landc

Hello Wyatt. I understand what they meant. Even though the mechanics of Magellan’s compass may be the best, their implementation of that technology falls short of the competition. Garmin made the most of their inferior technology and the end result is a compass that offers much better real-world functionality than Magellan’s. You are entirely correct...Magellan can easily remedy this by updating the firmware, and if they do, then it will be the "best electronic compass in a hand-held". However, until that time comes, it isn't the best, so the reviewers comments IMO, are wrong. BTW, this compass has been around on the Meridian Platinum for quite some time, so they've had plenty of time to make software enhancements to it, but haven't. At this point there's no reason to assume they're going to. Even so, I do intend to ask, and I hope other Magellan owners will do the same. IMO the Sportrak series is just a small leap away from perfection. The Sportrak Color looked like it was going to address most of the remaining weaknesses, but unfortunately gave up ground in a couple key areas along the way. Oh well, I'll get over it soon Cheers, Larry

quote:Originally posted by sindigo:Here is a VERY thorough review of the SportTrak Color: Sindigo Sindigo, that review is what I based my purchasing decision on, and it is very slanted IMO. EG: "The buttons do not protrude as with the Pro and are somewhat harder to press"..."The SporTrak Color contains one extra key, a Mark button, -not available on the Pro. The Enter key is now in a more convenient spot in the center of the rocker switch." They make it sound like overall the buttons are better. The statement that they are "somewhat harder to press" is the most mild criticism imaginable for those horrific buttons. Also, saying that "the enter key is in a more convenient spot" is rediculous! It's way to convenient!! You have to work hard not to press it when using the rocker switch. Go figure! "The screen is exceptionally clear and bright with (16) colors -especially with the backlight ON...Any time a key is pressed, the light comes on for the selected time and brightness. This procedure enables the screens to be read easily in any lighting condition...The Color screen is much more visible than the Magellan ColorMap and has about 50% more (Pixels) than the Pro" Easily readable in any lighting condition? I beg to differ. It's readable in most lighting conditions, but not always "easily" readable. Also, It may be more visibile than the Meridian Color, but the Meridian Color is pretty bad from what I hear. My point is that it's not as visible as a Sportrak Map or Pro under many lighting conditions. "The best electronic compass in a hand-held." That statement is seriously misleading. I would gleefully take the Garmin compass over this one simply because in the real world, I want the unit to use the electronic compass only when I'm standing still. The Garmin can easiliy be configured to revert to the GPS compass at a user selectable speed. I personally wouldn't mind having to hold the unit flat to get an accurate reading, since I'd only be doing it when standing still - that's how real compasses work anyway so I'm already used to it. I made the mistake of buying my unit based almost totally on that review, which was my mistake. That review is not nearly objective enough. Also the ghosting pointed out in the above post is absolutely true, and is very annoying at night. Mine has it, but not quite as bad as the reviewers. Why didn't they mention that obvious problem in the review? Lesson #1: Don't make your purchasing decisions about this GPS based on that review, or for that matter mine either. Go see it for yourself and make up your own mind. Larry [This message was edited by landc on October 10, 2003 at 11:06 AM.]

When I get to within 80 feet or so, I just slow way down and usually end up right where I'm supposed to be.

I want to fine-tune my criticism of the Sportrak Color just a bit so people don't get the impression that I think this unit has no redeeming value. In my previous posts I made a somewhat misleading blanket statement that the screen on the Sportrak Color is not very visible outdoors in bright sunlight. I need to qualify that statement just a little. I first want to point out that my main criticism of the image quality revolves around using the map screen inside my car - on a whole I spend more time using the GPS in my car for navigation than I do outside for geo-caching. IMO visibility on this unit is at its worst when using the map screen inside a car on a bright sunny day. The resolution on the unit is very high so the details on the map screen tend to be a bit small. The problem is, all those tiny one-pixel wide roads easily get lost in the background because the image isn't bold and bright enough under less than optimal conditions for them to be clearly visible at a realistic distance. On a sunny day your eyes adjust to the brightness outside, so when you shift your view to the shaded interior of the car, your eyes can't adjust fast enough to easily make out all the fine details on a dim relatively low contrast GPS screen. Geocaching outdoors, the story is a bit different. Visibility is great on the Sportrak Color when the sun is reflecting directly off the screen - in fact it's downright eye popping at times. Visibility is also great in the evening and under heavy tree cover with the backlight turned on. Visibility is not as good when the sun is in front of you or off to one side - the screen dims very rapidly when there's not a direct light source of some kind illuminating it. For geo-caching this unit works just fine. The compass screen and all the other nav screens use big numbers and symbols, and are readable even in less than optimal lighting conditions. These screens still get quite dim at times, but not to the point of being unusable. For car navigation the Sportrak Color falls short IMO. I've been spoiled by the Sportrak Map - its image is alway very bold, and bright. Roads are quite visible even with the unit mounted to the windshield more than an arms length away. The Sportrak Map has been my point of reference for this comparison, and IMO the Sportrak Color just can't compete in less than optimal lighting conditions. Dispite my healthy dislike of certain "features" on the Sportrak Color, I've sort of developed a love/hate relationship with it. I'll probably end up keeping it despite my negative reaction to the screen, the keys, and one or two other annoyances. Having said that, if Magellan releases a monochrome version of this unit, I'll switch in a heartbeat Larry

One more observation...I took the color and the map with me to work this morning and had both running at the same time. There is no question about it. The Map was consistantly readable and that never waivered. The color was only easily readable when passing through a shady area with the back light turned on. I confirmed it again on the way home for lunch, with the units side by side - there is just no comparison...the mono screen provides effortless viewing where as the color more often than not doesn't! The Color is clearly visible on a sunny day only when the sun is reflecting directly off the screen. So in order to get a clear vibrant image, you have to angle the unit just right into the sun. I will admit that the high resolution is very nice, and I will have a hard time going back to a lower resolution, but I don't want to stuggle - a feeling which is strongly reinforced by the buttons. I'm not trying to be difficult about it...I just want those who are considering upgrading their Map or Pro to the Color, to go in with realistic expectations. I was seriously disappointed after shelling out a large amount of money to upgrade, only to find that IMO the screen is not nearly as readable outdoors as some are saying, and that the buttons suck rocks. Cheers, Larry [This message was edited by landc on October 08, 2003 at 10:48 AM.]

You're right about the wrist strap - there is a place to attach it. I still feel it's to hard to read in bright sun light. You have to understand that I'm used to the Monochrome Sportrak map screen which is bold and in your face. The sportrak color is pale, washed out and hard to read in the sun by comparison. It is great indoors and in the shade with the back light, but those aren't always the conditions. BTW I have tried all kinds of contrast settings. Regards Larry

I recently upgraded from a Sportrak Map to the Sportrak Color, so the following is more or less a comparison of the differences between the two – what has been improved and what has not. I purchased the Color based on a couple of reviews and IMO they didn’t tell the whole story. The good: * The resolution is very good - much improved over other Magellans. * The built in basemap is FABULOUS, absolutely first rate – I think it’s the same as the Pro. * Access to the battery compartment is much easier than the Sportrak map/pro. * 23 meg of free memory (same as the Pro) as opposed to 5.5 on the Map. * The reception is outstanding…even better than the Sportrak map if you can believe it. The bad: * Hard to read outdoors – despite what other reviewers say. * The buttons are horrific - placement, design, size, feel are all very poor – especially the cursor toggle and zoom in/out buttons. Magellan obviously chose form over function on these. I would take the buttons on the Sportrak map any day if given the choice. The person who decided to make these obnoxious changes to the buttons needs to find a new career as an interior decorator or something, since they obviously place beauty above ergonomics!! * Unlike the Garmin, the electronic compass cannot be configured to automatically change to the GPS compass when you’re moving – it’s very annoying watching the compass screen (which is my primary geocaching nav-screen) bounce around as I’m walking. To add salt to the wound, there’s no quick way to switch the compass to GPS mode – You have to wade through layers of menus using the obnoxious cursor toggle. * Scrolling the map screen is slow and cumbersome. * Poor frame-rates – one or two frames per second just isn’t fast enough on the compass screen IMO. * No place to attach the provided wrist strap!?!?. About the only major benefit the Sportrak Color has over the Pro is higher resolution – which is nice I have to admit. Colors don’t really add much to the equation, and the little they do add is ruined because the screen is so hard to read outside. Needless to say, I’m disappointed with the unit overall. The Sportrak color would be killer if Magellan: 1) Refitted it with an outdoor readable, monochrome version of the high-rez screen. 2) Enhanced the electronic compass so it can be configured to revert to a GPS compass when in motion, and also add a hot key so it can be toggled on and off at will. 3) Put the Sportrak Pro buttons back in place and relegate the ill-conceived new buttons to the trash heap where they belong. 4) Triple the processor speed. 5) And for the ultimate...add swappable SD memory compatibility. BTW: I love the Mapsend Topo software. Well worth the money. [This message was edited by landc on October 08, 2003 at 01:22 PM.]

All set now...NJAdmin took care of it. Thanks! Larry

quote:Originally posted by landc:Just wondering how long in normally takes to get a cache approved. I submitted my first one last weekend, took if offline briefly on wednesday to make a change, emailed the approver on thursday, and have yet to hear anything from anyone. What is the normal time frame? Thanks, Larry

Just wondering how long in normally takes to get a cache approved. I put one out last weekend, took if offline briefly on wednesday to make a change, emailed the approver on thursday, and have yet to hear anything from anyone. What is the normal time frame? Thanks, Larry