DeLorme PN-60

[doc_kreipke]

My PN-40 malfunctioned after a little over 3 years of service (failed to power up on batteries). Rather than have it repaired (out of warranty), I decided to upgrade to a PN-60.

Quickie initial impressions after a couple of days of geocaching. Can’t do any cross brand comparisons, as I’ve only used the DeLorme GPS trackers.

The PN-60 comes with DeLorme’s Topo 9.0 topographical program. I haven’t loaded it on to my laptop yet; so, I can’t make any fearless pronouncements about it. The older Topo 7 was rather complicated and cumbersome, especially if you wanted to download aerial photos for the GPS unit’s display. One thing I discovered is that my aerial images that I had downloaded for the 40 with Topo 7 won’t display on the PN-60 with the Topo 9 topographical maps that you use with it. So, if I want aerial photo maps, I’m gonna have to download all of ‘em again.

The 60 seems to get a satellite fix faster than the 40. When I first turned the 60 on, it took about a minute to figure out that it was in Zionsville, Indiana. As I recall, the 40 took somewhere between 5 to 10 minutes. When I turned it off and didn’t move far away, it got a 3D fix in a few seconds. (The above fix rates were with a clear view of a nearly cloudless sky.)

The 60 still is pretty menu-driven, with the same pages as the 40: satellite, maps, compass, trip info. When you power up the 60, instead of the satellites page, you get an array of icons with the pages on them. You access the pages directly by moving the highlighter with the arrow pad (not a touch screen) and then hitting the enter button. Also, the tracks, waypoints, and routes pages are icons on the home page; you no longer have to get them off a menu.

A new feature is a dedicated geocache page. Select this icon, and you get a list of the geocaches you have stored in the GPS memory, either in the GPS intrinsic memory or on an SD card. Geocaches can be downloaded from geocaching.com. Also, you can create a waypoint, then change its map symbol to the universal geocache symbol. When you change the waypoint symbol to the little geocache one, the GPS moves it from the waypoint list to the geocache list. If you select a geocache that you have downloaded from geocaching.com and then press the enter button, the 60 will give some quick info about the cache (e.g. size, difficulty, terrain).  This doesn’t work for caches manually created as a waypoint. You can also get the location hint from the website if you ask the GPS to do so.

Well, that’s what I’ve encountered with it so far. Will provide further FYI’s as I continue to use the device.

[Siskiyou]

Thanks for the post on the PN-60.  It appears that you have found as I have that sticking with the same brand reduces the learning curve when up grading.
Please continue posting on the PN-60, De Lorme mapping products, and your field experience.
 
Wow! it has been a few years back, but I had a De Lorme Topo USA loaded on the Laptop that I was using in a mobile wildland fire communications rig.  The rig was setup with  radio postions, a number of phone postions printer, fax, and coffee pot.
 
I was able to place on the topo unit identifiers.  This being crew, engines, and dozers.  A useful tool.  As the units change positions I could update the map. 

I will make note that errors can be found in most mapping products. A fellow dispatcher and I was discussing a steep, heavily wooded canyon at which his home is located on the rim.  Steep canyons work as chimneys in which wild fires can run upslode from bottom to top at high rate of spread.  We brought up the latest version of DeLorme topo and found and error on the face of the canyon opposite his home.  It showed a spur road into the canyon where none existed.  Both of us have hunted the drainage and know the road is not there.  It is very steep and road contruction is not likely.
 
We found the same error on De Lorme streets.  BUT I was impressed with the version of De Lorme Streets that was installed in the system.  The Command Center we worked in was Multi-Agency and the fire department in a resort community had a 911 medical response in a new subdivision that was under contruction and had few occupied residents.
I suspect you can use your De Lorme software to store field data on your computer and generate maps with it.
In the past waypoints, tracks, and routes could be transferred from Garmin and Magellan GPS units to Google Earth and be displayed.  Can the most currently De Lorme products be downloaded to Google Earth?
 
It is good information that the older Topo  7 will not load on the PN-60.  A report on Topo 9.0 would be of interest.  Make note that if you do post and I fail to comment it is because I am scheduled for right shoulder surgery and a few weeks. 
 
 

[Lloyd Smale]

I still havent figured out my pn40 totaly. Id love to try a 60 mostly because there suppose to have better battery life. Something the 40s just arent good at.

[Siskiyou]

 We all know tech savvy kids who absorb technology like a sponge.  There is a GPS test in the February 2013 Field and Stream magazine by four Boy Scouts that were give four GPS units to test.  The DeLorme PN-60 was one of those units.  The other units were by Lowrance, Magellan, and Garmin.

The PN-60 and the Garmin Oregon 550T received five stars, the Lowrance Endura Safari was rated four stars, and the Magellan Explorist received three and half stars.  When it comes to cost the PN-60 appears to be a better deal than the Garmin by $200.

This is not a how to article but user opinions. 

[Lloyd Smale]

I wonder if part of the reason those youngsters liked it is that it WAS more complicated then the others. Kids like lots of buttons bells and whistles.

[mjh]

Have the pn60----use it so much that I gotta get out the manual before every time that I use it,   I'm an old map and compass guy but I do see the value of the GPS---