Name: Pam Wyant
Age: 47
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft 5 in (1.65 m)
Weight: 165 lb (77 kg)
E-mail address: pamwyant(at)yahoo(dot)com
Location: Western West Virginia, U.S.A.

Backpacking Background:

As spring 2006 looms on the horizon, I'm beginning my third year of backpacking, and I continue to love it! So far, I've progressed from day-hiking and single overnights to weekend trips, but I'm planning a longer trip for spring '06. Hopefully it will be a section hike of the Appalachian Trail! I hike and backpack mainly in the hills and valleys of West Virginia, and use a hammock sleeping system. For a two-day trip my typical pack weighs 22-30 lb (10-14 kg) including consumables, and I’m striving to lighten that a bit.

Product Information:

Manufacturer: DeLorme
Year of manufacture: 2005
Date of Delivery: September 2, 2005
Weight of unit: 2.8 oz ( 79 g)
Size: Unit - 1.8 in (4.6 cm) x 2.6 in (6.6 cm) x 0.6 in (1.5 cm)
Cord - approximately 5 ft (1.5 m) long
Color: Yellow with black base
Manufacturer Website: http://www.delorme.com/
MSRP: $99.95 U.S.

Included Software: Street Atlas USA 2006
Included Accessories: Suction cup

Earthmate GPS LT-20 Manufacturer Specifications:

NMEA-compliant 12-channel receiver
WAAS-enabled
Low-power baseband and RF chip set
Warm start: < 38 seconds Hot start: < 3 seconds
Full power:165mW Sleep mode: < 55mW
Maximum Velocity: 1000 knots
Advanced high-sensitivity algorithms
Weak signal tracking: < 145dBm
Proprietary Kalman filter
Noise rejection for high EMI environments
Operating temperature range -40 C to +85 C (-40 F to 185 F)
Storage temperature range -55 C to +100 C (-70 F to 212 F)

Minimum computer system requirements:

Microsoft Windows 2000 (Service Pack 3 and higher): 64 MB RAM (256 MB recommended)
or 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

Computer information:

2001 model Compaq TC 1000 Tablet computer
977 MHZ Crusoe Transmeta processor
744 MB RAM
30 GB hard drive
2 USB-2.0 ports
Tablet enhanced Windows XP operating system
No integrated CD Rom Drive
(auxiliary CD/DVD drive connects via USB port)

The Earthmate LT-20 Global Positioning System (GPS) is powered by a laptop computer through a USB port. In addition to the Street Atlas USA 2006 mapping software, Delorme provided a copy of Topo USA Version 5.0 software to use in testing the unit, however this software is not included in the purchase price of the unit, while the Street Atlas 2006 mapping software is.

Additional information on my experiences with the Delorme Earthmate LT-20 GPS can be found in my Initial Report and Field Report.

Field Information:

Since my Field Report, I've used the DeLorme Earthmate LT-20 GPS to drive to trail heads in the Kanawha State Forest and Little Creek Park and for work in several surrounding counties. Elevations in the last couple of months have varied from around 550 to 2500 ft (150 to 750 m). Temperatures have ranged from lows below 20 F (-5 C) range to highs around 70 F (20 C), with varied weather conditions ranging from dry to very humid, and from sunny to rainy to snowy.

When I use the DeLorme Earthmate LT-20, it rides on my dashboard connected via the USB cable to my tablet computer which is usually sitting on the passenger seat or center console top in my Jeep. An inverter powers the tablet computer, although sometimes I run it off the computer battery instead.

Experiences:

I've found the DeLorme Earthmate LT-20 GPS unit seems to perform very well, having a good 3D fix (meaning elevation data is available) the vast majority of the time, occasionally dropping back to a 2-D fix (elevation data is not available) in very hilly terrain, but very rarely losing the signal entirely. It's quite simple to use, requiring only connection to a portable computer running the provided copy of Street Atlas 2006 or other compatible mapping software. The GPS seems to be very accurate, as far as I can tell. The screen shot below shows a map trail along Route 119 south of Charleston, WV. Although the trail doesn't follow the mapped road in some areas, this is due to the map being outdated since the road was straightened and upgraded to a four to six lane road over 10 years ago. As is shown by the nearly parallel tracks, the GPS unit very accurately followed my path as I came and went on the divided highway.

The weak part of the system is the mapping software, especially for finding addresses. On established addresses, it usually does quite well, but in our more rural area, and in areas where newer homes have been built or addresses have been changed due to the 9-1-1 system, addresses are rarely found. Another problem I've noted is that roads that have been widened, straightened, or upgraded usually haven't been updated on the maps (as shown above), resulting in the voice module repeatedly telling me I am off route when I set the program to give me verbal directions, and the program frantically trying to reroute me on obscure roads that aren't there. After a few minutes of this, it gets very annoying, and I usually end up muting the computer to get some peace and quiet. I do like the voice module as a reminder on long trips on well established roads though. It's nice to have a non-nagging voice reminding me I need to turn in a few minutes when I've been daydreaming or thinking of all the things I need to do. It's also nice when I'm not familiar with an area to know just about how far it is to the next turn, especially at night.

I've found it is relatively easy to draw a road in if it isn't already mapped. Simply select the Draw tab, click on the Routable Road button (which has an automobile with a pencil icon), name the road in the provided box, use the pencil tool to draw the road and double click to stop the road. A road can also be entered by entering the longitude and latitude for each point along the way, but drawing it is much simpler. The program will then remember that road to be used later in creating a route or as a destination. By always using the latest map when I start mapping, I can keep adding new roads and improving the accuracy of the maps.

Lately I've began using the GPS without plotting a route first. For my local area, where I know most of the roads and know the way I am going to go already, or for places that I have directions for, this saves me a lot of time and allows me to keep a record of every where I traveled on a particular day. I can then save the map and the GPS file and have a lot of useful information, such as how many miles I traveled (great for work record keeping), how long my trip was, and the longitude and latitude for the places I visited. This has helped me re-find locations later several times. MapNotes are helpful when using the program this way and they are very easy to add. I simply press and hold the pen on my tablet computer (a right click would work for a laptop), and a menu pops up allowing me to choose between adding a MapNote, creating a route, managing a draw object, find nearby travel POIs (points of interest), creating an address book entry, or reading information on the selected area. If I want to make a MapNote, I can choose from several different types - a Where Am I MapNote which lists information about the location such as city, county, road, and zip code; a Coordinate MapNote with longitude and latitude, or a Blank MapNote that I can customize. MapNotes can also be added from the Draw tab, as can symbols, shapes, and lines. Undo and Redo buttons in Draw make fixing errors easier.

Another features I love is the address book. If I want to add a store, a friend's house, or a trailhead to my address book using whatever name I choose, I can then easily select that address by name and the program automatically knows where it is from then on, making routing a lot easier.

Route calculation continues to be a downfall to the program. Sometimes it works quite well, sometimes not well at all. Here's a photo of the way the program routed me on one rural road. Better access was available from the main highway. I don't mind dirt roads, but I really hate driving through creeks!

One very helpful feature of the program is the ability to edit roads like this to a "no way" road, so the program will avoid routing me that way again. As long as I keep using a map with these roads marked, I can add more as I find them, leading to better routing overall.

One nice thing about using the GPS unit and the computer program in the car is that it will re-map the shortest possible detour if I find a road closed or blocked for some reason. This can be a real time saver, especially when traveling areas I don't know well.

I do find the program runs a little slowly on my aging Tablet PC (4 years old now), but so do other programs. It went into a tailspin a few times, but overall performs adequately. I had hoped to upgrade to a faster model, but have had to put that plan on hold for a while. I do find the program has faster load and response times on my more powerful desktop.

Overall I've found I like the Delorme Earthmate GPS LT-20 quite well, and I plan to continue to use it for a variety of trips. One improvement I would like to see made is a way for a user such as myself to send Delorme maps and GPS files showing new roads, updated roads, or closed roads that would be verified and updated in the next version of the software.

Likes –

GPS unit is compact

Easy to operate
Computer interface allows a large viewing screen
Address book is very helpful in routing

Dislikes –

Inefficient or poor routing on numerous occasions.
Inability to find some addresses and points of interest.

Thanks to DeLorme and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test the Earthmate GPS LT-20.

Read more reviews of Delorme gear
Read more gear reviews by Pamela Wyant

Long Term Report

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