Here Is What THEY Say About It

"The DeLorme Earthmate GPS PN-20 combines USGS data with the company's own frequently updated trail and street networks, meaning it displays routes that aren't yet on official maps. You can also load it with high-resolution satellite or aerial photos, street grids, scanned USGS topos, and NOAA nautical charts, making the waterproof, five-ounce PN-20 the most powerful backcountry GPS we've tested. Map geeks: if you live by contour lines, this is your unit." Outside Magazine (July 2008)

Earthmate GPS PN-20: A New Breed of GPS GPS Review.Net

"The DeLorme PN-20 represents a new breed of GPS devices. I’ve been waiting a long time for a GPS device to show me not only a map with my current position, but show my position on aerial photography and satellite imagery. Think of this new type of GPS as having Google Earth, GPS enabled, in your pocket. Upon starting up the device the first thing I noticed was that the screen is very bright. The screen is a similar overall size to that of other handheld GPS devices with a resolution of 176x220 pixels. I didn’t have any trouble viewing the display in bright sunlight conditions. The map page is where all of the action happens on this GPS. You can choose if you want to view Aerial Photography, USGS Topo maps, DeLorme Topo maps, or Satellite imagery. There is also a base map which displays major roads of the entire world. (Nice!) You can also pick which order you would like to layer the maps if your highest priority type of map is not available in the current view. Overall, this is a fantastic device and it leads the way in a new breed of GPS devices which can display aerial photography and satellite imagery. For people who have dreamed about having a Google Earth type product in a handheld device.... this is it. Lots of people often ask me “what do you do with all of the GPS devices after you’ve tested them?” Some I sell, some are on loan from the manufacturer and some I keep. I’m keeping my Earthmate PN-20."

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Here Is What WE Say About It

One of the most asked questions by new members to JeepExpeditions.org is what is the best GPS unit for off-road use? It’s the kind of question that you will ask 25 people and possibly get 25 different answers. Most of our members use Garmin units Why Garmin you ask? Well for years Garmin has gained popularity with the off-highway crowd due mainly to their TOPO software. It just seemed to be so much better than what the competition had if they had any at all. Well move over Garmin, there is some new competition on the block and they mean business!

Personally, I have been using laptops with mapping software and dash mounted/hand held GPS units since the mid 90’s. My 1st use of mapping software using GPS was on a Dell laptop using DeLorme software and DeLorme serial GPS receiver in the mid 90’s. That was long before GPS became a household word. I grew to like Delormes software, its ease of use, accuracy and the fact that every year they updated it with new roads and POI’s. Over the years as DeLorme came out with TOPO software I started using the laptop in my Jeeps where I found out that plastic cased laptops like Dell and others can’t take the abuse. I looked for a handheld unit for the Jeep and ended up with a Magellen which didn’t cut it in the mapping department. Eventually I ended up with a Garmin using their TOPO software.

Here is where my dilemma started. I still continue to use a laptop in my Jeeps (now Panasonic Toughbooks) with DeLorme software because of the detail of the maps and accuracy. The 13” screen helps too! I also went thru a number of Garmin units until I found a couple (yes I have more than 1) that suited me. Yet the Garmin TOPO software just wasn’t up to par with the DeLorme and the software just was lacking the detail I was accustomed to on my laptop. In addition, each year I was shelling out money for both Garmin ($200) and DeLorme software ($150). Not because I had to but I drive a lot and I like the most complete and up-to-date information available. There had to be a better way………..and now there is.

Enter the DeLorme Earthmate GPS PN-20. A bright yellow, water proof unit that is easy to use, has a vibrant color screen, uses SD cards for detailed maps and best part is it uses the same DeLorme software that I use on my laptop! Now I was not looking for a new GPS unit but looking over the DeLorme website for information on their newest TOPO 7 product a picture of the PN-20 caught my eye and my curiosity. I read on and found that it used the same detailed software that I used on my laptop and best yet, I could also download USGS 1:24,000 quad maps, NOAA nautical charts, High-resolution color aerial imagery - U.S. States, High-resolution color aerial imagery - Select U.S. Cities, Black-and-white aerial imagery and 10-meter color satellite imagery too that could be displayed on the unit! I can’t get that with my Garmin or anywhere close to it.

So I make a call to DeLorme ask a few questions (they are very friendly and helpful). Later that week after a few email questions (they are very fast on email response too) I find myself waiting for my 2nd day air package to arrive from DeLorme that consist of the PN-20 Deluxe Bundle, power package for AC/DC operation and a RAM windshield mount.



Two days later FED EX is knocking at my door. I could not wait to open up the package and checking out this new “toy” and wasted no time in opening the main box and the other boxes within. After spreading all of the contents on my dining room table I was amazed at what one could get for not a lot of cash. In addition to the GPS unit, it also had my new version of TOPO 7 for my laptop, an instructional DVD on how to use the unit, 3 more DVDs of detailed TOPO 7 software for the unit, a 1GB SD card w/USB programmer and more.

Now being a typical guy, I tend not to read manuals and got right to the DVD and while I didn’t time it, 30 minutes or so later, I felt like an expert.

I loaded the TOPO 7 on my laptop and then loaded TOPO 7 on my SD card. To give you an example of the amount of information/detail DeLorme gets you over Garmin; it took 1GB to hold just the Arizona TOPO information on the DeLorme. With Garmin, 1 GB would hold half the country. Now that’s good if you were doing a long road trip over half the country but not for what most of us are going to use a TOPO enabled GPS unit for on the trail.

My 1st experience with the PN-20 was on 200 miles of paved roads from Phoenix, AZ to Willcox, AZ. The built in basemaps showed every road that I was on and the GPS tracked the position accurately it seemed. The display was bright, clear….vibrant. The best I had seen on any GPS do date. I “installed” the SD card with the TOPO 7 detail maps of AZ and WOW! TOPO 7 software also has most if not all streets and roads integrated into it which eliminates the need for separate “streets” software and it routable too! Side by side with my Garmin unit there really was little comparison, the DeLorme unit in my opinion was hands down the better of the two. Plus the RAM mount was about as HD as they come!

Day 2 and 3 of the trip was all daylight and on more than 200 miles of dirt roads and trails. The DeLorme software showed all the trails that we were on. My Garmin unit was not quite as detailed and some trails and parts of trails on the Garmin were “missing” but showed up on the DeLorme.



I might also mention that the basemaps for the DeLorme unit are for the entire planet! Something that Garmin does not offer for the occasional world traveler.

So my initial first days with the DeLorme PN-20 have me thinking nothing but positives. In my opinion it is a better unit than the hand held Garmin for off-road use than the Garmin due to its much more detailed maps, crisp and bright display and the fact that its initial price for the deluxe package is about $300 which includes TOPO 7 for both the PN-20 and your PC/Laptop ($100 value). Add to that $100 in download credits for USGS Topo Quads, aerial imagery and the fact you don’t need to spend another dime for routable street maps you can easily see the value. Compare that with the Garmin Colorado series at $600 (the Colorado seems to be closest in features from what I could tell but even the color ETrex is $249 and can’t stand up to a head to head match with the PN-20 in my opinion). The good news is that I can share my tracks and waypoints with my buddies that have Garmins but they still don’t have the detail and map choices that I have with the PN-20.

I have copied some details about the DeLorme PN-20 below and a link to the DeLorme website that you can cut and paste for more information and to see what the experts and everyday users are saying about it.

Read more about DeLormes Earthmate PN-20 and other great products at their web site...

And before I forget, check out the sneak peak of the new DeLorme PN-40 and PN-40 SE which is coming out shortly on the DeLorme website too! The PN-40 SE could well be the ultimate back woods GPS unit there is at a very affordable price !

Available online at DeLorme.com and many fine stores nationwide for about $249 and up depending on accessories.

TECH SPECS from DeLorme:

PN-20 Hardware Specifications Physical

• » IPX-7 waterproof standard, impact-resistant rubberized housing • » Device dimensions: 2.43" W x 5.25" H x 1.5" D • » Weight: 5.12 ounces

Performance

• » New high-sensitivity NMEA-compliant 12-channel GPS receiver with low-power baseband and RF chipset • » STMicroelectronics chip technology with SiGE front-end and DeLorme firmware for faster acquisition times and outstanding signal retention • » Proprietary Kalman filter for enhanced GPS accuracy • » 75 MB available internal flash memory for user-uploaded maps

Power

• » Uses 2 AA batteries (included) • » Optional Travel Power Kit - 120V AC for US and 12V DC for automotive

Earthmate GPS PN-20 Battery Performance Analysis Based on power consumption tests conducted here at DeLorme, and using the average selling price for each power option shown, we recommend the following battery types when factoring cost per hour. Of course, any AA battery type will work and this information is provided to give you a baseline of information.

• » AA Battery Types AA Energizer Max: 14 hours, at an average cost of .12/hour AA Energizer e2-Lithium: 22.50 hours, at an average cost of .22/hour

Receiver

• » WAAS-enabled, 12 parallel channel GPS receiver continuously tracks and uses up to 12 satellites to compute and update your position

Acquisition Times:

• » Warm: Approximately 15 seconds • » Cold: Approximately 60 seconds • » Update rate: 1/second, continuous

GPS accuracy:

• » Position: < 15 meters, 95% typical* • » Velocity: 0.05 meter/sec steady state

WAAS accuracy:

• » Position: < 3 meters, 95% typical*

* Subject to accuracy degradation to 100m 2DRMS under the United States Department of Defense-imposed Selective Availability Program. Display

• » Sharp high-resolution 2.2" Transflective TFT color display (220 x 176 pixels)

Memory & Storage

• » SD card slot for up to 2 GB additional map storage (1GB SD card and Reader included) • » Holds up to 10 tracks (10,000 points per track), 1,000 user-defined waypoints, and 50 routes

Topo USA 7.0 System Requirements

Operating Systems

• » Microsoft Windows Vista® Home/Basic/Home Premium/Ultimate/Business with 512 MB RAM • » U.S. Version Microsoft Windows XP or 2000 (Service Pack 3 and higher): 128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended) • » Microsoft Windows 98/ME is not supported with this release

Internet Browser

• » Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later

Hardware

• » Intel® Pentium III 900 MHz or higher processor (1.8 GHz recommended) • » 1 GB of available hard-disk space • » DVD-ROM Drive • » 3D-capable video card with 32 MB VRAM (64 MB VRAM recommended)

**My Panasonic Toughbook CF-28 is 1000mhz with 512MB of memory and works excellent with this software !