with the SporTrak Pro. The Pro had more memory (32MB total, basemap took up 9 leaving 23 for your own maps). MapSend DirectRoute would indeed provide turn-by-turn routing on these.
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Collected from multiple news sources:
...Felix Baumgartner became the first skydiver to break the speed of sound, reaching a top speed of 833.9 MPH(mach 1.24). He also set a record for the highest skydive, bailing out at 128,100 feet (24.2 miles) above New Mexico. Both of those records will need to be validated by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI). GPS data recorded on a microcard in Baumgartner's chest pack will be used to confirm the Austrian's altitude and speed claims.Both the altitude and speed are out of bounds for civilian GPS - and this experiment/stunt as private enterprise rather than military. So what was he using?
BTW, I watched this live on Sunday. It reminded me a lot of watching coverage of Mercury and Gemini missions when I was a kid -- except the picture was a lot clearer
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But they really don't "flit," at least it dosn't seem as much so to me as it does to you. The line of PN-20,40,60 over a period of 5 years seems forward steady progress, not fleeting. I just wish they'd fix that STUpid cable design. Maybe sometime around the time the PN-90 comes out they'll figure out how.
Even so, GPS hardware has never been their core business, that's just an accessory line to go with their original business. I'd venture to guess there's more shelf space at my local REI dedicated to DeLorme atlases than anyone else's -- well, maybe a toss-up with National Geographic, but still hangin in there. And Street Atlas, Topo, and XMap are all still sold and supported.
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Actually, with the right software the SporTrak Pro can do turn-by-turn directions. Unfortunately, given the age of the unit that software may very well be a garage sale item also - or if you did manage to find a reseller who still had it, you'd find the cost prohibitive.
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Dakboy - Fixed both. Thanks for pointing out the mangled link. And I should have made it clearer that I was cross-posting one of my own comments in a thread someone else over there started, the point being that the same "Wither DeLorme?" question is being pondered there as well as here.
-Lee
aka user13371
aka Portland Cyclist
aka lee_rimar
aka "I can't recall exactly how many screen names I've had in the past 11 years"
... but at least I use my real name, sometimes ...
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Interesting; I just commented on a similar theme over on DeLorme's own forum...
...Delorme could be in trouble unless they really get their act together and decide just what their mission is in this market. I'd hate to see Delorme go out of business.This would be a worry IF sales of handheld GPSRs in places like REI is (or ever was) really their "mission," their major profit center.
Look at their company history. Started in 1976 as a company that sold maps and have changed their focus a few times -- they only started selling handheld GPSRs with the PN-series in 2007, when Garmin and others were already well established. It seems unlikely to me that DeLorme ever had even a 1% market share even in the subcategory of "handheld GPSR intended for outdoor rugged use."
Now they're perhaps wisely moving on to something nobody else is really doing. Even though the inReach is a bit of a niche market, DeLorme ISN''T a huge company -- all they need to do is sell enough of these to make payroll and leave a little extra for growth.
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Edited for two reasons
- To correct a bad link, and
- To clarify I was pointing to one of my own posts in DeLorme's forum
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...Garmin...I feel their products are overpriced...
Hm? If we're talking specifically DeLorme v. Garmin, price check at REI shows Garmin eTrex 30 @ $280, DeLorme PN-60 @ $300. Is the price spread much different in Canada?
Those are the two most comparable models (small screens, buttons, barometer, compass, etc). It's much harder to compare what "overpriced" means in relation to Garmin devices with other feature sets than what DeLorme offers.
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Okay, so if I'm not going to use it with a Foootpad, Chrip, or body-fat measuring scale - how well does it perform as a GPS?
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I was only kidding about the Starbucks. The rest of it was all true though.
If you're in Portland, Stumptown is still a lot better than Starbucks.
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Or I've just had too much coffee today.
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KhanRashed110, most of the folks around here are afraid to tell you the truth, at least not until you've got 1000 posts to your credit. Once you hit 3000 posts, you'll actually get an email from Groundspeak explaining all of it.
But I'm guessing you have a homework assignment and your teacher probably put a due date of Tuesday on it, and you can't get 1000 posts in here before then. So in the spirit of helping a newbie in need, I'm gonna skip the traditional waiting period to tell you THE TRUTH.
Shortly after July 1947, the US government found a way to integrate nanometer sized radio transmitters into living human tissue. All hospital-born infants in the US since 1950 are given a small infusion of these before they're even out of the neonatal unit. Anyone NOT born in a hospital after 1950 gets them whether they know it or not, whenever they go for flu shots, other vaccinations, or fluoride treatments at the dentists office.
The original purpose was so the military industrial complex could monitor movements of people en-masse -- any large collection of nano-transmitters in one place has a distinctive radio signature. Surprisingly, there was no real defense/military use for this - the whole point was to collect marketing research, to see where to build supermarkets, laundromats, fast food restaurants. This kind of intelligence gathering is critical to the business sector -- when you want to track down the reason for any grand and shadowy scheme -- follow the money!
There are some people who know about this and resist, and do silly stuff like wear tinfoil hats. I insist that's silly though because the nano-transmitters can't cross the blood-brain barrier. They mostly reside and multiply in adipose tissue, not ganglia.
Though intended for mass-population tracking originally, since the end of the 20th century there's been a shift in focus. Now is's all about tracking individuals. It's still a commercial purpose, not military -- this is why wherever you go there's always Starbucks or an ATM or even a full service bank - even in the middle of a supermarket -- which makes no sense at all UNLESS THEY SAW YOU coming! See how it works?
The huge upsurge in tiny, personal electronics (MP3 players, "smart" phones, etc - GPSRs were just an afterthought) is really just to equip the population with signal boosters. You see, there aren't enough nano-transmitters in any one person (except maybe someone really obese) to track an individual's signal over long range. So your phone or GPS picks up YOUR signal at close range, and transmits it along with other personal information stored in the device (your phone number, email address, credit card numbers and employment info, Groundspeak account name and password, caches you've found, etc) to the central command center.
Anyhow, to bring this back to the real core of your original question: Some bright boys in Washington had the idea that as long as they knew where everybody was, there was a commercial opportunity to sell little boxes that could say "You Are Here." It's as simple as that.
Hope this helps you in your school work. Tell your teacher you read it on the Internet - The Groundspeak Forums specifically - so it must be true.
Well, my work is done here. I'm heading out for coffee at the nearest Starbucks - oh look, there's one on my front lawn now! Anyone want to join me?
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...showed up today...
Now that you've had it a few days -- how does the GPS seem compared to earlier ones? Any noticeable difference?
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JJnTJ: Mentioned elsewhere, commenting (favorably or unfavorably) on pre-release software is irrelevant.
The OP claiming to have had an eTrex 30 for about a year and a half is even sillier: It was only ANNOUNCED 16 months ago. It didn't ship until 12 months ago. Go back to these very forums just 12 month ago - late September 2011 - and you'll find folks grousing about the release date repeatedly getting delayed. But someone who pops up to say "Garmin sucks" - and never posted anything else in the forums before - somehow had one "about" two months before it was even announced? And he's only complaining that it was hard for him to figure out how to use? Not a word about any of the miscellaneous technical issues early adopters were having?
If anyone here is buying that, I've got a nice troll bridge for sale too
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...bought a garmin etrex30 about a year and a half ago...
Who does the fact checking around here? The eTrex 10/20/30 were announced in May 2011 but didn't ship until much later in the year. This is like the guy who said he had been running iOS 6 (released last week) on his iPad "for the past few months."
Okay, so let's just assume time flies when you're having fun or somehow otherwise distorts when you're upset and want to make a point. The OP was an early adopter but it doesn't sound like he's even having any of the early release tech issues others have mentioned - he just finds it difficult to use. Seems to have similar problems with a calendar.
Put it on eBay or in the garage sale here - someone will probably make you a better offer than Woodstramp did
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Wow, Google Maps even made your phone 25% bigger!
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As long as Apple has allowed developers to code iOS apps, there have been people "acquiring" pre-release versions outside official channels. I'm not saying that LM has done this, just pointing out that it's possible that he isn't a developer.
It's more than possible - it's almost a certainty LM isn't a developer. Because a developer would know the difference between a beta and a release, and wouldn't be commenting in this forum, good or bad, about his experiences with pre-release software. iOS 6 went "gold master" on 13 September and released on 19 September -- comments on anything much older than that would be irrelevant.
Still - the map data served up by Apple is very poor compared to Google. I don't know if I'd throw out the whole phone, or even the operating system over that. I still have other mapping apps and I can even use maps.google.com in the web browser until Apple fixes this. Or until Google gets their own Maps back into iOS as an installable app. Betcha THAT happens before Christmas 2012.
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LM, unless you're an iOS developer, I kinda doubt you've been running iOS 6 on your iPad "for months." Other than the map data, I haven't found anything abominable in iOS 6 running on my somewhat aged iPhone 4.
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Well, here's the obligatory hardware teardown by iFixit. Good closeups of every part and tentative chip identifications. Not sure it tells us anything useful about the GPS though...
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At least around Portland Oregon, the iOS 6 Map application is not as details and useful to me as the Google maps they replaced. Is it just around here, or are other areas just as poor?
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Stu I'm surprised you missed that the FIRST time you replied to my remark, maybe you're getting inattentive or just behind in the news
Yes, Apple put a new connector on new devices, different from what they used on older devices. In the first 24 hours available, Apple booked over two million pre-orders, and this "proprietary" new cable is already available from 3rd party vendors. The long-term service life, reliability of the new connectors remains to be seen though.
Which has no similarity or relevance to DeLorme's cable issues.
So, what would help the OP or any other unfortunate DeLorme user with a bad cable? Try addressing the problem instead of distracting from it. Some suggestions have all been made before, but here they are collected together in one place:
Be prepared. Expect the cable will fail someday. Think of it as an expendable/consumable item, like batteries. So when you buy your PN, buy an extra cable to have, just in case.
Be demanding. If/when your cable fails, or even seems a bit flakey, phone DeLorme technical support and describe the problem. Don't wait until you're out of warranty. They will very likely send you a replacement cable for free. But be sure to PHONE instead of email. DeLorme's support is great by phone, but they're not as responsive in email.
Be careful. There are two key failure points on this cable, but with careful handling you can minimize the problem.
Point one is the strain relief on the head where it attaches to the GPS. It's very, very important you don't twist or tug on the cable itself when putting it on or taking it off of the GPS. Instead, hold the GPS and press ONLY on the cable head itself, the big plastic part the has the connector pins on it. And if you're putting the GPS into a mount of some kind on your car or boat, make sure the cable doesn't get stretched, twisted, or kinked.
Point two is the cable head itself with its tiny little spring mounted pins. If you're off-roading be careful of dirt; if you're boating be careful of spray. The back of the GPS itself is sealed and secure - but the little pins take a lot of abuse. If the face of the cable head gets dirty, gently wipe it off. Some folks have suggested a drop of WD-40 across the face and some gently working of the pins with a fingertip might help, but I don't know if I'd do this as routine maintenance. Certainly couldn't hurt if you've already got a stuck pin though.
Anyone have additional suggestions?
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If DeLorme would use a more easily replaced cable (not proprietary), they'd get my business when I decided to buy again.Consequently, I expect that he would never buy an iPad, iPhone or iAnygizmo.
Shucks, I knew this would happen. Does the name Pavlov ring any bells?
Anytime someone says suggests proprietary connections are bad, Cowboy counters by saying Apple uses proprietary connections also. Which is to say that being properietary, by itself, is not necessarily a bad thing.
But the DeLorme cable problems are more basic: failure-prone, expensive, and single-sourced. The only good thing is they fail so often that DeLorme's tech support is really pretty nice at giving away replacements for free. That reduces customer expense but doesn't do much to eliminate downtime.
The smart buyer, if they're dedicated to DeLorme, will simply buy a spare or two to keep on hand.
The smart buyer, if they're not dedicated to DeLorme, will simply buy a different brand of GPS.
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Cited elsewhere online, blueprints provided by Apple, give dimensions for case manufacturers. Advice on the prints - don't make metal on metal contact with aluminum parts of the phone, don't obstruct the rear glass portions with metal - seem to hint the case is easily scratched and/or that the glass areas are radio-transparent cutouts for the some of the antennae. Just guessing - don't know if that's mainly for WiFi, cellular, GPS, or any combination thereof.
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Try a Nissan Owner's forum. Maybe like this one?
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$80 each or for the set of four?
Supersonic & high altitude
in GPS technology and devices
Posted
Don't know, I'm just copying what multiple news stories said about GPS gear. I'd have they'd have had better accuracy with radar or optical range-finding on the ground - just film his fall from a few locations and run a clock against that. I was really impressed with how sharp the pictures were.