All Right, I've Had It!!

[+Thot]

 

I have a SporTrak Pro and I'm fully, completely and utterly fed up with attaching that fussy spring & screw-connect plate to the back of the unit. It’s a major PIA. If I only have a couple or three new caches, I enter the coordinates by hand rather that fuss with that damned connector. Surely some innovative character out there has come up with a snap-on snap-off quick-connect for this. Yes? No? If not, why not?

[+ScottOSki]

If you have any kind of mount from Magellan the connector will fit in the back. Then you simply need to put the GPS into the cradle and it will be connected to the cord. This is true for the 300 series, Meridians, ST, and Explorist mounts.

 

I use my swivel mount for the Explorist for this reason. It sits on my dash using velcro and then comes into the house for any computer work.

 

The swivel mount is worth the $$ for this reason alone. The problem is even worse with the Explorist as the connector is small...

 

Scott

[+embra]

I'll second what Scott said, and add that I haven't heard of any other solution (well, JamieZ and somebody else got a RAM mount to do the same thing).

 

I, too, got swivel mounts both for my Meridian and my Explorist with the primary purpose being to make a swift, easy cable connection.

[+Thot]

The problem is even worse with the Explorist as the connector is small...

You mean their latest series of units still don't have USB connections? Do they also carry a line of buggy whips and chamber pots?

[robertlipe]

If your cable never leaves your desk, replace that dorky lanyard mount with a thumbscrew out of a serial or parallel cable. The shoulder is in exactly the right place. Just be careful when running the screw in and out to not strip the plastic.

 

Of course, once you do this, it doesn't work well at all in the various cradles or mounts.

[+ScottOSki]

They have a USB connector; however to stay waterproof the cord still attaches to the outside of the unit similart to the 3XX, Meridian, and ST series. It's just that the other end of the cord is a USB instead of a serial and the device uses USB communication. I'm not sure how one would waterproof a "standard" USB connection.

 

Scott

[+embra]

I'm hoping to see chamber pots implemented in the next firmware upgrade.

[+Marky]

I actually find the smaller eX connector easier to attach than the sportrak/meridian connector.

 

Even though I have a swivel mount, I have stopped using it because I can't place the GPS into the swivel mount with a lanyard attached to the GPS. I can *almost* get it to work with the lanyard attached to the D ring, but the connection is tenuous and sometimes it will disconnect the drive for no reason. It is a poorly designed swivel mount. I was spoiled with the Sportrak swivel mount, which worked great with the Sportrak color. The lanyard attachment point didn't get in the way at all.

 

--Marky

[+embra]

I haven't had that kind of trouble with mine, Marky--well, I'll allow that I've had to be careful inserting the GPS into the mount to make sure that things are not in the way of preventing a good mate, but once the connection is made is seems to hold fine. (I had to go to the D-ring for this to work, too.)

 

Is the cord on your lanyard relatively thick? I'd estimate the diameter on mine at 1/16" or a bit less.

[+Thot]

If your cable never leaves your desk, replace that dorky lanyard mount with a thumbscrew out of a serial or parallel cable.

Thanks for the tip. I've now done it. I'll see how it goes. At least it gets rid of the little screwdriver I always had to have nearby.

[robertlipe]

If your cable never leaves your desk, replace that dorky lanyard mount with a thumbscrew out of a serial or parallel cable.

Thanks for the tip. I've now done it. I'll see how it goes. At least it gets rid of the little screwdriver I always had to have nearby.

 

(And given the recent trend in firmware updates, I'll thank them to _not_ implement a chamber pot out of fear of "memory leaks"...)

Between the occasional caching and the development of magxfer and gpsbabel (which gets tested on a 330, an STMap, and a Plat) , you can guess that my cables get a lot of action at my desk. I've used various forms of those thumbscrews for about 3 1/2 years here in Lipe Labs.

 

I do keep a "power only" cable (where I've totally REMOVED the screw) in a cradle for the car mounts. The thumbscrew cables I use only at the desk.

[+geospyder]

Slight thread drift - lanyard connection?

 

Just guessing, but are you removing the screw from the cable connection and then using it as a lanyard connection?

 

I have a Magellan Meridian Platinum and have considered doing that so I could use a lanyard instead of holding it all the time. Is that screw sturdy enough?

[+embra]

The explorist has a little D-ring going through the screw head. I think it is there to make it easier to remove the screw by hand, than to provide a loop for the lanyard. But I find it works pretty well for that.

 

Someone was making and selling a screw-in D-ring thingee for lanyard purposes for Meridians a little while back. The Mericolor even comes with one, I believe.

[+Jamie Z]

Even though I have a swivel mount, I have stopped using it because I can't place the GPS into the swivel mount with a lanyard attached to the GPS.

I use my Explorist in the mount all the time with my lanyard attached to the D-ring.

 

And to make a small clarification on Embra's above post. I didn't get the Magellan cable to work with a RAM mount, I am using a Magellan cradle attached to a RAM base. Therefore, I feel I have the best of both worlds. An unbreakable and easily transferable GPS mount for my car or motorcycle which has a convenient one-hand cradle which holds the data cord in place.

 

Jamie

[+Marky]

Even though I have a swivel mount, I have stopped using it because I can't place the GPS into the swivel mount with a lanyard attached to the GPS.

I use my Explorist in the mount all the time with my lanyard attached to the D-ring.

For some reason, this just doesn't work for me. The lanyard cord through the d-ring seems to keep the GPSr from properly seating in the cradle, making the data connection inconsistent. I haven't come up with a good solution for it yet.

 

--Marky