SatMap Active 10

[alastair]

Well went out this evening for a browse and came home with a Satmap Active 10 Gps unit.

Does anyone else have this unit and any tips this is my first time using GPS in the hills.

[Jon Doran]

I think the good thing about the Active 10 is that it's relatively user friendly and intuitive to use. A few things I'd be aware of are to adjust the advanced power control setting to 'advanced' which will help maximise battery life, and the power control and backlight settings appropriately.Try different settings and see what works for you in terms of screen off time and so on.

You'll probably find that the first time you turn it on, it'll take a while to get a fix, that's normal, it'll be much quicker next time. It's still quite easy to turn the unit off by mistake, by pressing the power button accidentally - if it's in a pack pocket for example or if you're trying to use the backlight button. That's going to be changed in the next firmware update though.

I habitually check the Trip Log page at the start of every walk and reset it if I want to save the track later. If you forget, the unit will draw a straight line between your last known position and your new one - if you're in Snowdonia one weekend and the Peak the next, that'll well and truly throw your stats out of kilter...

The power handling now is much better than when Satmap was first launched thanks to several software revisions, but the optional lithium polymer rechargeable battery pack is a very worthwhile upgrade.

If you're planning routes in advance, I've found it easier to use a paper OS map in conjunction with the unit to give a better overview of the area. The screen's good, but it's a little hard to get the bigger picture. That should cease to be an issue once Satmap's online route planner is released, scheduled for November 2008 I think.

But mostly it's pretty intuitive.

[James Clayton]

Jon has pretty much summed it up above, Check which version of software its running on and upgrade online to version 1.200, if its not already been installed, i found that the my Satmap crashed a couple of times using using version 1.16, its been fine ever since i downloaded the upgrade.

As Jon says its worth buying the battery pack as trying to recharge 3 AA batteries or finding a charger that will charge 3 AA properly is hard to find. At £45 the battery pack is really expensive. Satmap should sell the battery on its own instead of selling it will all the daft adapters for Europe, Usa ect and another USB lead and USB charger, although the cigarette lighter USB adapter is handy.

Now I have got used to it I find it great, and being able to down load the GPX files from here and other web sites is great.

enjoy

James