Satmap Active 10 Handheld Monitor

I had been reluctant to purchase one of these due to the poor reviews, especially on the time to get a GPS lock. I spoke to the company to see what was happening and an update addressing this was due on newer models.
I bit the bullet and purchased one. Whilst the time to get a lock is slower than my old(er) Garmin, it still gets a lock by the time I have put my boots on and checked the contents of the rucksack. (2-3 minutes). The mapping is excellent and has already saved me from a couple of wrong turns. It is easy to use, durable and the idea of replaceable screen covers is a great idea.
My only small gripe is that it appears you cannot use it directly with the popular mapping software. You can upload/download, via their Satsync software but it would be nice to have the direct connectivity. I also wish the maps would be a bit cheaper as £99 for a map is pricy

I've had my SatMap for a few weeks now and think it's an incredibly good device, though it has a few flaws and quirks.

It looks great, is of excellent quality and the buttons and joystick are easy to use. The screen is large and gives a clear image, though this can be negated by reflections from the screen cover. In bright sunlight you may need to press the backlight boost button for 100% brightness. For power saving you can configure the percentage brightness for when its not boosted.

One thing everyone comments on is the time taken to acquire satellites when it's switched on for the first time at a new location. It takes a few minutes but if you switch it on upon arrival it'll be ready by the time you're prepared to start your walk/cycle ride. It finds more satellites than my Garmin Etrex and hangs onto the signal much better than it when amongst trees (though the latest Extrex is said to better than the older ones).

I leave the SatMap's GPS switched on while I'm walking but set it so the screen switches off after 30sec. This saves on batteries and the display comes alive again at the press of any button. Leaving the GPS switched on means a continuous snail trail of your location is recorded, which you don't get otherwise.

The device is switched off (and on) with a single press of a button, which can be pressed by accident when you mean to press another one. If you switch it off by accident, the device will acquire the satellites quickly when switched on again and resume recording the trail. However, if the trail is later converted to a track and exported in GPX format to MemoryMap, the latter won't understand the way the track has been recorded in two sections. Luckily, that can easily be sorted by editing the GPX file - just remove the </trkseg><trkseg> bit which splits the track segments, and any successive lines showing zero elevation or other funnies from when the device was restarting.

I've found the SatMap's accuracy to be very good. I placed the device on top of a trig point, and when I zoomed right in on the 1:25,000 map I found the reported position was right in the middle of the trig point symbol!

The built-in electronic compass seems okay when stationary, giving a reasonably close reading to a standard magnetic compass. However, when I used the GPS-based pointer to navigate to a GoTo point, it wavered about from one side to the other of the actual direction. I ended up heading towards the middle position and that took me there okay, but it wasn't very inspiring.

Only a quick start guide is supplied with the device. A much more detailed user guide can be downloaded from the website. However, it concentrates on what each control does in isolation rather than telling you how to combine the features on a day out on the hills.

The supplied Lithium AA batteries lasted well, but would be expensive in the long term at £4 for a pack of 4 (the device takes 3 of them). I tried using 2500 mAh NiMh rechargeable AA batteries but after only a few minutes of using fully charged ones the battery level dropped from 4 bars to 3 then almost immediately to 1 bar, with a message that the system was shutting down in 30 seconds. In fact, the same quick change in battery level from 3 to 1 and shutdown happened with the Lithium batteries though at least I'd had a long period with 4 bars before that. I've now ordered the optional LiPol rechargeable battery which is reputed to be long lasting.

The Ordnance Survey maps, sold separately on SD cards, are available in 1:25,000 & 1:50:000 scale. I bought the 1:50,000 set for all the National Parks in Britain (which is good value), plus the combined 1:25,000 & 1:50:000 maps for the area where I spend most time walking. That gives me coverage of most places I'm likely to go walking, with more detail for the area I go to most frequently.

Despite some flaws, the SatMap is an excellent, easy to use and very accurate GPS with a full OS map capability, and I highly recommend it.

I purchased a Satmap as the concept sounded great, and I'm sure that once a few teething problems are sorted out, it will be a fantastic piece of kit.
My dissapointment comes from a a few different areas.
1. The time taken to get a GPS 'Lock On'. This has been rather embarassing when going for a hike with a friend recently and having to wait several minutes before we could set off.
2. The 'Battery Level' indicator is innacurate. It showed good battery life whilst out on the above hike and then died completely within a few minutes. I'm sure my friend was thinking, "How much did you pay for that thing" ?. Thankfully we had a good old fashioned map with us.
3. I rang the staff at Satmap to see why I couldn't connect my Satmap to my PC as indicated in the 'Quick Guide', (No in depth user manual yet available so much of the information displayed is not understood). They sent me via email the software I would need but even when loaded I couldn't get it to do anything. I contacted Satmap again but on this occasion no-one got back to me with assistance.

This is all a bit of a shame as it has spoiled a piece of equipment that has the potential to be so good. I would agree that the unit may have been rushed out too soon, possibly the desire to get it in the marketplace in time for Christmas was a bit of a rash decision.

I will perservere for now in the hope that the updated software is released soon. Oh, and don't expect much assisitance from local outlets. I found that all the suppliers I asked didn't really know how to work the unit themselves.

Tues 12th Feb
Since posting the above review I have been on another walk.
This time, on arrival at the start point the Satmap got a GPS lock within 60 seconds which was very impressive. To preserve battery life I also turned it off and on, (as suggested in the User Guide) as required to review our route.

Unfortunately two things occured to spoil my enjoyment.
Firstly, by turning the Satmap on and off some of the route information is lost and we were unable to say how far we had walked, what speed etc.

Secondly, even when on high open ground I could not get a GPS lock for nearly 15 minutes. I removed the SD Card and Batteries to reboot the equipment as advised by Satmap staff, (who do appear to be helpful) but it still took an age to lock on.
I have subsequently contacted Satmap who admit that they have a software problem which they are working hard to resolve. A software update is to be sent out to purchasers ASAP.

So it may be an idea to wait until this has been done before purchasing what I believe to be 'potentially' a cracking piece of kit.

I look forward to being able to say my issues have been resolved and posting how happy I am on this site.