Garmin vs DeLorme

[+Team DeLorme]

..it's only good for certain bricks-and -mortar sellers like REI and Cabellas, I don't have the appropriate link spelling out who at the moment...

http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?t=16142

 

Chip Noble

DeLorme

[+BrokenLug]

Hi swales I was just wondering if you know ?....

How is TigerGPS's online reputation, have you bought from them before ? Any problems with the company or products etc....?

PS. Thanks for the 5% off tip, with the DeLorme 50$ rebate and Tigers free shipping this sounds like a pretty good deal.

My experience with TigerGPS has been good, but I don't think that they are on the list of authorized retailers for the rebate (it's only good for certain bricks-and -mortar sellers like REI and Cabellas, I don't have the appropriate link spelling out who at the moment).

 

However, J&R is selling the PN-40 for $290 through 12/1.

Thanks embra I was just looking at the fine print on the rebate I printed. DeLorme rebate

I'm going to call DeLorme and find out if TigerGPS is an "authorized reseller". Swales you might want to check too !!!

Embra are you hinting I should save my pennies and go for the whole enchilada the little woman might not get her new washer .

Thanks Chip, I read the thread and I was more confused than when I began.

Edited November 29, 2008 by BrokenLug

[+Timpat]

TigerGPS has always been excellent in my dealings with them. However, this was posted by one of the Delorme folks on their Forum pages.

[+BrokenLug]

Timpat I got it now. If you buy it at TigerGPS you are not going to get Delorme's 50$ rebate.

Thanks all, BL...

[+embra]

Embra are you hinting I should save my pennies and go for the whole enchilada the little woman might not get her new washer .

Whoops, I missed (or should have figured out that if you were talking about TigerGPS that) you were looking at the 20.

 

FWIW, the latest hot tip on those is Amazon for a new unit at $149. It's hard to keep up with these as they seem to change so fast.

[+BrokenLug]

Check... I hear ya .....

[+hattie81]

my family is looking for a new unit to buy. We have narrowed out search down to 2 units. The Garmin 60CSx and the DeLORME PN40. We are interested in Geocaching and fishing. I know the Garmin unit can do both. Have heard very little on the PN-40 and lake maps. Does anyone have knowlegde of the PN-40 preformance for fishing?

[+embra]

Currently Delorme provides NOAA charts for coastal and Great Lakes navigation in the $29 annual download subscription fee. There's nothing existing for freshwater inland lakes, although there is a means to bring in scanned paper maps via Delorme's XMap software--but that's extra software and extra work.

 

I just finished reading a post in the Delorme Users forum indicating that they hope to have this kind of coverage available by next summer. The whole thread will give you a little more background about current options.

[+BrokenLug]

my family is looking for a new unit to buy. We have narrowed out search down to 2 units. The Garmin 60CSx and the DeLORME PN40. We are interested in Geocaching and fishing. I know the Garmin unit can do both. Have heard very little on the PN-40 and lake maps. Does anyone have knowlegde of the PN-40 preformance for fishing?

Just to be clear, I'm not in anyones camp; Garmin or Delorme. From my own research Garmin does have "inland lake maps" to purchase. But a big but here, it's not going to show your "backyard pond", it just has major lakes. I just use my GPSr to get to the lake- pond and let my hook do the rest. That said, IMHO the PN40 is going to get you there in more detail then the garmin. Both should hopefully "on a big lake" get you back to shore. As for fishing performance, I wish I had a gps that could help me with that

[Team-woof]

Glad I found this thread 'cause my head was starting to hurt over what to get.

 

What I am hearing is that the PNxx is:

 

1) paperless out of the box with a premium membership to GC

2) comes with maps

3) is dual purpose as an auto gps

4) is accurate

5) is cheaper than a 60CSX by about $100 for a PN-20 (but the PN-40 is about $50 more than a CSX) at least on Amazon

6) the screen is small

7) 3 1/2 stars from Amazon users (PN-40 gets 5 stars)

 

So from my relative n00b view:

 

1) yea!

2) never had them before so, cool!

3) never had one before so, cool!

4) should be an improvement over my ancient, yet fairly accurate, etrex)

5) holy crap! I can get a PN-20 for a little more than a Garim HC Venture and get paperless AND maps?

6) apparently the same size as my etrex, so so what? All I do is follow the big, pointy arrow towards the cache anyway at the moment.

7) above average reviews

 

So, can anyone burst my bubble here? Am I missing or overlooking something? I read something somewhere about a slow processor or something....? Does it really make a big difference? Keeping in mind that my current extrex is beyond basic and over 4 years old.

Edited November 30, 2008 by Team-woof

[+embra]

I'm coming from the direction of liking the PN-20 very much and loving the PN-40. So let me try to burst your bubble.

 

PN-20: It is underpowered for the amount of calculations it's doing. This can result in screen redraws that may take a few seconds, but can be up to 10 seconds or so for some kinds of imagery (especially if working with large files). Searches for things like addresses can take a good while (30 seconds? a minute?...I'm going by poor memory recollections here). Creating long street routes or even medium routes in urban areas can take a couple minutes or might not even complete if too challenging for the PN-20.

 

Now there are workarounds to mitigate most of those things...but they are workarounds, and involve some compromises with what the ideal would be. If you're the patient type who appreciates the things that work well, it's a small price to pay. If you require crisp, efficient performance, the 20 may drive you crazy.

 

PN-40: Well, they put the processing power in the PN-40 to take care of most all the PN-20 concerns. What's bad? Um...it's more expensive than the PN-20.

 

Common to both: Powerful capabilities bring complexity and a steeper learning curve to get the most out of them. Some people do not like the non-standard, tabbed Topo USA interface. For people who want large screens, these aren't; they're about the same size as your eTrex (but see this comment by a Delorme employee about screens).

 

If your bubble's not burst, I'd say up, up, and away. Amazon's price on the 20 is fantastic, and J&R has a great price on the 40 through tomorrow.

 

Edit: I just noticed that the PN-20 price of $150 is actually through J&R as well, and also is only good through tomorrow (Monday 12/1).

Edited November 30, 2008 by embra

[+BrokenLug]

I also have a 3 yr. old Etrex and my bubble is starting to float toward the 40

This link got me leaning way over to the DeLorme side. Delorme Blog

Someone over there should make this blog more obvious [it's kinda buried in a few pages] on the PN 20-40 home pages. There's alot of cachers in there customer target range. And this article got the cacher side of me looking real hard at the PN's.

Edited November 30, 2008 by BrokenLug

[+Cog&Gil]

Am I correct in assuming from the above info that the PN 40 does not allow for direct manual entering of coordinates in the field.

 

If I am doing a multi and retrieve coordinates at the first stage, how would I enter these to get to the second stage.

[+dakboy]

Am I correct in assuming from the above info that the PN 40 does not allow for direct manual entering of coordinates in the field.

 

If I am doing a multi and retrieve coordinates at the first stage, how would I enter these to get to the second stage.

Pages 50 & 51 of the

PN-40 manual describe how to edit a waypoint.

 

I would assume that since one mark set a waypoint based on an arbitrary location, and edit a waypoint, you can manually enter coordinates in the field.

Edited November 30, 2008 by dakboy

[+Team DeLorme]

Press the Mark button to create a waypoint, scroll to the Coordinates field, press Enter to edit, use the Up/Down arrows to change the value, and the left right arrows to move through the coordinates. Press Enter when you are finished... I hope this helps!

 

Chip Noble

DeLorme

[Team-woof]

embra: thanks for the great reply. Since I would be using almost exclusively for geocaching, I am guessing the processor power wouldn't be a huge concern for me. It's good to know though since if I am going to look into a multi purpose system it should handle all of the purposes well.

 

So basically what you are saying is the 20 is anemic but that problem is fixed in the 40?

[+embra]

The PN-40 fully addresses the shortcoming of the weak processor in the PN-20, plus it adds an electronic compass (very nice for geocaching). It also has a barometric altimeter if that's of any use to you.

 

The $29 annual subscription fee for unlimited imagery download is also a great bonus. Here's a shot of a recent micro I found. Usually on appproach to these sorts of things I'm wondering whether I should plan on parking in front or back of the building...there was no question on this one.

 

 

Essential? Not by a long shot. I thought it was pretty cool, though, and in some ways it made the process a little easier. Sometimes the maps work better, sometimes the photos do.

[+Team CowboyPapa]

 

So, can anyone burst my bubble here? Am I missing or overlooking something? I read something somewhere about a slow processor or something....? Does it really make a big difference? Keeping in mind that my current extrex is beyond basic and over 4 years old.

The slow processing is manifested in the slower screen or refresh rates. The rate, or waiting time increases with the amount of detail to be displayed, which amount of detail varies with the Zoom Level selected. Yes, the waiting time can be exasperating in some instances with these high amount of detail Zoom Levels. However, most geocaching is done at Zoom Levels where one is zoomed in and less detail is displayed with corresponding lack of delay in refresh. Personally, I do not feel this a great detriment while walking to a geocache at 2 mph.

[Team-woof]

Ok, so me let me change it up a bit. Seems I overpaid my local taxes and I just a nice check back. That means I can move beyond the anemic PN-20 and shoot for something a little nicer. Ok, a lot nicer.

 

So, pros and cons of the PN-40 vs. the 60CSX? I leaning towards the Delorme because it sounds more 'out of the box'.

 

And thanks again for all the help. I am much closer to figuring out which way to go than a few days ago.

 

And I'll throw out a total stupid n00b question while I am it. On my ancient etrex, I just have a nice big arrow that I follow when caching. I assume in these more fancy versions I can shut off the maps and what not and just follow the arrow? I like the "rawness" of that but I also want the functionality of the maps if I need them. Along with DL the cache into.

 

And I promise I'll only ask about 20 more questions. LOL

[Team-woof]

double post removed.

Edited December 1, 2008 by Team-woof

[+benjamin921]

Yes, there is an arrow on the 40

[+Team CowboyPapa]

 

So, pros and cons of the PN-40 vs. the 60CSX? I leaning towards the Delorme because it sounds more 'out of the box'.

Roger that. I compiled a relevant survey last week and posted it in this forum.

I looked for those early PN-40 adopters who also had experience with other brands and models of GPSrs, the majority of which were 60CSx units. So we are looking at actual holding in the hand, real experience with a PN-40 and a competitor as opposed to hearsay, or what it said in a written description.

 

There were fourteen comparisons with all but one expressing preference with the PN-40 with one being on the fence. Then I just saw another today very happy with his PN-40. So is becoming beyond just anecdotal evidence to a truly significant sample size.

 

 

And I promise I'll only ask about 20 more questions. LOL

OK, I'll be back in an hour.

[+embra]

I was a little surprised that I couldn't easily find a link on the Delorme site with the differenct screen pages.

 

Here's a screen shot of the compass page.

 

[Ken in Regina]

It's very difficult to find any really useful information about the PN-40 on DeLorme's site.

 

I discovered a con that put the nail in the coffin for me for the PN-40. I had to email DeLorme to get the answer. Here's their response:

 

Dear Ken:

Thank you for your email. Aside from a very basic world base map and lat/long coordinates, we do not have any data for outside the USA for our handheld PN-40 at this time. Thank you for your interest in our products.

 

Allen G | DeLorme Sales & Service | 1-800-561-5105 | Mon – Thu 8:30 – 7:00 & Fri 8:30 – 5:00 EST | sales@delorme.com | www.delorme.com

Too bad. It's an interesting device.

 

...ken...

[+dakboy]

It's very difficult to find any really useful information about the PN-40 on DeLorme's site.

There doesn't seem to be a huge amount of "marketing" material there, but if you go to the Tech Support side of the site, you can get the full manual and other documentation.

 

http://www.delorme.com/support/search.aspx

[Ken in Regina]

Hi dakboy,

 

Thanks for the tip but without Canadian map data the rest of the details don't matter to me.

 

...ken...

[+WVangler]

Looks like the PN40 on J&R is out of stock My wife authorized me to go ahead and order a new GPS for my Christmas present and I'd decided to get the PN20. I'm not overly impatient so I don't think the loading time/redraws will initially seem to be a big deal to me. I need something where I can see trail maps and stream names and the paperless caching + price makes this a no brainer. However, I'd like to be able to load more than 1000 waypoints (caches) and I've heard that you can't load additional caches into the micro-SD (is this correct?). I travel all over my home state and don't want to be limited to loading just those caches in my local area. What about the PN40, how many caches can you load into it? I'm not sure that the extra expense is justified for me, especially since the J&R $289 deal is not looking too promising currently. But I think I'm gonna cool my heels and think about it for a couple of days before ordering. I may end up tossing in some of my saved up mad money into the pot and go ahead and get the PN40 if it goes back in stock anytime soon. I know I'm not gonna pay more than $300 for a GPSr at this time.

 

I'm currently using a borrowed Garmin GPS V so I'm sure that any of them would seem like a world beater.

[moose drool]

Looks like the PN40 on J&R is out of stock My wife authorized me to go ahead and order a new GPS for my Christmas present

 

I placed an order online for a PN-40 Friday. Called today and the customer service rep said it was on back order, due in approx. a week. I know I could have ordered a Garmin 60CSx for less, but I decided to wait for the PN-40. Why should I settle.

[+Team CowboyPapa]

Looks like the PN40 on J&R is out of stock My wife authorized me to go ahead and order a new GPS for my Christmas present and I'd decided to get the PN20. I'm not overly impatient so I don't think the loading time/redraws will initially seem to be a big deal to me. I need something where I can see trail maps and stream names and the paperless caching + price makes this a no brainer. However, I'd like to be able to load more than 1000 waypoints (caches) and I've heard that you can't load additional caches into the micro-SD (is this correct?). I travel all over my home state and don't want to be limited to loading just those caches in my local area. What about the PN40, how many caches can you load into it? I'm not sure that the extra expense is justified for me, especially since the J&R $289 deal is not looking too promising currently. But I think I'm gonna cool my heels and think about it for a couple of days before ordering. I may end up tossing in some of my saved up mad money into the pot and go ahead and get the PN40 if it goes back in stock anytime soon. I know I'm not gonna pay more than $300 for a GPSr at this time.

 

I'm currently using a borrowed Garmin GPS V so I'm sure that any of them would seem like a world beater.

1. SD card: Both the PN-20 and PN-40 use the (non-micro) SDHC cards, capacity up to 32GB has been currently verified. I use a 16GB card.

2. There are active requests for an increase in the 1000 waypoint limitation and DeLorme is very responsive in accommodating customer desirements:

http://forums.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?t=16270

3. Currently, waypoints are only stored in the internal storage. Likewise, there have been requests for SD card storage of waypoints. It is just a question of where these items go on their priority list.

[Team-woof]

WVangler:

 

Yep. Had that conversation last night. LOL

 

Embra:

 

Thanks for the screen shot. A COLOR compass???? And it shows degrees? I didn't know such a world existed. Not sure my eyes can handle that level of detail. LOL

 

Team CowboyPapa:

 

Thanks! I thought I had read a compilation of "data" somewhere but couldn't remember if it was here or on DeLorme's website. And I don't think I'll need those 20 extra questions but I reserve the right to cross examine at a....nevermind, flashback to some legal show I used to watch.

 

Think I am sold on the PN-40. Once I have it in hand I'll start a new thread:

 

I NEED PN-40 HELP...I'll place my 20(0) questions there. ;-)

[+Merge!]

Am I correct in assuming from the above info that the PN 40 does not allow for direct manual entering of coordinates in the field.

 

If I am doing a multi and retrieve coordinates at the first stage, how would I enter these to get to the second stage.

Pages 50 & 51 of the

PN-40 manual describe how to edit a waypoint.

 

I would assume that since one mark set a waypoint based on an arbitrary location, and edit a waypoint, you can manually enter coordinates in the field.

 

It is very easy to edit a waypoint. Great for puzzle caches where you find stage 1 with coords for stage 2, and so on.

[+Merge!]

So, pros and cons of the PN-40 vs. the 60CSX? I leaning towards the Delorme because it sounds more 'out of the box'.

 

I don't know much about the 60CSx, but am I right in stating that it is NOT paperless? To me that is a deal breaker, and the PN-40 becomes a no-brainer.

[+echo172]

My wife authorized me to go ahead and order a new GPS for my Christmas present

 

Got the same go ahead with my wife when I told her the price for the PN 40 on JR. So I locked in the 289.99 price....I've waited this long I can wait a little while longer til they get more in!

[+StarBrand]

So, pros and cons of the PN-40 vs. the 60CSX? I leaning towards the Delorme because it sounds more 'out of the box'.

 

I don't know much about the 60CSx, but am I right in stating that it is NOT paperless? To me that is a deal breaker, and the PN-40 becomes a no-brainer.

I like to call it semi-paperless. You can store some bits and pieces of a listing page but not many complete ones with logs. But enough to help you find most caches.

[+RRLover]

Hi dakboy,

 

Thanks for the tip but without Canadian map data the rest of the details don't matter to me.

 

...ken...

Unlike many other device manufacturers, DeLorme does provide software to make it happen.

XMap PRO (fessional), 1/2 price @ $99.00 USA to existing owners of PN-XX devices.

The government of Canada provide the data as a free download, some conversion may be

necessary, but IMO it'd be worth it, YMMV.

 

Norm

[+Tigerz]

I don't know much about the 60CSx, but am I right in stating that it is NOT paperless? To me that is a deal breaker, and the PN-40 becomes a no-brainer.

The 60CSx is "quasi" paperless ... learn more here. Using GSAK, you can get most of the cache page on a 60CSx (or any other Garmin Cx/CSx/HCx unit). It's not nearly as pretty as the PN-40, but tends to be more comprehensive/customizable in that you can add information like user notes and user generated child waypoints.

 

The biggest issue I've seen with the PN-40 is it doesn't play/talk well with others. DeLorme has kept their proprietary file transfer protocol under wraps. As an example, the new beta version 7.5 of GSAK can link directly with most every major GPSr save the DeLormes. At this point, the only way for GSAK to communicate with the PN-20 or PN-40 is through Topo 7. A search of the PN-40 User Manual also makes no mention of its ability to handle custom POIs.

 

The PN-40 with its map flexibility is no doubt a sweet setup, but the lack of communications with other tools like GSAK bothers me big time.

[+TotemLake]

I don't know much about the 60CSx, but am I right in stating that it is NOT paperless? To me that is a deal breaker, and the PN-40 becomes a no-brainer.

The 60CSx is "quasi" paperless ... learn more here. Using GSAK, you can get most of the cache page on a 60CSx (or any other Garmin Cx/CSx/HCx unit). It's not nearly as pretty as the PN-40, but tends to be more comprehensive/customizable in that you can add information like user notes and user generated child waypoints.

 

The biggest issue I've seen with the PN-40 is it doesn't play/talk well with others. DeLorme has kept their proprietary file transfer protocol under wraps. As an example, the new beta version 7.5 of GSAK can link directly with most every major GPSr save the DeLormes. At this point, the only way for GSAK to communicate with the PN-20 or PN-40 is through Topo 7. A search of the PN-40 User Manual also makes no mention of its ability to handle custom POIs.

 

The PN-40 with its map flexibility is no doubt a sweet setup, but the lack of communications with other tools like GSAK bothers me big time.

Export the caches from GSAK into GPX format and the Topo 7 can pick it up. Then you can upload to the GPS. A minor complaint made even smaller.

[+Tigerz]

Export the caches from GSAK into GPX format and the Topo 7 can pick it up. Then you can upload to the GPS. A minor complaint made even smaller.

It's my understanding that Topo 7 will only transfer a conventional GPX file. As stated in my previous post, it will not transfer any of the additional fields found in programs like GSAK.

 

I posted the question in the DeLorme forums yesterday. It bothers me no one from DeLorme has responded. The users in the DeLorme forums have been wonderfully friendly, but we all appear to be struggling as to what exactly the PN-40 can/will do.

 

DeLorme has also stepped in to it with their $50 rebate fiasco, Outside of their forums, it wasn't printed on the rebate forms or shared with anyone that they would only honor the rebate when the purchase was made at a brick and mortar establishment at full MSRP. I can't begin to imagine a worse way to irritate new customers. That is a classic screw up for the books.

 

I'll say it again, the PN-40 with its maps is awesome. From an outsider looking in, talking to it and getting reasonable service appears to be an altogether different story.

[+TotemLake]

Export the caches from GSAK into GPX format and the Topo 7 can pick it up. Then you can upload to the GPS. A minor complaint made even smaller.

It's my understanding that Topo 7 will only transfer a conventional GPX file. As stated in my previous post, it will not transfer any of the additional fields found in programs like GSAK.

 

I posted the question in the DeLorme forums yesterday. It bothers me no one from DeLorme has responded. The users in the DeLorme forums have been wonderfully friendly, but we all appear to be struggling as to what exactly the PN-40 can/will do.

 

DeLorme has also stepped in to it with their $50 rebate fiasco, Outside of their forums, it wasn't printed on the rebate forms or shared with anyone that they would only honor the rebate when the purchase was made at a brick and mortar establishment at full MSRP. I can't begin to imagine a worse way to irritate new customers. That is a classic screw up for the books.

 

I'll say it again, the PN-40 with its maps is awesome. From an outsider looking in, talking to it and getting reasonable service appears to be an altogether different story.

Let me correct that understanding.

 

I used that export with success. Over 13,000 caches with description, hints and D/T was imported. Granted, it took some time to chunk through it, but it was done. Of course, I didn't read it couldn't be done. Sometimes ignorance is bliss when you experiment.

Edited December 2, 2008 by TotemLake

[+Team CowboyPapa]

I don't know much about the 60CSx, but am I right in stating that it is NOT paperless? To me that is a deal breaker, and the PN-40 becomes a no-brainer.

The 60CSx is "quasi" paperless ... learn more here. Using GSAK, you can get most of the cache page on a 60CSx (or any other Garmin Cx/CSx/HCx unit). It's not nearly as pretty as the PN-40, but tends to be more comprehensive/customizable in that you can add information like user notes and user generated child waypoints.

 

The biggest issue I've seen with the PN-40 is it doesn't play/talk well with others. DeLorme has kept their proprietary file transfer protocol under wraps. As an example, the new beta version 7.5 of GSAK can link directly with most every major GPSr save the DeLormes. At this point, the only way for GSAK to communicate with the PN-20 or PN-40 is through Topo 7. A search of the PN-40 User Manual also makes no mention of its ability to handle custom POIs.

 

The PN-40 with its map flexibility is no doubt a sweet setup, but the lack of communications with other tools like GSAK bothers me big time.

I agree with this.

 

OTOH, I would like a follow up on what else I'll be missing when DeLorme makes their Cache Register available, projected for late December?

http://blog.delorme.com/2008/11/11/geocach...pc/#comment-631

 

On the side and standing by.

[+nittany dave]

I ordered one from J&R on Friday morning. UPS shows it to be in town now so I'm hoping for delivery tomorrow or the next day at the latest. Can't wait to check it out.

There has been quite a lot of buzz generated about this GPS in our area. Garmin has created an opening with the issues it has on the Colorado and the Oregon. If Delorme plays it right, that might be all they need to create the competition we'd all probably benefit from in the long run.

[+Capt. Bob]

I've downloaded many Pocket Queries in the .gpx format directly into Topo7. Then easily sync Topo7 and PN-40. No problems there. What bugs me is Topo7 only displays the cache title but not the cache ID. In fact, the cache ID is lost in the transferred to Topo7. I miss not having the cache ID's when logging my finds.

[+Tigerz]

Export the caches from GSAK into GPX format and the Topo 7 can pick it up. Then you can upload to the GPS. A minor complaint made even smaller.

It's my understanding that Topo 7 will only transfer a conventional GPX file. As stated in my previous post, it will not transfer any of the additional fields found in programs like GSAK.

 

I posted the question in the DeLorme forums yesterday. It bothers me no one from DeLorme has responded. The users in the DeLorme forums have been wonderfully friendly, but we all appear to be struggling as to what exactly the PN-40 can/will do.

 

DeLorme has also stepped in to it with their $50 rebate fiasco, Outside of their forums, it wasn't printed on the rebate forms or shared with anyone that they would only honor the rebate when the purchase was made at a brick and mortar establishment at full MSRP. I can't begin to imagine a worse way to irritate new customers. That is a classic screw up for the books.

 

I'll say it again, the PN-40 with its maps is awesome. From an outsider looking in, talking to it and getting reasonable service appears to be an altogether different story.

Let me correct that understanding.

 

I used that export with success. Over 13,000 caches with description, hints and D/T was imported. Granted, it took some time to chunk through it, but it was done. Of course, I didn't read it couldn't be done. Sometimes ignorance is bliss when you experiment.

Neither your understanding or your numbers impress me. For the third time ... the PN-40 will not accept anything but the most fundamental GPX files. Even for run of the mill GPX files, it must go through Topo 7. To be perfectly succinct ... in terms of route planning and caching efficiency, DeLorme and the PN-40 are literally years behind the competition.

[+TotemLake]

Export the caches from GSAK into GPX format and the Topo 7 can pick it up. Then you can upload to the GPS. A minor complaint made even smaller.

It's my understanding that Topo 7 will only transfer a conventional GPX file. As stated in my previous post, it will not transfer any of the additional fields found in programs like GSAK.

 

I posted the question in the DeLorme forums yesterday. It bothers me no one from DeLorme has responded. The users in the DeLorme forums have been wonderfully friendly, but we all appear to be struggling as to what exactly the PN-40 can/will do.

 

DeLorme has also stepped in to it with their $50 rebate fiasco, Outside of their forums, it wasn't printed on the rebate forms or shared with anyone that they would only honor the rebate when the purchase was made at a brick and mortar establishment at full MSRP. I can't begin to imagine a worse way to irritate new customers. That is a classic screw up for the books.

 

I'll say it again, the PN-40 with its maps is awesome. From an outsider looking in, talking to it and getting reasonable service appears to be an altogether different story.

Let me correct that understanding.

 

I used that export with success. Over 13,000 caches with description, hints and D/T was imported. Granted, it took some time to chunk through it, but it was done. Of course, I didn't read it couldn't be done. Sometimes ignorance is bliss when you experiment.

Neither your understanding or your numbers impress me. For the third time ... the PN-40 will not accept anything but the most fundamental GPX files. Even for run of the mill GPX files, it must go through Topo 7. To be perfectly succinct ... in terms of route planning and caching efficiency, DeLorme and the PN-40 are literally years behind the competition.

Then fly with the (cough) Oregon and the (cough) Colorado, both with issues that are perfectly abundant through these threads. Sort of reminds me of the Magellan days when they started going downhill... which appears to be a backwards step rather than progressive.

[+trainlove]

I miss not having the cache ID's when logging my finds.

With preprocessing by GSAK you could have the name include the GC ID number plus the name.

Then export a new GPX file for Topo to use.

[+Capt. Bob]

I don't have GSAK so I wrote my own program to replace the owner's name with the cache ID while in the .gpx format. This now places the ID in the comments area.

[+embra]

The biggest issue I've seen with the PN-40 is it doesn't play/talk well with others. DeLorme has kept their proprietary file transfer protocol under wraps.

A minor correction: Delorme made the PN waypoint protocol public (I'm pretty sure I can locate it if anyone wants to see it).

 

However, your larger point stands: since no one has devoted the considerable time and effort to do something with it, the PN-series is dependent on the Topo USA software for its communication conduit to the world.

[+dakboy]

The biggest issue I've seen with the PN-40 is it doesn't play/talk well with others. DeLorme has kept their proprietary file transfer protocol under wraps.

A minor correction: Delorme made the PN waypoint protocol public (I'm pretty sure I can locate it if anyone wants to see it).

http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?t=9350

 

However, your larger point stands: since no one has devoted the considerable time and effort to do something with it, the PN-series is dependent on the Topo USA software for its communication conduit to the world.

As much as I'd like to see wider support for more devices, I think the fact that no one has (apparently) jumped into turning those specs into support in GPSBabel is a good argument for a small company to not put their limited resources into doing it themselves. There doesn't seem to be enough demand for it to be done if, after nearly 2 years, no one has done it yet.

 

Or maybe they have. GPSBabel lists a number of supported DeLorme formats. http://www.gpsbabel.org/capabilities.html

[Team-woof]

However, your larger point stands: since no one has devoted the considerable time and effort to do something with it, the PN-series is dependent on the Topo USA software for its communication conduit to the world.

 

So if I read this right, I can't just hit the "send to GPS" button on GC.com and have it go to the PN-40? It has to go through Topo first? Seems kinda clunkly and not user friendly.

[+Haffy]

[quote

The PN-40 with its map flexibility is no doubt a sweet setup, but the lack of communications with other tools like GSAK bothers me big time.

 

Give them some time Mike ,give them some time.... I' m sure they will come up with some updates soon for that issue.....

Edited December 2, 2008 by Haffy