Reviews > Navigation and Map Gear > GPS > Delorme Earthmate GPS LT-20 > Brian Tannehill > Long Term Report

Backpacking Background:

I am fairly new to backpacking, but I have hunted/fished/camped all my life in East Texas, Colorado, and California. My young kids (4, 10, 12) limit me to weekend overnight camping trips, or day hikes Geocaching. I am also an avid mountain biker. For now I live in the Central Coast area of California (Lompoc, Santa Maria area), and am surrounded by many different areas from beaches to mountain regions ranging up to 5,000 feet (1,500 m), with the temperatures averaging about 60 F (16 C) degrees year round.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: Delorme
Year of Manufacture: 2005
URL: http://www.delorme.com
Software: Delorme Street Atlas USA 2005
MSRP: $99.00 US
Weight: 2 5/8 oz (76 g)
Length of Cable: 5 feet (1.5 m)
Size of Unit: 2 5/8 in (6.6 cm) long x 1 7/8 in (4.8 cm) wide x 9/16 in (1.5 cm) thick

Minimum System Requirements:

The system requirements for the Earthmate GPS is a USB port on my laptop.
The system requirements for Street Atlas 2005 are:
Microsoft® Windows® 2000 (Service Pack 3 and higher): 64 MB RAM (256 MB recommended)
Microsoft Windows XP: 128 MB RAM (256 MB recommended)
Intel® Pentium 300 MHz or higher processor (600 MHZ recommended)
700 MB of available hard-disk space
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later
32x CD Drive
Microsoft Windows 98/ME is not supported with this release

My System:

I am using a Dell Inspiron Model 5100 laptop with a Pentium 4, 2.4 GHz, and 256MB of RAM running Windows XP Home.

Field Locations:

The locations of my tests will range from the Los Padres National Forest just east of here ranging up to 5000 feet (1500 m) in elevation to the locally famous Pismo Beach. Other areas I will be driving include Santa Maria, Lompoc and monthly trips down to Agoura Hills just north of Los Angeles. Basically anywhere I drive on the central coast of California.

Long Term Report:

Read my Initial Report and my Field Report for the initial questions I had on this device.

Not much has changed in the last couple of months of testing. Overall I like the concept of this program. The pros and cons are about even. The user friendly-ness could be upgraded some though. For example, it is not intuitive for me to use. The find button does not always work the best for me because I am not sure of the format to enter the address. Sometimes it finds myhouse, sometimes it does not. Also when I search for something like a store using keywords, I'm not exactly sure of the keywords to plug into the software. Should I search under store or shopping? There should be a list of keywords in the drop down box and I should not have to guess at what to enter. One of the cooler features of this program is the mapshare feature. This feature allows me to publish a route and directions to Delorme's servers for other people to use. I simply send them the link and they can go and view it.

One problem I have about this device is it must be used with a laptop. For portability a laptop is a bit big. I find if I am going on a quick trip in town I do not want to take it along or use it, even if I'm not sure where the place is I'm going. My other concern is leaving the laptop out in the vehicle while I'm gone somewhere. I am really worried about leaving it at a trailhead overnight.

I also find that the laptop is cumbersome for long trips. It is great for navigating through the city and finding streets and such, but when I'm on a long road I tend to put it down or close it up. The wife especially hates to use it because she does not know all the ins and outs of the program. So we argue back and forth because she does not always want to drive, and does not like messing with the laptop while on trips. Overall I like to use it mainly for planning purposes. I find it is much easier to print out the maps and carry them with me.

One of the things I do like about it is I can avoid roads. There is a road next to my house that has been shut down due to flood a long time ago. The software shows this road as open, so I can go in and avoid it and route myself around it. Another thing I do not like about the software is it will use the hard coded speeds to estimate travel times. It does not appear to use the current data from the GPS.

Pros

Inexpensive -- This has most of the features of a high dollar road navigation unit.
Voice -- Audibly signals the next turn
Good Satellite Lock -- Acquires and holds lock well
Routes and Planning -- Planning function estimates fuel cost and factors in fuel stops and breaks Mapshare -- Allows me to share maps and routes with others. Runs on a laptop -- Viewing screen only limited by the size of your screen.

Cons

Runs on a laptop -- Security issues come to mind for the laptop
User friendly -- I found other Delorme products to be more user friendly than this and it looks basically the same.
Find -- The find function is picky, and does not always work the first time
Keyword drop down box -- When Looking for say a certain store or restaurant, you have to type in a keyword. However I think all the keywords should be in a drop down box to choose from since I do not know what they are.

Some of my questions and concerns:

I never figured out "how much power" is used by the software and GPS running, but I do notice my battery runs out quicker while using it. I find I always bring my inverter with me when we go some where.

I still stand by my previous statements of using this device while traveling alone. There is a lot of information to digest/use for this software, and I find myself having trouble remembering where exactly I found that cool feature. There should always be a second person to either drive or work the software, I would not want to do this by myself.

As always GPS is not intended to replace a map, but more of a tool to help you. Always carry a back up plan.

Conclusion:

I really like the software and GPS. It lets those who like to travel and do not want to spend an insane amount of money on a GPS break into the market. Most people I know have a laptop that can run this software. One day in a perfect world all the roads will be updated and accurate. Until then the maps will be a bit out of date.

Thanks to Delorme and BackpackGearTest for allowing me to test this product.

Brian

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Reviews > Navigation and Map Gear > GPS > Delorme Earthmate GPS LT-20 > Brian Tannehill > Long Term Report