Tikishark

Thanks for everyone's help... Especially Stunod and Vegas... Yup, I couldn't connect with my computer because the USB cable was positioned in the wrong direction. The cord needs to face down... After this was fixed, everything worked as planned. In addition, I spoke to Magellan today and they stated that they are aware of the registration problem and they are working on it. The online registration doesn't really matter they said, because all warranty information is handled through your invoice or receipts. I installed MapSend direct this weekend, and went on a few neighborhood (street-to street) drives, as well as went searching for 3 caches. Now that everything is purring along... This is a great piece of equipment...

What a coincidence. 80% of all statistics are made up too! I have Win98se on two of the 3 computers I use at home. I know many people that refuse to "upgrade" to XP. Where do you get your data? Relating that to your topic, Win95 and Win98 (well, all versions of Windows actually) were released with some many bugs. Microsoft is a much larger company then Thales Navigation. You'd think their product would be perfect with so many employees testing it out, right? One of my favorite games, Diablo II, had to be patched the day I bought it. Did you report your issues with the eXplorist to the company? They're counting on your input to make a better product. I should have stated that "80% or the users at my work use XP", or "8 out of 10 Dentists prefer XP over Trident", or something like that... In all truth, I made the 80% statistic up as a guess.... However, I do have to say, I haven't seen Windows 98 or Windows 95 on any new systems coming on the market lately (All Windows XP, or XP professional). In fact, I can't say I have seen a Windows 98 computer in about a year. --- But like Jery Seinfield would say, "Not that there's anything wrong with that" I do have to admit I need to stop whinning... In fact, looking back on a few of my posts, I almost asked for this. I was in such a big hurry to have this unit "NOW", that I didn't stop to realize that I'd need to take a few lumps and setback before Magellan worked the bugs out. After all the unit itself is fairly impressive.... Thanks to all for your great posts.... I will have an update from Magellan tomorrow.

Tiber, thanks for your help... I tend to agree with you about SP2... I have had a few problems with SP2 since installing it on my laptop (mostly wireless connection problems). I'm going to give Magellan a call on Monday and see what they can sort out. Thanks again for the help....

Thanks for the help... Unfortunately that didn't work either... I even tried two seperate computers with no luck. I called REI today, but they told me my best bet was to give Magellan a call on Monday.... At this point Magellan is going to hold the answers to all the secrets I really appreciate the help though...

The Explorist 600 by itself is a great little unit. However, over the past 2 days (since I received it), this little charm has turned into a nightmare... 1. I can't get the Explorist to communicate with my computer. When I install the drivers, everything appears okay, however, as soon as I turn on my Explorist, I receive the message "USB Device not Recognized... One of the USB devices attached to this computer is no longer working..." 2. I purchased Mapsend DirectRoute from Magellan... However, I found out that maps cannot be directly downloaded to the Explorist 600... You need to save the maps to your hard drive, and then send them over to a SD card through a reader, or by connecting the Explorist as a hard drive and transferring them that way. However, since I can't connect, I'm basically out of luck. That goes the same with the two programs that come with the 600 "Conversion manager, and Geocache manager"... Since I have no connection with my 600, I can't use either. 3. I'm not able to register my 600.. It seems that the website wants a serial number that starts with a 118 and all 600's have a 119.. 4. Poor documentation... The manual doesn't reference anything about connecting to the 600, nor does it talk about file structures or any of that. In fact the manual that is mailed out is the Explorist 300 manual. 5. Magellan's website is of little use. There are no support pages for the 600 yet, and in looking at the support for the 100 - 300, all they give is a basic manual. I know this may seem like I'm bit*hing, but wouldn't you think a large company like Thadeus would test drive their units, and have a complete support section ready before releasing their products? I mean after-all 80% of all PC users use Windows XP now and connection issues should have been resolved before the first shipment... I can understand if I were a beta-tester, but this is a pre-packaged (complete) unit. What was Thadeus thinking? I'm really about ready to throw this unit back to REI and just buy a good old-fashioned Garmin product.

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately nothing I do allows me to register... The website keeps stating that I need to use a 0118 before my 9 digits... However, the 600's serial starts with 0119... These are the things that frustrate me about Magellan... If I can't register, I can't use my Mapsend program... Not that I'm complaining (Much ) but shouldn't they have fixed a lot of these bugs (like a real 600 manual, registration information, etc.) before they sent them out to market?

Okay, I received my new Explorist 600 from REI yesterday. I thought I'd share a few photos for the curious.... http://www.imagerack.net/is.php?i=857&img=GPS_001.jpg http://www.imagerack.net/is.php?i=858&img=GPS_002.jpg http://www.imagerack.net/is.php?i=859&img=GPS_003.jpg http://www.imagerack.net/is.php?i=860&img=GPS_004.jpg Things I like so far: Clear Screen Menus are easy to follow Initial setup was a breeze Great signal Easy Cache transfer Easy Charging Overall Solid product Things that aren't so great: The manual that is included is for the Explorist 300 Magellan’s registration website doesn’t recognize new serial number sequence (No way to register currently). My Explorist arrived with a sticky film covering my AC adapter and USB cable (I think it was from the glue in the box).

As Promised.... Here are a few pictures of the 600 right out of the box... I've tried to cover all the angles, but if you need something specific, let me know. http://www.imagerack.net/is.php?i=857&img=GPS_001.jpg http://www.imagerack.net/is.php?i=858&img=GPS_002.jpg http://www.imagerack.net/is.php?i=859&img=GPS_003.jpg http://www.imagerack.net/is.php?i=860&img=GPS_004.jpg

I can't figure out how to post the photos of the explorists 600.... When I click IMG all I get is a http:// reference... Any suggestions?

I checked my tracking with UPS today, and my Explorist 600 is on the truck for delivery... I also went with REI after ditching Tiger.... Now all I have to do is get through work until 4:30, or come up with a good excuse to go home early I'll see about posting some photos tonight... If the others don't get around to it.... Any photo requests?

Stunod --- Actually REI never charged me tax and the shipping wasn't that bad (12.50 for standard, 22.50 for 2nd day). Since I live in Hawaii, I had to plop down the 22.50, but you would probably get away with the 12.50... However, you're right, it may not be worth the extra charge just to get it a few days earlier. I think the big deal buster for me though is REI's return policy. I was a little worried about the 5% re-stocking fee that Tiger charges. Not that I'm planning to send it back, but I've dealt with REI before, and I know if something didn't work out, they'd have a new unit out to me quickly... I haven't dealt with Tiger before, so I wasn't sure. My wife totally thinks I've lost my mind... She can't understand why I can't wait a week But then again, she will spend 700.00 on a stupid purse (without a LCD screen or a PC connection)... Who can figure?

Just cancelled my order with TigerGPS tonight and went with REI... They are offering the 600 for 12.00 more, but their shipping was actually cheaper (12.00 versus 17.50). Since REI has the units in stock (70 I was told by the REI representative), I should have my unit by next Tuesday. I really like Tiger, but I'm just way too impatient... Plus, you can't beat REI's 100% refund policy. I will be posting pictures of my 600 as soon as it comes in....

Okay everyone.... I couldn't wait any longer... REI has the Explorists 600 on sale for 358.99... Thats about 12.00 dollars more, but hey, you only live once . I chatted with REI's on-line customer service, and they said they had a ton of the 600's in stock... That paired with the fact that REI gives you a 100% money-back guarantee (+cheaper shipping) and Tiger charges 5% to re-stock, has left me with a clear choice. I sent an email to Tiger tonight cancelling my order, and I placed my order with REI... I should have the 600 in my hands by next Tuesday (if I'm lucky).... I've never been into the pre-order thing, I'm just way to impatient for new toys...

I placed my order for the 600 this weekend from TigerGPS... I spoke to a sales rep today, and he said that they will start shipping next week. I hope that this is an accurate estimate, and not just something to get me off the phone. As soon as it comes in, I'll post a few photos....