[gps-talkusers] Earthmate versus Magellan
- From: Michael May <MikeMay@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: gps-talkusers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 20 May 2004 11:23:22 -0700
John,
Here is an announcement of the Earthmate we sent out a while ago. It
describes the details of the Earthmate relative to the Magellan 310 and
Sportrak.
Announcing a new GPS receiver for the BrailleNote GPS from Sendero Group
Delorme Earthmate
One of the strengths of the BrailleNote GPS is its ability to use the
latest state-of-the-art commercial GPS receiver. This allows users to have
the highest performance and accuracy rather than being tethered to a
built-in receiver.
Sendero Group has selected the Earthmate to be the newest receiver shipping
with Sendero's BrailleNote GPS systems. The Earthmate's benefits versus
other receivers are as follows:
Rapid acquisition time: The Earthmate acquires satellites quicker than the
Magellan receivers. Its cold start time is listed at 45 seconds, warm start
38 seconds and hot start 8 seconds. Poor satellite visibility may reduce
these acquisition times but rarely more than 2 minutes.
Simplicity: The Earthmate does not have any buttons. It has one slide
switch for turning power off and on. It is clear when it is on and when it
is off.
Small and Convenient: The Earthmate receiver itself is not much bigger than
a pocket watch. Even with the battery pack it is slightly smaller than the
Sportrak or Magellan 310. It offers the option to have the small receiver
on the shoulder strap with the battery pack inside the Accessory Pouch.
This requires additional cables. A suction cup attaches to the cord so the
receiver can be secured to a window.
Battery Power: The Earthmate comes with a rechargeable battery pack with AC
and 12-volt chargers included. Each charge last about 10 hours. Charge the
unit up every night and there is no need to wonder if your GPS receiver
batteries are running low. You may also use standard triple A batteries in
the Earthmate. The Earthmate does not have an audible battery alarm like
the Sportrak does.
Sensitivity: The Earthmate chip set has additional processing to improve
tracking amongst buildings. It is more accurate than the Magellan 310. The
Earthmate like the Sportrak can get up to 3-meter accuracy with the extra
WAAS satellites. It also has Egnos for use in Europe once that system is
operational. The 310 does not have WAAS or Egnos. You will even get
position information indicated on the Earthmate with 1 or 2 satellites.
Note: The BrailleNote GPS Receiver Type should be set to Garmin when using
the Earthmate. This setting provides a slight improvement in GPS processing
speed by the BrailleNote.
The warranty for the Earthmate is 60 days. The warranty period for Magellan
products is one year.
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