peto_geo

Delorme PN-20 is my GPS of choice. I started with an Magellan Map330 in 2001, then an etrex, Explorist210 and Triton400 for a short while. Love my PN-20

Your basemap should only be 8MB. Most all the Explorist where this size. Sounds like you have the wrong basemap

I had a problem similar to this with my Explorist 210. This happened about a year ago (sold it a while back) so I don't remember exactly what I did but the Basemap.mgi file is what you need. I put this file onto my Background Maps directory and it worked. Seems like I hooked up the USB cable and powered the unit up. Once the Exporist showed up on my Windows XP desktop, I copied the file over. I then powered down the GPS and unhooked. I then powered it up and was amazed it worked. I know this isn't much help but don't lose hope. It does work. I still have the Explorist 210 basemap (about 8MB) but I don't think it's the same for the 400. You will probably have to do some searching over the net.

Without a doubt, I Love my PN-20. Screen refreshes are fast enough for me. A lot of the refresh rate problem is overblown (perception). If you use the PN-20 for hiking, biking or caching it will work great. Even in a car with Topo Quads in the background it keeps up at a pretty good clip. The main problem (not a big deal with me) is the PN-20 is extremely slow in calculating a road route. Screen is a little small but outstanding and crisp in the direct sunlight. Button and menu configuration is very easy to learn. Unit is very tough (I've dropped it while biking and caching several times). Can be found online from $150 - $199 Floats with Lithium batteries installed. Waterproof (I've dunked it while canoeing). Buttons are easy to operate while biking (in a mount) Great reception and retention under canopy. Tracks are very accurate (unless stuffed deap in pocket upside down) Geocaching with it is great and only getting better (new firmware release in future) Can make as many draw layers (found caches, trails, wypnts, etc.) as you want and put them onto PN-20. Topo 7.0 is great but I also bought Xmap 6.0 for making my own maps. Awesome combination.

I had the exact same dilema last summer. I had gotten rid of several GPS's (etrex and Map330) and was looking for a replacement. I was leaning towards the Venture HC but had always found the Delorme PN-20 neat. I found a company selling Refured PN-20's for a great price so I went that route. It has been the best GPS I have ever owned (etrex,Map330,Explorist210,Triton400 for short while). It's also great having the PN-20 mounted on my bike and be able to easily operate the buttons. An etrex would be much harder as the buttons are on the side. Delorme has an up coming Firmware release and Geocaching widget that is supposed to make the PN-XX completely paperless for caching. I know Delorme has a lot in the works on the Geocaching front. Check out their website. etrex Legend HCx gets much better battery life than the PN-20 though. I get about 12 hours with 2650 rechargeable Duracells. The Legend I hear gets like 22-26 hours. Maybe more. The refresh rate on the PN-20 can be slow if you have lot's of Aerials or USGS Topos. The screen can take between 2 - 8 seconds (my experience) to refresh when switching zooms. The PN-20 easily keeps up while walking or biking with imagery on though. Remember, Delorme offers a 30 day guarantee and if you don't like the unit just send it back.

What would be perfect is the Projection option on the Explorist 210 I had. I now have a PN-20 and like it a lot more than my Explorist except for this one option. The Projection you just insert the distance and bearing and it would create a waypoint. There may be some error while panning for a point on the PN-20 unless you really zoom in. Just my thoughts.

Anyone interested in this fine machine for $55.00 shipped to lower 48? Nice GPS to get into caching or to have as a backup! Let me know!!

I have an Explorist 210 with US basemap and EU firmware 2.57. I haven't used the unit since I've gotten my Delorme PN-20 back in July. Before that time I used this unit very often for caching, hiking and mountain biking. Was going to give it to my son but he wants my PN-20 (I plan on getting the PN-40 soon I hope). Unit is WAAS compatible! I have ran it through about 20 cycles for the last several days to make sure everything works fine. Great machine but I will be sticking with Delorme 100%. The paint on the buttons is about 50% or more worn off but the words to each button are still very readable on the plastic casing. I've had the unit for many years (when they first came out) and it has served me well but there are some minor dings and scratches on it from caching and wrecking while on my bike. I have everything as original. Even the box looks new. Just the unit shows signs of wear! I would like $65 (paypal preferred but will take personal check or money order also) shipped anywhere in lower 48.

Delorme PN-20 get's my vote. I've owned several Magellans and a Garmin in the past and they were no where near as useful and fun to me. I love the paperless caching feature, the awesome maps, the color of the unit. I can see myself being a Delorme owner for as long as I continue hiking, biking and caching. Love it!

Tigers reburbed PN-20 is $170 now (I paid $200 4 months ago) and it is a heck of a deal. Best GPS I've ever owned (3 magellans and 1 garmin). It's definetly worth a look!!

I bought my refurbed PN-20 about 4 months ago and love it. I use it for caching, hiking and biking. You WILL NOT be dissapointed with either the 20 or the 40 (assuming the 40 is the same as the 20 just faster). PN-20 can be slow refreshing screens but for the things I use it for, it is great.

About 3 months ago I was leaning towards an etrex Venture HC also but decided to get a refurbed PN-20. I am very happy I did. I've had several Magellans (Map 330 & Explorist 210) and Garmins (Etrex) in the past and my PN-20 to me is a much better GPS. The refurbs (which look brand new) can be had for $170 and come with the Topo7.0 mapping program which is awesome in itself. You also get $100 worth of free USGS or aerial photo downloads. I was skeptical at first but this PN-20 has been fantastic at hiking/caching/biking/floating/etc.

I've been getting 11-12 hours out of my PN-20 with regular duracell alkaline AA's. I get about the same with my rechargeables (they are old though, 1850mah NIMH models). I would guess the PN-40 with the dual processors and compass would get around 9-10 hours. I will be one putting off the PN-40 purchase till this time next year as I love my PN-20 and the speed problem hasn't been a big issue for me. Can't wait to see some battery tests though.

I feel a refurbed Delorme PN-20 would be your best bet. I picked up mine for $200 but I think they are around $170 now. You get all the mapping you could want with the unit along with $100 of aerial and USGS (topo quads) downloads. I think starting Oct. 15th Delorme is going to start offering unlimited downloads (aerials, topo quads, etc) for one year at $30/year. It also does paperless geocaching for the majority of caches. Just my opinion.

You hit the Delorme PN-20/40 on the head for what you need. I've been very happy with my PN-20. You will love the USGS quads, aerial photos, color imagery, etc. Check out TigerGPS.com for their PN-20 refurb deal at $169.99 with everything needed.

I just have to chime in here. Screen on my PN-20 is amazing to me. I run it at full screen and it is plenty big enough for me even while riding my bike. Biggest plus is that it gets even better when in direct sunlight. I'm sticking with my PN-20 instead of getting the 40 right a way because I find it to be plenty fast, most of the time, for what I do (hiking, biking, caching, etc.). Can't wait for the $29.95/year unlimited aerial and USGS downloads!! TigerGPS.com has the refurbished PN-20 for $169.99. Sweat deal!!

I was thinking while mountain biking the other day how one would scroll through the screens on an Oregon while moving. I was on my bike and going through a rather smooth section of trail and had no problem operating my PN-20 pages (while in my RAM mount) with the large buttons facing up. No need to stop or slow down to quickly change from map screen to trip screen to compass screen. Sure, it could be dangerous taking your eyes off the trail but every trail has some easy/smooth spots I've been on. I'm sure you can have some of this information on one screen (map/speed/bearing) but you are only limited to a certain number of information boxes. Just a passing thought! I also could easily hit the find button and the nearest caches would pop up (heavily cache populated park we were in) and easily routed to. All while on the move. I always ride with a group and I would hate to have them stop everytime I wanted to see how far/how high/how long/speed/ etc. we went. Also, when exploring new trails I seem to get most the questions on the terrain (USGS quads in the 20). Again, probably no big deal to most but it just came to my attention while out riding. Sure, you can always stop!

Embra, do you think this will also be available ($29.95/year) for the PN-20 users?

No Comparison between Triton and PN-20! I had the Magellan Triton 400 for about a week and tried to like it but just never got that "I really like this thing" feeling. Firmware was pretty up to date so I don't think that was the problem. Unit locked up on me several times over the course of the week I owned it. I've been a Magellan owner/guy for a long time. No more! The paperless caching seemed to work well on the Triton and the Sirf III chip picked up satellites quickly but the basemap was worthless to me. I installed NG State Topo and it looked good while in the house with backlight on but once outside in the sun it was (again to me) almost unreadable. PN-20 screen and maps are amazing inside and outside! It also does paperless caching very nice also. PN-20 is (to me) worlds better and much more enjoyeable. Maps are second to none and the unit has that quality feel to it. Again, just one opinion here. Only problems with the PN-20 are a smallish screen (exact same size as Triton) and screen refreshes can be slow. It's all worth it to me though.

Kavid, I've had my refurbished PN-20 for about a month. See below for Pros & Cons. I'm sure others will chime in that have spent much more time with it but this is just my opinion for now. I have had a Magellan Map 330, Garmin etrex and a Magellan Explorist 210 in the past for comparisons Pros Very simple to use (UI just makes sense) Picks up Sats quickly (most of the time) Layering of the different types of maps works great (order, hybrid & on/off) Batteries last about 10-12 hours using Alkaline (could be con for some) Customization of what is on the screen is great (maps, aerials, NOAA, etc) Topo 7.0 software (fantastic at planning geocaching, hiking, biking trips Screen is very readable and pixel resolution seems great (great screen) Unit has a very high quality feel to it (buttons, lanyard, high impact plastic casing) Floats and is water resistent! (IPX7 standard is what I think they call it) Search by waypoint type near center or alpha works great (shows distance count down in real time to each) Trip computer has about everything you can think of Pick which screens you want to cycle through (compass, map, trip comp, waypoints, etc) Yellow color (easy to see when dropped down a hillside, I've done this already) Hybrid maps with topo info on top of aerials, USGS, etc.) Works great with trail mapping and routes Does basic waypoint routing great as long as not in big urban area Works great with .gpx files (descriptions, hints, etc) TigerGPS has them refurbed for $199.99 with everything as new Delorme's forum & customer support are about the best you can get Cons Screen refresh can be slow at times (.25 to .5 mile screen refresh the worse for me) Balks at picking up Sats on occasions (changing batteries usually but very seldom) Screen could be a tad bigger (usually not a problem) Waypoint and Find listing can take a while to retrieve points (I use 800 so that is probably why) This is my opinion in a nut shell. I wouldn't trade this thing in for any other GPS currently on the market!

Yes, your right Embra. I should have read the post a little better. My bad. Still an awesome GPS for the states. Hopefully one day Delorme produces something for Canada.

I would highly recommend a refurbed (looks perfectly new) Delorme PN-20 from TigerGPS.com. I bought one of these and it's been awesome for caching. Just another possibility!

I thought long and hard about getting the PN-20. When the refurbs started showing up for $199.99 (like new with everything included) I had to snatch it up. It was between the PN-20 and a Garmin Legend HCx. PN-20 won out on Delorme's support reputation, imagery, mapping and reviews. As owners have said in other posts, this unit excels at outdoors hiking/biking/caching use. It is just ok for car routing but no where near as efficient as a TomTom in my opinion. I have a Mio 230 in my car and the Mio is very quick at routing and re-routing. PN-20's forte is imagery and outdoors use. I have had a Magellan Map 330, Garmin etrex and a Magellan Explorist 210 and none of them come close to the fun and experience this PN-20 has brought me. I do wish the PN-20 had a file format like the Explorist did when it came to storing caches but the paperless caching on the 20 is great to have. Buy one, you won't be sorry!

I just got the Centro and it seems great so far. I loaded cachemate onto it and use it as a backup just in case my Delorme PN-20's paperless caching ability (800 character limit) falls short. I also loaded Delorme maps on it just to have it. I had Cachemate on my old Ipaq 3950, which was a Pocket PC, and the Windows version is better than the Palm but it definetly accomplishes what it needs too.

I would try importing them in as GC (Geocaching Numbers) and see if you get all 500. If you do then I would say Benjamin921's idea seems correct. I have been taking my Pocket Query and running it through GSAK. I then import the .gpx file into Topo 7.0 and have had no problems. GSAK allows you to change lot's of things to the .gpx file so you can also check in there. You will notice that if you leave the PN-20 connected to the PC via the USB cable that 500 caches will take some time to transfer.