Took the plunge on a GPS - hope it was a good decision

pwrfade · August 9, 2010

Sonocaddie V500

was totally locked in analysis paralysis - have been a skycaddie user for years - but the fees....just got tired of them -

So I jumped back in with a Sonocaddie V500 - I had read all the comments about the mappings being lacking - and then the comments about the vast improvement in them - and then the lack of satellite images - and then the quick turn around of requests - so with my head spinning I just pulled the trigger and bought one from a reputable EBAY member - for about $50 less than retail - free shipping and no tax - so here starts the $350 experiment - it should arrive this week - first thing I will do is request about 5 satellite images of courses I play and know well - we'll see what the turn around time is - and what the mapping look like when they arrive - I will keep this thread up to date in hopes that is may help others that were in the same indecision vortex that I found myself in

wolverine · August 9, 2010

Please let us know your expereince after you using it for a while.

milfordj · August 9, 2010

I purchased the V-500 several weeks ago. I have been very happy with my V-300 and expected the V-500 to have very similar brightness and battery-life but am VERY DISAPPOINTED!. I didn't purchase it from Sonocaddie because they were going to charge me for shipping. BIG Mistake! If I'd bought it from them I could've returned it.for refund. The Satellite Maps are easier for me to see than the U-Pro (which I previously owned and was lucky enough to sell), but not nearly bright enough to make use of it easy. I'm glad I didn't trade in my V-300, cause I'm going back to it. I wanted to get the V-500, so that I could use it for determining needed lay-up distances. I found that when you touch a point on the map, you cannot slide that point to move it closer or farther away in order to locate the 100 yd or 150 yd layup distances. It also does not stay on, showing the spot you touched for longer than a second or two -- not enough time for me to be able to read the distance to the spot I touched.

Basically, the only time I can clearly see the screen is when I am indoors -- not terribly practical. I have mine set for the backlight to stay on for 60 seconds, but cannot get more than one 18-hole round out of it before it needs recharging. The V-300 would give me 4 or 5 rounds before needing recharging, and it stayed very bright and easy to read throughout the round, never going into "sleep" mode like the V-500 does. Even when I tried leaving it on All the Time, it wasn't nearly bright enough to use. To my knowledge you can't increase the font to make it easier to read distances and certainly can't increase the brightness to a level comparable to V-300. I also have to touch the screen with a tee to try to get to a more specific point on the screen than using tip of finger. Sorry for this Very Negative review, and I sure hope you enjoy yours. I've read where others were very happy with their's, so maybe I'm the exception because of my very poor vision -- can't wear bifocals when playing golf, and don't want to have to pull out reading glasses just to try to read GPS screen.

Matty · August 9, 2010

Did you consider the Upro before deciding on the Sonocaddie? Didn't really research the Sonocaddie and for me it was between the Upro or Skycaddie SGX. I'm not thread crapping. I just want to hear your thoughts on your decision process.

pwrfade · August 9, 2010

[quote name='Matty' timestamp='1281388161' post='2628508']
Did you consider the Upro before deciding on the Sonocaddie? Didn't really research the Sonocaddie and for me it was between the Upro or Skycaddie SGX. I'm not thread crapping. I just want to hear your thoughts on your decision process.
[/quote]

I did look at the Upro - the screen was just too small for me to make easy use out of it - if they would come out with a larger 3+ inch type screen I would look again at it hard - as for the SGX I was intrigued but again the ongoing fees - so I might have made a mistake with the v500 based on the response above - but will give it an honest try - I figure worst case I will sell it - take a big loss - and then just go back to a laser - but we will see - some say they love it - clearly others as the earlier poster are not happy with it - guess it is a good thing there are all sorts of options out there since one size does not fit all

pwrfade · August 10, 2010

well the device arrived today - have to at least give props to the ebay seller - it arrived 2 days after payment -

Here are some initial observations - some good - and some I am a bit skeptical on

1) Set up was pretty easy - the hardest part was using the small touch screen keyboard to input the user id and password - once I got through this stage the first time and could calibrate the touch screen using the keypad became much easier (think about how you used to do it for those of you that used some of the old palm pilots)

2) The screen brightness seems fine to me - granted just indoor use and outdoor use at night at this point in time - so really commenting on that will have to wait until day time viewing

3) Downloading courses - piece of cake

4) The any point type technology seems pretty good with some initial concerns - first it was pretty easy to not fat finger the screen simply using a fingernail and not trying to just the full finger tip - one item that is a bit goofy as some others have noted - when you select a point it shows the distance to that point and then from that point to the green - but it does only display for a few seconds and then turns off and there does not seem to be a setting to adjust that display time - it would be nice if you could touch a point and then it stay on until you simply tap the screen again and then you could select a new point - an easy software fix that I will at least recommend to them. An additional 'nit' on some holes I notice that the second red line that is to depict the distance to the green from the point you selected does not always actually point to the green but just off at some odd angle - which as long as the distance it displays is correct guess I can live without the actual line going to the green.

5) The sat images - there was only one available for the handful of courses I loaded in - but it seems to be of good quality and easy to read. I have requested about 5 others - so I will report back both on turn around time and the quality of those images.

6) Targets when flipping between color layout and sat image - now this is an initial concern - but I will have to see how it works out on the course - I will try to explain what I am talking about here. Say you are looking at a green in the color format and you see a trap at the front left - but when you switch to sat image - the trap is about 10 yard in front of the green and over on the right side - so this is a MAJOR red flag on initial review. Other review of traps I would expect when you flip between color layout and sat image for the traps to basically map on top of one another - but they don't - on another hole on the same course I see where on the color layout the trap icon is what appears to be 15 - 20 yards off - this may not be an issue as long as the distances are right and you can ascertain which trap the color icon is referencing - but this too may be an issue - just not sure.

7) Flyovers - they do not seem that useful to me on some holes - they are at such an altitude that is hard to sometimes see which hole you are flying over when holes are close to one another - this is compounded by the fact that the speed of the flyover is pretty darn fast - I had to replay it about 4 times on a couple of holes to really see what it was telling me - this probably wont be a major issue for me since I really see the fly over more as a bell and whistle than a critical feature.

8) Mapping accuracy - and this was my major concern when buying this unit - so this may be the deal killer for me but time will tell - on one hole on a course I know well - the color layout shows the green doglegging off to the right when in reality it bends off to the LEFT - the sat image shows it correctly of course - but the color layout is clearly wrong - my concern is if something this fundamental can be wrong how accurate are the detail distances going to be - of all the things I have noticed in goofing around with it for an hour or so this is the most concerning.

9) Acquiring Sat signals - it was a bit slow - but this may be the first time I turned it on so not sure if it will always be slow - but I had to just set it down in the backyard and leave it there about 15 minutes - not sure when it actually acquired the signals since I had walked away - but I did sit there and stare at it for a good 5 minutes when it first started trying - it does have this color mapping of the satellites it has acquired - and it did grab 8 satellites so that was a good thing I think.

10) and one last thing - the unit just displays which hole you are - would be nice if somewhere it would also display is it a par 4 or 5 - guess you will have to know the course - or simple enough of course to look over at the marker on the tee box - but you would think this be simply enough to display on the screen :rolleyes:

Further inputs to come....