Beta Challenge #2: Plan, Explore, and Share

I thought I’d put together a post on what we’re up to with the DeLorme Earthmate PN-60w and SPOT Satellite Communicator beta test and give you a chance to see some of the new features…

The following screenshots and descriptions are part of my results for a Beta Challenge that requires the use of all the hardware and software we are releasing to Plan, Explore, and Share the results of an adventure. While not a major summit here in Maine, our Pleasant Mountain hike was my daughter’s first ascent so we were pretty excited to be able to send a message to her grandparents from the top!

Here are the steps we followed to put the trip together:

Planning

The Planning screenshot shows two waypoints—one for the parking lot and another for the summit of Pleasant Mountain. We actually used the DeLorme Atlas & Gazetteer descriptions to select the mountain because it is the closest one to our house that had over 1,000 feet of elevation gain. I created a route from the parking lot to the summit and then created a track based on that route so that I could profile the hike on the PN-60w. I used the Geocaching features in Topo North America to create a Pocket Query in case there were any caches on the mountain. The last thing I did was download the aerial imagery for the mountain so that I could see detailed information about the terrain.

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Exploring

When we arrived at the parking lot, I picked the Pleasant Mountain Route and started navigating. I also opened the Pleasant Mountain Track so that I could view the Profile Page. During the hike, we created a few waypoints and took a lot of pictures (did I mention it was our daughter’s first hike?). We sent a few messages with the SPOT Communicator and recorded our track the whole way. When we got to the summit, I changed waypoint layers to view the geocache pocket query. Unfortunately I was not able to find “Pleasant Surprise” so I had to log a “Didn’t Find It.” We did locate the USGS Benchmark on the summit and were able to mark a waypoint to compare later.

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Sharing

After we got home, I used Earthmate GPS Sync in Topo North America to download the new track and update the waypoint file in my Pleasant Mountain Hike project. I also copied the pictures from our camera and used GeoTagger in Topo North America to map them. I went to my online SPOT account and viewed the messages that I sent and verified that they all went out to the right contacts. I created a Map Share so that you can see the results, and I’ve also included the Topo North America project file in case any of you are interested in climbing Pleasant Mountain here in Maine!

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MapShare Link

Hopefully this “round trip” example gives you a little taste of how the Earthmate PN-60w, SPOT Communicator, and Topo North America can be used to plan your adventure, explore with all the maps and GPS info you need, and share your trip with friends and family from the trail or from home once you return safely.

We took a second hike this past weekend and found ourselves battling the black flies on the way to the Bald Mountain summit. Please forgive the single take video on YouTube but we were getting chomped and I didn’t have time for edits! My daughter was calling for the loons to swim toward us in case you can’t understand the yelling two-year old in the background. The video shows an Earthmate PN-60w with aerial imagery, contours, and track information. I go quickly through sending a Check-in/OK message to the Team Serious beta testers that are working with the PN-60w and SPOT Communicator. The screenshot below from SPOT’s website shows the “Wish you were here!” message as it was received along with other messages sent while using Track Progress to let family and friends follow our hike. We also sent a message from the west side of the lake when we found our first geocache with the new GPS and satellite communicator!

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Keep an eye out for more information about the Earthmate PN-60w and SPOT Communicator as we head into the summer. DeLorme and SPOT are attending lots of events so there will be opportunities to check things out here or in person if we are in your neighborhood.

Chip Noble
Team DeLorme

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