39_Steps

No it is Delorme PN 60 which I bought about new about 6 months ago. There can still be long filename issues, even with Name field support for 30 or more characters under some circumstances with Events that use very long, very similar, naming for the first 25 characters or so. However, it may be that these ID mixup problems will not occur if the PQ file in *.gpx file format is loaded onto the PN-60 SD card Waypoint folder by one means or another. Suggest that you inquire on the Delorme User Forum.

[End of Day PN-60 battery issue] The PN-60/40 devices should attempt to save the Waypoint data (humongous geocache file?) in GPX format to either the SD card or to permanent user memory partition (PN-60 only)upon low battery warning. It is important to heed this warning and let the "Save As" to permanent GPX file(s) occur before shutting down. Geocaching should then cease, or a spare set of 2xAA cells should then be installed if any data important to the user is involved. Note: Unnoticed and unrelated saving of a large track files to permanent memory, and automatic switching to a newly opened track file internally could also cause issues with low batteries. It is better not to try to stretch battery life at the end of day. [Firmware update issue] PN-60 users who experience unexplained direct to Geocache or Waypoint Hike routing "hangups" with sufficient battery power should be certain that they have installed a recent version of the PN-60 firmware. There are rare issues that can corrupt the internal routing memory. Using the latest firmware may alleviate these corrupted geocache routing memory hang issues. Note 1: Local city Road Routing "failed to calculate" issues are more likely to be related to having large quantities of maps (over 16GB) stored on SD card, and/or to having 500 foot threshold distance selected for automatic road routing recaculation in urban areas. Note 2: The PN-60 issues described above are worst case scenarios but are all listed here as food for thought for those who having continuing unresolved problems. The Delorme User Forums are a better source for seeking answers to Delorme specific problems.

When geocaching to a set of coordinates, the users of either a Delorme PN-60 or PN-40 are enabling the "routing" features. There is a "right click" menu button option in Routing mode that permits editing of either Drive (road) or Hiking (direct to geocache) settings. If one is trying to geocache in Drive (road) mode with default settings, the Automatic Back on Track recalculation occurs at the 500 foot Threshold! A 500 foot threshold for recalculation to kick in can cause problems even for city driving at 25 mph. If you miss a turn, the recalculation may not kick in until you have passed the next cross street. Even in Hiking mode, 500 foot recalculation threshold is unacceptable for geocaching. Be sure to check Edit Track Settings (Right Click Menu button) as well. For Geocaching, Restore to Default 10 feet/2 seconds, whichever occurs first. This alone could get the PN-60 out of the continual recalculation mode which could by itself cause a memory hangup under worst case conditions. Be aware of the "Activities" Icon in the PN-60. A pre-programmed Geocaching Activity is provided to select applicable dsplay pages. But the user still needs to pay attention to the Edit settings for Tracking and Routing recalculation. If all is working well with the Delorme PN-60 on a clear day, the device should recalculate the geocache routing arrow at no greater distance than 20 feet from the gps satellite derived cache coordinates of perceived ground zero.

Ignoring the PN-40 problem for now, you might get the PN-60 operational by going into the support mode to delete All routes from internal memory. Deleting All routes may permit successful geocaching with the PN-60 again with no further problems, but updating the firmware to the latest version is also recommended.

It may be that "drive by" geocaching is not the best method with a Delorme PN-60 in Drive routing mode under the best of conditions. Do you also experience similar problems after parking the car and walking in the general direction toward the cache coordinates from a 1/4 mile distance? Does the device eventually hang up so that it will not event point correctly towards a newly created waypoint, if routed in Hike mode? Is this in open country with a clear view of the sky.

The $40 download dollars are just for sampling, and are priced based on area. They don't go very far. As to downloading the world Base maps, and the emphasis is on base, not great detail, the minimum order is 10 real dollars U$, so be ready to fill in with something else to meet the minimum if the Bahamas don't reach the minimum. Some of the users on the Delorme forum are quite active in downloading bitmapped imagery, but not necessarily vectorized map data, since adequate topo maps for US and Canada are included in the PN-60 bundle. Suggest that you post any detailed questions over there.

Shouldn't the reflector be adjusted to +/- 5 degrees from vertical?

Many of us are surprised to learn that the cost of a faster computer to view without stuttering, or edit in a reasonable amount of time, can be much more than the cost of the small cameras that recorded these compressed HD video files in the first place. But some of the Video editing software companies are striving to incorporate compatible GoPro codecs into their applications, perhaps because they realize that they may bring in a younger market demographic. Suggestion: Read the Video Editor reviews in your price range and then browse the support forums for those apps that interest you.

And that has everything in the box. Nothing else to buy or obtain otherwise from third party sources. The Delorme PN-60 box usually includes two starter Alkaline AA primary (non-rechargeable) cells in the bundle. The device also supports lower voltage NiMH AA rechargeable cells and higher voltage Lithium primary chemistry AA cells (non-rechargeable). However, for those users who dislike removing battery covers and normally stay within tether distance of 5 volt USB connector power, at home or in the car, the Delorme PN-60 can also be used with optional rechargeable Lithium Ion battery packs.

In response primarily to this thread, I deliberately messed up my PN-40 with geocaches in such a manner that W7 64 bit gave the error message that formatting of the internal memory by Windows was required. However, formatting by neither Windows nor by internal PN-40 firmware was required, as entering support mode and deleting the waypoint file on internal memory sufficed. It should not hurt to reformat any removable SD cards in an external card reader as well, if problems persist. In the future, more reliable results might be obtained by copying the PQ gpx files directly into the PN-40 SD card, or possibly by using Cache Register 2. Topo8 Handheld Export should not be used for waypoint (geocache) transfer after upgrading the PN-40 to 2.8 or 2.9 firmware.

In addition to the above, it is my understanding that only the new (freely downloadable) Delorme Cache Register2 app should be used with the 2.9 firmware on the PN-40.

At today's price on the PN-60 quoted above, you would have the features of the PN-30, plus a slightly faster unit with a built in "electronic" compass, plus bundled routable topo street maps of the US/Canada. You can worry about satellite pictures later.

Sounds like you will need to (carefully) go into hidden Support Mode on bootup to delete all existing route files. Please go to the Delorme forum for further suggestions.

Are you sure? Do some Garmin units purposely log track coordinate points as snap to road grid tracks? Or is this just an uncorrected bug?

The concept of saving ultrasonic bat sounds as audio range wav files with the frequency shifted from, perhaps, 50khz to 5khz in 3.5 second sound bites within a long continuous wav file was new to me. It seems that although the gps track logs may contain discrete coordinate point vs. time data along the route, the wav file would be continuous even if "non-linear". Non-linear in this instance would be as that term is used in digital (non-analog tape) video recording/editing. Therefore the time markers might be available in both the wav files and the gps track log files. Even so, matching a cropped sound bite from an occasional bat hot spot in a wav file to the closest gps coordinate point might not be that hard, as it does not seem likely that there can be an infinite number of bats present along most routes. Perhaps a good video camera with an external microphone input could be used for recording the transposed sounds from the external ultrasonic/sonic conversion device. If the camera were set on a bracket to visually record coordinates from the gps display, both location and sound waves could then be observed in a good video editing device. This assumes that reconstituted highly compressed mpeg sound recordings are actually adequate for the purpose. Thanks for bringing this up, as it was a slow day otherwise.

Just for kicks I hyperlinked to a Microsoft Windows wav file sound from a Delorme Topo9 Waypoint on the map. Plays just fine.

Thank you for reminding me to take another look at digital wav recorders in the Samson Zoom H-1 class, but I was unaware that even these devices were capable of ultrasonic sound recording of bats. Wind noise, yes, but bats I had not thought of. As to sorting out lat/lon and including coordinates in wav file metadata tags for later searching, good luck. Maybe you could wrap an Adobe pdf around each wav file.

Nonetheless a nice hatchet job, again, Lee. But back to the original poster's original problem. It is likely that a new Delorme proprietary USB cable will improve PN-20 connectivity. These cables were on sale at 20% off of $12.95 regular price last week when the thread started. Plus tax and shipping. Price is back up today. The PN-20 will likely outlast the new cable as well, so buying two might not be a bad idea. At the time the PN-20 was released four years ago, it provided somewhat revolutionary downloadable map image file features based on Delorme's existing computer software. My PN-20 is still functional today, although my boot broke the original cable while being used for power in a van within the first few months.

The mention of tree cover reminded me that the built in GPS "magnetic/electronic" compass can still be used when a buit in GPS "track log based/electronic" compass cannot get a gps signal fix. I have routinely used (and calibrated) the Delorme PN-40/60 GPS devices' "magnetic/electronic" compass in such a manner indoors with poor and/or deliberately disabled signal without really thinking of the potential in dense forest or other similar location where gps signal interference is present. But then, I don't get out to dense forest situations much these days.

It is hard to second guess the issues that a new PN-60 user (Scorpio49) might have experienced in a single day's use, but it may be that the device was never switched from Automobile Drive mode to geocaching Hiking/Direct mode once the car was parked near the geocache. But to get back to the original poster's (Jenner48's) question about having a built in electronic compass, I can see the value, and apparently so can most of Delorme's customers as they are no longer offering a PN-30 type device. I bought a PN-30 (no electronic compass) after having bought and used the PN-40 (with electronic compass). At first I was thrilled that the PN-30 was as fast as the PN-40 but did not include the compass. But then it dawned on me that the built in compass was really a nice feature in mountain settings where you could just sit and watch the Topo map contours pan automatically in the direction that the compass was pointed. As to the accuracy of ANY of these brands of GPS devices, if they are pointing the user 200 or 300 feet in the wrong direction these days, it is time to FIRST read the instructions, visit the manufacturer's forums, and THEN possibly to send the device back for repair or replacement.

I don't have any experience with the full featured Garmin units, but if there is a good gps signal under a clear sky, and the PN-60 is in default mode, and the "compass" flips 180 degrees, it probably means that you have walked right over the cache somewhere within the last 2-15 feet.

If you mean that you have Topo9 installed on a Windows PC, then by all means upgrade the PN-40 to the latest firmware, which is now PN-40 2.9. An upgrade should have been initiated automatically by Topo9 when you plugged in the PN-40 via USB in Topo9 Handheld Export Synch mode. If you do have Topo9 on the computer, but the automatic upgrade did not occur, then go to Delorme.com support page to find the manually installed 2.9 firmware upgrade. But once again, PN-40 users who do not have Delorme Topo9 should do their homework before upgrading past the PN-40 2.6 firmware for compatibility reasons. Edit: IMHO Delorme Topo9 is preferable to previous versions in almost every respect, including geocaching synching convenience between a PN-40 and a PC with Windows OS, map clarity on device, and newer POI support.

Hold on just a minute with upgrading the PN-40 firmware from 2.6 to 2.8 if all that is desired is to be able to project a waypoint. Full compatibility with Delorme Topo7/8 Handheld Export via USB cable will be modified. So unless you are prepared to purchase Topo9 at this time, read up on the changes.

I found 8 Eneloop NiMH rechargeable AA cells w/bundled charger for the PN-40 one day, plus one geocache. I didn't log either event, as neither unscrewing two screws to take the back off to replace batteries once in a while nor logging geocaches is a big deal to me.

Fix the fixed elevation feature when not using a satellite fix?