Picture of me taken on top of Lose Hill just above the village of Hope in Derbyshire.
Last Sunday, 26th of September 2010 I went with two members of staff from the school and two Duke of Edinburgh Award Silver Expedition groups to the Peak District. We left Spalding at just before 8 am and arrived at Edale about three hours later. It was my task to assess the two bunches of youngsters. We dropped the teams off at the car park in Edale near the station. As soon as the lads started walking we supervisors and assessor went to Hardhurst Farm just outside Hope to pitch our tents. Once we had done that, I drove the other two adults in the school minibus to where they wanted dropping off. When I had done that I went and parked up in Hope.
Having dumped the minibus I started out of the village and walked up Lose Hill. My map reading is good as a result of my time in the Army and later leading Lincolnshire Army Cadet Force groups into wild country. I gained my Unit Expedition Leader qualification in November 1988 having completed the course at Tywyn in North Wales. Although I can read a map well, I am a bit lazy and do love gadgets. I bought a Satmap Active 10 Plus from Amazon last November as they had it at the best price I could find. I had not really given it a good outing until last Sunday.
Picture of my Satmap Active 10 Plus showing how accurate it is because it is sitting directly on the cairn that is at the top of Lose Hill.
There are footpaths leading up Lose Hill from Hope but sometimes they are not well marked and one needs to check the map to make sure that the correct route is followed. I knew the rough direction that I needed to take and had a Harveys 1:40,000 map and compass with me. However, I decided to see what the Satmap 10 could do in the way of pinpointing my position and showing it. When I switched it on, there was a delay of about thirty seconds before it picked up six satellites. The 1:50,000 map on the device was very clear although there was some sort of mark on the screen but I’ll come on to that fault later. I found that the Satmap 10 was spot on once it had settled down. Although I only used it to confirm my position it was a very reassuring thing to have with me. I do not believe that one should dispense with a map and compass when out and a bout but the sheer convenience and usability of the Satmap 10 make it a wothwhile investment in money and weight carried.
Picture looking towards Mam Tor, Derbyshire from the top of Lose Hill showing the view over my hand that is holding my Satmap Active 10 Plus. You can clearly see the blemish on the screen.
When I started using the Satmap I thought that the mark on the screen was caused by the thin protective film covering it not being seated correctly. I took it off but the mark you can plainly see had not gone away. When I got home I e-mailed the folk at Satmap and explained the problem. I received a reply within three hours the same afternoon. Here it is:-
Hi Nigel,
This can be a pressure mark between the screen protector in the front casing.
The screen protector is a user removable item and normally removing it and reseating
it removes the pressure mark.
Please see attached pictures as to how to unhook the screen protector.
Thanks,
Ben
Here are the pictures:-
Even I could follow these pictures in order to do what was suggested.
Ben had identified the fault correctly and now my device is in prefect working order.
As I said before, I bought mine from Amazon last November. Buy yours HERE.