Magellan explorist XL

[+Amoebaface]

Thinking of getting one. Love the big screen.

 

Any opinions on this unit? Pro's, Con's. I tried a search but the search engine does not like the xl in the field for some reason.

 

I have a Meridian gold and not too happy with it but my previous Magellans I like alot. I've gone back to using my 330 M which still works great and looks cool as well.

 

Thanks in advance

[+starbox189]

I owned one for a short time along with 3D topo and Direct Route V3. The unit itself is a very nice piece of hardware. It has a solid feel. The large screen is great, however, it needs to be backlit all the time in order to see it. Like a PDA. It obtains a fix very quickly. It is much more sensitive than my Garmin 60CS (which I am selling) and I would say about as sensitive as my new 60CSx. Overall I didn't think it was too big. It's a bit on the heavy side when you wear it on your belt. It has a patch antenna which works best when the unit is horizontal. It still hold a signal when held vertical but loses about half the signal reception. This makes it not particularly suitable for mounting on your windshield. Additionally, at night the screen is way too bright to drive with. There is no night mode like with a Garmin.

 

Here's the down side. It's very basic and has no extra bells or whistles. The operating system uses a hierarchy of folders, not icons like a Garmin. It's okay but it feels old fashioned. Magellan's 3D topo is pretty good, much better than Garmin's basic topo (I don't know about Garmin's 24k topo, it's probably similar). Magellan's DirectRoute, however, is awful along with it's limited and outdated POI's. It only picks the shortest route which can lead you to a logging road when you're driving. Addtionally, Magellan has not updated the operating firmware for the XL since Dec 05.

 

It was a hard decision but I decided to get rid of it basically because the operating system and software felt like old technology when compared to Garmin. I like a helical antenna instead of a patch. People complain alot about Magellan's customer service but the few times I contacted them they were okay. The ownership of Magellan has bounced around to much for me to feel comfortable with them. They were just acquired by some sort of a partnership in California. I ended up replacing it with the Garmin 60CSx and feel much better now .

Edited September 26, 2006 by starbox189

[+Amoebaface]

Thanks for the reply starbox. I have been reading the forum all night and came to the conclusion that the 60csx is a much better unit. The down side is that I have access to all the software for the XL for free.

I'm thinking i'd be happier with the garmin though. And your post pretty much firms up my choice to go with the 60 csx.

Thanks,

Barry

[+Amoebaface]

Hit the "BUY" button!! A new 60csx is on it's way.

[+frankegd]

Thanks for the reply starbox. I have been reading the forum all night and came to the conclusion that the 60csx is a much better unit. The down side is that I have access to all the software for the XL for free.

I'm thinking i'd be happier with the garmin though. And your post pretty much firms up my choice to go with the 60 csx.

Thanks,

Barry

 

If you don't mind me asking how you get the free software for the XL...

If you can copy the Topo (older version for the XL) I would appreciate it.

Let me know, email to frankegd at yahoo dot com

 

Thanks

Frank

[+forman]

Thanks for the reply starbox. I have been reading the forum all night and came to the conclusion that the 60csx is a much better unit. The down side is that I have access to all the software for the XL for free.

I'm thinking i'd be happier with the garmin though. And your post pretty much firms up my choice to go with the 60 csx.

Thanks,

Barry

 

If you don't mind me asking how you get the free software for the XL...

If you can copy the Topo (older version for the XL) I would appreciate it.

Let me know, email to frankegd at yahoo dot com

 

Thanks

Frank

 

Yeah........What Frank said!

[+Amoebaface]

Sorry guys, I think I should have phrased it a different way.

A friend has the software and was going to let me use the second install allowed by Magellan on my gps if I had bought an xl. I did not mean to mislead, all this software stuff is new to me and I did not know about all the lock code stuff and what a pita it is.