Delorme PN-30

[+scott9282]

Just what the title implies. Anyone with any reviews of the Delorme PN-30?

 

Or any links to independent reviews of the -30?

[+briansnat]

Not a getting started issue. Moving to the appropriate forum

[+Puppy Dawg]

Sure! Great accuracy, can hold a lock virtually anywhere, awesome paperless features, ability to add your own roads/trails, all in all, a great unit with no downsides.

[+wkmccall]

Just what the title implies. Anyone with any reviews of the Delorme PN-30?

 

Or any links to independent reviews of the -30?

 

Here are a few reviews of the PN-30

[+embra]

From the link above, it looks like you pretty much have descriptions but little in the way of hands-on reviews. I'd suggest taking a look at PN-30 threads at the DeLorme Users Forum, where user comments have started trickling in. Most of what you would read in a PN-40 review would apply, just disregard any altimeter and electronic compass observations.

[+Packanack]

Bought it, love it, I have had and used a Magellan Sport Trac which to my way of thinking was a great gps, it was intuitive in that it was easy to load and use, and was well constucted, I still have and use. The next one was a Magellan Explorist 500, the cable and connection wore out, the download and retrieval of caches was difficult, so when th PN 40 came out I was interested, but avoided purchase, as I bought a PN 20 for my sone the occassional cacher/hiker and I liked that, it was slow to draw, but with firmware has become a very serviceable unit, so recently I went with the PN 30 to save the 100 to 150 off the PN 40. I am glad I did. Good battery life with the rechargeable double As, nice display -little small, crisp button action, pretty much full featured. Mobile power and rechargeable battery pack available. I bought the bike mount, as I do a lot of biking, it comes on with an odd long hold on the power key, but within 30 secs every time it is locked on to signal and ready to go. Holds signal much better than the Explorist ever did. I have yet to lose a signal

 

I find it accurate, in fact since I have begun using it, I haven't had any DNFs , yesterday I pulled a signal inside the Lincoln Tunnel

 

My only regret is that they shipped me a camo model, when I really wanted that green one, i am more a green guy than a camo guy. I really like the geocaching program for 9.95.

Edited August 15, 2009 by Packanack

[+scott9282]

All excellent replies, thank you.

 

Special thanks for those who provided the links, and Pacanack for giving a hands-on review of the -30.

 

I knew I could depend on you guys.

[+42at42]

I am keeping my fingers crossed. I received a dud pn-30 on my first go around. One more week till my new one arrives. I am hoping for Packanack's experience.

[+StarBrand]

Lots to like about the PN30 - included mapping, easy to read screen, fast data transfers, excellent support, great Geocaching options, lots of fans.

 

On the downside - mine eats batteries, has a propritary interface cable, doesn't route to addresses well, tends to lose signal in some tough terrain.

 

I like my PN30 and the price point for what you get but it is not the favorite of the units I own.

[+teamdavisglobal]

Lots to like about the PN30 - included mapping, easy to read screen, fast data transfers, excellent support, great Geocaching options, lots of fans.

 

On the downside - mine eats batteries, has a propritary interface cable, doesn't route to addresses well, tends to lose signal in some tough terrain.

 

I like my PN30 and the price point for what you get but it is not the favorite of the units I own.

 

So what are your favorites? We have been using iphones, but are considering getting a dedicated unit. REI has a big discount on the -30 right now, so I am tempted...

[+teamdavisglobal]

Lots to like about the PN30 - included mapping, easy to read screen, fast data transfers, excellent support, great Geocaching options, lots of fans.

 

On the downside - mine eats batteries, has a propritary interface cable, doesn't route to addresses well, tends to lose signal in some tough terrain.

 

I like my PN30 and the price point for what you get but it is not the favorite of the units I own.

 

So what are your favorites? We have been using iphones, but are considering getting a dedicated unit. REI has a big discount on the -30 right now, so I am tempted...

Edited January 16, 2010 by teamdavisglobal

[+42at42]

So what are your favorites? We have been using iphones, but are considering getting a dedicated unit. REI has a big discount on the -30 right now, so I am tempted...

 

Walmart.com has them on for $199.00

[Lemonhead]

Walmart.com has them on for $199.00

Amazon too, for the real tree tho (camo)

[+OpenTrackRacer]

Keep in mind that DeLORME has recently changed the way data is downloaded for the Map Library Subscription. It's still all-you-can eat but now you can only get one small fork-full at a time and only a small number per day. The data throughput has also been throttled significantly so what you can get comes down very slowly. It turns what was a usable but slow and tedious process into sheer torture.

[+dakboy]

Keep in mind that DeLORME has recently changed the way data is downloaded for the Map Library Subscription. It's still all-you-can eat but now you can only get one small fork-full at a time and only a small number per day.

By "recently" you mean "a year ago." It's been working this way since June of last year (when I bought my subscription) and I saw references to this long before that.

 

You can can have up to 3 orders of 5 selections each submitted at any one time. Once each has been completed, you can submit another.

[+OpenTrackRacer]

Order prioritization and bandwidth limitation began in December. The selection and order number limits did begin in June (to "Improve the customer experience" of course"). Regardless, it's a major factor that potential DeLORME customers should keep in mind. Downloading useful amounts of data is now an agonizing process and slow as molasses.

[+user13371]

... a major factor that potential DeLORME customers should keep in mind. Downloading useful amounts of data is now an agonizing process and slow as molasses.

Now? I said that nearly a year ago.

 

I have no idea how to get these huge chunks of data through the tiny sieve imposed by Netlink.

--February 15, 2009; http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?p=105136#p105136

An all you can eat buffet. That only has soup. And the only utensil is a teaspoon, with holes in it.

--Feburary 22, 2009; http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?p=106525#p106525

 

Don't get me wrong: If you only need to spot load data for specific areas, and you need multiple map/image types to view on your GPS -- DeLorme's map subscription is still a pretty good deal. To insert a different cliche', think of it as "one stop shopping for all your mapping needs" -- Just don't expect "all you can eat," or you'll come away disappointed.

Edited January 27, 2010 by lee_rimar

[+OpenTrackRacer]

Fair enough... it's now more agonizing and slower than molasses.

 

 

I wish it really was a laughing matter. It's sad to see DeLORME being so shortsighted.

[+DazeDnFamily]

I got my PN-30 on Ebay for $150, shipping included. So far, I have no complaints at all. One time, it just would not get a satellite lock for over a half hour, but it could have been batteries or weather (which was far from good). Other than that, it has gotten a solid lock in 30 seconds or less almost every time, and I have yet to lose lock once acquired. The battery life hasn't been an issue for us yet, as we just got started, and most of our caching has been on the way somewhere, and therefore, short times with the unit on. But, as has been mentioned, carrying an extra set of batteries is of no real consequence. A lot of the reviews reference a steep learning curve. Personally, I didn't find this to be true. Within an hour of taking it out of the box, I had a local map cut with Topo, and loaded onto the unit. The paperless features are awesome. You can load PQ's straight from the web page, and load your field notes straight back when done. There is a link on the field notes page that will open the log entry page, and has any text you added in the field already in the block. Typing (I use that term VERY loosely...) on it is a bit of a pain, but I only use short hand notes in the field, so I can flesh it out on my computer at home. (cacheregister does cost $10, but imho is well worth it for the ease of use. It's as plug and play as I can imagine it being.)

 

Also, a lot of people find Topo hard to learn, but having a background in GIS, I understand the function, and just had to look up buttonology, and thought it was pretty straight forward for what I wanted to do with it.

 

I have yet to use Netlink, so I can't comment on that.

 

If I were to give a down side, it is how DeLorme locks down the file format for maps on the unit, making it impossible to create your own, unless you buy (in my opinion) insanely expensive DeLorme software. When compared to the user created maps and mapping programs out there for other platforms, this is a decent down side for me. But, again, it isn't a fault of the unit. It is a fault of the company. The cable is proprietary, and fits into the unit VERY tightly. The first couple of times I connected it, I was nervous about the force I was using. But, I haven't seen any connection issues with it yet, so maybe there's a method to the madness. Additionally, the SD card (up to 32 GB - most people recommend a 16 GB high speed (class 4-6 card) slot is under the batteries, which some people thought was inconvenient, but I see as solid engineering which helps keep the unit watertight. Some people have also mentioned that getting the case apart is harder than other units, but again, I see this as a plus. There are no openings to the outside that only need a spring to fail to cause intake of water. The unit is VERY solidly built, and should be extremely durable. Some people have said the screen is on the small side, which may be valid. But, in pre-dawn light, it is easily visible without the back light, and is easily readable at any time the back light is on. (Almost all of our caches so far have been at night, and I even found one with the light this thing puts off ) Also, the interface is highly customizable, including color themes, pages to display, information blocks and much more.

 

Now, to be fair, this is the only GPSr I have ever used, other than the 1st generation military model in 1997. But, from what I have seen, it is an awesome unit, and worth more than what I paid for mine.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Later!

[+dakboy]

If I were to give a down side, it is how DeLorme locks down the file format for maps on the unit, making it impossible to create your own, unless you buy (in my opinion) insanely expensive DeLorme software.

Give DeLorme a call. They offer XMap (the software you're referring to) at a significant discount for PN-series owners.

[+Team CowboyPapa]

......The data throughput has also been throttled significantly .......

Can you please help me get a better grasp on the term throttled as you use it?

Perhaps by applying a quantifying description to it?

 

For example, if the maximum output of their system is 10GB (Giga Bytes) per second and they arbitrarily decide to dial the total output to all customers down to 5GB/Sec,

is that 50% throttling?

Edited January 27, 2010 by Team CowboyPapa

[+user13371]

TCP, I don't think "throttled" is a precise technical word here, but in general it means the stuff ain't coming through as fast as DeLorme could deliver it - or as fast as folks expect it, take yer pick.

 

If D. limits how many orders you can have in the pipeline, some folks would call that throttling. If D. allocates less than the full amount of available bandwidth to one or more orders (or variable bandwidth to different orders). Some folks would call that throttling.

Edited January 27, 2010 by lee_rimar

[+snow_rules]

Okay some quick calculation

 

With USGS Quads you can select 1000 km2 (386 square miles) in one package. You can have 5 packages in a requestion so that give you 5000 km2 (1930 square miles). You can submit 3 request before you have to download giving a total of 15000 km2 (5791 square miles)

 

For Color the limit is 250 km2 in a package so the total would be 3750 km2 (1447 square miles). For DOQQ it would be twice this number.

 

That is a lot of land coverage that you can get easily get in 1 day. Probably more land area then anyone be able to cover in a day while caching.

[+user13371]

Snow_Rules, that covers ordering but not delivery. What are DeLorme's download speeds like lately?

Edited January 28, 2010 by lee_rimar

[+dakboy]

Dakboy, that covers ordering but not delivery. What are DeLorme's download speeds like lately?

Haven't had a need to download since Thanksgiving. Been busy with other stuff.

[+snow_rules]

Dakboy, that covers ordering but not delivery. What are DeLorme's download speeds like lately?

 

I was getting 140 KB/sec earlier today.

Edited January 27, 2010 by snow_rules

[+user13371]

Let's tie it all together. 5791 sq miles of USGS topos in a given day, getting data at 140KB/sec.

 

Missing data: Roughly how big a fileset, in KB, is 5791 square miles of topo maps.

Edited January 28, 2010 by lee_rimar

[+snow_rules]

Actual I was the one to say you can get 5791 sq miles of USGS in a day and the size would about 300MB (depending on where you are - Mountains may have larger sizes)

[+DazeDnFamily]

If I were to give a down side, it is how DeLorme locks down the file format for maps on the unit, making it impossible to create your own, unless you buy (in my opinion) insanely expensive DeLorme software.

Give DeLorme a call. They offer XMap (the software you're referring to) at a significant discount for PN-series owners.

 

Even $100 is insane compared to something Garmin and Magellan users can do for free. (Now, I'm not advocating those units. As I tried to state, I LOVE my DeLorme.) However, the company should offer a way to convert to their file format for free. Or, at least allow people to create a way. Or, allow other common formats (.img, GEOTiff, etc.) to be used with their hardware. While the price of the Netlink subscription is very reasonable, it is well documented by users that the data they have online is not always current, because of the way they acquire the data. If Google has more recent imagery available, and there is a way to use it to produce a "map" (this applies to image or mapping data. I use the term map generically) I should be able to produce it, and use it on my GPS, without having to pay extra to do so. As noted, users of other platforms can do so, and availability of data is a very real selling point. Even with this down side (which in my opinion, it is,) I still bought a DeLorme. My next unit, on the other hand? It will probably be something I can add data to. Making maps is part of what I do for a living, and I'd love to be able to use custom made maps on my GPS unit. I'm just not willing to pay for the right to do so.

 

Later!

[+user13371]

Okey dokey: 300MB @ 146KB/sec... hmm ... about 35 minutes?

That's not too bad, assuming no slow downs or dropouts. It'd probably take me longer to select the grids than to download them.

 

State of Oregon is approx 98000 square miles though, so if I wanted it all I'd need to order it up over 17 consecutive days, assuming your general figures average out consistently.

 

This might only be relevant to an OCD type who HAS to have their whole state though. I typically only carry around 9 topo quads with me on my iPhone and have same as KMZ files in Google Earth. That covers all the places I usually hike or bike. If I ever plan a trip outside of my home base, I just download the ones I need at the time -- I haven't bothered to try pre-loading the whole state.

Edited January 28, 2010 by lee_rimar

[+TotemLake]

I was the one to say you can get 5791 sq miles of USGS in a day and the size would about 300MB (depending on where you are - Mountains may have larger sizes)

Oops, sorry -- see what I get for reading/composing on my iPhone?

 

Okey dokey: 300MB @ 146KB/sec... hmm ... about 35 minutes?

That's not too bad, assuming no slow downs or dropouts. It'd probably take me longer to select the grids than to download them.

 

State of Oregon is approx 98000 square miles though, so if I wanted it all I'd need to order it up over 17 consecutive days, assuming your general figures average out consistently.

 

This might only be relevant to an OCD type who HAS to have their whole state though. I typically only carry around 9 topo quads with me on my iPhone and have same as KMZ files in Google Earth. That covers all the places I usually hike or bike. If I ever plan a trip outside of my home base, I just download the ones I need at the time -- I haven't bothered to try pre-loading the whole state.

(ahem)

[+OpenTrackRacer]

USGS quads aren't all that bad. It's still slow and tedious but not the end of the world. CDOQQ imagery is a whole other ballgame however. With regard to download speeds, I'd love to see 146KB/sec (like I used to). I'm seeing more like 16-22KB/sec. Sometimes a little faster, sometimes a lot slow. Lots of failed downloads too.

 

It's a serious impediment to productive using of the device.