randyrucker
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Posts posted by randyrucker
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I am curious as to how accurate the GPS is on these smart phones. I am thinking of getting the new HTC Thunderbolt when it comes out. I currently use the pn-40 which is of course very accurate. The Delorme maps are junk when you look at them compared to google maps. The ability to have online access at your finger tips appeals to me also. The accuracy issue would be my only concern. These phones were not built to be a GPS unit so I have to wonder how close they get you to a set of coords.
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I have the Delorme PN-40. Its paperless cache features are nice. Its very accurate. The tech support from Delorme is great. The resolution on the color ariel photos are somewhat of a disappointment unless you live in on of the hi-res cities in their database. It's cheap. I saw it on walmart.com recently for $245. The other unit I would look at is the Oregon 500t. I like the built in geo-referenced camera images. It is a lot more expensive though. I lost faith in Garmin tech support when I tried the Colorado. Hope that helps.
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Does anyone know how you go about adopting a cache from someone who wants to drop it? Thanks.
The person wishing to give up the cache needs to go to www.geocaching.com/adopt and fill out the form. Once you get the email acknowledge it and the cache is yours.
Jim
Thank you for the quick response.
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Does anyone know how you go about adopting a cache from someone who wants to drop it? Thanks.
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Why don't you just send the PQ to the PN-40 using: http://www.findcache.info/pn40/ ?
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I like the idea of having a patch type antenna. I think it is a little more sensitive receiving the satellite signals. If accuracy was the most important thing in a consumer grade unit I would look for the newest gen chipset in a unit with a patch type antenna. The 60Csx and PN-40 have this type of antenna and both have been reported to have great accuracy. I don't know about the Oregan since I don't own one but people who do say its very accurate also. Those three units are what I would consider getting. I have checked my PN-40 on several benchmarks and one was off by 0.62 feet and the other was off by 1.88 feet. Maybe not a scientific sample, but I was just curious how close it was to a highly accurate survey plot latitude, longitude position.
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If you are serious about geocahcing I would recommend the PN-40 or Oregon. Anything else and you won't have the accuracy plus paperless capability.
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Thanks for the wiki, its helped me already ! (now it I could just learn how to use Topo 7....is there a wiki on that?)
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I can't believe the moderator allowed this thread to deteriorate so badly and let it continue. This kind of thing is why I'm beginning to avoid reading the Groundspeak forums.
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I like the accuracy of the PN-40. With the new firmware upgrade, its very tight. I get a WAAS lock all the time now. I think it will be good for your task.
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Sounds like some of you guys have way to much time on your hands. Maybe you can recommend some good stocks to buy?
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Sounds like some of you guys have way to much time on your hands. Maybe you can recommend some good stocks to buy?
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I like the PN-40. It does everything well. The 60csx is good too, just not paperless features. I think the idea about going to REI or Bass Pro and touching the units is a good idea. I just can't see paying the extra bucks for the Oregon. If it was closer in price to the PN-40 I might have considered it as an option.
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Hi all. Two simple questions. PN-40 has Canada, topo or street, map; specially Quebec province map? And is there a very good unit for ROAD bicycle trip uses (not mountain bike)?
I very appreciate your opinions, thanks.
I don't think the PN-40 has any Canada maps.
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I just took my PN-40 to the Georgia Geocahing Assoc. "Rebel"Handler Memorial Chili Cook-off. I showed it to a guy with an Oregon. We looked at a position of a cache using the hi res color imagery. After he finished looking at my PN-40 he offered to trade his Oregon for my PN-40. Funny huh? The Garmin units don't have hi res color imagery? Another guy with a PN-20 said he was going home to order the PN-40 after looking at mine. Makes me feel like I made the right choice in GPSr units. This firmware upgrade really makes this thing shine for geocaching.
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It makes the PN-40 top of the line for geocaching.
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Works great. Just transferred about 100 caches. Takes about maybe 10 sec per cache. Can't wait for Cache Register.
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I think its time for a group hug.
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So I'm reading between the lines that since PN-40 users "don't really concern [themselves] with it all that much" that WAAS doesnt yet work properly on the Delorme units. I'll bet that if the screen stops working some folks would explain how screen displays are overrated and all you really need are beeps to find your cache.
You know I used to think Garmins were the best GPSr units on earth. Everything I always bought was Garmin. They had a good name and a proven product in the 60csx. Then I bought a Colorado. My view of that company completely changed with that product. It wasn't much good at anything they said it would do and tech support didn't provide any help. In most cases they wouldn't even admit there was a problem. The only thing good about the Colorado was the paperless geocaching features, which I liked, but the many, many problems with that unit negated that. I really feel somewhat sorry for Garmin becasue it seems they have become a large company and unresponsive to the needs of users. Then along came the Delorme PN-40. What a great product. It does everything it says it will do right out of the box. Their tech support is great and they love geocachers. I don't think the Colorado design engineers have any idea what a geocacher is. There is some paperless features that I, like some other users wanted improved and Delorme listened. There was some WAAS issues that needed tweeking, and Delorme listened. We wanted an easier way other than Topo 7 to get the caches on the unit and Delorme came up with Cache Register. I see their tech support guys on the forums all the time answering questions. I have never seen a Garmin tech support guy on this forum answer anything, ever, have you? I'm not trying to bash Garmin only making observations. I used to be one of the most impatient "I want it now" guys on the forum until I saw how much work it is getting beta software bug free. Now I have a lot more patients with the Delorme team as they produce a truly geocaching friendly piece of software. The bottom line is this new v2.5 geocaching firmware upgrade which is about to be released fulfills all my expectations and makes the PN-40 the premier geocaching GPSr on the market today.
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You PN-40'ers have reliable WAAS signal yet?
The Cartesio baby is still pooping in it's diaper over in Garmin-Land.
I think PN-40 users will be very happy with the WAAS signal and accuracy when this 2.5 beta is released to public.
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Which zoom level should I cut my new aerial/satellite images at?
For color aerial images I use 12-16. This equates to a zoom range of .25nm to 80 feet. Below 160 feet it starts getting fuzzy, so you can probably go with 12-15 if you want to. For the Hi res City imagery, the images are good at max zoom level. I use 13-17 for hi res city stuff. The hi res city imagery takes a lot more memory than the color aerial does, but if you have a 16 gb card you should be good to go. (32 gb card would be sweet to have.)
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Can someone please repeat the question?
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Between the PN-40 and 60Csx there is no question really. Get the PN-40. The only other unit I would consider for geocaching is the Oregon 400t, but that unit is above your $400 price point and prolly not worth the money. The -40 is really tight, even under tree cover. It will take you to the cache coords on time every time. Having the maps and comments in the unit are nice too. As an example: I recently found a cache in the woods about 200 yrds off the trail. I looked at my -40 and saw the Hi-Res maps showing the easiest way to get there was to walk down a power line easement which did not show up on the topo map. If I had gone directly to the cache I would have ripped up my leather jacket on briars. I like the "big picture" the color maps give you for stuff like that. For some geocaching features of the -40 check out: http://blog.delorme.com/
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Thanks again Randy! Sorry I didn't understand about that dup post thing. Someone else explained it a bit later. Now I get it!
Thanks for the information about the gps too!No problem. Hope you get one you like. In the long run I think you'll be happiest with one that has paperless capabilities like the Delorme PN-40, Delorme PN-20, or the Oregan series. I had forgot about the PN-20 option, but that would be the lowest cost paperless option I think. I just like the PN-40 better cause it has a dual processor.
Thanks for the information about the gps too!
HTC EVO & chaching
in GPS technology and devices
Posted · Edited by randyrucker
Do you think the cell towers help the phone to be more accurate in a city were the GPS signals are blocked by the buildings? I've always had trouble in downtown areas with a good GPS lock with my pn-40.