The Magellan SporTrak TOPO is still in use and functioning without any problems. I have used it on land and water on treks here in Virginia and while on vacation in Minnesota. The major difference between the field test and long term test period is that the deciduous forest now provides full leaf cover.
Leaf cover has not had the major impact on performance that I thought was going to happen. However, when leaf cover is combined with another anomaly such as weather, terrain or structures, there is a noticeable effect. My armchair test when performed now results in no satellite acquisition even after 30 minutes. Similar results were experienced with a Magellan Meridian but my good old Garmin 12XL had 2D (3 satellites) acquired indoors at the 26 minute point. Outdoors the TOPO took a little over a minute for 2D (3 satellites) and about 10 minutes for 3D (6 satellites) acquisition. The Meridian took about 20 minutes. The trusty old 12XL was ready to go in 2 minutes. These times were for "cold" starts from initialization with overcast skies and light rain. "Hot" starts to 3D acquisition at the same location took only 1 minute for the 12XL, 7 minutes for the TOPO and 15 minutes for the Meridian. Once the rain stopped and the sun started to brighten things up the Meridian and TOPO took only 3 minutes from cold start to 3D acquisition.
Accuracy and precision, for me, has always been a matter of a reasonable expectation for a given set of conditions. I have gotten mixed results when comparing to known references or unit-to-unit. For instance, I'm not going to fret when the position (UTM) of two units differs by a meter (northing and easting) or if the elevation differs 15 or 20 feet (5 to 6 meters). I also compared the TOPO to a couple of survey monuments and while the position (Lat/Lon) was right on the elevation was 30 to 50 feet (9 to 15 meters) off. After a little monument research I found out that one datum was used for the position and a completely different datum was used for the elevation. So the unit-to-monument elevation comparison became an apples to oranges sort of thing.
I have not had any durability issues with my SporTrak TOPO. It has been dropped and stepped on a few times. I believe the neoprene belt case is a very good investment for added protection. During a kayak trek down the St. Croix River, I had the GPSR sitting on top of my daypack (tethered by the wrist strap) in between my legs, so I could monitor the trip. It was splashed on the whole way and even fogged up (actually the belt case window) from the humidity.
The MapSend Topo software (v 4.20D) has really only been used to upload detail map regions. I find that my mapping software or a simple gps application is all I need once the maps are uploaded. The lack of map detail for point A to Point B ground pounding has been one of my only two disappointments with the SporTrak TOPO. The other being battery power consumption. Oh yeah and a upgradeable memory card would be nice. As far as vehicle navigation (land and water) goes, the MapSend maps were great and highways, crossings and feature names were all right on when compared to other references.
I've been and will continue to use a GPSR. Although my map and compass skills have definitely slipped in the process and a GPSR alone is never is never a good navigation plan. The SporTrak TOPO has been by far the best I've used and even though I didn't find the maps great for ground pounding, I do like knowing that they are there.
TEAM
JackQuest
http://www.jackquest.com
