Stepadery

I currently have an eXplorist 500, Santa brought me an XL for Christmas. I have Direct Route and Topo US. Can this software be used with the XL?

We are going to Disneyland in Orlando later next month. Does anyone have knowledge to where I could get a map of the park to put on my eXplorist 500? I have done a search of the forums. The only mention to this park has lead me to web pages with broken links.

Received my eXplorist yesterday. 12 business day return not bad at all. They replaced the button pad, now I have new label markings. However, the joystick up is still difficult. In its absence I got a new computer now on to reinstalling the software.

I have seen alot of topics about NMEA. I think I uderstand crust of it, but would like to know more. Could someone direct me on the use of this on my eXplorist 500?

Had to return my 500 back to Magellan today. The zoom button stopped working and the toggle enter button at times had a mind of its own. Has anyone sent their unit in to be worked on? If so about how long did it take for you to get it back.

Redwoods Mtn Biker Same issue with Garmin product! Does not cover the area I require. Checked into that when I first started looking to purchase a GPS.

MapSend DirectRoute MapSend Topo3D Canada I would like to find something that would cover lets say 10 to 20 miles of the U.S./ Canada border. Spend time fishing in the Boundery Waters area. Switching between detail maps is to much.

Where we were there were no caches. Did find 2 in the small town we ate at the night prior to heading out to the wilderness. But in the last couple of months with family trips there has been 25 caches found from Michigan, Indiana, and around home. My 16 year old son enjoys it too. Yes, I would purchase an eXplorist again. I wanted something small and lightweight. When everything I have with me for that week has to be carried, and kept water tight as possible. My choice for the charger was to keep weight down, the batteries that were used 2 times for charging the unit were then used to power FRS radios or flashlights/small lanterns. And while driving I can use the USB car adapter and cable. The cable that came with the 500 is to much for me to be use under these conditions, but great for home use. The proprietary batteries is under consideration, but then wouldn't the 500 be used more as a battery charger then a GPS. (maybe I'm looking at this wrong)I have some rechargeable AA for a digital camera, might see how they work.

Spent 7 days in the Canadian wilderness with my eXplorist 500, Boxwave battery adapter, PC-Mobile USB/Data charge cable, and 16 AA batteries. Started the 1st day (7:00 am) with a full charge, the eXplorist was heavily used. Backlight was set to revert to dim after a couple of minutes (at all times). Switched back and forth from U.S. to Canadian detail maps till midday. Used track log and saved a several waypoints during the day. That evening (9:00 pm) checked the battery level, showed less than a quarter charge remaining. Powered unit off and connected the Pc-Mobile cable and then the Boxwave adapter containing a fresh set of batteries for the night to recharge. Day 2 (7:30 am) disconnected the charging system and powered the unit up. Checked the battery level, it showed a full charge. The eXplorist was used heavily again track logging, waypoints, with no detail map changing. Used reverse track log feature to return to base camp that evening. Used unit at camp to look through the day’s trip. Checked the battery level around (9:30 pm), showed close to the same (less than a quarter charge remaining) as the first day. Connected the charging system using the 1st day’s batteries. Day 3 (6:30am) disconnected the charging system and powered the unit up. Checked the battery level, it showed less than a full charge. (lets say 1/16 from full) Again eXplorist was used heavily track logging, much more waypoints, with no map changing. Did use unit more observing how different the map detail was from actual land/water position. At times it showed we were on land when we were on water and visa versa. Used reverse track log feature to return to base camp that evening. Used unit at camp about 30 minutes to look through the day’s adventures. Checked the battery level around (9:00 pm), was very low, I’m surprised low battery alarm didn’t sound. Connected the charging system using a fresh set of batteries. Day 4 (6:00 am) disconnected the charging system and powered the unit up. Checked the battery level, it showed a full charge. Same use as the last couple of days. A little more use in finding waypoints throughout the day, and just playing with the unit. Checked the battery level around (8:00 pm), showed close to less than a quarter charge remaining). Connected the charging system using day 3 batteries. Day 5 (6:00am) disconnected the charging system and powered the unit up. Checked the battery level, it showed less than a full charge. Same use as prior days. Checked the battery level around (9:00 pm), was very low, again I’m surprised low battery level didn’t show. Connected the charging system using a fresh set of batteries. Day 6 (6:00am) disconnected the charging system and powered the unit up. Checked the battery level, it showed less than a full charge. (First time that happened using what I believed was fresh batteries.) Somewhat same day usage, did use back track feature from day1 saved track log. Travel day ending earlier than previous days, used unit about an hour at camp just looking at different features. Checked the battery level around (9:00 pm), less than quarter remaining. Connected the charging system using day 5 batteries. Day 7 (6:00am) disconnected the charging system and powered the unit up. Checked the battery level, again it showed a little less than a full charge. Big day for the unit. About 4 hours to the outfitters and a 700+ mile trip home using Direct Route feature. (Unit was powered off for about 5 hours prior to trip home) Around 1:30am, 80+ miles from home the low battery alarm came on and a few minutes later the unit powered off. A few comments: 1. Having to switch back and forth between detail maps of the U.S. and Canada was a pain. We were right on the border, so when I was using the U.S. map the Canada side had no detail and visa versa. (Can a person create their own maps?) 2. I’m surprised the detail maps were a little off, meaning at times we were on water and it showed we were on land and visa versa. (Not by a great margin) 3. I was very pleased with the Boxwave and PC-Mobile. (Found a small camera case that I was able to use to put the eXplorist in it’s own case and the Boxwave and Pc-Mobile cable and car USB adapter and 3 sets of AA batteries nice and safe). Some of my recharge issues were due to the possibility that by accident the power button on the Boxwave was activated while in a case. (The power button is easily moved) 4. The white on the enter button is worn off. 5. Observed that when changing detail maps within a few first hours of use the change went smooth. Towards the end of the day the unit locked up, had to power unit off/on to get maps to load. 6 The color display was easy to read even on the brightest sunny day. 7. This is the first GPS I have purchased so, I can’t compare it to others. Between the 500, Direct Route U.S., Topo Canada, Boxwave charger, PC-Mobile data/charge cable & car USB adapter I’m pleased with my purchase. I did spend a little more than what I had planned. 8. As with any new (toy) the more a person uses and/or learns about it before a major use the better it will serve you. 9. I really enjoy caching with it.

OK, I have looked and looked for this answer. Now I must ask. About the Magellan Swivel Mounting bracket for the Explorist. How does this mount? I guessing with Magellan's saying it mounts to virtually any vehicle it must be with something like double sided sticky? Can this be removed and transfered from vehicle to vehicle? How about a vent mount I seen, has anyone tried it? BTY, I'm enjoying my 500. Being the first GPS I purchased I was some what leary, mostly about the learning curve. Has not been to bad. This forum is a great help. Have taken a couple of trips with it, slowly getting use to a smaller map to view while traveling compared to a road atlas. Used Direct Route have had good success. Geocaching will now be a hobby of mine. Having a issue with the communication cable. The USB wire is pulling apart where the "Y" adapter is. Contacted Magellan, they have issued a R.A. but I'm waiting for the arrival of the Pc-Mobile cable I ordered. Don't want to be without a way to charge or transfere maps and such. It will take a few days, it's mailed from Hong Kong.

I want to run the program without having to put the CD in. I did not want to transport the CD to and from home and work.

I have seen on this forum some explained how to direct the MapSend software to not look for the cd but read directly from the hard drive. Does anyone recall where?

Each day we will be moving around a lot, with some portages. Sometime we leave camp in the morning and not get back until after dark.The back track feature is why the unit will stay on for the time we are out in the canoe. Plus marking position where fishing was good, without waiting to power on the unit. Now, as for recharging the 500. It looks as if I can get 2 full charges out of 1 set of alkakines. I can accept that. 16 AA batteries for 9 days of use will not add a lot of weight or bulk. Now I need to learn how to save and upload maps to the 500. Can the cord that came with the 500 be purchased separately yet? A person could modify that a little. Did a little Goecaching over the weekend. First experience for that really enjoyed it. Overall, I’m very happy with my 500.

Here is where the recharge issue stands as of now. Starting with a full charge. First day the 500 remained on all day (14 +/- hours) with little use, battery charge remaining showed more than a quarter. First night with a fresh set of alkaline batteries the 500 had a full charge by morning. Second day 500 on all day (14 +/- hours) more use, battery charge remaining showed a little less than quarter. Second night with the first set of alkaline batteries the 500 had a full charge by morning. Third day 500 on all day (14 +/- hours) much much more use, battery charge remaining showed close to being drained. Third night with the first set of alkaline batteries the 500 had about a third of charge by morning. This next round I will try to let the 500 remaining charge level fall closer to empty before recharging the 500. I’m confident that I will get 2 full recharges from a fresh set of alkalines. The first set of alkalines still have some power left. They would power a clock for a while or something like that that’s not real power hungry.

Is the eXplorist 500 base map burned onto the internal memory? I was looking at the remaining room in the internal memory and it shows only 44 percent. I have no other POIs, caches or logs saved to the internal memory. I have not received my map software as of yet, but all that I will use will be put on a SD card(s). Should the base map always remain in the internal memory? Or could that room be used for POIs, caches or logs. I’m really enjoying my 500. Just a little concern about a 9-day canoe trip a few weeks away. I have purchased that “Boxwave” item that will allow me to recharge the 500s’ battery or power the unit while in use. Using the “Boxwave” as a power source for the 500 is a little cumbersome in a canoe. I’m testing how many charges to the 500 I can get out of the “Boxwave”. I hope to get 2 to 3 out of a set of 4 batteries. I’m thinking this way about the trip, start with a full charge each day then if I’m lucky charge the 500 at night. I’m not sure if the 500 power will last all day though. Does anyone have a fill for this?

First, Thanks to everyone for all the great wisdom generated by this forum. This forum has helped me out prior to buying my Explorist 500. Have had my Explorist 500 for about 4 weeks now and fill pretty comfortable with it. Have taken a few trips and cached locally a little. Having fun with the unit. My question is, if I purchase Mapsend Direct Route will the maps have more detail than what the base map that comes with the unit when purchased? I have a 512 mb secure digital card in the unit now. Is that enough for lets say a trip from Indiana to Florida. Between Direct Route and Topo 3D, does Topo show more off road detail? Not for sure which one to purchase. Any advice will be appreciated.