Magellan Acting Fishy

[+Wandering Bears]

I have a Magellan SporTrak topo that is a little over 1 year old. For some reason, when my scale is set to 0.8 mi, it will shut down frequently. No error message or anything... it just shuts off.

 

This happens frequently when I'm driving. I don't use 0.8 mi when I'm "on the ground", but 0.8 mi is a useful scale for me driving around locally.

 

Any ideas/suggestions? I'm wondering if it should go back to Magellan, but I don't really want to part with it for any period of time, and it works flawlessly, other than that.

[+Sue Gremlin]

Our Explorist 300 inexplicably shuts down occasionally, but I haven't noticed what display mode it's in when that happens. Sounds like a glitch. Might be worth calling them and asking them about it. We haven't because it's not really an issue for us, but it would be interesting to know what they say about it.

[+embra]

Standard suggestions for Magellan fishiness:

 

1. Clear memory/all, reinitialize.

 

2. If trouble persists, reinstall firmware.

 

Other possibilities for your particular fish:

 

1. Does this happen with the same detail map file? It could be corrupted, and re-generating a new one might take care of it.

 

2. Is it possible that you are observing something related to driving rather than the .8 mi setting? You might be confounding the two variables if you mostly use .8 only when driving. The Meridians were sometimes prone to powering off due to poor battery spring contact with the motherboard, and road vibration could precipitate that. Taking the unit apart and re-seating the springs was a fairly simple fix that usually remedied that problem. If you're using external power in the car, I guess it would make this one unlikely. Also, I'm not aware that SporTracks were known for this type malady.

[+Wandering Bears]

Standard suggestions for Magellan fishiness:

 

1. Clear memory/all, reinitialize.

 

2. If trouble persists, reinstall firmware.

 

Other possibilities for your particular fish:

 

1. Does this happen with the same detail map file? It could be corrupted, and re-generating a new one might take care of it.

 

2. Is it possible that you are observing something related to driving rather than the .8 mi setting? You might be confounding the two variables if you mostly use .8 only when driving. The Meridians were sometimes prone to powering off due to poor battery spring contact with the motherboard, and road vibration could precipitate that. Taking the unit apart and re-seating the springs was a fairly simple fix that usually remedied that problem. If you're using external power in the car, I guess it would make this one unlikely. Also, I'm not aware that SporTracks were known for this type malady.

1. Haven't done that lately. Probably could. Have to reload everything, but no biggie.

 

2. Upgraded firmware a few months ago. Could try it.

 

other:

 

1. Has done it with two different files.

 

2. I use many when driving... it only happens with 0.8 mi. Don't think it's a vibration problem as it seems fine at other zoom levels, as well as on my mountain bike.

 

I guess i'll reinitialize and reload all my maps and waypoints and see if it's still screwy.

[+jacques0]

Our Explorist 300 inexplicably shuts down occasionally, but I haven't noticed what display mode it's in when that happens. Sounds like a glitch. Might be worth calling them and asking them about it.

Sue Gremlin: For your situation I suspect that you need to adjust the power saving options, since it is normal for the unit to shut down after a specified time if no buttons are pressed or if you are not moving. The following is copied from the pdf version of the owners manual:

 

Setting the Power Off Timer

The eXplorist has a power off timer that will turn the eXplorist off after a defined time period

if no buttons have been pressed or if you are not moving. This will prevent the batteries from

running out if you accidently leave the eXplorist on.

1. Press MENU.

2. Use the Arrow joystick to highlight Preferences.

3. Press ENTER.

4. Use the Arrow joystick to highlight Pwr Management.

5. Press ENTER.

6. Use the Arrow joystick to highlight the data field for Power

Off Timer.

7. Press ENTER.

8. Use the Arrow joystick to highlight the desired time interval

or set to Off.

9. Press ENTER.

Note: When using a GOTO route you should note that if the eXplorist turns off the GOTO

route is erased. If you have a GOTO route activated and you think that the power timer may

elapse and turn the eXplorist off, you might want to set the Power Off Timer to Off. This

does not apply to multi-leg routes and BackTrack routes.

[+Wandering Bears]

embra:

 

thanks for your suggestions. I did reinitialize all memory, then rebuilt my home map. I have not had any problems with the 0.8 mi zoom in 3 days of caching since.

 

Thanks!