GPS Review - DeLorme Earthmate PN-20

First let me start out by saying that I did NOT purchase this GPS unit with geocaching in mind. I had heard of the sport but never really did any investigation of what it was all about until after I had purchased the unit.

Overall I think it is a good device… There are a number of positive things and negative things about it that I will detail below. I know for the holiday season that they are blowing these things out on their website to make room for the beefier brother that is also available on their website.

Some cool things I like:

The Color Screen - I find it easy to read, and even in bright sunlight I don’t have a problem seeing it.

Downloadable Aerial Imagery and USGS Topo maps - Going beyond what you typically see in a GPS which is the map and road data you can also pay your $$ and download from the DeLorme website the aerial imagery. This is a bit expensive and I have heard (have not investigated) that they are now offering an annual subscription to this information that could save you quite a bit of money.

Waterproof Design and Case - I’ve dropped it into the lake and it was not harmed in the least. In fact I’m not even sure it knew that it was in the water. When I pulled it out and wiped it off it was as if nothing happened at all. The case is rubber, easy to hold on to, and I’ve dropped it without any problems.

Tons of Storage - I have never run out of space on this thing but having said that I also do not keep a permanent record of all of my waypoints and tracks on the device. It has more than enough space (75MB) to hold the maps and aerial images and the waypoints and caches that I intend to visit. You can also put a 1GB SD card behind the batteries (still waterproof) of the unit.

Things I DON’T like about it:

Slow to Acquire SAT Signal - I find there are many times that I have to power it off and try again to get a satellite fix. Not sure if this is just because of the area I am in or if it is a firmware or software problem. It is an intermittent problem and I find it does a much better job at acquiring signals if I am not moving.

The Download Interface - There are a lot of great software packages out there that will communicate with GPS and will help manage your cache finds, etc… Unfortunately I have not found any of them that will communicate directly with the PN-20. You have to load the files into TOPO USA and then send them over to the unit. An extra and annoying step and I believe it has something to do with the way it uses USB for communication.

Overall a pretty good unit especially at the prices prices I saw advertised today.

Would I buy another? I would have to think pretty hard about it simply because of the download interface issue with other software. They need to make communication with this unit easy for all software developers.

Bill writes for thegeocacher.com and for projectspossible.com. With many years of experience in the technology industry, Bill uses these sites to share his insight and experience on topics that range from geocaching and technology to political commentary and opinion.

Professionally, Bill is a project manager with a leading software provider offering solutions for complex distribution environments. His primary focus is in the area of software implementation and migration for the end user.

With advanced degrees in Instructional Media and Instructional Design, Bill has also developed technical training materials and programs designed around the adult learner and has spearheaded programs for web-based and self-paced instruction.