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Map downloading for PN-40


Rockin Roddy

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In another thread, the point was brought up that the map subscription for the PN-40 might not be a very good deal for some. While I agree, those without cable internet and a few minutes to an hour or so free time every now and then won't benefit from the maps, I am unemployed for a few more months and I have the subscription, so I am going to test and see how long it takes to load all of Michigan to my TOPO7 (in color aerial imagery...I love that).

 

I have a good chunk already loaded and am awaiting the email saying my next selection is ready to load. I hope to load it tonight while sleeping.

 

I will post updates to let you know where I get with this and how much work and a pain it is!!

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In another thread, the point was brought up that the map subscription for the PN-40 might not be a very good deal for some. While I agree, those without cable internet and a few minutes to an hour or so free time every now and then won't benefit from the maps, I am unemployed for a few more months and I have the subscription, so I am going to test and see how long it takes to load all of Michigan to my TOPO7 (in color aerial imagery...I love that).

 

I have a good chunk already loaded and am awaiting the email saying my next selection is ready to load. I hope to load it tonight while sleeping.

 

I will post updates to let you know where I get with this and how much work and a pain it is!!

10-4, so then you have not been dissuaded by some posts made earlier today? :yikes:

 

Actually, I've not done much lately. Seemingly stalled at about 20GB, I need to get some more southern Utah for upcoming trips.

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In another thread, the point was brought up that the map subscription for the PN-40 might not be a very good deal for some. While I agree, those without cable internet and a few minutes to an hour or so free time every now and then won't benefit from the maps, I am unemployed for a few more months and I have the subscription, so I am going to test and see how long it takes to load all of Michigan to my TOPO7 (in color aerial imagery...I love that).

 

I have a good chunk already loaded and am awaiting the email saying my next selection is ready to load. I hope to load it tonight while sleeping.

 

I will post updates to let you know where I get with this and how much work and a pain it is!!

10-4, so then you have not been dissuaded by some posts made earlier today? :D

 

Actually, I've not done much lately. Seemingly stalled at about 20GB, I need to get some more southern Utah for upcoming trips.

 

:shocked::anicute:

 

Here's one thing I've noted so far, this isn't time consuming at all. I mean, if I were to have a hundred things to do and most of it on the computer, I might not be able to get much done. However,I have a major section of the area near me fully loaded to TOPO7 already and more loading now. This can be done just before bed, before going to work etc...it does the work itself!

 

Now, I understand that I am merely loading to TOPO7 and not the PN-40, no biggie there yet. My thought is this, half the battle is having it loaded to TOPO7, right?? Why not have it done while I have time so that I can simply save and load a needed section to the GPS1 I'd love to transfer everything to cards, but that could be expensive...I would if anyone wants to buy a few 16g cards for the experiment!! :yikes:

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Here it is the next day and I have a swath downloaded and loaded to TOPO7 which is as low as about 5 miles into Ohio up to Kalamazoo and Detroit...this swath is the entire width of Michigan.

 

Did it take some work? No, not really. I selected huge sections (the limit you can select at a time), then kept selecting those sections until I had 6 or 7 sections in a request, then sent in that request. While awaiting the return of that request, I had time to do that process again, so I had one package waiting for me this morning, it is loading to TOPO7 now!

 

With this work and only spending a few hours on it thus far, I am not burned out by the process, I feel happy to do this and grateful I'll have the aerial imagery to load any time I am wanting something. I will buy a few 16g or 32g cards and load them up soon. Previously, I had a great section loaded on my 1g, so I am pretty sure 16g will hold all I have oaded already plus a bit! It might take 4 or 5 cards for the entire Michigan state to be mapped in aerial, but that's more than manageable IMHO!

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While it's true that getting a whole state downloaded might take quite a while, like you said, most of the work can be done while you are gone. I'll go in sometimes and set up 5-10 huge sections to DL, then let them DL overnight, it's all good. And even though it does take time, it's a one-time deal, you don't need to DL imagery ever time you want to put it on your PN-xx. I have a big network attatched storage drive (300GB), so I put all the imagery I've DLd and the map packages I've created on there, so if I need to juggle stuff around or whatever, it's nice and quick. I'm going to redo a bunch of the map packages I've already got on the PN-40, I've found better ways of doing it and have filled in some blank areas I missed. No big whoop, I have time for it all to encode while I'm sleeping :yikes:

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I am leaving for an event, so I loaded up a large number of sections and they are now loading to the TOPO7. I will see how it goes when I get home, but I have a feeling I can have all of Michigan's aerial imagery in another day or so without problem! For someone who doesn't have quite the time I have, I'm thinking this same endeavor would take maybe 2 weeks of loading at night and spare time.

 

This proves one thing, the maps are worth $30 subscriptions even for the casual user. If I wanted to go on vacation, I'd need to either buy or find the free maps, this way, I can do it at my pace and be ready when the time comes (most of us plan vacations a bit in advance. On the rare surprise trip, having the TOPO7 so all I need do is load the state(s) I plan to visit, sweet!!

 

Also, the imagery and downloading is kind of fun to play with IMHO. I enjoy finding cool things on the aerials and hi-res city imagery I load!!

 

When I get Michigan done, I think I'll go back and load the hi-res city for Detroit (I alreasy did aerial, but can layer), then start on Ohio and go from there. I will update as progress is made!

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I am leaving for an event, so I loaded up a large number of sections and they are now loading to the TOPO7. I will see how it goes when I get home, but I have a feeling I can have all of Michigan's aerial imagery in another day or so without problem! For someone who doesn't have quite the time I have, I'm thinking this same endeavor would take maybe 2 weeks of loading at night and spare time.

 

This proves one thing, the maps are worth $30 subscriptions even for the casual user. If I wanted to go on vacation, I'd need to either buy or find the free maps, this way, I can do it at my pace and be ready when the time comes (most of us plan vacations a bit in advance. On the rare surprise trip, having the TOPO7 so all I need do is load the state(s) I plan to visit, sweet!!

 

Also, the imagery and downloading is kind of fun to play with IMHO. I enjoy finding cool things on the aerials and hi-res city imagery I load!!

 

When I get Michigan done, I think I'll go back and load the hi-res city for Detroit (I alreasy did aerial, but can layer), then start on Ohio and go from there. I will update as progress is made!

I would like to find out how many GIG that is when you are done.

Thanks

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I am leaving for an event, so I loaded up a large number of sections and they are now loading to the TOPO7. I will see how it goes when I get home, but I have a feeling I can have all of Michigan's aerial imagery in another day or so without problem! For someone who doesn't have quite the time I have, I'm thinking this same endeavor would take maybe 2 weeks of loading at night and spare time.

 

This proves one thing, the maps are worth $30 subscriptions even for the casual user. If I wanted to go on vacation, I'd need to either buy or find the free maps, this way, I can do it at my pace and be ready when the time comes (most of us plan vacations a bit in advance. On the rare surprise trip, having the TOPO7 so all I need do is load the state(s) I plan to visit, sweet!!

 

Also, the imagery and downloading is kind of fun to play with IMHO. I enjoy finding cool things on the aerials and hi-res city imagery I load!!

 

When I get Michigan done, I think I'll go back and load the hi-res city for Detroit (I alreasy did aerial, but can layer), then start on Ohio and go from there. I will update as progress is made!

I would like to find out how many GIG that is when you are done.

Thanks

 

I'm guessing it'll be quite a bit! I hope to get a few 16g cards and start loading them up soon!!

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... I hope to get a few 16g cards and start loading them up soon!!
Best prices I've seen lately is about $26:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx...N82E16820211245

 

But you're going to need a lot of them: http://forums.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?t=17415

 

You might want to see first how large a segment you can actually build and export to the GPS in one go, too :unsure:

Edited by lee_rimar
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I am leaving for an event, so I loaded up a large number of sections and they are now loading to the TOPO7. I will see how it goes when I get home, but I have a feeling I can have all of Michigan's aerial imagery in another day or so without problem! For someone who doesn't have quite the time I have, I'm thinking this same endeavor would take maybe 2 weeks of loading at night and spare time.

 

This proves one thing, the maps are worth $30 subscriptions even for the casual user. If I wanted to go on vacation, I'd need to either buy or find the free maps, this way, I can do it at my pace and be ready when the time comes (most of us plan vacations a bit in advance. On the rare surprise trip, having the TOPO7 so all I need do is load the state(s) I plan to visit, sweet!!

 

Also, the imagery and downloading is kind of fun to play with IMHO. I enjoy finding cool things on the aerials and hi-res city imagery I load!!

 

When I get Michigan done, I think I'll go back and load the hi-res city for Detroit (I alreasy did aerial, but can layer), then start on Ohio and go from there. I will update as progress is made!

I would like to find out how many GIG that is when you are done.

Thanks

 

I'm guessing it'll be quite a bit! I hope to get a few 16g cards and start loading them up soon!!

I am talking about the state. I would not have enough room on a 16 FIG for Wisconsin?

Thanks

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I am leaving for an event, so I loaded up a large number of sections and they are now loading to the TOPO7. I will see how it goes when I get home, but I have a feeling I can have all of Michigan's aerial imagery in another day or so without problem! For someone who doesn't have quite the time I have, I'm thinking this same endeavor would take maybe 2 weeks of loading at night and spare time.

 

This proves one thing, the maps are worth $30 subscriptions even for the casual user. If I wanted to go on vacation, I'd need to either buy or find the free maps, this way, I can do it at my pace and be ready when the time comes (most of us plan vacations a bit in advance. On the rare surprise trip, having the TOPO7 so all I need do is load the state(s) I plan to visit, sweet!!

 

Also, the imagery and downloading is kind of fun to play with IMHO. I enjoy finding cool things on the aerials and hi-res city imagery I load!!

 

When I get Michigan done, I think I'll go back and load the hi-res city for Detroit (I alreasy did aerial, but can layer), then start on Ohio and go from there. I will update as progress is made!

I would like to find out how many GIG that is when you are done.

Thanks

 

I'm guessing it'll be quite a bit! I hope to get a few 16g cards and start loading them up soon!!

I am talking about the state. I would not have enough room on a 16 FIG for Wisconsin?

Thanks

 

Not aerial imagery I would guess. One problem I am seeing (which can be fixed) is that the TOPO7 has a much slower redraw time with the more maps I add!

 

I have all the way up to Lansing the entire width of Michigan now, or will by morning. I will then start moving on up! I'll likely need to turn off the lower prtions of the aerials just to keep the redraw manageable.

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I am talking about the state. I would not have enough room on a 16 FIG for Wisconsin?
No, you'd need a more figs than that :unsure:

 

Start by looking at this for one user's raw data sizes for downloads into Topo7:

http://forums.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?t=17415

 

And then - you're gonna love this -- when you "cut" an image from Topo 7 to load on your GPS, it takes 2-3 times as much space on the GPS as it does on your hard drive.

Edited by lee_rimar
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I am talking about the state. I would not have enough room on a 16 FIG for Wisconsin?

I put together an excel chart for someone asking about the memory requirements for Nevada (110,567 sq mi). You can substitute the square miles for your state to figure out what you would need for the different data types. If not exact, it should put you in the ballpark. As you can see, the color satellite imagery is the memory hog.

 

Nevadacoverage.jpg

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I am talking about the state. I would not have enough room on a 16 FIG for Wisconsin?

I put together an excel chart for someone asking about the memory requirements for Nevada (110,567 sq mi). You can substitute the square miles for your state to figure out what you would need for the different data types. If not exact, it should put you in the ballpark. As you can see, the color satellite imagery is the memory hog.

 

Nevadacoverage.jpg

 

For comparision to maps for Garmins, I went to http://www.gpsfiledepot.com/maps/view/86/ downloaded the Free 24K topo (which is vastly superior to the USGS topos Delorome uses) for the entire state of Nevada. I had it downloaded, installed in MapSource, and on my GPS in less than 15 minutes. Since the map is a vector map, the entire state was 192 megs vs the 23 gigs for the Delorome's raster maps-that is less than 1/100th the size.

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I put together an excel chart for someone asking about the memory requirements...
Is that the raw size of files pulled down from Delorme, or the "cut size" of files to place on the GPS?

 

I believe maps sent to GPS take 2-3 times as much space on the GPS than the raw data sitting on your hard drive.

Edited by lee_rimar
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I put together an excel chart for someone asking about the memory requirements...
Is that the raw size of files pulled down from Delorme, or the "cut size" of files to place on the GPS?

 

I believe maps sent to GPS take 2-3 times as much space on the GPS than the raw data sitting on your hard drive.

 

Seeings how I have no intention to load all of this onto my GPS at one time, it isn't a big deal either way, the reason for this downloading is primarily to have the maps on hand should I ever need them.

 

While I could simply go buy a few cards and load them up, why?? I have everything I need on my GPS right now and can add whatever I want as I want it. Gotta love this! Also, we're not talking TOPO maps or whatever here, this is AERIAL IMAGERY!!! Anyone wishing to compare the map sizes should do it with color aerial imagery on their unit!

Edited by Rockin Roddy
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In another thread, the point was brought up that the map subscription for the PN-40 might not be a very good deal for some. While I agree, those without cable internet and a few minutes to an hour or so free time every now and then won't benefit from the maps, I am unemployed for a few more months and I have the subscription, so I am going to test and see how long it takes to load all of Michigan to my TOPO7 (in color aerial imagery...I love that).

 

I have a good chunk already loaded and am awaiting the email saying my next selection is ready to load. I hope to load it tonight while sleeping.

 

I will post updates to let you know where I get with this and how much work and a pain it is!!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Rockin Roddy, My name is Mel. I'm in Yuma,AZ I'm writing you because you have a DeLorme PN-40

I bought a DeLorme PN-40 about a month ago. I really like it and have got the loading maps down pretty good.

I'm having trouble transferring a waypoint from geocaching.com

I've tried everything they tell you to at least 40 times it seems like.

What happens now is. Everything looks right. I hit the SEND TO GPS button. It goes through all four checks but pretty fast. AND nothing is downloaded. The next time it will get to number three and time out.

The next time it only get's to number 2 and times out.

The guy and DeLorme keeps telling me to do the same thing over and over. So I thought I might ask someone who is using it. Thanks Mel

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Seeings how I have no intention to load all of this onto my GPS at one time, it isn't a big deal either way, the reason for this downloading is primarily to have the maps on hand should I ever need them.
You seem almost chirpingly positive :unsure:

 

I mention the file sizes because the PN-40 includes a half gig of memory internally and ships with a 1 gig SD card. So any use of the map subscription requires purchase of additional memory cards, the biggst you can afford. It might not matter to you, but "having them on hand" means nothing if you can't USE them when you want or need them.

 

Actually loading aerial images onto a GPS, for anything but a very small area, can be tedious -- or almost impossible. A small area where I might be hiking by foot is no problem.

 

A large area of 1-meter aerial imagery (e.g., a corridor few dozen wide and a few hundred miles long, such as I might cover on a bike trip) takes a long time to cut/prep/load to the GPS -- if it will fit at all. It's often a matter of trial and error getting an imaged area cut to fit on a data card.

 

Where hi-res (1-ft resolution) city imagery is available, it's even worse. For a day of walking last weekend, I cut a section that was only a few miles wide and only about 10 miles long. It took over a gigabyte of space on the SD card, and had to be split into several separate files or the GPS would hang.

 

For comparison sake: I also carry an iPhone. Because that particular walk was in a populated area with cellphone coverage, I had better (higher resolution, more current) imagery on the iPhone -- delivered instantly on demand, without spending any time to prep and load it up.

 

I know not everyone carries a smart phone. But I offer that comparison only to point out that the Delorme model of distributing maps, and the product itself, might not be the optimal solution for all users in all situations.

 

I'm sure none of that "is a big deal" to you Roddy, but others might be interested.

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In another thread, the point was brought up that the map subscription for the PN-40 might not be a very good deal for some. While I agree, those without cable internet and a few minutes to an hour or so free time every now and then won't benefit from the maps, I am unemployed for a few more months and I have the subscription, so I am going to test and see how long it takes to load all of Michigan to my TOPO7 (in color aerial imagery...I love that).

 

I have a good chunk already loaded and am awaiting the email saying my next selection is ready to load. I hope to load it tonight while sleeping.

 

I will post updates to let you know where I get with this and how much work and a pain it is!!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Rockin Roddy, My name is Mel. I'm in Yuma,AZ I'm writing you because you have a DeLorme PN-40

I bought a DeLorme PN-40 about a month ago. I really like it and have got the loading maps down pretty good.

I'm having trouble transferring a waypoint from geocaching.com

I've tried everything they tell you to at least 40 times it seems like.

What happens now is. Everything looks right. I hit the SEND TO GPS button. It goes through all four checks but pretty fast. AND nothing is downloaded. The next time it will get to number three and time out.

The next time it only get's to number 2 and times out.

The guy and DeLorme keeps telling me to do the same thing over and over. So I thought I might ask someone who is using it. Thanks Mel

 

Hello Mel

 

My first question for you is, where do you look for the downloaded cache? The cache should load to the geocaches section, so when you hit the menu button, then go to geocaches, you should get the downloaded caches showing up. Do any caches show up on the maps on the GPS?? Also, have you tried powering down the GPS and removing the batteries...then power down and re-start your computer. This might help!

 

Sometimes, the send to GPS will tell me I need to download the plugin again, I close that window and try to send the cache again, usually without the note coming back up. I have never seen the problem you describe though!

 

I hope you figure out the problem and can enjoy your GPS...if not, I'm certain DeLorme will be happy to make things right!

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Seeings how I have no intention to load all of this onto my GPS at one time, it isn't a big deal either way, the reason for this downloading is primarily to have the maps on hand should I ever need them.
You seem almost chirpingly positive ;)

 

I mention the file sizes because the PN-40 includes a half gig of memory internally and ships with a 1 gig SD card. So any use of the map subscription requires purchase of additional memory cards, the biggst you can afford. It might not matter to you, but "having them on hand" means nothing if you can't USE them when you want or need them.

 

Actually loading aerial images onto a GPS, for anything but a very small area, can be tedious -- or almost impossible. A small area where I might be hiking by foot is no problem.

 

A large area of 1-meter aerial imagery (e.g., a corridor few dozen wide and a few hundred miles long, such as I might cover on a bike trip) takes a long time to cut/prep/load to the GPS -- if it will fit at all. It's often a matter of trial and error getting an imaged area cut to fit on a data card.

 

Where hi-res (1-ft resolution) city imagery is available, it's even worse. For a day of walking last weekend, I cut a section that was only a few miles wide and only about 10 miles long. It took over a gigabyte of space on the SD card, and had to be split into several separate files or the GPS would hang.

 

For comparison sake: I also carry an iPhone. Because that particular walk was in a populated area with cellphone coverage, I had better (higher resolution, more current) imagery on the iPhone -- delivered instantly on demand, without spending any time to prep and load it up.

 

I know not everyone carries a smart phone. But I offer that comparison only to point out that the Delorme model of distributing maps, and the product itself, might not be the optimal solution for all users in all situations.

 

I'm sure none of that "is a big deal" to you Roddy, but others might be interested.

 

Agree with Lee here. This was one of the deal breakers for the PN-40 for me, the sheer volume and time you need to experience the unique feature of this product... the aerial imagery. The fact there is a thread started here about how much fun it is to let the PC churn through it unattended is testament to that B) Topos, fine.. i can get as good for the garmin nits in ever increasing places now. I frequently go on on long caching trips in a nd out the state (200 mile round trip last saturday for example) and it took me long enough to prepare the route than having to cut / download / transfer maps to the unit. I became pretty good with topo7 at the end, but when i looked at how much time and card space iI was taking.. uh huh. Aerial imagery looks good and would be useful for highly targeted small areas / trips/. If I'm really that bothered about seeing what cedar the cache is under before i get there I'll just load up Google maps in the field... but I haven't yet.

Edited by Maingray
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Seeings how I have no intention to load all of this onto my GPS at one time, it isn't a big deal either way, the reason for this downloading is primarily to have the maps on hand should I ever need them.
You seem almost chirpingly positive B)

 

I mention the file sizes because the PN-40 includes a half gig of memory internally and ships with a 1 gig SD card. So any use of the map subscription requires purchase of additional memory cards, the biggst you can afford. It might not matter to you, but "having them on hand" means nothing if you can't USE them when you want or need them.

 

Do you try to tell me you can load maps onto any other unit without a card?? Of course you'll need to buy cards, what is the point to this comment? Having the maps on hand means I can load it to a card at my will and have it when needed, for the price of a subscription and a card (ONE card if you choose since you can erase and re-load any maps over and over if you choose not to buy more cards). Now, I can also buy a few 16g cards and load to my heart's desire. I'm still standing by my thought that I can load all of Michigan on 4 or 5 16g cards! Won't know this for sure unless I try though!

 

Actually loading aerial images onto a GPS, for anything but a very small area, can be tedious -- or almost impossible. A small area where I might be hiking by foot is no problem.

 

Then I must be doing something very right, because I neither find it tedious nor impossible! How is this impossible? Can you tell me where you're running into the problems??

 

A large area of 1-meter aerial imagery (e.g., a corridor few dozen wide and a few hundred miles long, such as I might cover on a bike trip) takes a long time to cut/prep/load to the GPS -- if it will fit at all. It's often a matter of trial and error getting an imaged area cut to fit on a data card.

 

Trial and error?? I've yet to run into a problem and I have loaded a good portion of maps to my 1g card (the only card I am using thus far for my GPS)...24K TOPO, TOPO7, color aerial and aerial. In fact the 1g card had room on it even though I had a 20 mile x 10 mile swath of color aerial, a 6 block section of aerial (about 3 miles x 3 miles I'd estimate of no color aerial) for a lake I was practicing loading maps on and 24k TOPO for around a 10 mile x 10 mile section...PLUS the TOPO7 of Michigan. ALL this was on a 1g card!! Let's discuss the tedious part...what is so tedious about highlighting a section and loading it? If you mean waiting for it to load, this is something you can do in your SLEEP!! Nothing tedious or hard IMHO! And, since I'm already doing half the work, it won't take a lot of time (most of which can be done while sleeping, as I have pointed out a few times).

 

Where hi-res (1-ft resolution) city imagery is available, it's even worse. For a day of walking last weekend, I cut a section that was only a few miles wide and only about 10 miles long. It took over a gigabyte of space on the SD card, and had to be split into several separate files or the GPS would hang.

 

I loaded the entire Las Vegas Strip including casinos and a bit further off the strip onto my 1g card and it worked with little redraw lag! I don't understand what you're saying...you had to cut it into several separate files?? You mean put it on several cards or what? I don't know how to set up separate files. Oh, you mean break the areas down to small sections so you can highlight the section needed as you go, I'll bet. I've not had to turn n or off any sections as yet, but I'm still only on the 1g card and using the areas I described.

 

For comparison sake: I also carry an iPhone. Because that particular walk was in a populated area with cellphone coverage, I had better (higher resolution, more current) imagery on the iPhone -- delivered instantly on demand, without spending any time to prep and load it up.

 

I'm buying a unit so I can cut down on gadgets to carry. Believe it or not, I don't even OWN a cell phone! I'll not tell you what works best for you if you won't try to tell me what will work better for me! ;)

 

I know not everyone carries a smart phone. But I offer that comparison only to point out that the Delorme model of distributing maps, and the product itself, might not be the optimal solution for all users in all situations.

 

Something we can both agree on. I doubt you'll find a post where I said the PN-40 was the only GPS anyone should need to buy. In fact, I have stated several times that one should buy according to their needs!

 

I'm sure none of that "is a big deal" to you Roddy, but others might be interested.

 

It's only a "big deal" if you make it out to be! I can handle changing a card now and then. I can handle loading maps and such. I have no qualms at all doing ANY of this. And, since the subscription is a mere $30, if you don't like it or find it to be a "rip-off" don't buy it the next year! Do as the Garmin free mappers do...I think DeLorme can import other maps as well, just like the "free" Garmin maps??

 

No one is holding a gun to the buyers' head when it comes to maps. As advertised, you get ALL the maps you need right in the box, these maps are additional and BONUS maps! Someone wanting more, the option is there...and a very cheap option at that! Also, these maps are NOT needed for function of the GPS (routing works with or without the aerials or hi-res), so this means you can go about obtaining maps at your pace!!

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Seeings how I have no intention to load all of this onto my GPS at one time, it isn't a big deal either way, the reason for this downloading is primarily to have the maps on hand should I ever need them.
You seem almost chirpingly positive B)

 

I mention the file sizes because the PN-40 includes a half gig of memory internally and ships with a 1 gig SD card. So any use of the map subscription requires purchase of additional memory cards, the biggst you can afford. It might not matter to you, but "having them on hand" means nothing if you can't USE them when you want or need them.

 

Actually loading aerial images onto a GPS, for anything but a very small area, can be tedious -- or almost impossible. A small area where I might be hiking by foot is no problem.

 

A large area of 1-meter aerial imagery (e.g., a corridor few dozen wide and a few hundred miles long, such as I might cover on a bike trip) takes a long time to cut/prep/load to the GPS -- if it will fit at all. It's often a matter of trial and error getting an imaged area cut to fit on a data card.

 

Where hi-res (1-ft resolution) city imagery is available, it's even worse. For a day of walking last weekend, I cut a section that was only a few miles wide and only about 10 miles long. It took over a gigabyte of space on the SD card, and had to be split into several separate files or the GPS would hang.

 

For comparison sake: I also carry an iPhone. Because that particular walk was in a populated area with cellphone coverage, I had better (higher resolution, more current) imagery on the iPhone -- delivered instantly on demand, without spending any time to prep and load it up.

 

I know not everyone carries a smart phone. But I offer that comparison only to point out that the Delorme model of distributing maps, and the product itself, might not be the optimal solution for all users in all situations.

 

I'm sure none of that "is a big deal" to you Roddy, but others might be interested.

 

Agree with Lee here. This was one of the deal breakers for the PN-40 for me, the sheer volume and time you need to experience the unique feature of this product... the aerial imagery. The fact there is a thread started here about how much fun it is to let the PC churn through it unattended is testament to that :) Topos, fine.. i can get as good for the garmin nits in ever increasing places now. I frequently go on on long caching trips in a nd out the state (200 mile round trip last saturday for example) and it took me long enough to prepare the route than having to cut / download / transfer maps to the unit. I became pretty good with topo7 at the end, but when i looked at how much time and card space iI was taking.. uh huh. Aerial imagery looks good and would be useful for highly targeted small areas / trips/. If I'm really that bothered about seeing what cedar the cache is under before i get there I'll just load up Google maps in the field... but I haven't yet.

 

Key words there...let the PC churn on unattended. In other words, the work is done for you while you can sleep, eat, go to work etc. ;) I have almost half of Michigan saved in about 1 hour of actual work, the rest was done while I did something else. It's not like one needs to sit and monitor the progress, and the prep time isn't nearly as much as some would lead you to believe!

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No, not all options are there. Delorme do not offer any form of any good routable maps though, so they don't have the full range. The routable included maps are terrible..Topo-based roads (as opposed to dedicated maps such as Navteq) which are often in the wrong location on the map (try overlaying different map sets..) and not tabulated for one-way etc. Bridges across interstates are often interpreted as ramps. State Road designation ("Take a left on SR1323".. no, I want to take a left on Main Street!) often supersedes the road name. Auto-routing (i.e route re-calculation after taking a wrong turn is slow and buggy). POI are topo-based as well, so sparse and often irrelevant. Why Delorme can't release a copy of their autonavigation maps for their handheld is beyond me.

 

Yes, I know, buy a separate unit for road navigation. But other "on the trail" handhelds can do road navigation lightyears better than this unit. Like you, I also want to cut down the number of units I need.

 

Aerials are the unit's strong point, not topo / routable maps. And the choice, yes, is staggering. For a time / Gb price.

Edited by Maingray
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Key words there...let the PC churn on unattended. In other words, the work is done for you while you can sleep, eat, go to work etc. ;) I have almost half of Michigan saved in about 1 hour of actual work, the rest was done while I did something else. It's not like one needs to sit and monitor the progress, and the prep time isn't nearly as much as some would lead you to believe!

 

Oh, I get the one time unattended churn is all you need to get an area of map. That's one time issue, and it is tedious however many exclamation marks you use B) ... clicking on all those grids with all the limits on how many you can click on at a time, getting the email, downloading, cutting and then transfer to the unit... 100s of MBs / Gbs at a time. But you only got to do that once for each area, roger that.

 

Card management, making sure the trip you are taking today out of state , caching along the way, is carried by one area... oh crap, it spans two cards! Not very convenient.. and man, that card holder in the unit is as fragile as anything I've seen. Shoulda got that SE unit. I was shocked at how much data the hi res city data was, I gave up after a few blocks in Raleigh went well over 2Gb. Again, good if you only go to the same area or you have the time to tranfer to the unit again for a quick caching trip to raleigh... or dig out the correct card with it on. I guess i'm all about ease of use, and new gadgets making my life easier. The imagery was not worth the effort for me when i have a smartphone in my pocket (or am I just glad to see you?). I need to talk to a cacher using this unit for long runs over large distances and see how they are managing the imagery because it wasn't clear to me.

 

edit: I love the PN-40, really. I ran out and bought one straight away. The idea of aerial imagery for caching made me all hot and bothered and still does. The geocaching paperless mode is a must-have nowadays as well once you've experienced it on it or other paperless units. If they had better car routing data and less power issues I'd buy the SE unit.

Edited by Maingray
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No, not all options are there. Delorme do not offer any form of any good routable maps though, so they don't have the full range. The routable included maps are terrible..Topo-based roads (as opposed to dedicated maps such as Navteq) which are often in the wrong location on the map (try overlaying different map sets..) and not tabulated for one-way etc. Bridges across interstates are often interpreted as ramps. State Road designation ("Take a left on SR1323".. no, I want to take a left on Main Street!) often supersedes the road name. Auto-routing (i.e route re-calculation after taking a wrong turn is slow and buggy). POI are topo-based as well, so sparse and often irrelevant. Why Delorme can't release a copy of their autonavigation maps for their handheld is beyond me.

 

Yes, I know, buy a separate unit for road navigation. But other "on the trail" handhelds can do road navigation lightyears better than this unit. Like you, I also want to cut down the number of units I need.

 

Aerials are the unit's strong point, not topo / routable maps. And the choice, yes, is staggering. For a time / Gb price.

 

I don't recall starting this thread so it could turn into another which is best thread. If you'd like to continue discussing map dwnload, please do...otherwise, there are plenty of "vs" threads out there!

 

Also, you may not like the routing, I do. And, as I said, if I was buying this merely for the routing, I'd have bought a car unit. The routing is icing on the cake as are the aerials and other maps! I guess it all boils down to preference. I prefer to have the unit I have and you prefer another...no biggie to me and to each their own.

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Well, I was discussing maps and their download, responding to a point in which you said that other mapping options were available.. which i think is incorrect, Delorme is very "topo and imagery" biased Never mentioned another brand anywhere. I'm actually glad that there is choice out there too, some will prefer the imagery over routing. There is no perfect all-in-one unit yet.

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Key words there...let the PC churn on unattended. In other words, the work is done for you while you can sleep, eat, go to work etc. ;) I have almost half of Michigan saved in about 1 hour of actual work, the rest was done while I did something else. It's not like one needs to sit and monitor the progress, and the prep time isn't nearly as much as some would lead you to believe!

 

Oh, I get the one time unattended churn is all you need to get an area of map. That's one time issue, and it is tedious however many exclamation marks you use B) ... clicking on all those grids with all the limits on how many you can click on at a time, getting the email, downloading, cutting and then transfer to the unit... 100s of MBs / Gbs at a time. But you only got to do that once for each area, roger that.

 

Card management, making sure the trip you are taking today out of state , caching along the way, is carried by one area... oh crap, it spans two cards! Not very convenient.. and man, that card holder in the unit is as fragile as anything I've seen. Shoulda got that SE unit. I was shocked at how much data the hi res city data was, I gave up after a few blocks in Raleigh went well over 2Gb. Again, good if you only go to the same area or you have the time to tranfer to the unit again for a quick caching trip to raleigh... or dig out the correct card with it on. I guess i'm all about ease of use, and new gadgets making my life easier. The imagery was not worth the effort for me when i have a smartphone in my pocket (or am I just glad to see you?). I need to talk to a cacher using this unit for long runs over large distances and see how they are managing the imagery because it wasn't clear to me.

 

edit: I love the PN-40, really. I ran out and bought one straight away. The idea of aerial imagery for caching made me all hot and bothered and still does. The geocaching paperless mode is a must-have nowadays as well once you've experienced it on it or other paperless units. If they had better car routing data and less power issues I'd buy the SE unit.

 

Wow, another saying the card slot is delicate...since I'm not ramming things around, not opening the card slot and then playing tackle football with it open in hand, I guess I'll be fine! :) Clicking all those grids...you do realize you can click and highlight areas, right??

 

I commented here, went over to the coin forums and commented there and then went to the maps and highlighted 13 more sections to load (all with 96 or so grids each). I then set it to laod, went to facebook, played mafia wars, checked and responded to a few emails and am now back responding to these posts...tedious? Might be a matter of how you perceive it I suppose!

 

hi-res city...great thing if you plan on being in the city. I live a long ways from any city which is covered by these maps (well, Detroit, but I don't frequent that much). So, no big deal there. I know I have the hi-res if I want them though, what a deal!! Aerial, I am covered everywhere I go, so I can load as much as I wish at my pace. No biggie again, since my TOPO is also great to use and the aerials are merely BONUS!!!!

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Well, I was discussing maps and their download, responding to a point in which you said that other mapping options were available.. which i think is incorrect, Delorme is very "topo and imagery" biased Never mentioned another brand anywhere. I'm actually glad that there is choice out there too, some will prefer the imagery over routing. There is no perfect all-in-one unit yet.

 

I agree with your last comment...yet!

 

What do you mean there's no other options out there??

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Yeh, main point is one we agree on.. choice for the owner.

 

PN-40 just not suited to my leave-it-to-the-last-minute pace, lol...even with everything pre-cut and installed. I got caching trips on fri-sat this week and I haven't yet even planned it, I just know the towns we're heading to. It's nice to not worry about the mapping side and just have to worry about finding a good mix of caches. I'll much rather let the same unit take the strain and trust it to make good route choices and off road accuracy and, heck, even handle the cache logging.

 

A more considered person with much better time management skills than me will enjoy the imagery and probably have created road waypointed routes beforehand!

Edited by Maingray
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Yeh, main point is one we agree on.. choice for the owner.

 

PN-40 just not suited to my leave-it-to-the-last-minute pace, lol...even with everything pre-cut and installed. I got caching trips on fri-sat this week and I haven't yet even planned it, I just know the towns we're heading to. It's nice to not worry about the mapping side and just have to worry about finding a good mix of caches. I'll much rather let the same unit take the strain and trust it to make good route choices and off road accuracy and, heck, even handle the cache logging.

 

A more considered person with much better time management skills than me will enjoy the imagery and probably have created road waypointed routes beforehand!

 

As an example...I knew a few days ago I would go to an event last night. So, I loaded a large section of aerial imagery for that event and was ready to go in a very short time. Since loading caches is a breeze, I had that all taken care of, but could have easily done it in minutes anyways, the maps were the slow load and that wasn't more than a couple of clicks and waiting while I did my daily exercise routine!!

 

While I will never use all of the aerials at any one time, I can have them ready and could even go as far as buying the cards and loading them up (pre-loaded style) so all I need do is grab the right card(s) and go! Since all the work part is done, selecting a section and loading it will be a snap and can be done just before bed or work. Like I said before, this isn't as hard as it might seem. Sure, if you weren't ready and had to select, wait for the email, load and then select again, you might not get all you'd like, but again, the TOPO7 will handle any trip I couldn't prepare for!

 

I would like to see DeLorme bring out pre-cut cards so those without the time I have (which isn't really any more than a few hours so far involved in the state of Michigan) can just buy them and go, maybe in the future. Heck, I'd love to see someone with more talent than I make up a bunch of "free" maps for DeLorme much like the hard work done for the "free" Garmin maps (we all know someone had to go through a lot more work than I am doing here to get those "free" maps, right??), but I'm happy to do the work myself!!

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In another thread, the point was brought up that the map subscription for the PN-40 might not be a very good deal for some. While I agree, those without cable internet and a few minutes to an hour or so free time every now and then won't benefit from the maps, I am unemployed for a few more months and I have the subscription, so I am going to test and see how long it takes to load all of Michigan to my TOPO7 (in color aerial imagery...I love that).

 

I have a good chunk already loaded and am awaiting the email saying my next selection is ready to load. I hope to load it tonight while sleeping.

 

I will post updates to let you know where I get with this and how much work and a pain it is!!

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Hi Rockin Roddy, My name is Mel. I'm in Yuma,AZ I'm writing you because you have a DeLorme PN-40

I bought a DeLorme PN-40 about a month ago. I really like it and have got the loading maps down pretty good.

I'm having trouble transferring a waypoint from geocaching.com

I've tried everything they tell you to at least 40 times it seems like.

What happens now is. Everything looks right. I hit the SEND TO GPS button. It goes through all four checks but pretty fast. AND nothing is downloaded. The next time it will get to number three and time out.

The next time it only get's to number 2 and times out.

The guy and DeLorme keeps telling me to do the same thing over and over. So I thought I might ask someone who is using it. Thanks Mel

Mel, are you still here? Are you using firmware 2.5Beta?

Have you tried connecting the cable to a rear port on the PC with the PN-40 OFF, then booting the PN before clicking the "Send to GPS."

Also, you night try sending all your geocaches and waypoints back to T7 for safe keeping and then delete all Waypoints and Geocaches from your -40 and try again.

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Do you try to tell me you can load maps onto any other unit without a card?? Of course you'll need to buy cards, what is the point to this comment? Having the maps on hand means I can load it to a card at my will and have it when needed, for the price of a subscription and a card (ONE card if you choose since you can erase and re-load any maps over and over if you choose not to buy more cards). Now, I can also buy a few 16g cards and load to my heart's desire. I'm still standing by my thought that I can load all of Michigan on 4 or 5 16g cards! Won't know this for sure unless I try though!

 

 

I will tell you that you can load maps onto other units without a card. When I pointed out I downloaded the entire state of NV from GPSfiledepot and had the entire state on my GPS within 15 minutes, I loaded the map to my Garmin Colorado 400T's internal memory not the card. The 400t comes with 4 gigs of internal memory. A little less than 3 gigs is used by the built in 100K topo maps and the DEM data for the maps. So you have about 1 gig free. It is also important to remember since Garmin maps are vector and Deloromes are raster, 1 gig free on the Garmin is equivalent to 120 gigs of internal memory on the Delorome (Delorome's inferior 24K maps take 120 times more space than the 24K Garmin maps). So while a Garmin can hold 5 states the size of NV in internal memory (think how much it can hold on a 16 gig card!), the PN40 cannot even hold a single state of 24K maps with the biggest card available.

 

I have a card for my CO that I keep all of City Navigator (all of USA and Canada) on. It is 1.7 gigs. It works great for street navigation-but sometimes it has errors in it-that is rare. It does a very fine job of street navigation.

 

I will also point out the price of cards have come way down-the other day I bought a 8 gig card for $15. So I think the issue is not the need for a card, but the enormous amount of space the PN20/40 needs.

 

I can also say I have been using GPSs with maps since they were first available and I have never wished I had aerial or sat data. I grew up on 24K USGS maps, so I like high quality topo maps.

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Do you try to tell me you can load maps onto any other unit without a card?? Of course you'll need to buy cards, what is the point to this comment? Having the maps on hand means I can load it to a card at my will and have it when needed, for the price of a subscription and a card (ONE card if you choose since you can erase and re-load any maps over and over if you choose not to buy more cards). Now, I can also buy a few 16g cards and load to my heart's desire. I'm still standing by my thought that I can load all of Michigan on 4 or 5 16g cards! Won't know this for sure unless I try though!

 

 

I will tell you that you can load maps onto other units without a card. When I pointed out I downloaded the entire state of NV from GPSfiledepot and had the entire state on my GPS within 15 minutes, I loaded the map to my Garmin Colorado 400T's internal memory not the card. The 400t comes with 4 gigs of internal memory. A little less than 3 gigs is used by the built in 100K topo maps and the DEM data for the maps. So you have about 1 gig free. It is also important to remember since Garmin maps are vector and Deloromes are raster, 1 gig free on the Garmin is equivalent to 120 gigs of internal memory on the Delorome (Delorome's inferior 24K maps take 120 times more space than the 24K Garmin maps). So while a Garmin can hold 5 states the size of NV in internal memory (think how much it can hold on a 16 gig card!), the PN40 cannot even hold a single state of 24K maps with the biggest card available.

 

I have a card for my CO that I keep all of City Navigator (all of USA and Canada) on. It is 1.7 gigs. It works great for street navigation-but sometimes it has errors in it-that is rare. It does a very fine job of street navigation.

 

I will also point out the price of cards have come way down-the other day I bought a 8 gig card for $15. So I think the issue is not the need for a card, but the enormous amount of space the PN20/40 needs.

 

I can also say I have been using GPSs with maps since they were first available and I have never wished I had aerial or sat data. I grew up on 24K USGS maps, so I like high quality topo maps.

 

Good on you myotis...did you know the PN-40se has 8g of internal memory and will accept upto a 32g card??

 

The question wasn't actually whether or not a unit had internal memory, I can load as much maps as I need right to my memory. The question was more a statement (but I'd guess you knew this), the statement being MOST GPS units have a card slot (the good ones at least), and to make use of maps, one usually needs cards!

 

Also, the need for card/enormous space comment...ummmm, that statement makes no sense.

 

You might have missed the fact that I don't care if YOU have a need for aerial, I care that I want the aerials. I have a feeling this statement is more of a "since I can't have them, I don't want them" type statement, but that's merely MHO! I know, you've stated you can get them as well.... ;) You still seem to think that everyone has the same needs and desires as you do. We're discussing the PN-40 and AERIAL IMAGERY here. Sure, the Garmin can hold that much of a less detailed map, good for it! When you want to discuss the topic, feel free. Comparing those less detailed maps to the subject at hand is silly (but again, I think you knew that).

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Rockin Roddy,

 

As far as I know, the Co will also accept a 32 gig card, but with the vector maps there is no need for that big of a card. 8 gigs of internal memory on the PN40 is equal to about 64 megs on a Garmin.

 

As to your not understanding the statement about the need for enomourous storage space on the Delorome, the point is Delorome's 24K topos take 120 times the space to store on the GPS as the Garmin maps. As people have pointed out this severely limits what you can carry on your GPS and requires you to load maps for trips. I remember my first few GPSs that supported maps. I think my first one only had 8 megs of storage. I also remember how I hated having to try to figure out which maps I could fit for a trip I was on. What I really like about my Garmin is I no longer have to worry about that. I can have all I need on my GPS all the time. But say I wanted to go to ID, it is nice to know that I could get the entire state of ID in 24K topo on my GPS in about 15 minutes.

 

As you said different people like different things. I think there are lots of people who are like me who don't want to spend all the time it takes to deal with Delorome's system. So are you objecting to letting people who are reading this thread know there are options?

 

And let's be clear, even if the Delorome maps did not take up 120 times as much space as the Garmin maps, the 24K Garmin maps are vastly superior to the 24K maps on the Delorome. Most of these USGS maps are decades old. The maps for Garmins have the most up to date data available. On detail, the Garmin maps have the high resolution hydrology-the most up to data available. They are also made from 1/3 arc second DEM data which has 9 times the resolution of the DEM data used to create the 24K USGS maps. And most importantly, the Garmin maps are vector (which has many huge advantages besides file size) and Delorome uses Raster. Saying the Delomoe maps are superior is like saying an 8 track tape is superior to a MP3 or saying an analog TV gets a better picture than a HD TV.

 

Since you know I could get sat photos if i wanted them, why are you saying, "I have a feeling this statement is more of a "since I can't have them, I don't want them" type statement"?

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Rockin Roddy,

 

As far as I know, the Co will also accept a 32 gig card, but with the vector maps there is no need for that big of a card. 8 gigs of internal memory on the PN40 is equal to about 64 megs on a Garmin.

 

As to your not understanding the statement about the need for enomourous storage space on the Delorome, the point is Delorome's 24K topos take 120 times the space to store on the GPS as the Garmin maps. As people have pointed out this severely limits what you can carry on your GPS and requires you to load maps for trips. I remember my first few GPSs that supported maps. I think my first one only had 8 megs of storage. I also remember how I hated having to try to figure out which maps I could fit for a trip I was on. What I really like about my Garmin is I no longer have to worry about that. I can have all I need on my GPS all the time. But say I wanted to go to ID, it is nice to know that I could get the entire state of ID in 24K topo on my GPS in about 15 minutes.

 

As you said different people like different things. I think there are lots of people who are like me who don't want to spend all the time it takes to deal with Delorome's system. So are you objecting to letting people who are reading this thread know there are options?

 

And let's be clear, even if the Delorome maps did not take up 120 times as much space as the Garmin maps, the 24K Garmin maps are vastly superior to the 24K maps on the Delorome. Most of these USGS maps are decades old. The maps for Garmins have the most up to date data available. On detail, the Garmin maps have the high resolution hydrology-the most up to data available. They are also made from 1/3 arc second DEM data which has 9 times the resolution of the DEM data used to create the 24K USGS maps. And most importantly, the Garmin maps are vector (which has many huge advantages besides file size) and Delorome uses Raster. Saying the Delomoe maps are superior is like saying an 8 track tape is superior to a MP3 or saying an analog TV gets a better picture than a HD TV.

 

Since you know I could get sat photos if i wanted them, why are you saying, "I have a feeling this statement is more of a "since I can't have them, I don't want them" type statement"?

 

Myotis, this isn't a thread about "vs", if you wish to compare maps, stoarge or anything else, please start your own topic. This topic isn't intended for others to come in and post opinion of other map quality or size, so yes, I do object to anything not ON TOPIC!

 

Since I am not the only to say the maps DeLorme has are favored over others, why not start your own topic about that and leave this one to talking about map loading on a DeLorme PM-40...more to the point, aerial imagery!

 

THANKS!!

Edited by Rockin Roddy
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By your standard some of your commetns have not been on topic.

 

You started out the thread pointing out some say the "map subscription for the PN-40 might not be a very good deal for some." Pointing out other options seems on topic to me. To determine if somethng is a good deal, it needs to be compared to other options.

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By your standard some of your commetns have not been on topic.

 

You started out the thread pointing out some say the "map subscription for the PN-40 might not be a very good deal for some." Pointing out other options seems on topic to me. To determine if somethng is a good deal, it needs to be compared to other options.

 

Again, you're more than free to start your own thread. If you feel I've strayed in my own thread, by all means, the report button is below and left!

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I wanted to add a clip of a review from GPStracklog.com, this is on topic as it pertains to aerial imagery and the PN-40. It is NOT meant to invite debate about maps or preference, so don't see it as such and don't go off-topic please:

 

The PN-40 is, hands down, the best GPS on the market with aerial photos and USGS topo maps. It is also one of the best units on the market for geocachers.

 

I still like the Garmin Oregon's paperless geocaching interface better than the DeLorme, but urban cachers and others in open landscapes may find aerial imagery more important. If you go to Groundspeak, geocaching.com's message board, you can clearly see that DeLorme has captured the hearts and minds of many in the geocaching community.

 

I am recommending the PN-40 as the best handheld for anyone interested in aerial imagery and USGS topo maps. I'll also be updating my geocaching, hiking and biking pages, adding the PN-40 to my list of recommended units. It's that good.

 

snipped comments not pertaining to aerial imagery and the PN-40

 

And more about the aerial here:

 

DeLorme PN-40 on the trail / Using TOPO USA

 

It's really wonderful to have access to USGS topos and aerial photos right on the PN-40. I live back east now, underneath dense southern Appalachian hardwood canopy, where aerial photos are of limited value on single-track trails. But the imagery really shines in more open landscapes, urban areas, fire roads, etc. Folks using the PN-40 in such settings may find aerial photos very helpful indeed.

 

I posted this to give abit of an explanation of why someof us see aerial imagery as useful, I think it's well pointed out in these quoted snippets. So no one thinks I am taking quotes out of context, you can read the entire review at GPStracklog.com!

 

I am making great progress on the loading of aerial imagery onto the TOPO7, I'll keep this updated!

Edited by Rockin Roddy
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I wanted to add a clip of a review from GPStracklog.com, this is on topic as it pertains to aerial imagery and the PN-40. It is NOT meant to invite debate about maps or preference, so don't see it as such and don't go off-topic please:

 

The PN-40 is, hands down, the best GPS on the market with aerial photos and USGS topo maps. It is also one of the best units on the market for geocachers.

 

I still like the Garmin Oregon's paperless geocaching interface better than the DeLorme,

And the preference for the Oregon's paperless geocaching interface is meaningless if based on usage 11 days ago, or more, when the Send to GPS plugin for the PN-40 was released.

Edited by Team CowboyPapa
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I wanted to add a clip of a review from GPStracklog.com, this is on topic as it pertains to aerial imagery and the PN-40. It is NOT meant to invite debate about maps or preference, so don't see it as such and don't go off-topic please:

 

The PN-40 is, hands down, the best GPS on the market with aerial photos and USGS topo maps. It is also one of the best units on the market for geocachers.

 

I still like the Garmin Oregon's paperless geocaching interface better than the DeLorme,

And the preference for the Oregon's paperless geocaching interface is meaningless if based on usage 11 days ago, or more, when the Send to GPS plugin for the PN-40 was released.

 

I would have to disagree. With the OR/CO you can load PQs on the GPS-You do not have to go to each page and use send to GPS. Now if Deloromes could load the caches as easy as Garmin and you could use GSAK to load caches, I would agree the comparision would be stale. Maybe it will be some day, but not today.

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I wanted to add a clip of a review from GPStracklog.com, this is on topic as it pertains to aerial imagery and the PN-40. It is NOT meant to invite debate about maps or preference, so don't see it as such and don't go off-topic please:

 

The PN-40 is, hands down, the best GPS on the market with aerial photos and USGS topo maps. It is also one of the best units on the market for geocachers.

 

I still like the Garmin Oregon's paperless geocaching interface better than the DeLorme,

And the preference for the Oregon's paperless geocaching interface is meaningless if based on usage 11 days ago, or more, when the Send to GPS plugin for the PN-40 was released.

 

I would have to disagree. With the OR/CO you can load PQs on the GPS-You do not have to go to each page and use send to GPS. Now if Deloromes could load the caches as easy as Garmin and you could use GSAK to load caches, I would agree the comparision would be stale. Maybe it will be some day, but not today.

 

One last time since you can't seem to understand, DO NOT POST HERE FOR ANYTHING BUT DOWNLOADING OF AERIAL IMAGERY! If you must compare, start your own thread and do what you wish!

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If you don't want people to respond or disagree with something, don't post it. Perhaps you are confusing censorship with on topic/off topic. On topic/off topic is NOT related to a persons view on the topic.

 

This review really is not saying much. It does not say it is the best system for aerial photography-there is no comparison to a smart phone.

 

It is also not saying the PN40 has the best maps or that the USGS maps are the best. It has no comparison to the Garmin maps. He is saying if what you want is aerial and USGS topo, it is the best. And I would agree. But if you want the best maps or best GPS, Garmin is the best. It also does not say aerial photos were better than a good quality map, they said, "may find aerial photos very helpful." But my preference (and I suspect many others) is always a good quality accurate map.

 

Saying you are the top in your class does not mean much if you are the only one in the class.

 

Obviously some people love the Delorome system and others are not happy with it. So IMHO, it is important for people to know there are choices.

 

I think this part of the review you omitted really hits on some of the points others have been making:

I am reluctant to recommend the PN-40 for first-time GPS owners, people who have difficulty learning new software, or anyone who wants a grab n' go unit letting them hit the trail with minimal prep time.

 

 

I wanted to add a clip of a review from GPStracklog.com, this is on topic as it pertains to aerial imagery and the PN-40. It is NOT meant to invite debate about maps or preference, so don't see it as such and don't go off-topic please:

 

The PN-40 is, hands down, the best GPS on the market with aerial photos and USGS topo maps. It is also one of the best units on the market for geocachers.

 

I still like the Garmin Oregon's paperless geocaching interface better than the DeLorme, but urban cachers and others in open landscapes may find aerial imagery more important. If you go to Groundspeak, geocaching.com's message board, you can clearly see that DeLorme has captured the hearts and minds of many in the geocaching community.

 

I am recommending the PN-40 as the best handheld for anyone interested in aerial imagery and USGS topo maps. I'll also be updating my geocaching, hiking and biking pages, adding the PN-40 to my list of recommended units. It's that good.

 

snipped comments not pertaining to aerial imagery and the PN-40

 

And more about the aerial here:

 

DeLorme PN-40 on the trail / Using TOPO USA

 

It's really wonderful to have access to USGS topos and aerial photos right on the PN-40. I live back east now, underneath dense southern Appalachian hardwood canopy, where aerial photos are of limited value on single-track trails. But the imagery really shines in more open landscapes, urban areas, fire roads, etc. Folks using the PN-40 in such settings may find aerial photos very helpful indeed.

 

I posted this to give abit of an explanation of why someof us see aerial imagery as useful, I think it's well pointed out in these quoted snippets. So no one thinks I am taking quotes out of context, you can read the entire review at GPStracklog.com!

 

I am making great progress on the loading of aerial imagery onto the TOPO7, I'll keep this updated!

Link to comment

If you don't want people to respond or disagree with something, don't post it. Perhaps you are confusing censorship with on topic/off topic. On topic/off topic is NOT related to a persons view on the topic.

 

This review really is not saying much. It does not say it is the best system for aerial photography-there is no comparison to a smart phone.

 

It is also not saying the PN40 has the best maps or that the USGS maps are the best. It has no comparison to the Garmin maps. He is saying if what you want is aerial and USGS topo, it is the best. And I would agree. But if you want the best maps or best GPS, Garmin is the best. It also does not say aerial photos were better than a good quality map, they said, "may find aerial photos very helpful." But my preference (and I suspect many others) is always a good quality accurate map.

 

Saying you are the top in your class does not mean much if you are the only one in the class.

 

Obviously some people love the Delorome system and others are not happy with it. So IMHO, it is important for people to know there are choices.

 

I think this part of the review you omitted really hits on some of the points others have been making:

I am reluctant to recommend the PN-40 for first-time GPS owners, people who have difficulty learning new software, or anyone who wants a grab n' go unit letting them hit the trail with minimal prep time.

 

 

I wanted to add a clip of a review from GPStracklog.com, this is on topic as it pertains to aerial imagery and the PN-40. It is NOT meant to invite debate about maps or preference, so don't see it as such and don't go off-topic please:

 

The PN-40 is, hands down, the best GPS on the market with aerial photos and USGS topo maps. It is also one of the best units on the market for geocachers.

 

I still like the Garmin Oregon's paperless geocaching interface better than the DeLorme, but urban cachers and others in open landscapes may find aerial imagery more important. If you go to Groundspeak, geocaching.com's message board, you can clearly see that DeLorme has captured the hearts and minds of many in the geocaching community.

 

I am recommending the PN-40 as the best handheld for anyone interested in aerial imagery and USGS topo maps. I'll also be updating my geocaching, hiking and biking pages, adding the PN-40 to my list of recommended units. It's that good.

 

snipped comments not pertaining to aerial imagery and the PN-40

 

And more about the aerial here:

 

DeLorme PN-40 on the trail / Using TOPO USA

 

It's really wonderful to have access to USGS topos and aerial photos right on the PN-40. I live back east now, underneath dense southern Appalachian hardwood canopy, where aerial photos are of limited value on single-track trails. But the imagery really shines in more open landscapes, urban areas, fire roads, etc. Folks using the PN-40 in such settings may find aerial photos very helpful indeed.

 

I posted this to give abit of an explanation of why someof us see aerial imagery as useful, I think it's well pointed out in these quoted snippets. So no one thinks I am taking quotes out of context, you can read the entire review at GPStracklog.com!

 

I am making great progress on the loading of aerial imagery onto the TOPO7, I'll keep this updated!

 

I have reported your inability to stay on-topic.

 

THANKS!

 

As I have posted, I DID NOT POST THE REVIEW TO ASK FOR OPINION! I posted it so anyone not understanding what good aerial imagery might be can read it for themselves from an unbiased position. This has nothing to do with maps other than the references to aerial.

Edited by Rockin Roddy
Link to comment

 

And more about the aerial here:

 

DeLorme PN-40 on the trail / Using TOPO USA

 

It's really wonderful to have access to USGS topos and aerial photos right on the PN-40. I live back east now, underneath dense southern Appalachian hardwood canopy, where aerial photos are of limited value on single-track trails. But the imagery really shines in more open landscapes, urban areas, fire roads, etc. Folks using the PN-40 in such settings may find aerial photos very helpful indeed.

 

 

This is absolutely true. If I'm looking for a geocache in the parking lot of a 1/2 mile square shopping center, of what use is a street map, other than none. The best is to use a DeLorme Hi-Res City aerial photo image where I can see the detail on the ground and walk right towards it.

 

OTOH, there may be some who have never geocached with a photo imagery loaded in a PN-40 while actually holding it in their very own hands that will disagree with me. I'm always pleased to have a well founded opinion based on non-experience.

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If you do not want people to post a contrary opinion, don't post an opinion. If it is OK for you to post on comparision of various GPSs, then anyone should be able to post a contrary opinion. It is funny how you had nothing to say about Team CowboyPapa commenting on your post, but when I comment on his comment on your post, you tell me I am off topic. You are objecting to point of view.

Link to comment

I wanted to add a clip of a review from GPStracklog.com, this is on topic as it pertains to aerial imagery and the PN-40. It is NOT meant to invite debate about maps or preference, so don't see it as such and don't go off-topic please:

 

The PN-40 is, hands down, the best GPS on the market with aerial photos and USGS topo maps. It is also one of the best units on the market for geocachers.

 

I still like the Garmin Oregon's paperless geocaching interface better than the DeLorme,

And the preference for the Oregon's paperless geocaching interface is meaningless if based on usage 11 days ago, or more, when the Send to GPS plugin for the PN-40 was released.

 

I would have to disagree. With the OR/CO you can load PQs on the GPS-You do not have to go to each page and use send to GPS. Now if Deloromes could load the caches as easy as Garmin and you could use GSAK to load caches, I would agree the comparision would be stale. Maybe it will be some day, but not today.

Of course, and I certainly didn't not post with the expectation of agreement from somebody who has not actually connected a PN-40 to their PC and downoladed cache descriptions by using the new, less than two weeks old, Sent to GPS plugin.

 

The intent of my post regarding the new Sent to GPS plugin was to provide more recent information to those readers who might be open-mindedly receptive to such from one who has actually tried the new method. Outside of that I have nothing but guesswork and conjectural speculation to add.

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If you do not want people to post a contrary opinion, don't post an opinion. If it is OK for you to post on comparision of various GPSs, then anyone should be able to post a contrary opinion. It is funny how you had nothing to say about Team CowboyPapa commenting on your post, but when I comment on his comment on your post, you tell me I am off topic. You are objecting to point of view.

My reputation precedes me. ;)

Link to comment

 

And more about the aerial here:

 

DeLorme PN-40 on the trail / Using TOPO USA

 

It's really wonderful to have access to USGS topos and aerial photos right on the PN-40. I live back east now, underneath dense southern Appalachian hardwood canopy, where aerial photos are of limited value on single-track trails. But the imagery really shines in more open landscapes, urban areas, fire roads, etc. Folks using the PN-40 in such settings may find aerial photos very helpful indeed.

 

 

This is absolutely true. If I'm looking for a geocache in the parking lot of a 1/2 mile square shopping center, of what use is a street map, other than none. The best is to use a DeLorme Hi-Res City aerial photo image where I can see the detail on the ground and walk right towards it.

 

OTOH, there may be some who have never geocached with a photo imagery loaded in a PN-40 while actually holding it in their very own hands that will disagree with me. I'm always pleased to have a well founded opinion based on non-experience.

 

A street map will navigate you to the parking lot - I have found hundreds of caches in parking lots and I can say I never had any problem seeing how to get to the cache. I can also say I have been in parking lots thousands of times without an aerial photo and I never had any problem finding my way around! The GPS points where it is and I drive right there. I just cannot understand why someone would need an aerial photo to figure out how to get a cache in a parking lot. You just head to the lamppost it is pointing at!

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