DeLorme PN-40 GPS Review

[Joshua Szulecki]

Hey folks,

I promised a while back that I'd do a review for my PN-40 once the new firmware is out, from the perspective of my sort of hiker. Well... I got around to it.

http://waterfallchasing.b...re-view-introduction.html

[McDowra]

Thanks for the review, I want one bad!

[Joshua Szulecki]

BTW... Any other PN-40 users on Alatrails?

[ednotmilkman]

i've got the pn-20 

I think it does the same thing except slower and not as good at picking up the sats.

I wouldn't mind loaning it out for a weekend, if I'm not using it, and you have a 100% reliable e-bay rating !

[MoBill122]

i've got the pn-20 

I think it does the same thing except slower and not as good at picking up the sats.

I wouldn't mind loaning it out for a weekend, if I'm not using it, and you have a 100% reliable e-bay rating !

ED ?  You still dwelling on hiking the BMT anytime soon ??  I'm going to start the first week of April from Three Forks to Blue Ridge.  That's like 50 miles or so.

[Joshua Szulecki]

As a note, DeLorme has released an official new firmware, 2.5. It solves some of the signal issues the device initially exhibited. Most of the fixes were in the 2.5 Beta 3 and 2.5 Beta 4 releases, but now it is official, not experimental. The improvements include a major addition of new geocaching features.

http://forums.delorme.com...db447ea2f8f0feae9b18765a9

[Joshua Szulecki]

Another note...

DeLorme just released TopoUSA 8.0. I got it for free (plus S&H) because I bought a PN-40 within the last six months, and DeLorme is cool about stuff like that.

I don't see any major differences, although there are now basemaps (no topo yet) for Canada and Mexico.

[Joshua Szulecki]

One minor note about the upcoming Cache Register geocaching software for the PN-series...

It is expected to be released by next week, and will cost $9.95.

[Pully]

Thanks for keeping us updated. I'm now a PN-40 user.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Pully,

Enjoying it so far?

[Pully]

I haven't had a chance to use it in Bankhead yet but have used it around my house and took it to Seven Falls today. I marked the parking area and an Indian Marker Tree.  I also used it while driving down the road and am extremely satisfied with that. I've also downloaded a USGS 1:24k quad for the Hurricane Creek area and love the ability to turn on and off the imagery.

I love this GPS. It was actually easier to use and figure out than I expected.

[ednotmilkman]

Just noticed that DeLorme is now selling an "in between" model handheld receiver.

All the same high-performing features as the PN-40 (no barometric altimeter or electronic compass)

So it costs $300 instead of $400 for the pn-40

http://shop.delorme.com/O...tDspRte.jsp?section=10460

I'm gonna order one soon.  Anybody want to buy my old pn-20, give me a private message. I still works fine, but I dropped it and cracked the window so I've been using it with a piece of clear shipping tape over it for the last two months. DeLorme said it would be $40 to fix it.

Edwin

[Joshua Szulecki]

The PN-40 did pretty good in my first Bankhead test. It had some weak coverage behind a bluff, and drifted a bit in a few spots (we didn't cross Brushy Creek, PN-40), but otherwise did fine under the bluffs. I even had a WAAS lock a few times.

[McDowra]

Pulled the trigger and bought one yesterday, hope to play with it this weekend

[Joshua Szulecki]

Make sure you get the map subscription! Totally worth it and I'll be renewing mine.

Got good batteries?

[McDowra]

I will get the subscription for sure, and I bought rechargeable battery's. Really looking forward to having the topo maps on the gps instead of folded up in my pocket.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Keep the map with you, though. The GPS can and probably will have trouble someday. Dead batteries, no reception, slow to lock, etc...

[ednotmilkman]

I recieved my PN-40 the day before I flew out to Yellowstone last month. So I carried it instead of my trusty old PN-20, needing only to swap the SD cards containing the appropriate map data for the hike out there and the ride back.

Things worked smooth for about 20 minutes - at the Birmingham airport where I had a 3 hour layover from my friends flight to mine. But then the darned thing froze up. I had already read about this problem and how you restart it by removing batteries and holding down the "on" button for 60 seconds before trurning it on. That was only a temporary solution. Never did stay operating more than 20  minutes.

So today I finally had time to mail it back, requesting that if they had to send out a new one, give me a PN-30 instead of the 40 that should get longer battery life; since I don't really see the need of an electronic compass nor barometric altimeter when you can see the elevations from the topo map unless you are in an airplane.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Yeah, a handful of units do this. I don't know if they'll switch you to a PN-30 or not, but they will get you a working unit.

The barometric altimeter is essentially useless (and doesn't work in planes anyway: pressurized), but it and the compass have been shown to use VERY little power. I mean a ridiculously small amount of power. Like 2mA. 

[ednotmilkman]

I guess if you are in the habit of jumping out of airplanes, then you'd know how far you have to fall, once you do the subtraction of map elevation from altimeter reading!  cool to see your velocity I'm sure before (hopefully), and after opening a chute.

They said they would send me the replacement front cover for the pn-20 for $40, or they'd fix it for $47, so I told them to ship a cover with new unit to save shipping.

[Joshua Szulecki]

I didn't know they sold replacement parts like that. I knew they'd repair stuff, but replacement parts sound pretty sweet.

The barometric altimeter I could do without, but the electronic compass is a must for me, because even though I always carry a compass, I don't always have it somewhere I can get at quickly, and the GPS=derived software compass (based on movement) is worthless, imo.

[ednotmilkman]

I always carry my compass on a string around my neck; many times I carry my wrist band mini-compass, too. Is the electronic compass as accurate as a typical handheld one (Q)

[Joshua Szulecki]

Probably not. It gets miscalibrated easily and it lags a tiny bit when moving. But... It is an extra compass, and since it uses almost no power, I like having it.

But then, since your habits differ from mine, ymmv.

[WSG]

I have this GPS and was wondering if anybody had decided on one kind of batteries or the other? rechargables? Just looking for the longer life of the batteries.

[McDowra]

I use Ever ready AA rechargeables they last about 7 hours of continuous use.

[ednotmilkman]

Which model Everready rechargeables do you have, McDowra.  I've never noticed them at W*-M*, therefor they don't exist, do they !

I've had problems with the rechargables from the beginning.

When I bought my PN-20, I got the rechargeable Li-ion batt pack with the device. It, for me at least, was a total waste as it runs it less time than the Ni-MH batteries that I bought at Wal-mart. None of which seem to run it more than 4 hours. Hard to be sure now since I rarely leave it on for a long time now.

I have tried various newer rechargeables as they come out. Now I've got one set of 4 Duracells that are supposed to hold their charge much longer even though the initial milliamp hour rating is only 2000, plus a brand new set set of 4 Energizers that just came out - their claim is a 2300 mAH capacity and "charge up to 150 more times than Energizer 2400 mAH (which is still for sale too)" as well as "holds charge longer *** retention at 6 months vs Energizer 2400 mAH."

I would not use cheap rechargables at all.  The older Duracells generally lasted longer than this 2400 mAH Energizer for me. All of them seem to lose much of their charge after sitting for a week.
For a hike where you wanted to leave the unit on all the time to record a track and you were going to be out several days, using non rechargeable Lithium camera batteries might be best IMO. Although there is still hope for these new types as I have not been able to test them yet.

[McDowra]

actually I bought them at walmart they are the 2300ah energizer's.  i also have a friend with the same batterys his also last  about 7 hours. Have you updated the firmware on you gps?

[ednotmilkman]

I think that's what I did with my pn-20 when I updated to the PN-40 with  Topo v8 map software. Have not used either reciever much since then.  Do you think that would help battery life (Q)

Also I'll have the pn-20 for sale as soon as I put the new cover on it and make sure that the pn-40 will work after returning it for repair \ replacement last month.  Will post a picture of the "20" here at that time. The computer software will come with it - it is the older Topo v7.

When I looked for the batteries at Wal-Mart, there was only one pack left of the "NEW" Energizers, the rest were the older 2400 mAH ones.

[MoBill122]

 I finally bought a PN-30 at REI last month on sale for $199.   Have basically just played with it, and haven't learned much about it.   Does pick up sats a lot faster than my old MeriGold for sure ! lol

[SmokeDiver]

I think I'm pretty well sold on the pn40. My Magellan Triton just isn't hacking it. It works, but the maps available are a real pain to load on the unit. Plus they suck.

[Joshua Szulecki]

By the way... It looks like DeLorme finally added 50k raster map data for CANADA, or at least parts of it. It is apparently part of the map subscription data.

[Joshua Szulecki]

Yes. I can confirm the 50k Canada maps are in there now.

They are 50k raster topos, much like the 24k USGS topos you were already able to download. I don't know if they cover all of Canada, but I downloaded some from around Banff with no problem.

[trainspotter]

Ordered a PN-40 off of REI today. Been looking to upgrade from my old etrex legend. Was a toss up between the 60CSx and the PN-40 but this forum sold me on Delorme and because of the maps offered. I figured i would rather take the word of my fellow SE hikers than someone given a review that lives in say California or Colorado that might get a better or weaker signal than we do. My etrex legend was just a oversized necklace, it would not pick up a signal half the time. 95% of my hiking is on the Pinhoti, anyone ever had trouble getting a signal with theirs while hiking on the Pinhoti?

[Joshua Szulecki]

Trainspotter,

I think you'll be happy. Once you get your unit, make sure that the firmware is up to date, FW 2.6 is the current consumer release. With a unit from a vendor it might still be on the original firmware, which has some reception issues that were cleared up within a few months of the initial release with a firmware update.

The 60CSx is a very capable unit, and it remains a favorite of geocachers. It is VERY accurate, maybe even a little more accurate than the much newer PN-series. But... It only offers those vector topos, which is a serious limitation. For anybody who bushwhacks, does backcountry hiking, or hunts, I consider the PN-series units the appropriate choice. For geocachers, the extensive third-party support of the Garmin units is often attractive, but having aerial photos on your GPSr comes in handy for them, too.