PN-40 or Oregon 400t

[jcdc554]

I'm buying a gps (I know you see a lot of these posts) and I've narrowed it down between the PN-40 and the Oregon 400t. I'm leaning toward the PN-40, mainly because of the lower price, but I was just curious if you guys think the Oregon is worth the extra money for some reason.

[+Rockin Roddy]

I'm buying a gps (I know you see a lot of these posts) and I've narrowed it down between the PN-40 and the Oregon 400t. I'm leaning toward the PN-40, mainly because of the lower price, but I was just curious if you guys think the Oregon is worth the extra money for some reason.

 

I could have bought any unit when I bought, but I chose the PN-40. A few reasons really, the aerial maps, the map subscription, the price and the promising new features which really make this unit top-notch! The Oregon has a bigger screen, but that didn't matter to me as much as the price, I can't justify basically $100/inch exra screen! Remember also, the Or will eed more maps in order to route while the PN-40 comes with the maps. The PN-40 is a bit weaker when it comes to routing, but manageable IMHO! Also, PAPERLESS!!! What a sweet feature!

 

It boils down to personal preference, if you want the big screen and can live with paying for it, buy the Oregon, it does some things which the PN-40 doesn't (and vice versa).

 

btw....I LOVE my PN-40!!!

[+GeekBoy.from.Illinois]

I'm buying a gps (I know you see a lot of these posts) and I've narrowed it down between the PN-40 and the Oregon 400t. I'm leaning toward the PN-40, mainly because of the lower price, but I was just curious if you guys think the Oregon is worth the extra money for some reason.

 

As I have told many others, if you have done your research, go for the unit you feel most compelled to go with. None of us knows what you want more than you do. If you want the PN-40 then get it. If you spend the extra money for the Oregon, then you will [sooner or later] regret not getting the PN-40.

 

I was recently in a similar debate as you. I ended up choosing the Oregon because I got a deal on one from someone who bought the PN-40 and loved it. I seriously thought about the PN-40, but just couldn't bring myself to give-up the serious flexibility I have with my Oregon. With the Oregon, you load geocaches onto the unit in GPX files. These files can be stored on the external SD card as well as internal memory. By saving the GPX files on the SD card, I can use my [work] cell phone (a blackberry) or my PDA to move the files around and essentially have unlimited geocaches on my Oregon, thus allowing me to cache anywhere within 100 miles of my home in virtually no advanced notice. I just take my GPSr and cell phone to move the files around so that the ones for the area I am in are in the active geocache folder when I put the card back into the GPSr. This style fits very well with my caching style that is "I have some time now, are there any caches near here?". I can also use my iPhone with the Groundspeak Geocaching app to tell me if there are any caches nearby, then use the GPSr to hunt them.

Edited March 3, 2009 by GeekBoy.from.Illinois

[+myotis]

I have a CO 400T - I prefer it to the OR because its screen is much easier to see.

 

If cost is the issue, you could get the 300 instead of the 400T. The 400T has 100K topo maps for the entire country and it also has DEM data which allows you to show shaded relief. But shaded relief makes the screen harder to see which is already an issue on the OR (but you can turn it off so you can see the screen easier.

 

Since you want the 400T it sounds like you want good topo maps. For topo maps check out www.gpsfiledepot.com They have most of the country covered in free user created 24K topo maps. The entire country is not covered yet, but just in the last 3 days five more states had free maps added. These maps are 24K so they are far superior to the maps that come with the 400T. But they do not have DEM data so they will not show shaded relief (If you have the built in maps and the gpsfilemaps both enable and shaded releif turned on, the OR/CO will use the DEM data to show shaded releif on the gpsfiledepot maps).

 

For topo maps, the PN40 comes with free 100K maps that are about equibilent to the built in maps of the 400T. You can also download and install USGS 24K maps for subscription. The maps for the PN40 are raster maps and Garmin's are vector. Vector are far superior to rasters. For example, the Delorome 24K maps require 120 times (no typo) the space on the GPS as a Garmin map. With the Garmin you can load all the maps you need on your GPS and always have it. With the PN40 you have to trip plan and load the area for your trip (or buy SD cards). For a Garmin you could load the entire country in 24K (when all the maps are done) onto a 8 gig card and always have what you need. For the PN40, you could only load a small part of an average sized state on an 8 gig card. The maps for Garmin are also simple to download and get on your GPS. The process to get them on the PN40 is much more complicated and time consuming. So if 24K maps are your thing-Garmin wins hands down.

 

But the PN40 deals with aerial photos easier than Garmins. For Garmins you have to buy a program to convert them if you want them georeferenced). But the files are huge-so you have to trip plan.

 

As was mentioned, you need to buy City Navigator for street maps for driving directions. None of the maps at gpsfiledeport or the maps that come with the 400T will autoroute on the roads. You have to buy it.

 

So if money is an issue, the 300 and City navigator and gpsfiledepot would be a good way to go. But as I said, I like the CO better than the OR and you can get it for less than the OR.

[+OpenTrackRacer]

It really depends on your personal needs. The Oregon is going to be better for Geocaching at this point. The Geocaching features of the PN-40 are coming along at a fast clip. You can currently download caches directly from the cache page to the PN-40 with logs, hints and all other information. The ability to transfer Pocket Queries should be along from DeLorme shortly. In the meantime, there is a free application available right now from a user that loads Pocket Queries into the PN-40. It's not an official product but it does work quite well (I tried it for the first time tonight). It works with GSAK files too.

 

With regard to maps, both the Oregon 400t and the PN-40 come with 1:100K topo maps for the whole country. The Oregon has them preloaded and the PN-40 has them on DVD (which are then loaded on the receiver) The Oregon has shaded relief and 3D views which the PN-40 does not. The PN-40 maps are routeable with nothing extra to buy.

 

The real strong point of the PN-40 over any other available GPS receiver is the DeLorme Map Library subscription. For $30 a year, you can download all the maps and imagery you want. This includes scanned and cleaned up USGS 1:24K quads, monochrome aerial photography, color aerial photography, satellite imagery, NOAA charts and high resolution color aerial photography for 133 U.S. cities. The data is raster so it can be quite large. Still you can get huge areas on an inexpensive 16GB SD card. For a recent trip, I loaded all of Joshua Tree National Park with 1:00K topos, 1:24K USGS quads, monochrome and color aerial imagery and SAT-10 satellite imagery on one card. Selecting and download isn't the cleanest possible process right now but with a little practice it goes pretty quickly. The versatility of the imagery and maps is simply amazing. Switching between image types can also reveal things that you otherwise wouldn't see.

 

To get 1:24K topos on the Oregon you have to either buy them from Garmin (which is expensive) or try free user created maps. Some of these maps are very good while other leave a lot to be desired. As with any free product, your mileage may vary.

 

Another important distinction of the PN-40 package is the inclusion of a full copy of DeLorme Topo 7. This program provides a powerful tool for maps, draw layers, waypoints, routes and more on your computer. It also has all the maps and imagery you've downloaded using the Map Library Subscription so you can view them while planning or reviewing a trip. It'll almost (but not quite) like having a portable copy of Google Earth. It also works with a tethered GPS receiver. The maps and imagery are awesome on a big computer screen, especially when they show your exact position. I find it very useful when exploring off-road by car.

 

My best advice is to try both of them in a store. Obviously, the PN-40 is a lot less expensive than the Oregon 400t. If you like the PN-40, give it a try. DeLorme offers a 30 day money back guarantee so you're not going to get stuck with it if you change your mind. Speaking of DeLorme, they also offer excellent support for the product. They actively participate in this forum and on the DeLorme forums. They also listen closely to user feedback and try to implement popular (but doable) suggestions in each firmware release.

 

Good luck with whatever you choose!

Edited March 3, 2009 by OpenTrackRacer

[+Rockin Roddy]

If it were me, I'd go buy a PN-40 and give it a few weeks worth of use! If you don't like it, return it and buy any other unit you'd like! DeLorme will refund your money, so you're out nothing but shipping should the PN-40 not be what you're looking for!

 

Remember also, the Co or OR will each need more maps to route (which will up the cost around $100 for the map software), so if routing is in the wants list, be prepared to spend yet more if you decide on the Garmins! DeLorme will route with what's in the box!!

[GeoZ0mbie]

We just got a Delorme PN-40 from Amazon (best price we could find) http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00...47-20/ref=nosim

 

We took it out last Sunday for the first time, all I have to say is this is an awesome unit. It took maybe 2-3 hours of fooling around with it on Saturday night to get it ready for Sundays Geocaching trip.

 

Like stated above the $30 for a all the unlimited maps for a year is just amazing. I Download all the color Aieral maps and Satalite maps for my entire state.

 

Out in the field the day went like this:

 

We Picked the first Geocach we wanted to do and then selected the "Route" function and picked "Drive to" and it gave us accurate driving directions to the cache. Once we would get to the point of no roads to follow we would switch the "Route" to "Hike to" and walk right up to it. We were able to use Aerial imagery to see what was up ahead of us and take the best path to the caches, vs walking in a straight line to them. After we loged the find we would rinse and repeat. It felt like cheating vs the old way with eTrax palm combo.

 

So anyways he are some of the pros and cons:

 

Pros:

One unit does it all, with the 2.5 firmware you get all the info from each cache including the description, hint and user logs up to 15,000 characters.

No need to print out Aerial maps as you can Download them to the GPS

Supports up to 32 GB SD memory card

All the maps you could ever want for $29.99

Driving Directions

Price

Feature rich

 

Cons

Need a reasonably powerful PC to do 3D Topo maps

Learning curve

No direct upload from GSAK as of yet but they are working on it

Edited March 3, 2009 by GeoZ0mbie

[+Team CowboyPapa]

Nothing more for me to add. Three posts immediately above have it covered.

[+Hrethgir]

I love my PN-40, and that is all I have to add.

[jcdc554]

Wow, thanks everyone. Great info. I'm going with the pn-40, and I'm pretty sure I'll be happy with it.

[+TotemLake]

I'm buying a gps (I know you see a lot of these posts) and I've narrowed it down between the PN-40 and the Oregon 400t. I'm leaning toward the PN-40, mainly because of the lower price, but I was just curious if you guys think the Oregon is worth the extra money for some reason.

 

I could have bought any unit when I bought, but I chose the PN-40. A few reasons really, the aerial maps, the map subscription, the price and the promising new features which really make this unit top-notch! The Oregon has a bigger screen, but that didn't matter to me as much as the price, I can't justify basically $100/inch exra screen! Remember also, the Or will eed more maps in order to route while the PN-40 comes with the maps. The PN-40 is a bit weaker when it comes to routing, but manageable IMHO! Also, PAPERLESS!!! What a sweet feature!

 

It boils down to personal preference, if you want the big screen and can live with paying for it, buy the Oregon, it does some things which the PN-40 doesn't (and vice versa).

 

btw....I LOVE my PN-40!!!

I was about to buy a 400T but as I was starting to research the pricing, I saw the PN-40 was almost ready to release and waited the extra months time for it to come out. I have yet to be disappointed in this purchase.

[+kd4crs]

I have tried both the Colorado 400t and the PN-40. The Colorado had major problems with screen visibility, the accuracy was poor, and the map jerked around while moving like it couldn't figure out where your track was. Needless to say, the Colorado went back for a refund. The larger screen was nice but it was useless if what you were looking at was incorrect. The PN-40 screen is smaller but what it displays is better. The PN-40 has been terrific! It was useful right out of the box, and it works just as advertised. The PN-40 will be replacing my trusty 60Csx for geocaching.