Delorme PN-40 Review update

I use a Delorme Earthmate PN-40 for geocaching.  I've put a review on Geocaching.com but there is a limit to the review length.  Here's a longer review with some additional observations.

The PN-40 includes both the GPS proper and a copy of Delorme Topo USA.  Price varies considerably online.  I bought mine from Walmart on sale for $199.  Given the underlying functionality, an attractive price.  Delorme offers a utility, cache register, for managing caches on the PN-40.  It's an additional $10.  I've no idea why it is separate or why Delorme choose to charge for it, but it is and they did.  Delorme also offers a Map Library Subscription for $30 annually.  This subscription provides access to the aerial images, 1:24K quads, and some marine charts. As a practical matter purchasing these add-ons brings the real cost to $240.  Even at that price it's attractive on the face of it.

I've generally been satisfied with the PN-40 itself although there are some serious issues.  On a positive note, sensitivity with fully charged batteries is good.  The built-in compass is occasionally useful.  One criticism that is occasionally heard is complexity.  While it is true that the device is complex, it is also true that it offers considerable sophisticated functionality.  While simpler devices might be easier to use they do not offer as much functionality.  Given the functionality, I found the menus and interfaces relatively simple and plausibly organized.  The documentation, however, is something of a mixed bag and could definitely be improved.  But if you stick with it it's manageable.

I do have some serious criticisms though.  Battery life is NOT good.  While I've seen numbers like 14 hrs on a pair of AAs, that's just not going to happen.  Delorme tech support told me 6 hrs.  I get about 4 hrs.  The PN-40 eats batteries.  You'll want to get some rechargeables, two sets at least.  Delorme offers some and the price, $50, seems reasonable since it includes both the batteries and car charger.  I bought some from Radio Shack since I wanted at least 2 sets of spares.  Four AA Ni-MH and 4 AAA and a high speed recharger was about $30 in the store.  That brings the real price up to $270 though.

Batteries are really just a nuisance at the end of the day.  The real issues are elsewhere with the PN-40.  I've had ongoing problems with the compass.  It doesn't like to stay calibrated.  While calibration only takes a few minutes it is a nuisance.  More seriously, I've had to reformat the storage twice and reacquire base satellite information twice in the last 5 moths  with help from Delorme tech support.  While neither takes inordinately long, it's the sort of thing that just shouldn't happen in my view.  That said, Delorme tech support is good and very responsive.  That's a bit of a left handed compliment though since I've needed them multiple times.

The next big piece is Topo USA.  I've got rather mixed feelings about this software.  On one hand it's been useful, occasionally very useful.  On the other hand the user interface is just awful and the documentation is all but useless.  On balance though, it's useful and a nice addition to the overall package.

The 1:24K topos and aerial images are another big part of the package.  The subscription price is certainly reasonable and once you download things you can continue to use them even after the subscription expires.  Moreover, you can download them to the PN-40.  That's the good news.  The bad is that the topos are images that overlay the vector Topos that com with the PN-40.  The worse news is that the overhead images are generally not nearly as good as Google.  Moreover, I've not found a way to load Google images to the PN-40.  Again though on balance, it's useful and a nice addition to the overall package.

The last piece of the package is Cache Register.  When it works it's nice.  Unfortunately, it doesn't always work.  I've had several issues.  Sometimes Cache Register just seems to get confused and out of sync with the PN-40.  Shutting down the PN-40 and exiting Cache Register and starting over eventually seems to sort things out although occasionally I've had to delete all caches and then start over.  Ultimately, these problems are just nuisances though.  Unfortunately, there are more serious issues.  In late Feburary when geocaching.com upgraded some of their system, Cache Register stopped working entirely.  It turned out that Cache Register does not support the current GPX format only the previous format.  You need to set a GPS preference when you configure your subscription.  When geocaching.com upgraded they somehow managed to break these preferences.  I spent 3 days sorting through the resulting problems including several calls to Delorme and spending a LOT of time on the Delorme forums.  Not good, not good at all.

The most recent software "glitch" involves those who use Firefox.  Firefox recently upgraded to version 3.6.  Unfortunately the "Download to GPS" feature on geocaching.com doesn't work with Firefox 3.6.  Delorme has NOT provided any information as to when/if the issue will be addressed.  Instead they've suggested using IE while they work the issue.  Unfortunately, 64bit IE also doesn't work and once you've installed the 64bit version of IE it's very difficult to go back to the 32bit (I'm told that 32 bit IE does work).  As a practical matter then I've had to revert to FF 3.5.6.  Not good.

That's the good and bad of the Delorme  PN-40 based on 5 months of use and 200 caches.  In summary while I'll continue to use the PN-40 and am reasonably satisfied, I would be reluctant to recommend it.  In my experience the hardware is OK but the software is NOT good.  I'd probably not buy it again.