Delorme PN-40

Wondering if anyone in here has purchased the new PN-40 yet? I know there are a couple of members here with the PN-20, Parmachenee for one and I think Rick won one. Do you guys like the PN-20 and would you recommend the PN-40 from what experiences you have had with your 1st Delorme GPS? I have had this old Vista since I started caching and it still works great don't get me wrong ( although I have to hit it once in a while to get it going again) :eek: lol.... I just think it is getting time to invest in another GPS. What are your opinions? Thanks

I own a PN-20 and it's my first unit, as such it would be hard for me to compare it to Garmin or Magellan's. I can say this: The maps are REALLY expensive. The advertisements show the sat. photos, topo, road maps ect. All of these have to be purchased separately. Importing and downloading the maps can be a pain as well. The unit is slow sometimes and I will hit a button and it will take 5 to 10 seconds for a response. Upsides: The unit is basically indestructable. (my 9 year old has tried. :mad:) I like the idea of supporting a Maine company and I've never had issues uploading caches, just maps. I thought about upgrading to a Colorado. I saw one at the Eustis event and it was waaaaay cool. :D However, my PN-20 works and I do not see the need to spend the extra money yet. My other thought is to purchase the 40 and let my kids use the 20 when we are out. That will probably happen in the 2010 fiscal year.

I think with the new PN-40 you can buy a years library subscription of maps for just $30.00, that doesn't sound very expensive to me I also think they have the speed solved with the new faster processor.

After seeing the things that I shoud be able to do and the things I want to do, I'll have to get one in my hands and try it out before I buy one.

Oregon. Period.

Parmachenee has one and so do I. Been playing around with it. There is a lot of potential in the PN40. With the 30.00 yearly map subscription you get unlimited downloading for a year. I downloaded the entire state of Maine USGS Topo's and have them available as well as some of the black and white and color aerials.

Working off the real topo's and looking at the aerial photos in hand on the unit is something to be experienced. No Garmin can do that right now that I know of.

Another thing that is positive about the PN40 is the compass. It is a very good one and it works better than anything electronic compass/GPS that I have played with.

The screen while a bit smaller is bright, very bright.

DeLorme Customer service is developing a very positive reputation for dealing with issues and people.

As it stands right now the Oregon is a bit ahead of the PN40, but DeLorme is working on some new Geocaching items for the PN40 that should enable one to directly download from GC.com as well as a Cache Widget that will handle caches and PQ's. Those are being worked on now and the DeLorme folks seem to be very responsive to what folks are looking for.

So as it stands right now some of the Garmins do a bit more and maybe some of that stuff is done more easily, but I think Garmin should be looking over their shoulder. The PN40 will be a unit to contend with.

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Originally Posted by Gob-ler

Parmachenee has one and so do I. Been playing around with it. There is a lot of potential in the PN40. With the 30.00 yearly map subscription you get unlimited downloading for a year. I downloaded the entire state of Maine USGS Topo's and have them available as well as some of the black and white and color aerials.

Working off the real topo's and looking at the aerial photos in hand on the unit is something to be experienced. No Garmin can do that right now that I know of.

Another thing that is positive about the PN40 is the compass. It is a very good one and it works better than anything electronic compass/GPS that I have played with.

The screen while a bit smaller is bright, very bright.

DeLorme Customer service is developing a very positive reputation for dealing with issues and people.

As it stands right now the Oregon is a bit ahead of the PN40, but DeLorme is working on some new Geocaching items for the PN40 that should enable one to directly download from GC.com as well as a Cache Widget that will handle caches and PQ's. Those are being worked on now and the DeLorme folks seem to be very responsive to what folks are looking for.

So as it stands right now some of the Garmins do a bit more and maybe some of that stuff is done more easily, but I think Garmin should be looking over their shoulder. The PN40 will be a unit to contend with.

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It sounds like I purchased my DeLorme unit way to early. Oh Well.

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Originally Posted by Gob-ler

The screen while a bit smaller is bright, very bright.

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Sounds like it might be hard on batteries?

Batteries - - no more so than the Colorado or Oregon. It has a rechargeable battery available for it so when your in the vehicle it is charging. It might be a problem after 8 hours or so of constant use away from the charger. A spare set of batteries solves that.

I'll bring it to the next event so folks can see and play with it.

I do still like my Oregon, but the DeLorme has tremendous potential, more so than the Oregon or Colorado.

I just purchased a PN-40 at the Augusta Sportsman Show and I got it for 100.00 cheaper because it was at the show. I also got to meet Chip Noble and he gave me a Eartha Geocoin... [:)]

Since I don't want to be a whiner........edited.

These coins are all activated as well, owned by Team Delorme. He wasnt just handing out coins to people that bought the unit either. We had a LOONG talk about geocaching and the advantages of the pn-40 and geocaching, and as I said before I recieved the coin at the start of the show and did not buy the unit till a couple of hours later. Also if you go to the Delorme Forums it seems that the response time to questions there is rather quick.

no need for a reply