DeLorme Earthmate PN-40 GPS

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I still like my PN-40. I've used it on several trips, from trail and dirt road trips, to off-trail scrambling. I love it actually. Still the only flaw is a small screen, and as I approach middle age, I gotta drag reading glasses along for my paper maps anyway... The software is kludgy, but works ok for what it is. I've tried some aerial photos, but stick mostly with USGS 1:24,000 topo downloads. Still happy with the choice, the daylight readable screen rocks in the AZ sun!
 
Bleh... I accidently put the AA batteries in backwards, and it fried my unit. Deader 'n a doornail... The night before a 5 day hiking/camping trip. :mad: DeLorme is going to warranty it, and I'll send it in tomorrow, but wow, what a collosal design flaw. Not that I'm not a retard for putting the batteries in wrong, but in my defense, the +/- symbols are very difficult to read. Don't know if this will be a permanent fix to a design flaw, or whether it will still be suceptible to this problem. Can't believe a $400 piece of electronics doesn't have simple, cheap circuitry built in to prevent a very common issue.
 
It should of had protection. I put a couple of big red "+" in my Garmin with permanent marker just to be safe.
 
Skidoo said:
It should of had protection. I put a couple of big red "+" in my Garmin with permanent marker just to be safe.
Click to expand...

apparently a somewhat common problem with the PN-40's, and they have a "back plastics" fix for it. Sent it in today, so we'll se what comes back. The battery compartment and surrounding plastic are all a black color, so tough to make it clear which way they go. Poor design, especially omitting protection. Sucker was HOT when I picked it up after 20 minutes. :eek: I still really like the unit's performance though. Nice to overlay the USGS quads and sat. photos onto the handheld. Bigger screen would rock.
 
Got it back from DeLorme, all is well now... :)
 
So are the PN-40 or PN-60 more accurate than the PN-20?
 
NO my 20 seems to be equal to my 40.
Problem now is the new Topo 9.0 only supports the 30,40 & 60.
 
Update. I'm done with DeLorme...:mad:

After the whole battery thing I upgrade my home PC to Windows 7, and the user-hostile Topo USA software now no longer works. I've had this thing for 16 months. DeLorme wants another 100 bucks to "make it work" on Windows 7. F-them. :meh:
 
re_guderian said:
Update. I'm done with DeLorme...:mad:

After the whole battery thing I upgrade my home PC to Windows 7, and the user-hostile Topo USA software now no longer works. I've had this thing for 16 months. DeLorme wants another 100 bucks to "make it work" on Windows 7. F-them. :meh:
Click to expand...

Really???

Man, I've had no trouble at all with Topo 7 and my PN-20 on Windows 7, works like a dream. I still have trouble making "routes" for whatever reason, it seems to want to connect the nearest turn to the starting point as I draw my route, but otherwise, it's been great to me.

I should also say that I'm usually the person who has bad luck with tech. I've never had a computer work right as long as I've owned them (and I've built four!), frequent "this shouldn't happen" problems with MP3 players, software, games, but somehow my PN-20 has been bullet proof, I get a week bacpacking out of a set of batteries, it's been rained on, snowed on, dopped, forgotten, splashed, left in the sun and took a dunk with me when I decided to have a staring contest with the bottom of a creek last Yosemite trip.
 
I love the unit. The software sucks.
 
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