Explorist Series- Not So Water Resistant After All

[+Cathunter]

I took an Explorist 600 out on my kayak yesterday and after ONE quick eskimo roll, the screen was fogged over and full of water droplets on the INSIDE!

 

After spending the night drying it out, it still works but the screen has several dark spots. My Garmin Etrex Legend has performed flawlessly under these conditions.

 

Looking at the Magellan website, the unit is advertised as "Water Resistant", while the Garmin website states thier units are Waterproof to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (can be submerged in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes).

 

I have e-mailed Magellan to find out where they stand on this. Anyone else ran into this issue?

[stevesisti]

Regardless of what any manufacturer says regarding the water resistant rating, you really should have had the explorist in a waterproof bag. I keep my 60cs in a "Dry-Pak" bag when I have it on my Kayak. Reception is great and the buttons are easily pressed through the clear membrane. It's been dunked on numerous occasions and has never let in a drop...cheap insurance for $9.00.

 

I also have a water proof VHF marine radio from icom thats "supposed" to be waterproof, I also have that in a "dry-pak" bag. Same story, dunked along with the 60CS, not a drop inside.

 

It's really a shame these Mfgr's are allowed to call anything waterproof..at best they should be able to say "water-resistant".

 

I would definitely send it to the factory as soon as possible....and if I were you I would press them hard on a free repair owing to a "minor" exposure to water. I have had several electronic units return to service after a water dunk, only to have it fail again shortly thereafter.

[+JohnnyVegas]

Accorcing to the OP magellan does say Water Resistant.

 

Looking at the Magellan website, the unit is advertised as "Water Resistant",

 

But I agtee that even if a manufacture claims water proof, a dry bag is good insurance.

 

IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (can be submerged in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes).

is not very waterproof, wht take the chance.

[+D0T-C0M]

check your joystick to see if the rubber isnt punctured as a few including myself have found that the rubber seal is slightly punctured. Also you could try to slightly grease the rubber seal of the battery compartment with vaseline.

[+EScout]

I agree with all of the above comments. If it were mine, I would open it up immediately and dry it. You did not say if it were salt or fresh. If salt water, rinse with distilled. If dirty fresh water, do same. I would blot and use a hair dryer. Leave it open for at least a day and reassemble.

[ctballos]

If the spec is down to 1 meter for 30 minutes than that is what I would demand. I would stick it in a waterproof bag after the warranty period ran out but I would expect it to perform as stated for at least the duration of the warranty. It may just be a flawed unit in which case if you didn't use it the way it was advertised you wouldn't find out until it was too late.

 

TomB

[+Thrak]

Probably like most watches that say water "resistant". Jump in a pool and get right back out and watch the watch die. I won't wear a watch in a water environment unless it says water "proof" and gives the spec. Water resistant to 30m usually means "not water proof at all". My 76CS is supposed to be water proof to a certain spec but I really don't want to challenge it to find out.

[+GOT GPS?]

Only a brand new water proof GPS, is water proof, except when it hits the water hard.

 

When a GPS has been flexed enough, it will lose it's water proofness.

[+IVxIV]

IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (can be submerged in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes).

Does that standard suggest you take a device and hold it 1 meter underwater "upright" the whole 30 minutes? Or can the device be gently flipped & rotated while underwater to achieve that standard?

 

Maybe an eskimo roll type of exposure exceeds the standard? But I'd still be peeved too if I were you.

[+QDman]

I was looking for a cache in a beach cave using my eXplorist 500. It fell into about 6 inches of water. I pulled it right back out, gave it a quick wipe with my shirt, and it's still working fine a month later.

[peter]

Does that standard suggest you take a device and hold it 1 meter underwater "upright" the whole 30 minutes? Or can the device be gently flipped & rotated while underwater to achieve that standard?

Gentle motions while underwater shouldn't make much difference compared to being held motionless. Afterall the pressure from all sides would be essentially equal while held a meter under water. But the assymetrical forces from being hit by a wave or even the entry into the water during a roll would be quite different from the constant uniform pressure at a one meter depth. So a device that meets the standard could still end up leaking when used on a kayak deck. I'd note that there have been reports of leaking in just about every GPS model, so certification to IPX7 does not provide assurance of true waterproofness.

 

I also use a clear plastic drybag (Aquapac) when kayaking but have noticed another problem. On hot sunny days the high temperature inside the bag causes problems: the screen darkens some and the unit (eMap) goes into the auto-shutdown mode as if external power had been disconnected (even though it's always running on internal AAs). So I have to sometimes cover the drybag with an opaque cloth or put it under the deck until it cools off.

[Neo_Geo]

I have had several watches that were "water resistant", and I've been swimming with all of them with no immediate problems in any of them. Eventually they just stop working, but I don't suspect latent water damage.

 

I've had my current one for over 10 years and it's been in the ocean with crashing waves and all on numerous occasions. It takes a lickin' and kepps on tickin' - and it isn't even a Timex!

 

I would NOT expect my 60C to endure the same hazards and perform for the same duration, but as has been suggested previously, I would expect at least a few eskimo rolls during the warranty period!

[+TotemLake]

I took an Explorist 600 out on my kayak yesterday and after ONE quick eskimo roll, the screen was fogged over and full of water droplets on the INSIDE!

 

After spending the night drying it out, it still works but the screen has several dark spots. My Garmin Etrex Legend has performed flawlessly under these conditions.

 

Looking at the Magellan website, the unit is advertised as "Water Resistant", while the Garmin website states thier units are Waterproof to IEC 60529 IPX7 standards (can be submerged in one meter of water for up to 30 minutes).

 

I have e-mailed Magellan to find out where they stand on this. Anyone else ran into this issue?

Water resistant rating is nothing more than an accidental splash of water. It is not able to take a dunking such as you described.

 

To get a grasp of what IPx7 really means to you and should mean to manufacturers whom claim compliance, you need to read the below graduated levels against water breach that these standards reference:

 

MIL-STD 810 Immersion Standard, Military Specification equipment

MIL-STD 810 Blowing Rain, Military Specification equipment

JIS 2-8 Japanese Water Protection Specs similar to IEC529

CFR Title 46 Part 110.15 Aircraft Civilian specifications

IEC 529 European (ECC) water protection specifications

 

Of these, only IEC 529 (European Community Specification) and JIS2-8 (Japanese Industry Standard) have graduated test levels. These two specifications are very similar, but IEC 529 is gaining more acceptance in Europe which is a major market for many US manufacturers and is more defined in terms of the actual test. The table below gives a summary of the requirements for IEC 529 for WATER PROTECTION PROVISIONS.

 

Test Level Definition

 

0 Non protected, No special protection

1 Protected against falling water Equivalent to 3-5mm rainfall per minute for a duration of 10 minutes. Unit is placed in its normal operating position.

2 Protected against falling water when tilted up to 15 degrees. Same as (1) above but unit is tested in 4 fixed positions - tilted 15 degree in each direction from normal operating position.

3 Protected against spraying water, Water spraying up to 60 degrees from vertical at 10 liters/min at a gage pressure of 80-100kN/m2 for 5 min.

4 Protected against splashing water. Same as level 3 but water is sprayed at all angles.

5 Protected against water jets. Water projected at all angles through a 6.3mm nozzle at a flow rate of 12.5 liters/min at a gage pressure of 30kN/m2 for 3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters.

6 Protected against heavy seas. Water projected at all angles through a 12.5mm nozzle at a flow rate of 100 liters/min at a gage pressure of 100kN/m2 for 3 minutes from a distance of 3 meters.

7 Protected against water immersion. Immersion for 30 minutes at a depth of 1 meter.

8 Protected against water submersion The equipment is suitable for continuos submersion in water under conditions which are identified by the manufacturer.

 

IEC 529 level 7 is designated "IPX7" and is equivalent to JIS 7. The position of "X" being left blank indicates that the unit has no special mechanical protection.

 

For clarity, the X in IPX7 has its own classifications related to dust and particles. So, for IP67, the definition is as follows:

 

[Total protection of persons from touching voltage-carrying or internal moving parts. Protection of the object from access of dust. If the object is dipped into water (0.15-1m) under the defined conditions of pressure and time, water must not enter it in any harmful quantity.

 

A great reference to get past general misconceptions is:

http://www.okw.co.uk/catalogue/pdfs/Protect.pdf

[tossedsalad]

check your joystick to see if the rubber isnt punctured as a few including myself have found that the rubber seal is slightly punctured. Also you could try to slightly grease the rubber seal of the battery compartment with vaseline.

NO! NEVER use Vaseline on rubber gaskets. Vaseline is a petroleum based product and will eat up the rubber. Dive shops sell small amounts of silicone grease just for sealing gaskets.

 

BTW, I bought a well used Meridian Gold and have tested it in water. It not only is water tight, it floats. Now I just need to put a bright color on the top so you can see it! Black is a poor choice for a floating $200 toy.

 

One more comment. My understanding of the difference between water resistant and water proof is that to say it is water proof means you guarantee it. I have bought water resistant watches and had them hold seal at 100 ft of salt water... and even keep time!

Edited August 30, 2005 by tossedsalad

[+jacques0]

This is copied directly from the eXplorist 200 pdf manual:

 

Features of the Magellan eXplorist GPS receiver:

eXplorist 200 GPS Receiver 1

On/Off Button

ENTER

ZOOM OUT

MENU

GOTO

ESCAPE

MARK

NAV

ZOOM IN

Arrow Joystick

Display Backlight

Button

Antenna

eXplorist 200 GPS Receiver (front)

• Built-in background map

• Preloaded points of interest

• Rugged design, rubber protected

• 8 MB of background map

• Superior tracking with 14 parallel channels

• 14 hour+ battery life on 2 AA batteries

• TrueFix™ GPS technology

• 3 meter accuracy (WAAS/EGNOS)

• Multiple track logs

• Stores up to 500 points of interest

and 20 routes

• Pocket-sized and waterproof to IPX-7

 

Note the last item. I think you are totally covered by the warranty, provided you didn't collide with a rock or something during the rollover, thereby compromising the waterproof integrity of the unit.

[+embra]

What "waterproof" functionally worked out to with the Meridians was that sometimes they kept the water out, and sometimes they didn't, but Magellan repaired or replaced units suffering water compromise even if beyond waranty periods.

[+jacques0]

I just downloaded and read the pdf owner's manual for the eX600 and it says the same thing: Waterproof to IPX7 (although, inexplicably, I wasn't able to copy the text from the pdf manual. Evidently they built copy protection into it).

 

If you'd like to read the manual, here's the link to it:

 

http://www.magellangps.com/assets/manuals/...orist600_EN.pdf

[+BoomerFZ1]

Again...I'm glad I went with Garmin. I can't imagine how Magellan can stay in business with all the hubub going on with the eXplorist series. And now they're talking about putting out an eXplorist XL...how 'bout get the others working right THEN think about new products.

[+JohnnyVegas]

I have not had a problem with my explorist 500.

 

I have used Magellan and Garmin over the years, the only problem I had was created by be, but Magellan took care of it.

 

When I was the buyer for a Magellan and Garmin dealer we saw problems with most every model of GPS that was on the market. A good portion of the problems had to do with customer errors. We had on customer that carried his Meridian Platinum in the pocket of his waders while he was fishing, It was under water for 6 hours and he did not understand why it leaked. Taking any GPS on a Kayak and dowing an eskimo roll his not a good idea. The force of the water on the seals of the GPS is only going to lead to problem, there is not such thing as a gentle eskimo roll. another customer claimed the screen on his Vista shoud not have broke when he drop about 40 feet onto a bunch of rocks.

 

There is not a product in the world the is 100% perfect.