[Coming to Paris]

Very useful for me too! Many thanks for the effort you put in!

[explorist 500LE not detected by my pc]

I just spent 30 minutes on the phone with Tech Support (who were very helpful and professional). As suspected, there is a problem with my unit and I have to return it to a service depot. So much for that.

[explorist 500LE not detected by my pc]

I have the same problem... I have had my since Christmas. Worked great - was able to use Conversion Manager etc. No problem.

 

All of a sudden I can't see the GPS from Windows XP - no changes to my computer were made. Other devices see the USB port OK. Occasionally whe I plug it in I get a message that says "A USB device attached to your computer has malfunctioned". It does not show up as a drive; does not appear in Device Manager. I have uninstalled and re-installed the drivers. Started and stopped the virus software.

 

So, this morning I trotted off to my Box Store and bought another one to test. Plugged the new unit into my computer. It is recognized immediately. Unplugged it, and plugged in mine - no luck.

 

Something else is odd - the Power indicator always says extrenal power - if it is plugged in or not. I think the interface on the GPS is toast.

 

So, I guess I have to call tech support Monday morning. Something to look forward to.

[Using Magellan in France]

I see a bunch of threads on Garmin & European software - what about Magellan?

 

I am going to Paris for a week, and want to bring my GPS. I poked around the Magellan website, found that they have a Paris regional map on their SD cards or through download. No price though, so I called their sales line. They told me to call Support (!) to get pricing and help downloading. Support had no clue what I was talking about until I walked them through the URL to find the product. They have "escalated to Level 2" and I should get a call back. Yikes!

 

So, has anyone used this mystery product, if so where did you buy it and for how much? Are there other "runs with Explorist" options available? I see a bunch for Garmin in this forum.

 

'Thanks

[Looking for transportation for aTB to Paris]

I picked up a TB in Virginia that needs to go to Paris France. I dropped it in a TB hotel near the airport in Halifax NS and it has moved a few times but is staying stuck in the same area. Are there any geocachers in Halifax or Nova Scotia that could move this guy on to France, maybe someone working at one of the airlines or with the Navy?

 

Can you get it to Ottawa by Feb 24?

[Explorist 600 and Loc files]

Lots of interesting "how to" info here - thanks to the contributors. I find the navigation to be a bit of a challange too - may just need more time using it.

 

My question is somewhat related - once I use Geocache Manager (GM) to create a cache list, can I open it in MapSend? Seems not. Both MapSend and GM can read LOC files, but it looks like they natively use different formats - GEO and GS - one is text and one binary. The Explorist 500 seems to recognize both. Is the solution to use another applicaition to create a common format?

[Explorist 500 basemap issue]

mfmchen101,

What OS are you using? Are you USB ports 2.0?

 

I haven't noticed any issues with the GPS begin recognised with WinXP Pro. Are you going through the USB connectivity manager to "shut down" the connection to your GPS? If so, you might have to physically unplug the cable, and replug it back in. ..you shouldn't have to do anything with the system services.

 

Tomek

 

Hi - I have WIN XP Pro. The unit shows up as a Windows drive (i.e. "D:\") that is available in MapSend but MapSend can't see it to "Upload to GPS" or "Download from GPS". What happens is the application cycles through all the available Com Ports checking them for a GPS - it never finds one. I have uninstalled and re-installed the Meridian drivers but it hasn't made any difference.

 

One thing that I would have expected, but do not see in Control Panel, is some sort of serial-to-USB driver. Under USB devices I see a USB Enhanced Host Controller; then a couple of host controllers, then the "USB Mass Storage Device" that is the GPS. The GPS itself is not explictly identified.

[Explorist 500 basemap issue]

Canadian Tire must have sold a ton of these units in the pre-Christmas sale!

 

I bought the Canada topo maps - It's better. The issue I am having is getting the map software to run on my PC. Just installing it took hours due to what turned out to be a conflict with Norton Anti-virus. There are so many similar conflicts it's not funny. Half the time my GPS is not detected. I have to go through all the services running on the PC shut them down and cycle the gps on to see if it works. Pain in the butt.