I've been using the SatMap for about 3 months now, and certainly haven't come across any issues with battery length. If anything the actual battery life has exceeded published estimates. It's important that you compare the advertised battery length with the appropriate batteries (eg. don'tr compare quoted length for high power (lithium) with what you get from other batteries (stnadard rechargables).
In addition to what Dave says, you can maximise battery life by judicious use of the power saving settings - use a lower level backlight and use the screen switch off setting to save power. If you're a heavy user, I think Satmap's own rechargeable power pack may be a good idea, but generally I've found battery life more than adequate using good quality rechargeable AAs.
One of the problems with AAs is that rechargeables don't always match up to their claimed capacity plus they lose power as they age which can be confusing.
Interestingly, from all the screen shots pictured in the review, when a GPS reference is shown it is only in XX 1234 1234 format, e.g. SK 0997 9278 in the first photo. This only gives accuracy to nearest 10metres2 compared to nearest square metre from an XX 12345 12345 reference that all basic, normal GPS units give as a matter of course.
Nit picking? Not really: 1) I'd rather have a square metre than a square 10 metres on a whiteout Munro summit, especially if that's what I've long been used to for years and 2) it seems a bit weird for "the next big thing" to be offering less than the most basic established units in the terms of coordinates.
Please clarify if 10 figure coords are available?
Also you don't touch upon the important practical point of: does the unit realistically allow you to go truly "mapless"? I don't mean from a back-up point of view in case of battery failure etc. but in terms of if you really can navigate in previously unknown territory for a full day with such a small map area visible on screen compared to what most people are used to seeing in their map case?
I suspect you will still have to carry a map/maps to see the big picture - but am willing to be proved wrong!
Someone on uk.rec.walking posted a link to a fairly involved discussion about some as-yet apparently unresolved foibles. You can find it here and it rather suggests that there are some wrinkles to iron out before hard-core GPSists will be jumping on board.
Looks good though, and very promising once it's past 1.0. Shame about the OS and their licensing terms though, for those of us who have already bought OS coverage of everywhere we want to go!
Dave's putting together a quick purely technical overview of the Active 10 which should answer your first questions.
As far as whether it's feasible to navigate using the unit alone in a previously unknown area, the answer is a definite yes. To be absolutely fair, it does help a little having a paper map in the initial planning stages - once Satmap's web interface is up and running that may no longer be true - but what you have to remember is that while the Active 10 has a limited size screen, you can zoom in and out of the map easily to give you either a wider overview or detail down to 1:25,000 scale or until the image pixellates in fact.
Yes, occasionally it would be nicer to have a bigger screen for overall context, but generally no, I've spent an entire day out without ever having to resort to a paper map.
As far as the GR goes, in normal use, you're not transferring that GR to a map, you're relying on the unit itself which has a dot showing where you are on the in-built OS map. The unit uses a state of the art SiRF Star III GPS Receiver as used in numerous other GPS units, and has comparable accuracy to other GPS units using the same receiver. I'm sure Dave's tech overview will cite the actual figures, but the unit is working at a greater accuracy than a six-figure OS GR and then showing you your position to that accuracy on the built-in map.
There's no need to transfer it to a paper map and because the unit avoids any possible human error in that transfer, it's actually a more reliable system.
I'm not sure whether the unit can actually generate eight-figure references - it can produce British Grid, German Grid, Degrees decimal, degrees/minutes/seconds decimal - but I can't see why you'd want it to.
If you're out on, say, the Cairngorm plateau in a howling white out what would you rather be doing:
1. Using a unit which gives you a highly accurate pin-point representatiion of your position on an OSmap displayed on a compact, weatherproof, handheld package.
2. Using a GPS to generate an eight figure GR - same level of accuracy - then transferring that to a flapping paper or laminated map manually.
I know which option I'd rather have and it's not because I can't micro-navigate.
Does that make sense? The big plus of the Active 10 is simply that it completely removes the whole use of paper maps from the equation by simply putting the OS map you'd be using on a screen in front of you. And it removes human error in position plotting by sticking a red dot where you are on the map with the same level of accuracy as other modern GPS units.
Jon, I think Lix was getting at the difference between 10 figure and 8 figure refs. Perosnally, I find 10 figure refs are a total PITA, as they're just garder to transfer to a separate map, and since 1m is often better than the unit can give you I think having a grid ref to 1m i a bit pointless in any case... but Lix seems to want it...
Ah, I see what you're saying. I'm not sure what you'd do with the reference in any case?
Interesting thread from the GPS forum. A lot of it seems concerned with the PC compatibility side of things, for me at least that wasn't a major consideration, as being a Mac user I have bog all mapping software capabilities anyway. I know that the synch software is taking longer than they thought to sort out.
My other observation is that there are people out there who are essentially GPS enthusiasts who kind of regard GPS use as a hobby in its own right and seem seduced by stuff like 3D fly-throughs etc. I tend to think Satmap is aimed more at those who see it first and foremost as a practical navigation tool that's straightforward and easy to use.
I can see that the lack of PC compatibility at the moment is frustrating if you have routes created using other mapping software which you want to transfer to an Active 10, hopefully Satmap will sort that out. Having said that, without PC compatibility, most GPS units would be near useless as anything more than glorified location confirmation tools, or am I missing something?
without PC compatibility, most GPS units would be near useless as anything more than glorified location confirmation tools, or am I missing something?
The breadcumb trail could be handy, or just setting strategic points as you get to them (something like the Window at Craeg Smeggy or the top of Lurchers in the 'Gorms) that you might want to get back to if the visibility goes AWOL.
And there's nothing actually wrong with location confirmation, which is what I use an eTrex for ski-touring in Norway. It can be had a lot cheaper than a Satmap, and of course ski-touring in Norway with OS maps is going to be a bit of a game...
But, before I sound too downbeat, the basic idea of the Satmap (turn it on and there I am on a decent map) is excellent, in the "why didn't someone think of this before now?" category. Very much agree that the user friendliness is in the "bugger off" league on most units.
Thanks Jon for clarification, although still Cairngorm option 2 for me for some time yet, but my curiosity is aroused. The cost of unit is not too extreme, all things considered, but the mapping SD cards are. I think someone at Active is confusing "OS royalties" with "margin optimisation".
I'm going to putting the finishing touches to the technical review over this weekend, so if you have any other questions you want addressing please feel free to put them on here and I'll try and check in over the weekend while on the Winter Skills weekend.
Thanks Jon for clarification, although still Cairngorm option 2 for me for some time yet, but my curiosity is aroused. The cost of unit is not too extreme, all things considered, but the mapping SD cards are. I think someone at Active is confusing "OS royalties" with "margin optimisation".
I did ask them specifically about the cost of the mapping, to be honest, I think it depends on how you look at it and which mapping options you choose. The Premium National Park packs which have 1:25 and 1:50,000 mapping for individual National Parks are 100 quid effectively, but if you're happy with 1:50,000 mapping, you can buy a pack of all the Parks for 40 quid, which isn't so bad. Also, if you look at the cost of, say, complete laminated OS mapping in 1:50,000 and 1:25,000 for, say, the Lake District, then the Satmap price isn't that bad.
I do think it's unfortunate the way that the OS digital mapping licences work, so if you're already a MM, Anquet or Tracklogs user and decide to swap to another system, you then have to purchase the same mapping data again in a different format. Seems grossly unfair. having said that, if Satsynch works as billed, you'll be able at least to transfer routes created with other programmes, in the form of GPX files.
Dave, does it support SDHC cards (i.e. > 2GB capacity)?
The SD card map supply is, I suspect (as others do), a margin thing; you're paying over the odds for an SD card, with mapping data on it. I prefer to buy my own SD cards and download data to them myself, even if that means it requires some form of end-user keying to prevent map copying.
> if Satsynch works as billed, you'll be able at least to transfer routes created with other programmes, in the form of GPX files
Why is GPX transfer an issue at the moment? Satmap is a WinCE-based device, so should support USB (checked), so why isn't it a simple matter of drag-n-drop? The GPX format is hardly rocket science, and if they're not using it for native route-logging, I think they're a little mad...
As a 50-something who now needs reading glasses, one of my issues with GPS units is the very small display (e.g. on Garmin E-trex and Geko; my old Garmin GPS 12 was far heavier but clearer). Does anyone know how the Satmap rates on this front, or what GPS units are around that show the GR in a decent size font?!
Well, to some extent, the display of grid ref on a Satmap is redundant (unless you're geocaching or otherwise needing to go to an absolute location), as there's no need to read the grid ref off the Satmap and transfer it to a map; the unit does all that for you and displays your location on its map...
Yes but only if you have the Satmap map for the area you're walking in, nobody is going to shell out the high costs involved if you are going to walk in an area for a weeks holiday.
I'm in the same boat as Peter Clinch. I would buy the Satmap if I didn't then have to buy again all of the maps I have already invested in. What is worse is that I have also bought a huge number of nautical charts for the South Coast, the Channel and down to Spain - which I would not be able to use on this unit. So until the licensing situation is sorted out, it is,(regrettably) not a sensible purchase for me to make even though the Satmap seems a superior bit of kit.
I hate to pour cold water on the enthusiasm for this unit, but I've been using one for three months now and am about to give up on it.
The main problem I have is with satellite acquisition times, both from a cold start and reacquiring en route. They stink. Using the unit alongside a Garmin eTrex I was getting start up in 30 secs from the Garmin and 3 minutes from the Active 10. OK, not too bad if it's a cold start [but still not ideal], but that was also happening during a walk when the unit had been on and off a few times.
The makers had a look at the unit and came up with the brilliant suggestion that I should switch the unit on, wait for it to acquire and only then insert the SD card with the map. Not entirely practical if repeated several times in a blizzard with gloves on. Plus, the SD card is small enough to get lost in the process.
Given that I want a GPS to give me my position, rather tha for following routes, I thought this unit would be ideal-the position right there on a map. At the moment, I'm very unhappy with what I've spent a lot of money on.
