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Delorme PN-30/40 vs Garmin etrex Vista Hcx

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Woodstramp

+Woodstramp

Posted
Posted

Rockmover,

 

What kind of hunting and what kind of terrain? If you are looking for something to just turn on and get you to a tree stand in the dark morning hours then a PN will work nicely. Just use it while moving. Even the short lived rechargeable Li-ion Delorme battery will work with that use. Turn it on, mark the truck location and route to the stand. Vice versa back to the truck at the end of the hunt.

 

On the other hand, if you are traversing mountain ranges in search of mountain sheep out West and want to have it on all the time make sure you have a load of stout batteries on hand.

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TotemLake

+TotemLake

Posted
Posted

Rockmover,

 

What kind of hunting and what kind of terrain? If you are looking for something to just turn on and get you to a tree stand in the dark morning hours then a PN will work nicely. Just use it while moving. Even the short lived rechargeable Li-ion Delorme battery will work with that use. Turn it on, mark the truck location and route to the stand. Vice versa back to the truck at the end of the hunt.

 

On the other hand, if you are traversing mountain ranges in search of mountain sheep out West and want to have it on all the time make sure you have a load of stout batteries on hand.

 

I always (95% of the time) know my treestands before I go in, so finding them isn't a problem. Often times I'll do a good bit of scouting preseason in new areas looking for potential treestand sites and will mark trees, bedding areas, rub lines, scrapes, fence rows, etc. Having the aria imagery and topo right on the device would be money, but at the same time, I don't want a device which I needs new batterys every 4 hrs. At most, I spend perhaps 8 hours at a time scouting, usually it is more like 3 or 4. Is it possible to turn certain features on and off to help with battery life. ie, if I only want to see topo maps at specific times, do you have to keep them up to update or can you "turn them off"?

You can disable the compass and the barometer but the savings is miniscule at best. You can disable the different layers (imagery topo and draw files) and re-enable them as needed. The PN does have a battery saver mode and one of the best ways to save the battery is to put it on a screen that doesn't change much such as one of the information screens. A pair of Lithiums x8 will last you at least 10 hours of constant usage (checking about every 15-20 minutes with the screen on bright for 30 seconds at a time) and I have seen better when the spot checks are fewer. So your battery longevity will depend largely upon how you use it. On an all day hike of 10 hours, I have been known to change the batteries (lithium x8) once, and I have been known to maintain the same set all day with energy left over.

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Hildy Boys

+Hildy Boys

Posted
Posted

Click here

 

edited by moderator to remove referral from link

 

Thanks, I just placed my order! I have been wanting to buy a new GPS for weeks now, and I had settled in on the PN-40 but some of the reports were scaring me a bit.

 

But I am a newbie and I am beginning to think that the Delorme/Garmin debate is kind of like the Chevy/Ford debate.

 

This $239 price was enough to push me to make the jump!!!!! I have been wanting to go paperless, and this seems like a great unit for that. I have been using my Lowrance H2O so far, it is a great unit for fishing but I don't think it is ideal for Geocaching.

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Rockin Roddy

+Rockin Roddy

Posted
Posted

Rockmover,

 

What kind of hunting and what kind of terrain? If you are looking for something to just turn on and get you to a tree stand in the dark morning hours then a PN will work nicely. Just use it while moving. Even the short lived rechargeable Li-ion Delorme battery will work with that use. Turn it on, mark the truck location and route to the stand. Vice versa back to the truck at the end of the hunt.

 

On the other hand, if you are traversing mountain ranges in search of mountain sheep out West and want to have it on all the time make sure you have a load of stout batteries on hand.

 

I always (95% of the time) know my treestands before I go in, so finding them isn't a problem. Often times I'll do a good bit of scouting preseason in new areas looking for potential treestand sites and will mark trees, bedding areas, rub lines, scrapes, fence rows, etc. Having the aria imagery and topo right on the device would be money, but at the same time, I don't want a device which I needs new batterys every 4 hrs. At most, I spend perhaps 8 hours at a time scouting, usually it is more like 3 or 4. Is it possible to turn certain features on and off to help with battery life. ie, if I only want to see topo maps at specific times, do you have to keep them up to update or can you "turn them off"?

 

Like I said, you get 11 hours with the Duracell HD rechatgeable, You get 8 hours off the battery pak. The battery pak (IMHO) would be perfect for you since it would last your while day AND can be recharged...never buy another battery!!

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Woodstramp

+Woodstramp

Posted
Posted

 

I always (95% of the time) know my treestands before I go in, so finding them isn't a problem. Often times I'll do a good bit of scouting preseason in new areas looking for potential treestand sites and will mark trees, bedding areas, rub lines, scrapes, fence rows, etc. Having the aria imagery and topo right on the device would be money, but at the same time, I don't want a device which I needs new batterys every 4 hrs. At most, I spend perhaps 8 hours at a time scouting, usually it is more like 3 or 4. Is it possible to turn certain features on and off to help with battery life. ie, if I only want to see topo maps at specific times, do you have to keep them up to update or can you "turn them off"?

 

RM,

 

I have two of the Delorme Li-ion packs. I get only about 4-5 hours use from those in my PN-20. That works fine for cache running. Keep it in the dash cradle charging on the cig-lighter socket. Just unplug and make a cache run from the vehicle. Also for short car based scouting runs. Regular alkalines I get about 7-8 hours use. I also have some of those non-rechargeable Li-ion's Totem mentioned, but have never tested them. Those are for emergency use. You might consider the PN-30. Less gizmos, same PN-40 speed.

 

I think you'd like the aerials/topos for scouting. I do. The cool thing is being able to see an area will all that info available. Most log roads won't show on a topo (USGS or Delormes vector topos). One thing I'm doing right now in Topo 8 is making a custom map of a local WMA by comparing Delorme downloads and a state issued map. I've found several obvious border mistakes in the state issued map just by looking at aerials. When finished, I should have a decent boundary map on the PN with custom POIs and highlighted roads. (Wish I could figure out how to show you a screen scan.) I also really like the abiltiy to make custom printed maps of areas just in case I got to break the compass out.

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Woodstramp

+Woodstramp

Posted
Posted

 

WOODS.......If I am understanding you correctly, you can actually edit maps, more or less on your computer when it comes to borders and such, then upload them to the unit?

 

Kind of. You can create your own borders (or whatever) in what is called a "draw layer" and add it to an existing map set. Those maps sets can have several layers that you can pull up on the computer and send to the PN unit. That is what I'm doing with that WMA area. Delorme's vector topo already had a rough boundary for that particular WMA. It has errors, just like the state issued map. I'm using the aerial portions of a map layers to do corrections. I can "See" my newly created draw objects on top of any of the maps whether Delorme vector, BW, color or USGS topo.

 

It's kind of hairy getting your feet wet using the TOPO8 software, but once figured out, it is rather cool.

 

Note: I've been bragging on the downloaded Delorme maps, but I just had a map set hang up during transfer to my computer. :( Delorme has a cool thing going, if they can just iron out the bugs.

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TotemLake

+TotemLake

Posted
Posted

Awesome. Thanks for the explanation. right now I do a lot of work with google earth and topo overlays, but I just print them out and carry them with me. It would be nice to have that all on the unit.

For me it's the only way to go. Not only do I have the aerials and topos loaded, I also have trail systems loaded for the area that have been mapped by geocachers contributing to the Northwest Trails Project spearheaded by Moun10Bike.

 

There are also layers for each state available on the DeLorme forums for those wanting to do the DeLorme challenge and have the page borders overlaid on the GPS. There's a cool DeLorme forum available for providing tracks and other layers of many interests.

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embra

+embra

Posted
Posted

Its definitely sounding like the PN 40 is the way to go for me. I was considering the PN 30, but with this deal from amazon, why not go for the 40?

Just in case that wasn't a rhetorical question--yes, the extra $10 or so makes it a nobrainer in my view.

 

Also, if you go for the PN-30/40, it sounds like you'll be wanting to take advantage of TopoUSA's finer points. Definitely check in with the DeLorme users forum if/when you start scratching your head. It can get a little complicated, but with all the people willing to help you up the learning curve, it need not be frustrating.

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Rockin Roddy

+Rockin Roddy

Posted
Posted (edited)

Click here

 

edited by moderator to remove referral from link

The deal just got even sweeter! I followed TotemLake's link and the Delorme PN-40 is now down to $199. Kind of makes me almost wish I needed one. Congrats to those that get them at that awesome price! :(

 

WOW, I spent close to double that!! What a deal!! And I see it was voted "Best of 2009"...NICE!

Edited by Rockin Roddy
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Hildy Boys

+Hildy Boys

Posted
Posted

So much for the early bird getting the worm! In this case the early bird got SCREWED! I thought I was being Johnny on The Spot buying it yesterday at $239 and now I am out 40 bucks! I contacted Amazon and have some great Customer No Service!!! So now I am contacting the actual seller, J & R Electronics to see if they will do anything for me!

 

But frankly the 40 bucks doesn't mean that much to me, either price is great and I cannot wait to get it. I just got the email this afternoon that it has shipped!

 

I will probably do more caching in December then any other month!

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Chi-Town Cacher

+Chi-Town Cacher

Posted
Posted

So much for the early bird getting the worm! In this case the early bird got SCREWED! I thought I was being Johnny on The Spot buying it yesterday at $239 and now I am out 40 bucks! I contacted Amazon and have some great Customer No Service!!! So now I am contacting the actual seller, J & R Electronics to see if they will do anything for me!

 

But frankly the 40 bucks doesn't mean that much to me, either price is great and I cannot wait to get it. I just got the email this afternoon that it has shipped!

 

I will probably do more caching in December then any other month!

I feel your pain. It was just a few months ago that I paid $300 for my PN-40 and was happy to get it at that price. Although even if I knew then what I know now I still would have bought then because I've gotten LOTS of enjoyment from it. By being the early bird at least yours is on the way to you. If my memory is correct the last time Amazon.com had a good sale on the PN-40s they sold so many that some folks had to wait 3 or 4 weeks before they got their new PN-40s. Hopefully you'll get $40 worth of fun from it while later buyers are still waiting for theirs to arrive. You still got a very good deal at the $240 price point, but I can understand your feelings. You'll love it when you get it! :)

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TotemLake

+TotemLake

Posted
Posted

So much for the early bird getting the worm! In this case the early bird got SCREWED! I thought I was being Johnny on The Spot buying it yesterday at $239 and now I am out 40 bucks! I contacted Amazon and have some great Customer No Service!!! So now I am contacting the actual seller, J & R Electronics to see if they will do anything for me!

 

But frankly the 40 bucks doesn't mean that much to me, either price is great and I cannot wait to get it. I just got the email this afternoon that it has shipped!

 

I will probably do more caching in December then any other month!

I feel your pain. It was just a few months ago that I paid $300 for my PN-40 and was happy to get it at that price. Although even if I knew then what I know now I still would have bought then because I've gotten LOTS of enjoyment from it. By being the early bird at least yours is on the way to you. If my memory is correct the last time Amazon.com had a good sale on the PN-40s they sold so many that some folks had to wait 3 or 4 weeks before they got their new PN-40s. Hopefully you'll get $40 worth of fun from it while later buyers are still waiting for theirs to arrive. You still got a very good deal at the $240 price point, but I can understand your feelings. You'll love it when you get it! :)

$535 for my PN-40SE with travelpak and no regrets.

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GrateBear

+GrateBear

Posted
Posted (edited)

I have been very pleased with the fact that I was delighted with my Garmin Legend Cx for 3 years now, and had no desire to update. And then, the posts today about the DeLorme PN-40 at $199.99 from Amazon. NO!! I do not need a new GPSr. NO NO NO!!!!! Then I started reading about it. NO NO NO!!!! I don't need it. Then, discussed with wifey, and she said she would get it for me for Christmas. BINGO! And Bob's your uncle!!! It's on its way!!!!!!! Ah, it's terrible to be so weak.......... :)

Edited by GrateBear
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Hildy Boys

+Hildy Boys

Posted
Posted

So get this!!!!!! I was the guy that paid $239 the day before the price went down to 199. I called Amazon to see what could be done, and they said I had to talk to JR Electronics who was the actual seller. So I sent them an email and low and behold I had an email from them and they are going to credit my account! How about them apples????

 

On top of that, I just looked and now the unit is back up to $229.

 

Now I can't wait to get my hands on the darn thing! I knew I should have had it shipped express!

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Chi-Town Cacher

+Chi-Town Cacher

Posted
Posted

I waited to long. I got online this morning planning on buying 2 or 3 of the PN-40s at the $199 price point just to resell on eBay for a quick profit of $50 or so each, but the price had gone back up. I guess it proves the old saying that "you snooze, you lose". Who knows maybe on Friday they'll do it again for a few hours. Have a happy Thanksgiving everybody! :laughing:

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The Yinnies

+The Yinnies

Posted
Posted

I waited to long. I got online this morning planning on buying 2 or 3 of the PN-40s at the $199 price point just to resell on eBay for a quick profit of $50 or so each, but the price had gone back up. I guess it proves the old saying that "you snooze, you lose". Who knows maybe on Friday they'll do it again for a few hours. Have a happy Thanksgiving everybody! :laughing:

It would have been a good idea,but as soon as it got out about Amazon they seemed to stall. I got lucky and sold mine for a good price. But the last 2 days it was nothing.

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GrateBear

+GrateBear

Posted
Posted

I waited to long. I got online this morning planning on buying 2 or 3 of the PN-40s at the $199 price point just to resell on eBay for a quick profit of $50 or so each, but the price had gone back up. I guess it proves the old saying that "you snooze, you lose". Who knows maybe on Friday they'll do it again for a few hours. Have a happy Thanksgiving everybody! :laughing:

 

Gosh, I really am feeling sorry for you missing out on the chance to make a quick buck. Just like I feel sorry for scalpers who get stuck with extra tickets. The American way--greed is good.

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