Hi! We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
But as we’re losing ad-revenue from this then why not make a donation towards website running costs?. Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!
i've had the satmap for almost a week now,believe me it is worth every penny. planning a route on screen is easy ,on saturday i walked a route in dense woodland where my garmin map60c would always loose signal .the satmap had excellent signal strength throughout the walk. for anyone with any doubts about the unit get one ordered you'll not regret it
bryanwal
This is interesting. I have been looking to purchase this item for some time, but the only thing that is really holding me back is the battery life. I have seen it mentioned somewhere about 60 hours?? Is this correct and if so is that with the back light on and the GPS connected?
Could you tell me if you have tryed this to see how long the battery has lasted for you?
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 9:49 pm Post subject:
The high duration battery figures were initially quoted for a rechargable pack which is an option, although actual duration using this is not known, as supplied the device comes with a tripple AA cell holder, the "as supplied" Silver Series Energiser AA cells offer an incredible duration, after ten hours use with the back light on 100% and running the GPS it still indicates full capacity!
It is early days as yet to really say what the true duration will be, but the device appears to be very frugal when it comes to power consumption, the supplied cells are not the best in terms of capacity from throw away batteries, but so far it looks good - compared to a PDA the decision is a no brainer, easier to see the display in sunlight and longer duration in field, let alone the other advantages of a rugged device - Mike
the supplied cells are not the best in terms of capacity from throw away batteries
That is good news on battery life. I have been upto now using a PDA for navigation in the field and as you state the battery life is very poor on these units, I was lucky to get anything more than 160 minutes from the battery. This poses a problem when you are half way up Scarfell Pike and your GPS fails.
As you have mentioned the unit comes with disposable batteries, but there is a rechargeable pack as an option. Do you know if you fit normal rechargable batterys wether these can be recharged while in the SatMap or not?
Joined: Mar 19, 2007 Posts: 310 Location: Plymouth
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 10:42 pm Post subject:
mikealder wrote:
The high duration battery figures were initially quoted for a rechargable pack which is an option, although actual duration using this is not known, as supplied the device comes with a tripple AA cell holder, the "as supplied" Silver Series Energiser AA cells offer an incredible duration, after ten hours use with the back light on 100% and running the GPS it still indicates full capacity!
When I sked what the expected typical life of 3 AA rechargables they said 25 hours!!! Sounds almost too good to be true!! _________________ I like mapping, I like mapping, I like mapping and I like to map!
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Mon Oct 22, 2007 11:17 pm Post subject:
Normal rechargeable AA cells would have to be removed for charging, this takes seconds to release the back and remove the cells, we will have to wait and see what the LiPo cells can do, these can be recharged in the device by the looks of things, but the normal throw away batteries look good in terms of capacity and duration.
I will take a set of AA 2300mHr cells (NiMH) with me later this week, and once the supplied cells die (if) I will try them in the unit.
As for half way up Scarfell Pike I would think the three peaks challenge might be in order to really try this device out, and I reckon set up correctly it should do it on a single set of batteries - Mike
Normal rechargeable AA cells would have to be removed for charging, this takes seconds to release the back and remove the cells, we will have to wait and see what the LiPo cells can do, these can be recharged in the device by the looks of things, but the normal throw away batteries look good in terms of capacity and duration.
I will take a set of AA 2300mHr cells (NiMH) with me later this week, and once the supplied cells die (if) I will try them in the unit.
As for half way up Scarfell Pike I would think the three peaks challenge might be in order to really try this device out, and I reckon set up correctly it should do it on a single set of batteries - Mike
iv'e been using 2700 nimh rechargable over the weekend,my screen is set to switch off after 30 seconds gps is left running.the unit has been used for 5 hours of walking .there are still 3 out of 4 bars left on meter
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Tue Oct 23, 2007 7:37 pm Post subject:
mikealder wrote:
the supplied cells are not the best in terms of capacity from throw away batteries
Just for the record the cells that are supplied with the device are in fact "Energizer Lithium" batteries, these are about the best you can get in terms of capacity, I had mistaken them for the more usual Energizer Alkaline type (which are also silver) when I made the above comment. - must read the labels in future!
After 12 Hours and 30 minutes the device decided to throw the towel in - I should add this was with the back light on full all the time so this duration figure is about the worst condition you can throw at the unit. This is certainly not prototypical when compared to normal use, back light would be at a lower setting and certainly not on all the time. Next will be a set of "Copper Tops" followed by some NiMH rechargeable cells.
Twelve and a half hours from three AA cells is incredible performance though, even more so when you consider the unrealistic way I used the unit during this time - Mike
The battery pack is two-three weeks away and cannot be ordered yet. I was promised the unit by next post (free of charge...thanks) but it still isn't here.
As another idea, have you thought of using rechargeable batteries. I have just bought 16 2700mAh from ebay for only £17 delivered. Although I have not got any maps installed yet, but I have switched the unit on with the sreen brightness ay 100% and the turned power mode to on constantly. I will now leave it in this state until the battery dies and let you know the time it stayed on.
My plan would be to put the screen at 70% and power save mode on, but lets see the results later.
Joined: Jan 14, 2005 Posts: 19638 Location: Blackpool , Lancs
Posted: Sat Oct 27, 2007 8:24 pm Post subject:
Yasack wrote:
As another idea, have you thought of using rechargeable batteries. I have just bought 16 2700mAh from ebay for only £17 delivered.
Richard, I would be interested to hear how you found the duration with these batteries installed, the lower voltage per cell of the NIMH cells could make quite a significant difference to the switch off voltage resulting in lower durations than expected.
So far I have tried a set of NIMH cells and I have to say I was not too impressed, I will try at least three or four sets/ charges and discharge cycles prior to posting any sorts of results table.
I know I have mentioned this in other forum sections before but please be aware how dangerous these high power batteries can be if placed in your pocket. It is easy for them to short out on keys and coins etc - they can set fire, which is unpleasant at best - avoid this by carrying the spare cells in a battery box designed to prevent such problems - once bitten twice shy so to speak - I don't intend to burn my leg or ruin the pockets on my jeans again - Mike
I had a bit of a problem with mine today. Has anyone else encountered similar? I dropped my car at the garage and turned the satmap on to navigate my way on foot back across town. It took 5 mins for it to get GPS lock and it wasnt a built up area. It had good clear views of the sky. It had locked on the day before so it wasnt exactly a cold start. When it did get lock it held it beautifully, until it froze. Couldnt press any buttons at all, not even off.So i took the batterys out and put them back in. Turned on again and froze again after 30seconds. So repeated the process. it did the same a couple of times and then it wouldnt turn on at all. I thought the batterys must have died although it had been showing full bars. When i got home i tried again and it turned on but froze straight away. I agree with people who are saying that this machine has fantastic potential, especially with the advertised feature of being able to display satellite imagery in the future and all the other possibilities, but at the moment i am just a little dissapointed. Over £400 for the unit and mapping and i cant really use it.
Joined: Nov 07, 2007 Posts: 14 Location: Teddington, West London
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:05 pm Post subject: Satmap freeze
Hi Chrissyboy,
I had this freeze problem a couple of times. I took the batteries out 3 times and then it was OK. I've seen a comment about new batteries being above the voltage limit causing a problem. Once the newness of the batteries dies off, it seems fine. Obviously an issue if this happens all the time !
I would speak to Satmap, their customer service is really good. You might have to return your unit.
Cheers,
Simon
Simon,
The batteries wernt brand new, they had a bit of use. When i turned it back on at home it was showin 3 bars instead of the full 4 so im not sure if that is the problem. ive emailed the cutomer services but i'll carry on trying the unit to see if it sorts itself out. i think there will be qiute a few updates in the next version of the firmware. as long as they get told about any problems then i thnk they are very willing to help and can change things for the better.
Joined: Mar 19, 2007 Posts: 310 Location: Plymouth
Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2007 7:08 pm Post subject:
chrissyboy2241 wrote:
Simon,
The batteries wernt brand new, they had a bit of use. When i turned it back on at home it was showin 3 bars instead of the full 4 so im not sure if that is the problem. ive emailed the cutomer services but i'll carry on trying the unit to see if it sorts itself out. i think there will be qiute a few updates in the next version of the firmware. as long as they get told about any problems then i thnk they are very willing to help and can change things for the better.
I've had freezing problems but it normally happens after 3-4 hours use and requires a battery being taken out and reinserted to reset it. I don't think it has anything to do with batteries at all.....it's a Windows powered product....Pocket PCs freeze!!!
I've never seen 2 bars with my batteries...it goes straight from 3 bars to the Battery Critical flashing purple screen....by the very nature of rechargeable batteries they'll keep pumping out 1.2V and then suddenly next to nothing....it could be why Chrissyboy can't get his restarted....unless he's tried fresh batteries too. _________________ I like mapping, I like mapping, I like mapping and I like to map!
Posted: Sun Nov 11, 2007 7:30 pm Post subject: Active 10 accuracy, battery performance and screen visibilit
Went for a little stroll today with the Active 10 in one hand and my Garmin GPSmap 60CSx in t'other.
The Garmin outperformed the Active 10 when it came to staying locked on to satellites; there were times near trees when the Active 10 showed "Speed 0.0" when the Garmin gave a true reading. The respective Trip data showed Garmin: 4.76 miles, Time Moving: 1hr 57min and Total time: 2hr 40min. Satmap equivalents were: 4.54 miles, 1hr 35min and 2hr 41min. Satmap distance was therefore only 95% of the Garmin figure. If this discrepancy is present also for cycling, the Satmap data will be of little use.
Re. batteries: the Energiser Lithiums supplied gave out today. I set off with the full four blocks of battery strength showing. During the walk, the battery indicator dropped to three blocks and about 30/45 minutes later, a flashing message came up on screen saying "Battery critical - shutting down in 30 seconds" - and it did! I had to insert fresh batteries to proceed. So the message seems to be that when you drop below the full four blocks, be prepared to lose power soon. I tested the Energisers when I got home - they all showed "Good" although of course they would have recovered a bit.
Incidently, can anyone recommend a good battery tester that will give a truely accurate indication of battery strength? I have only the sort of "Good, Low, Replace" cheapo thing.
The other noticeable problem encountered today was screen visibility. In strong sunlight (no clouds some of the time) the screen was unreadable without 100% backlight. This compares with the Garmin which required no backlight at all and has a screen which is more readable when the light falls on it. The Satmap has to be held square with my line of sight and shaded otherwise the reflection completely obscures the screen.
Oh Lord, why can't I get Memory Map OS maps into my Garmin?!
Posted: Today Post subject: Pocket GPS Advertising
We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
Have you considered making a donation towards website running costs?. Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!
All times are GMT + 1 Hour Goto page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8Next
Page 1 of 8
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!
Hi! We see you’re using an ad-blocker. We’re fine with that and won’t stop you visiting the site.
But as we’re losing ad-revenue from this then why not make a donation towards website running costs?. Or you could disable your ad-blocker for this site. We think you’ll find our adverts are not overbearing!
Forum FAQ
Search
Usergroups
Profile
Log in for private messages
Log in
Sounds almost too good to be true!!
- must read the labels in future!
