curt&jen

Good point! I know I'll do it anyway though because I'm a GIS geek by trade. Loading higher resolution aerials onto this thing is a big part of why I'm willing to take a gamble. I love working with imagery and taking it into a geocaching session would be awesome to me. What about the PN-60? Is this just a myth or is there really one in the works? Can't remember where I heard about it though.... Thanks for saying that, because I forgot to ask about the Oregon 300. I've heard people complain about lock drops and stuff with this unit too, but it sounds like that's the only gripe with the Oregon300 compared to the numerous potential problems with the PN-40. I don't know, it's tempting for the touch screen alone.... It's $100 for PN owners, some kind of upgrade discount.

Can't thank you guys enough for jumping in with your experiences and opinions. I want to respond to some specifics but first generally speaking.... After digesting the feedback in this thread as well as many other historical discussions, I'm pursuaded of two things: 1) I think the vision behind this unit has potential to be a game-changer. It's loaded with very nice features and I absolutely would love to own one. 2) Right now it seems like potluck for the customer. I believe everything you guys are saying, on both sides. The fact is some folks are swearing by their PN-40 while others wonder what the hype's about. It's not uncommon for a brand new product so I don't see the uncertainty as cause for doubting the makers of this product. Personally I think I can handle this uncertainty. If I order a PN-40, I'll do so with an optimistic attitude, but I'll also be prepared for the delay of sending off for a non-lemon if necessary. This is NOT a jab at DeLorme. I've been using DeLorme products since I was an udergraduate student of geography and GIS. It's the positive reviews some of you guys are giving that tells me this line of units has potential.

Might seem like a weird thread title, but hopefully it'll make some sense. There are more sticky threads than I have time to read, but I've read a great deal here and on the DeLorme forums about this unit. I'd like to cut through and ask some questions even though they may have been answered already. For the past few days I've been researching the PN-40, and it's fair to say I'm in love with everything this unit is supposed to be. Paperless caching and on-screen aerials are among my favorite features. I dig the size and price, as well as the dual-core processor and generous storage space. All of the above was not available four years ago when I bought my first unit, an eTrex Legend. This is why I want to own a PN-40....why I want it not to suck All I'm looking for here is some practical testimonials from users who go out geocaching and logging routes and tracks with their PN-40. I'm familiar with several cronic issues that seem to be affecting a fair number of these units. My gut tells me to wait for future versions with fixes for the bugs, but this unit is so stinking cool, I'm willing to overlook some issues, or heck even take a gamble that mine won't have them.....IF AND ONLY IF there are more folks out there having positive experiences with the following: 1. Battery life - multiple threads tell stories of horrible battery life, like 1/2 hour to 1 hour with NiMH batteries. That's totally a dealbreaker. I can't be carrying around 16 AA's for a day of caching or hiking. 2. Lock drops - this one seems to be all over the place. Some people report no problems, others say they can't get a lock for anything. Again, I've seen both said with 2.5 firmware. 3. WAAS being a rare delicacy - same qualifier as #2. I've seen this said of 2.5 firmware. 4. Slow redraws when more than 2GB of data is stored. Those are the negatives. Now some questions of my own: 5. I see that DeLorme has released an ESRI extension for $250. I use ESRI software 50 hours a week for my career, so I was excited to see this article as it would allow me to upload hi-res imagery for my local areas. Then I saw the price tag and was disappointed. My question is, can you use other means to upload spatially referenced imagery to the unit without the means of proprietary software? 6. Assuming the answer to #5 is no, can I upload imagery that I've acquired by my own means via XMAP or some other software package? In other words, if I've got imagery acquired freely from a gov agency that is much higher quality than what the $30 per month service offers, how can I get it onto the unit? I appreciate everyone's time in reading this long post. Thanks in advance for any info you can share!

Thanks for the feedback on this. I really like the PN-40, but I'm also wary and eager for more specifics on its performance. The 60cx is a proven performer so I've got less questions about it. I have to agree though, I'd rather not have to take my iPod Touch into the field with me. When you say your PN-40 has them beat, do mean in terms of the convenience of paperless caching, or do you mean in terms of holding a signal? Also, I'm still not clear on how Delorme's 32-channel receiver compares with Garmin's "high-sensitivity" receiver. Thanks everyone for sticking with me on this. I have a bad habit of agonizing over puchases like this when there's not a clear leader. I'm really stuck. The paperless caching of the PN-40 plus all the other map content options is very appealing, but I gotta be sure it'll peform differently than briansnat's screenshots.

Man, just when I thought my mind was made up Thanks for the comparison tracks, briansnat. If the issues have in fact been addressed then I'd be interested to see some current captures with an updated unit. I assume it's just a matter of updating the firmware?

Just curious, do you get to keep the downloaded content forever, or does it expire each year until you renew your membership? In other words, lets say I pay for membership in 2009 and download a bunch of stuff, but then I decide not to renew in 2010. Does everything I downloaded become deactivated automatically until I renew? I found one on Amazon for about $250, but it lists Topo 7 instead of 8. What differences are there? Good to know.

Sorry for the double-post, my browser froze. On last question.... I didn't see in the Delorme product descriptions for either the PN-20 or the PN-40 where they feature paperless caching. But you guys are saying that it does support uploading of gpx or loc files? Failing that, I have an ipod Touch that I was thinking of using for this purpose. I can upload the files before heading out into the field. Not as nice as in iphone, but just as good as having them on the GPS unit since it is static as well.

Thanks NordicMan and OpenTrackRacer. Building on what you've said... I've always liked the form factor of Garmin's rhino shaped units, but that's just me. But if they are outdated for their price then I can happily look at other options. The Delorme units look pretty cool I had no idea you could get a GPS unit with bundled topo maps and a credit to download imagery for around $250. The PN-40 really impresses me because it comes with 500MB onboard memory and can expand up to 32GB via cards. That's amazing to me. Questions about the PN-40 for anyone who knows: 1. It's WAAS enabled and has "high sensitivity" written in the description. Is this just verbage, or is it really more sensitive than previous versions? (like how the eTrex H models are more sensitive in canopy than their non-H counterparts) 2. The PN-20 is $100 less on Amazon. Storage space seems to be the biggest difference between these two models. I'm not familiar with how much space the maps and imagery take up. If I wanted to get more detailed roads maps uploaded along with the included topo maps, would I need to go with the PN-40, or can I get by with the PN-20? 3. This is sort of subjective, but I'm also curious about the reputation of Delorme units vs Garmin. Thanks for your help!

Thanks NordicMan and OpenTrackRacer. Building on what you've said... I've always liked the form factor of Garmin's rhino shaped units, but that's just me. But if they are outdated for their price then I can happily look at other options. The Delorme units look pretty cool I had no idea you could get a GPS unit with bundled topo maps and a credit to download imagery for around $250. The PN-40 really impresses me because it comes with 500MB onboard memory and can expand up to 32GB via cards. That's amazing to me. Questions about the PN-40 for anyone who knows: 1. It's WAAS enabled and has "high sensitivity" written in the description. Is this just verbage, or is it really more sensitive than previous versions? (like how the eTrex H models are more sensitive in canopy than their non-H counterparts) 2. The PN-20 is $100 less on Amazon. Storage space seems to be the biggest difference between these two models. I'm not familiar with how much space the maps and imagery take up. If I wanted to get more detailed roads maps uploaded along with the included topo maps, would I need to go with the PN-40, or can I get by with the PN-20? 3. This is sort of subjective, but I'm also curious about the reputation of Delorme units vs Garmin. Thanks for your help!

My wife and I used to have a eTrex Legend. It was our first GPS unit and we bought it days after hearing about geocaching. After 70 finds it broke down with a blank screen. I found info online about a cronic issue with the ribbon connector on eTrex models coming loose. I followed instructions to take it apart and reassemble which got it working again.....for about a week . Eventually we just gave up on it. Sadly that was the end of our geocaching career for awhile. We want to get back into though, so I'm looking at receivers that meet a few criteria. 1) From a different line than eTrex. I'm not against them or anything, I'd just rather change up. Maybe I got a lemon, maybe not, whatever. 2) High sensivity and WAAS enabled 3) Better buttons and menu navigation than the eTrex. I hated that little thumbstick. The new touch screens are neat but too pricey for us. Overall I'm leaning towards the 60cx. Anybody ever made a similar switch from eTrex to this series? Thoughts?

This is probably a tired subject by now, but I'm a little behind. I logged into the forums today expecting to see a sticky thread about the news reports that the GPS constellation is projected to gradually fall apart over the course of the next couple of years. Most of the online research I've done doesn't really turn up anything that concerns me though. What's the latest on this? Thanks.

Update: I've completed the repair procedure for reconnecting the LCD ribbon inside my etrex. My Legend is definitely working much better now, however I honestly see no reason why it should be. The ribbon that provides power and signal to the LCD was properly and securely connected when I opened it up. There is NO WAY that any dirt or filth could have infiltrated past the waterproof gasket (which you have to distroy and remove), much less get up into the ribbon connection. As would be expected, I found the connectors on the ribbon to be clean and free of dirt or corrosion. Nevertheless I disconnected it and then reinsterted the ribbon. So while the unit is in fact working now I don't expect this to be a long-term fix. Whichever factor caused the original malfunctions is still alive and well inside the unit (albeit mor vulnerable now due to the loss of the gasket). My advise to anyone having similar etrex problems is to NOT do what I did. Just send in your unit and let Garmin repair or replace it. This is what I should have done given how good they are being about the problem. Also, do this procedure at your own risk. You have to destroy the water-proofing gasket in order to open up the unit. If you do this it is not likely that Garmin will help you with that unit in the future. Looking back I wish I had just sent it in, so I only mention that because you may be better off. This repair is seriously weak in my opinion.

Thanks everyone for the feedback. Normally I would just send in the unit except that I REALLY need to have a working unit by this weekend. I'm leaving for a backpacking trip in Canyonlands Nation Park. The consensus on Magellan is good enough for me. I've liked my Garmin a lot while it was working so I'll give this repair a try and see what happens. If it doesn't work then I guess I can purchase an inexpensive Garmin and send in the Legend in the meantime. Nothing wrong with having multiple units I guess

Cool, thanks everyone. I'm especially tempted to get one now that the 201 is WAAS enabled. The eTrex H is hard to pass up also because it is a high-sensitivity device for about the same price (albeit not as compact).

Thanks for sending me the PDF. I read through it and you're right it is fairly simple. However, a couple of things occurred to me afterwards. 1. Since you're just cleaning the contacts then is this really a complete fix? What is to prevent those contacts from needing another fix in two years? 2. If I were to upgrade to a new model, like the Legend HCx, or just the Venture HC, would these receivers be likely to suffer from the same flaw as the rest of the eTrex line? Thanks for your help. I'm close to making a decision.

Thanks for explaining the floating arrow thing. I feel silly for not knowing that about my receiver.

For some strange reason I've always had a fascination with the Garmin Geko receivers. Granted, they are a completely NO-FRILLS product, but in my two years of geocaching I've yet to use any feature on my eTrex aside from the WAAS capability. The Geko 201 is WAAS enabled (as is the 301, but I don't need an electronic compass). So I was curious if there are any minimalists out there who have gone geocaching with a Geko? If so, did it work out ok or not so much?

I'm looking for some general feedback on the usefulness of Magellan's Geocache Manager software. In the past I've used a freeware application called EasyGPS to upload cache coords to my old Garmin eTrex. Honestly I hated it but didn't want to spend more money on better software. The interface was clunky and annoying. I never figured out how to upload more than one geocache at a time. So I'd download one .loc file at a time and send them to the eTrex. Is Magellan's Geocache Manager easier to use?

Yesterday I was out doing some urban caching when my eTrex Legend just switched off. At first I thought it was the batteries, but after inserting a brand new pair it did it again. After switching off it leaves a residual vertical line in the LCD. After a few minutes it will respond to the on/off button again and start up, but it only stays on for a minute before dying again. On top of that, the arrow on the navigation screen is now split into two pieces. One half of it sort of floats around the screen.....which is just wierd. So, I'm in the market for a new receiver. Honestly I'm not happy with the operating life that I got out of my eTrex. It was only two years old and hadn't seen very much use at all. It's not that I'm mad at Garmin at all, I'm just ready and willing to consider other options for this next GPS purchase. I decided to puchase a Garmin the first time around because I'd read about how durable they are. I'm pretty rough on my cell phone so durability is good for me. However, I wasn't rough on the eTrex and it still took a dump with no structural shocks to the system. So, a few questions: 1. What are the merits of Magellan receivers compared with Garmin? 2. Is Magellan's "TrueFix" technology just their version of WAAS or am I mixed up on that? At first glance, there are a few things that appeal to me about Magellan's receivers, such as their geocaching software and USB interface (as opposed to the serial port that came with my eTrex). Thanks for your help.