Delorme is the best for benchmarking.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

I just had to start a counter geek thread about how great the Delorme is. It set up for benchmarking or geocaching or just hiking or driving. It is a great GPSr.

 

Of course I have my laptop with us, with the small Delorme GPSr attached to it with our Topo 9 running at all times whenever we are out of town. It is a fantastic set up for everyday benchmarking/caching runs. All the info we ever needed either on our laptop for me to look over before we get there or in the GPSrs (full cache logs or BM descriptions in the field away from the truck).

 

I just love the techie age, don't you?

 

What do you use and why?

 

Shirley~

[foxtrot_xray]

I am also a DeLorme geek, unfortunately. To me, being able to have the USGS quads, sat imagery, or any CUSTOM MAPS I want displayed on the screen seriously helps. I use XMap 7, Topo 9. I have a SPOT communicator, which gets used very rarely, and probably won't be getting the InReach. I have a custom-made PN-60WSE with a green (PN-30) case.

 

Yes, the PN's have a smaller screen, which can hinder for driving (unless you're tethered to your computer) uses, but for me that's fine, and when I'm driving I prefer to get lost.

[+baack40]

I too have a Delorme. I just wish I was more tech savvy to use it to its potential. I get by with it great to do geocaching but know I am not using all the powers it has. I am just not tech savvy enough to understand what I need to know to load it properly and to use it as it was meant to be used. I don't even load pocket querries in it as I am not sure how to do that and have read somewhere that you can't delete a cache as you find it. Have to delete the whole file, so I just load them individually and delete them individually. I have over 600 caches loaded in it and don't play around with new things as I don't want to lose the information that I have on it. We head out for the day sometimes and really don't have a destination so I have cache loaded all around the area so we can grab a few here and there on our travels. It works great that way. I take the laptop with me and if we get into an area that I don't have caches loaded, we pull into a McDonalds for a cup of coffee and I load a few in the area we are in. Kinda fun traveling that way. Just get in the car and go with no destination.

 

Sometimes I have around 1000 loaded if I know we are going in a direction that we don't normally go. I just love the sport of geocaching and it sure has taken us to some beautiful site, learned a lot of history, takes us to some areas that I know I will never return to too. LOL

 

Just wish there was somewhere I could go to get Delorme 101 Lessons, LOL I am a hands on learner especially since I don't understand alot of the techy wording. LOL

[foxtrot_xray]

Just wish there was somewhere I could go to get Delorme 101 Lessons, LOL I am a hands on learner especially since I don't understand alot of the techy wording. LOL

Head over to their forums - http://forum.delorme.com - there's many helpful folks there that can show and walk you through things. (Including how to delete a cache - you CAN delete a single cache!)

[AZcachemeister]

I would love to get a DeLorme PN-60, but I can't justify the expense even to myself, let alone the wife.

 

We have seven perfectly functional Magellan GPSrs available.

We have three Bluetooth GPSr units (two are DeLorme! )

I have six Palm units(some with cameras), and two of which can use a Bluetooth GPSr. All of which can display complete cache or benchmark descriptions.

I have two ANDROID phones, both of which have true GPSr capability, can display complete cache and benchmark information, and have cameras to take pictures of the mark.

 

A WHOLE LOT of stuff is going to have to break before I NEED a new GPSr.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

I would love to get a DeLorme PN-60, but I can't justify the expense even to myself, let alone the wife.

 

We have seven perfectly functional Magellan GPSrs available.

We have three Bluetooth GPSr units (two are DeLorme! )

I have six Palm units(some with cameras), and two of which can use a Bluetooth GPSr. All of which can display complete cache or benchmark descriptions.

I have two ANDROID phones, both of which have true GPSr capability, can display complete cache and benchmark information, and have cameras to take pictures of the mark.

 

A WHOLE LOT of stuff is going to have to break before I NEED a new GPSr.

 

Are you trying to have the "Most Toys"?

 

I bet you could still find some reason to have a Delorme PN-60.

 

(John sold both of our Magellans right after we got the 2nd Delorme with the Topo 9.)

 

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On another note, Foxtrot_xray, how did your vacation trek go? Or are you still out there - somewhere? Did you get to see or do anything special? Come-on, give us at least a picture or three to see.

 

Shirley~

Edited October 1, 2011 by 2oldfarts (the rockhounders)

[holograph]

What do you use and why?

 

I'm on my third GPS now, but unfortunately don't do much benchmarking in the field any more, although I still use it to create trail logs for my vacation hikes.

 

My first was a Garmin E-Trex, which got stolen when my home was broken into in 2003. Then I got a Garmin GPS-60CS to replace it. Unfortunately, the USB port connector on that one was too tight and it eventually tore loose from the case a few years ago. Then I got a Garmin-60CSx to replace that one, and it had better sensitivity and has worked well since. The Garmin maps leave a lot to be desired, though.

 

I guess I also have a GPS in my Motorola DroidX phone, but I haven't used that one for anything other than street navigation during vacations. I am amazed, however, at how quickly the GPS in the DroidX orients itself and acquires satellites and its location. Perhaps it retrieves the satellite ephemeris and its approximate location from the cellular network, but after turning on the GPS feature, it only takes a few seconds for it to figure out where it is.

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

We saw an interesting article on cell phones recently. Here is a clip of something that is rather eye opening.

 

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“[Mobile phones] can reveal information about your location not only to your cell phone carrier but also to the cell phone manufacturer, the developer of the operating system of your phone or location-based service applications on your phone,” Bankston says, adding that some apps have no use for your location but simply want access to it for marketing purposes.

 

To keep those apps from tracking you, often it’s just a matter of making a few adjustments to your phone settings. On the iPhone, for example, you can turn off location features by going to Settings, General, Location Services. There you can enable or disable location functions for each app on your phone. Android handsets have a similar option in Settings, Location and Security.

 

But aside from shutting off your phone entirely, your cell phone carrier will always be able to triangulate tower signals to determine your location if law enforcement or some other entity should ask for it.

 

Geotags in Photos

“Anytime you use an electronic device, depending on what the device is, you’re leaving a data trail, whether it’s GPS meta data in a photograph you take or [the] cookies you pick up when you’re online,” says Rainey Reitman, activism director with the EFF.

 

She’s right. As we have pointed out, every time you take a photo with your cell phone, there’s a good chance your location is being stored along with the photo. Cell phones with GPS often default to storing this information when GPS is turned on. And some point-and-shoot and dSLR cameras also have GPS built into them.

 

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Here is the full article.

 

We do not own a cell phone. Not paranoid, just do not have a use for them.

 

Shirley~

 

 

 

 

[+a2n]

I use a DeLorme PN40 for geocaching and am very happy with it. I put a CabBat battery in it for longer battery life and highly recommend doing that.

I use a 16G SD card and load all of my PQs onto that manually via computer (SD card appears like a flash drive on my Mac) and love that I can switch PQs in the field, or while traveling, right on the GPS device.

DeLorme is great when it comes to maps. That is why I originally chose it.

If I need to purchase another GPS, it will be a DeLorme again.