Our experience w/ Magellan

[+Knight2000]

I know some of you have heard of our recent problems with Magellan regarding our Meridian Gold GPSr. I figured i would share our troubles here and some may even get a kick out of it.

 

Knowing very little about GPSr's and the different options available i was excited to buy a GPS so our family could try geocaching. I knew i wanted one with PC connectivity to load co-ords and maps. I figured all units were going to operate the same if they were WAAS enabled so we set out to our local Wal-mart to see what they had.

 

We ended up buying a Meridian Gold because it connected via PC. (I think it was the only unit that connected that Wal-mart had.)

 

Our first unit was purchased 3/18 of this year. It was new. In the first day of caching we were at the final cache for the day. We were following the arrow trying to get the unit to zero out or at least get close. About 20' away the unit shuts down completely. I thought it odd since we hadnt touched any buttons. Upon restarting and aquiring a fix we found that the unit had no waypoints in memory. Being as this was only our 4th or 5th cache we were close to home so we gave up and came home. (I did not have printout because we loaded the waypoints with the serial cable, read the info and went out with the co-ords only in our GPS.)

 

I thought it may be best to exchange the unit as someone told me that they had never heard of a unit doing that before. Better be safe than sorry i thought. We exchanged the unit on 3/22, four days later.

 

Since then with the help of the GPS we had found lots of caches. Whenever we could we found caches. That is what we do for fun. That is what we had planned for all summer.

 

About 2-3 weeks ago the NAV and PWR buttons started to stick. The PWR would stick so bad that the unit would keep turning on and off. The NAV button wasn't so big of a deal because we could use the ESC button and it did the same thing- switch screens. I found that if i pressed in a certain way the PWR button, most of the time i could get the button to work. But i had to be very careful. I emailed magellan CS and they gave an unsatisfactory reply and i put off dealing with it hoping we could get by with being cautions with the unit.

 

Then today came. I turned the unit on and it said it wasn't initialized. I went through the process several times and it just kept resetting itself. It had dropped all waypoints that i had loaded yesterday and would not function at all. I removed the SD card and tried again. As long as i didn't go to the map screen it was ok. When i put the SD card in it said that the SD card was ok with no bad spots. Now it beeps a steady beep and then resets.

 

It dropped all of the settings that i had in it. Basically the unit was like it was new. It has like 9 screens. I only need 3 or 4 so i had programmed to not use the others. They were all back. I cant get the unit to do anything but constantly reset. It is essentially another Magellan paperweight.

 

I called Magellan CS to see what we could work out. Of course the person i spoke with didn't speak English well and i couldn't understand his name or several of the things he said. But he did say this:

 

The unit is no longer manufactured by them so they do not repair the units any longer. He told me i could get several other units. Then said all he would need is my credit card. That way i could pay for an upgrade. I told him i dont want an upgrade. He said if i am not willing to pay then there is nothing that they can do.

 

I told him the unit is practically new! I just want what i paid for. Please replace the unit. I am sorry that they no longer make it or offer service but ignoring the warranty is just dumb. Here comes the good part.

 

He said that i should have checked on the Magellan website prior to purchasing so that i could see if the unit was being manufactured any more. It was my fault for buying a unit they no longer make. There was nothing he could do if i didn't want to pay for a replacement.

 

I was/am beside myself. After some more talking i asked for a supervisor. After a long wait he came back on and did say that his supervisor would replace with a refurbed explorist 500. Normally this would be fine, but then he said that my maps would not work with the explorist and i would need to buy their explorist maps for $150 more.

 

I paid for a new unit and they want to replace it with a refurb unit.

I have maps that will not work with the replacement so they want me to spend another $150 for new maps.

 

I just want what i paid for. (I can hear you garmin lovers now saying "you got what you paid for!")

 

Until i can figure out a solution, i declined their offer.

 

We tried returning to Walmart hoping for the best. They were very nice but couldn't do it because it was after 90 days. I understand what they said. They had no recourse with Magellan.

 

If we were loaded i would forget the whole thing and buy a Garmin. We aren't. It was hard just to get what we had. Now we have nothing and our summer plans with the kids are ruined.

 

I doubt many will spend time to read this. I probably wouldn't- its too darn long.

 

We did not mistreat the unit. It was never dropped or had anything spilled on it. It just simply doesn't work right. When it worked, it was an adequate unit.

 

Now i wish i had a time machine...

[+agassiz_angel]

I am so sorry you had a bad time with the CS. I , on the other hand, had a good experience ( after talking to a non-english speaking male) with the Canadian repair center. My Explorist 210 wouldnt hold way points and then wouldnt work at all I called them and they told me to send it in with a copy of the original bill of sale ( for the year warrenty) and within 7 days I had a brand new unit in my hands.

 

I dont know if it is because I yelled at the poor guy or what but he understood I was NOT going to let this go!

 

I really do hope you get your Magellan unit either repaired or exchanged or something, because a summer without caching is like a fish without water......dead

[+Miragee]

A friend had two Magellan units. I don't remember which models they were. One day, neither of them would get him closer than 300' away from a cache of mine, which he had driven 30 miles to find. The newer Magellan was still covered by the original warranty, and was also covered by an Extended Warranty he paid extra for. However, it still took several phone calls to Magellan "Customer Service" before he was able to get an RMA to send that unit it to be repaired.

 

He bought a Garmin GPS Map 60CSx at REI. REI's prices are more than those online, but they have an unlimited return policy. If anything goes wrong, you just take the item back to the store and they exchange it.

 

I'm very sorry for your difficulties. There are online "Review" sites, like epinions where you can post your own product Review. Posting a detailed, negative review, and then linking to it in an email to Magellan might be therapeutic.

[+user13371]

Suggestion: Talk to the manager of the Walmart store, and if no satisfaction there, see if there's a regional representative for Walmart who can help you.

 

Explain the issue to them this way: You bought the GPS from Walmart and the manufacturer is not honoring the warranty. This wouldn't ordinarily by Walmart's concern -- except that they sold you a "new" device that has been discontinued for nearly two years.

 

Say whatever bad things you will about the big evil corporation - but Walmart is great at putting pressure on their suppliers and trying to do right by their customers.

 

And above all - be nice! If you lose your smile or raise your voice, you seriously hurt your chances for success with this approach. Be overly friendly, polite, and even humorous about it - but persist until you get satisfaction (e.g., all you want is a working GPS with map software).

 

An aside: Did you buy the software from WM at the same time as the GPS? Or did you get that from a different vendor?

Edited July 6, 2007 by lee_rimar

[+embra]

Let me throw in (just so the one option they are offering you doesn't look quite so undesireable) that while Magellan will quote you and charge you list price on their software, that you can acquire MapSend programs for around $80 that will work on an Explorist. Froogle should turn them up.

 

It still sucks, but this might be the least expensive way to get a usable GPS/software combo to buy yourself some more time.

[+Knight2000]

Suggestion: Talk to the manager of the Walmart store, and if no satisfaction there, see if there's a regional representative for Walmart who can help you.

 

Explain the issue to them this way: You bought the GPS from Walmart and the manufacturer is not honoring the warranty. This wouldn't ordinarily by Walmart's concern -- except that they sold you a "new" device that has been discontinued for nearly two years.

 

Say whatever bad things you will about the big evil corporation - but Walmart is great at putting pressure on their suppliers and trying to do right by their customers.

 

And above all - be nice! If you lose your smile or raise your voice, you seriously hurt your chances for success with this approach. Be overly friendly, polite, and even humorous about it - but persist until you get satisfaction (e.g., all you want is a working GPS with map software).

 

An aside: Did you buy the software from WM at the same time as the GPS? Or did you get that from a different vendor?

Thanks for the ideas. I thought it only fair to share my frustrations so maybe any new cachers might see what they might get involved with before purchasing. I wish i hadn't been in such a hurry and did my research.

 

We will try the walmart route of talking with the manager. I personally harbor no ill feelings toward Walmart and despite the occasional dirty store, i generally like them very much. (I detest dirty and unorganized stores although many are this way in certain areas besides walmart.)

 

Walmart does offer repair service through each vendor but has no records on any warranty for Magellan in their system. It is comforting to know that walmart only carries 1 magellan GPS while carrying probably at least a dozen garmin units.

 

I did not get the maps at the same place.

 

When talking with walmart at first i was not angry at all. I was more dejected than anything. Upset and down about the fact that our kids were excited about caching this summer and now we couldn't go. Although i enjoy caching i wouldn't go alone. I just love the time with the kids and seeing them have a good time.

 

On the bright side after the GPS reset dozens of times and initialized over and over i did get it to work without the SD card. After inserting the SD it said it was ok (but wouldn't work) i formatted the SD card. And reloaded some maps and waypoints. I lost my waypoints that we had saved for Waymarking and other waypoints though. It did seem to function ok and did not keep initializing. I hope it will work temporarily until we can get the other issues resolved.

 

Thanks for the ideas and encouragement to be persistent.

[+Knight2000]

Let me throw in (just so the one option they are offering you doesn't look quite so undesireable) that while Magellan will quote you and charge you list price on their software, that you can acquire MapSend programs for around $80 that will work on an Explorist. Froogle should turn them up.

 

It still sucks, but this might be the least expensive way to get a usable GPS/software combo to buy yourself some more time.

Thanks for that info. When it comes down to it though we are so turned off that i dont want to ever give the current Magellan company another dime. Maybe i will change my mind later.

 

I dont really have a problem with their hardware. I have lots of good about the hardware. It is the way that they treat their customers that bothers me.

 

When their unit functioned, it was adequate and helped us find caches.

 

I will keep the Froogle option in mind. Thanks embra not only for that but for the other several times that you have helped me with my unit on the forums and via email.

[+DonB]

I know some of you have heard of our recent problems with Magellan regarding our Meridian Gold GPSr. I figured i would share our troubles here and some may even get a kick out of it.

 

Knowing very little about GPSr's and the different options available i was excited to buy a GPS so our family could try geocaching. I knew i wanted one with PC connectivity to load co-ords and maps. I figured all units were going to operate the same if they were WAAS enabled so we set out to our local Wal-mart to see what they had.

 

We ended up buying a Meridian Gold because it connected via PC. (I think it was the only unit that connected that Wal-mart had.)

 

Our first unit was purchased 3/18 of this year. It was new. In the first day of caching we were at the final cache for the day. We were following the arrow trying to get the unit to zero out or at least get close. About 20' away the unit shuts down completely. I thought it odd since we hadnt touched any buttons. Upon restarting and aquiring a fix we found that the unit had no waypoints in memory. Being as this was only our 4th or 5th cache we were close to home so we gave up and came home. (I did not have printout because we loaded the waypoints with the serial cable, read the info and went out with the co-ords only in our GPS.)

 

I thought it may be best to exchange the unit as someone told me that they had never heard of a unit doing that before. Better be safe than sorry i thought. We exchanged the unit on 3/22, four days later.

 

Since then with the help of the GPS we had found lots of caches. Whenever we could we found caches. That is what we do for fun. That is what we had planned for all summer.

 

About 2-3 weeks ago the NAV and PWR buttons started to stick. The PWR would stick so bad that the unit would keep turning on and off. The NAV button wasn't so big of a deal because we could use the ESC button and it did the same thing- switch screens. I found that if i pressed in a certain way the PWR button, most of the time i could get the button to work. But i had to be very careful. I emailed magellan CS and they gave an unsatisfactory reply and i put off dealing with it hoping we could get by with being cautions with the unit.

 

Then today came. I turned the unit on and it said it wasn't initialized. I went through the process several times and it just kept resetting itself. It had dropped all waypoints that i had loaded yesterday and would not function at all. I removed the SD card and tried again. As long as i didn't go to the map screen it was ok. When i put the SD card in it said that the SD card was ok with no bad spots. Now it beeps a steady beep and then resets.

 

It dropped all of the settings that i had in it. Basically the unit was like it was new. It has like 9 screens. I only need 3 or 4 so i had programmed to not use the others. They were all back. I cant get the unit to do anything but constantly reset. It is essentially another Magellan paperweight.

 

I called Magellan CS to see what we could work out. Of course the person i spoke with didn't speak English well and i couldn't understand his name or several of the things he said. But he did say this:

 

The unit is no longer manufactured by them so they do not repair the units any longer. He told me i could get several other units. Then said all he would need is my credit card. That way i could pay for an upgrade. I told him i dont want an upgrade. He said if i am not willing to pay then there is nothing that they can do.

 

I told him the unit is practically new! I just want what i paid for. Please replace the unit. I am sorry that they no longer make it or offer service but ignoring the warranty is just dumb. Here comes the good part.

 

He said that i should have checked on the Magellan website prior to purchasing so that i could see if the unit was being manufactured any more. It was my fault for buying a unit they no longer make. There was nothing he could do if i didn't want to pay for a replacement.

 

I was/am beside myself. After some more talking i asked for a supervisor. After a long wait he came back on and did say that his supervisor would replace with a refurbed explorist 500. Normally this would be fine, but then he said that my maps would not work with the explorist and i would need to buy their explorist maps for $150 more.

 

I paid for a new unit and they want to replace it with a refurb unit.

I have maps that will not work with the replacement so they want me to spend another $150 for new maps.

 

I just want what i paid for. (I can hear you garmin lovers now saying "you got what you paid for!")

 

Until i can figure out a solution, i declined their offer.

 

We tried returning to Walmart hoping for the best. They were very nice but couldn't do it because it was after 90 days. I understand what they said. They had no recourse with Magellan.

 

If we were loaded i would forget the whole thing and buy a Garmin. We aren't. It was hard just to get what we had. Now we have nothing and our summer plans with the kids are ruined.

 

I doubt many will spend time to read this. I probably wouldn't- its too darn long.

 

We did not mistreat the unit. It was never dropped or had anything spilled on it. It just simply doesn't work right. When it worked, it was an adequate unit.

 

Now i wish i had a time machine...

Doesn't Ohio have a consumer protection agency? I have turned a couple of disputes over to our consumer protection in Wisconsin and both times they got it taken care of for me. A state agency can put a lot of pressure on a company.

Edited July 7, 2007 by DWBur

[+Knight2000]

Ok. Here is the situation. I figured it warranted an update.

 

After speaking to CS and being completely beside myself last week we filed a complaint with the local BBB. I know some companies could care less about this but i really wasn't sure what to do. I hoped that i could speak to someone reasonable at Magellan.

 

I got a call today from Robert, their Quality Assurance Engineer. To start off with he was very nice and definitely spoke clear understandable English. I really didn't have to say much at all. I just told him that i hope we could clear this up. He had reviewed the phone call with customer service that i had last week. He had also reviewed the complaint with the BBB.

 

He stated that CS had very little common sense sometimes. He said what they would like to do is send us another unit because they do not service or currently make the meridian unit i purchased. He also understood that i was concerned with the mapping software. He said they would like to provide the MapSend Topo 3D that will work with the current eXplorist units.

 

My only concern was that the maps work with whatever GPS unit they replaced our current GPS with. So i asked what unit they wanted to replace it with. He said they would like to replace it with the eXplorist XL. I was not familiar with that unit. He was very nice and began to tell me about it and the features that it had. He also said that some people do not like it because of the size of the unit. Our MeriGold certainly wasn't the smallest unit around. I figured that it would be similar which wasn't a problem. After looking it appears to be the same size pretty much just a little heavier. (Which makes sense because it uses 4 AA instead of 2 AA cells.)

 

Honestly, i am in shock. I know nothing is final yet but after talking with CS i figured it would be a dogfight. I can only remember of 1 other positive experience that someone else had with the current Magellan company.

 

I asked for an email containing the details of our swap and he kindly sent it.

 

I am supposed to send my GPS w/ MapSend software to an address in Ft Worth , TX. Upon receipt he will send out the replacement XL and the MapSend DVD disc which contains the MapSend Topo USA 3D software. He also gave me an unlock code.

 

According to epinions most like the hardware a lot.

 

Maybe Magellan is changing their ways. I did not expect him to be so nice. He seemed to really care about the customer. It sucks what was needed to get someone like that, but ultimately it looks like they will take care of the problem.

 

I will update as the exchange takes place. If it goes off with no trouble than i will gladly post to share the results. If Magellan is going to stand behind their products then i will gladly recommend them.

 

Until the swap takes place i am still a little apprehensive though.

 

Maybe the winds of change are blowing...

 

EDIT: To fix incorrect address.

Edited July 12, 2007 by knight2000

[+Miragee]

Well, that is certainly good news! I am sorry you had to go through all of this. It is too bad your Wal-Mart was selling a discontinued two-year-old GPSr.

 

I hope the swap takes place quickly and you are happy with the XL.

[+EScout]

This is great. The XL is large, but has a great screen and can be used better in your vehicle than some of the smaller screen units.. the Topo software is very good, has all of the streets, and many POIs such as restaurants. I have found that the elevation lines are very accurate. The value of your package is about $360 with the best prices I have seen lately.

 

It is too bad you had this experience, but you are ahead now. Regarding the Meridian, I have a 4.5 year old model that I am going to keep. It works very well. I have always felt that the Meridian is well built and the buttons one of the better features. I have only played with the XL in stores, but it feels very solid.

[+embra]

I, too, think you'll be pretty happy with this setup.

 

With the software aspect, you fell into a weird niche where I thought both you and Magellan had justifiable reasons for the stances assumed. I am glad to hear that they gave someone the power and responsibility to bend a little to keep you happy. After all, it's a big deal for you, and a small cost for them...they need to do this sort of thing to keep from losing their customer base. Kudos to Magellan for doing the right thing (finally), and to you for being persistent.

[+Knight2000]

Well, Magellan came through as promised.

 

They even sent the GPS before receiving mine in the mail so that we could resume our summer activities. I am very pleased that Magellan cared enough about this situation and hope that others will experience a similar helpful attitude if they have trouble.

 

I hope any future possible changes will affect their customer service.

 

We haven't done that many caches since then but have used it a little. I see no difference between the topo maps that are new and the old ones that we had. To me they appear the same and function the same.

 

What i liked about the unit so far:

-Nice display

-More sensitive receiver than the MeriGold

-The ability to search for local gas stations and food places and the like

-Gets the sat signals fast

-Seems like this would be more water resistant than the MeriGold (in battery area)

-Has a separate spot to hook lanyard

 

What i disliked:

-Locked up twice when trying to set it up

-Only 200 cache points at once? Ugh! How annoying and inconvenient

-Where cable hooks to unit seems very susceptible to failure

-That goofy joystick is fine but no separate enter button? We are always accidentally pressing it.

-Whats up with the compass? More difficult (or annoying) to use.

 

The new maps can only be able to load on one unit. My son is saving to get a used unit and now he wont be able to load maps to his unit (if he buys a Magellan).

 

The new unit is bigger than other new handhelds but pretty much the same size as the MeriGold, so it is fine with us.

 

What i don't understand is that it has 30mb of memory and it cant hold more than 200 geocaching points?

 

I cant remember how many POI's it holds. I hope more than 200. I see no reason to use the geocaching points over POI's.

 

I had a super hard time figuring out how to load info in this thing.

 

I cant get it to connect via EasyGPS.

 

I eventually figured out how to using GSAK (only to upload). The problem is i don't understand GSAK to get it to sort caches.

 

If i use the Magellan software it takes a 500 point GPX and suddenly i am missing 300 points. I could make my PQ's 200 limit but what a hassle and waste of resources...

 

I only played with it on Friday (for several hours ). Since then we have just manually entered any geocache points. With the MeriGold i could load the GPX file in GPS and Palm in a couple minutes. For now it is just easier to enter manually which is so annoying!

 

Thank you to Magellan for trying to make this right. I hope you will help others like you helped us out. (Without having to contact the BBB.)

 

Where can i go to try to figure out this XL unit? I see the Yahoo groups but it seems like it is not just for the XL.

 

Ok- i am done typing now.

[+user13371]

Completely off topic, but I just noticed this and I gotta ask. Stats next to knight2000's name show:

 

> Posts: 1,491

> Joined: 18-March 07

 

Over 350 posts a month. Is that really true, or is a counter fouled up somewhere?

Edited July 23, 2007 by lee_rimar

[+Knight2000]

Completely off topic, but I just noticed this and I gotta ask. Stats next to knight2000's name show:

 

> Posts: 1,491

> Joined: 18-March 07

 

Over 350 posts a month. Is that really true, or is a counter fouled up somewhere?

Yep. It is true. I have more time to spend here than most.

[+GeoXterra]

Glad they got that worked out for you. You actually got a pretty good deal in the end. The Meridian Gold you just bought is a very old unit that came out back in 2002. I can't believe they were still selling it. I've got a Meridian Color that is very similar but in color that still works great. I just ugraded to a Garmin 60Cx. Would have gotten another Magellan except for the experience I've had with their CS. Anyways, glad it worked out so you can cache with your family this summer!

[+traildad]

 

Where can i go to try to figure out this XL unit? I see the Yahoo groups but it seems like it is not just for the XL.

 

Ok- i am done typing now.

 

Check out this group. There is lots of good info in the Meridian Gold group and I think the same people help in all the Magellan Groups.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eXplorist/

[+Knight2000]

 

Where can i go to try to figure out this XL unit? I see the Yahoo groups but it seems like it is not just for the XL.

 

Ok- i am done typing now.

 

Check out this group. There is lots of good info in the Meridian Gold group and I think the same people help in all the Magellan Groups.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/eXplorist/

Thanks. I have seen that group before. When i looked it did not have the great info that the Meridian group had. (In the FAQs and stuff.)

 

I will attempt to check it out tomorrow. Thanks!

[+DocDiTTo]

Glad you finally got things fixed up, it's a shame you had to get the BBB involved before they would make it right though. Question - did you make sure your defective units were updated with the latest firmware? When strange hardware stuff happens, that's usually the best route to take, at least initially. I don't recall seeing you mention a firmware update, so I was just curious.

[+FamilyDNA]

What i don't understand is that it has 30mb of memory and it cant hold more than 200 geocaching points?

FYI, it will hold way more than 200 geocaching points, but only 200 in each file. I currently have probably a dozen or so files on my explorist 600, of 200 points each, and have plenty more space to load more, if I want. I believe the XL works the same way. I like the file system, and its easy to switch the active file when driving from one area to another.

 

I do usually limit my pqs to 200 points, because that works for the way I load caches. (I use the magellan geocache manager). That's still 1000 caches a day. I have never run out of caches loaded before running out of time to cache. When planning a trip I might plan ahead and run queries on a couple of days. Since caches along a route was introduced, it has been easier to cover my travel in fewer queries.

[+Knight2000]

Glad you finally got things fixed up, it's a shame you had to get the BBB involved before they would make it right though. Question - did you make sure your defective units were updated with the latest firmware? When strange hardware stuff happens, that's usually the best route to take, at least initially. I don't recall seeing you mention a firmware update, so I was just curious.

I am think that it had the updated firmware. It was one of the first things i checked when i got it. (I think?) But i cant say for a certainty. I do know that i had checked it a couple times.

 

The first issue was not with the hardware, it was with the buttons sticking. I think it was an anomaly because overall i have heard very good things about the Magellan Meridian units.

[+Knight2000]

What i don't understand is that it has 30mb of memory and it cant hold more than 200 geocaching points?

FYI, it will hold way more than 200 geocaching points, but only 200 in each file. I currently have probably a dozen or so files on my explorist 600, of 200 points each, and have plenty more space to load more, if I want. I believe the XL works the same way. I like the file system, and its easy to switch the active file when driving from one area to another.

 

I do usually limit my pqs to 200 points, because that works for the way I load caches. (I use the magellan geocache manager). That's still 1000 caches a day. I have never run out of caches loaded before running out of time to cache. When planning a trip I might plan ahead and run queries on a couple of days. Since caches along a route was introduced, it has been easier to cover my travel in fewer queries.

I haven't felt well enough to play with it more. I know i can save many many files on it. Can you load more than one file at a time into the memory? For some reason i thought the answer was no. I would hate to be changing files all the time.

 

In my area 200 caches only takes you out 12 miles. We usually go way farther than that when on a caching trip. So we would need to change files. I can understand if traveling far needing to do this, but its kind of a hassle.

 

I hope i can load at least 500 POI and just skip the geocache mode. It seems the only purpose for it is for the icons on the map. We would not use the hints on the GPS if they show up.

[+FamilyDNA]

What i don't understand is that it has 30mb of memory and it cant hold more than 200 geocaching points?

FYI, it will hold way more than 200 geocaching points, but only 200 in each file. I currently have probably a dozen or so files on my explorist 600, of 200 points each, and have plenty more space to load more, if I want. I believe the XL works the same way. I like the file system, and its easy to switch the active file when driving from one area to another.

 

I do usually limit my pqs to 200 points, because that works for the way I load caches. (I use the magellan geocache manager). That's still 1000 caches a day. I have never run out of caches loaded before running out of time to cache. When planning a trip I might plan ahead and run queries on a couple of days. Since caches along a route was introduced, it has been easier to cover my travel in fewer queries.

I haven't felt well enough to play with it more. I know i can save many many files on it. Can you load more than one file at a time into the memory? For some reason i thought the answer was no. I would hate to be changing files all the time.

 

In my area 200 caches only takes you out 12 miles. We usually go way farther than that when on a caching trip. So we would need to change files. I can understand if traveling far needing to do this, but its kind of a hassle.

 

I hope i can load at least 500 POI and just skip the geocache mode. It seems the only purpose for it is for the icons on the map. We would not use the hints on the GPS if they show up.

Only one file at a time can be "active" (visible on the map screen.) There are over 1000 caches within 10 miles of me, so I understand going farther out. Do you plan which direction you will head in? I run my queries based on where I plan to be. Or as a route to where I'm going.

 

With GSAK you can load 500 caches as POIs. I was doing that for awhile, but I prefer to use the file system, even with the 200 limit.

[+Knight2000]

We do usually know which way we are planning on heading. Mostly just a direction and then it is all up in the air. In the past we have picked a location and loaded the 500 nearest there. Limiting it to 200 would mean we will need to switch files. I would much rather have 500 than the ability to view hints.

 

I really would like to use GSAK but i haven't got it figured out yet. Strange since i have tried to use it over 2 dozen times. I can load stuff in there but that is it. I don't understand how to sort or set it up. Currently i have like 1500+ different files in there. I can only load 200 so i am not sure how to use it.

 

I may just skip loading to the GPS altogether and enter them all manually. Which really stinks because having coords in the GPS was one of the things we wanted when getting into this.

[+Jenischmeni]

Just my .02 cents worth, but I agree with FamilyDNA. I don't have the model(s) you are speaking about, but I do have an Explorist 210. It only holds 100 per file. It's not really been an issue. I load them in individual files for the city/area/direction I am heading (like FamilyDNA stated). It's not really that big of a deal to change the default map for whichever file I need at the moment.

 

I DO use GSAK to synch with my Palm (running cachemate). I do NOT use GSAK to load up my GPS. I use the geocache manager, just because I'm used to it and find it easy to navigate. The only issue with using Geocache Manger (Magellan's software) is that it has that 20 character limit. If you have numerous caches with similar names, e.g. Indiana Spirit Quest #???, it will only load one of them. There's a pretty easy work-around in that I change them in the Geocache Manager to ISQ #??? and all is well. In GSAK and on my Palm, I don't have the problem.

 

I, too, am glad to hear about Magellan's customer service working something out with you. My Explorist 210 has been dead on accurate and has really been a sweet little unit (knock on wood!).

[+Knight2000]

Just my .02 cents worth, but I agree with FamilyDNA. I don't have the model(s) you are speaking about, but I do have an Explorist 210. It only holds 100 per file. It's not really been an issue. I load them in individual files for the city/area/direction I am heading (like FamilyDNA stated). It's not really that big of a deal to change the default map for whichever file I need at the moment.

 

I DO use GSAK to synch with my Palm (running cachemate). I do NOT use GSAK to load up my GPS. I use the geocache manager, just because I'm used to it and find it easy to navigate. The only issue with using Geocache Manger (Magellan's software) is that it has that 20 character limit. If you have numerous caches with similar names, e.g. Indiana Spirit Quest #???, it will only load one of them. There's a pretty easy work-around in that I change them in the Geocache Manager to ISQ #??? and all is well. In GSAK and on my Palm, I don't have the problem.

 

I, too, am glad to hear about Magellan's customer service working something out with you. My Explorist 210 has been dead on accurate and has really been a sweet little unit (knock on wood!).

When we head to an area we don't usually stay there. We pick a direction. When we get to the next cache we usually continue in that direction. If we were heading W then with cachemate we search NW, W, SW. And hit the next one. I'm sure it isn't the most efficient. So we frequently travel a longer distance in one direction. For today we just loaded 500 POI and went.

 

I don't see much of a need to fumble with different files of the geocache points. How would you know which file it is in? Especially if you have only 100 per file?

 

I am still learning th XL but with no real solution to the geocache files i don't see a reason to use it.

 

I guess we will load the GPX to cachemate via cachemate software and then the GPX to XL via EasyGPS. I thought about using GSAK but due to groundpseak deficiency it is harder to deal with archived caches. I have at least a few in my database. If there is even a chance that i might be searching for an archived cache then i am not to keen on the idea.

[+Alfresco2006]

I know some of you have heard of our recent problems with Magellan regarding our Meridian Gold GPSr. I figured i would share our troubles here and some may even get a kick out of it.

 

Knowing very little about GPSr's and the different options available i was excited to buy a GPS so our family could try geocaching. I knew i wanted one with PC connectivity to load co-ords and maps. I figured all units were going to operate the same if they were WAAS enabled so we set out to our local Wal-mart to see what they had.

 

We ended up buying a Meridian Gold because it connected via PC. (I think it was the only unit that connected that Wal-mart had.)

 

Our first unit was purchased 3/18 of this year. It was new. In the first day of caching we were at the final cache for the day. We were following the arrow trying to get the unit to zero out or at least get close. About 20' away the unit shuts down completely. I thought it odd since we hadnt touched any buttons. Upon restarting and aquiring a fix we found that the unit had no waypoints in memory. Being as this was only our 4th or 5th cache we were close to home so we gave up and came home. (I did not have printout because we loaded the waypoints with the serial cable, read the info and went out with the co-ords only in our GPS.)

 

I thought it may be best to exchange the unit as someone told me that they had never heard of a unit doing that before. Better be safe than sorry i thought. We exchanged the unit on 3/22, four days later.

 

Since then with the help of the GPS we had found lots of caches. Whenever we could we found caches. That is what we do for fun. That is what we had planned for all summer.

 

About 2-3 weeks ago the NAV and PWR buttons started to stick. The PWR would stick so bad that the unit would keep turning on and off. The NAV button wasn't so big of a deal because we could use the ESC button and it did the same thing- switch screens. I found that if i pressed in a certain way the PWR button, most of the time i could get the button to work. But i had to be very careful. I emailed magellan CS and they gave an unsatisfactory reply and i put off dealing with it hoping we could get by with being cautions with the unit.

 

Then today came. I turned the unit on and it said it wasn't initialized. I went through the process several times and it just kept resetting itself. It had dropped all waypoints that i had loaded yesterday and would not function at all. I removed the SD card and tried again. As long as i didn't go to the map screen it was ok. When i put the SD card in it said that the SD card was ok with no bad spots. Now it beeps a steady beep and then resets.

 

It dropped all of the settings that i had in it. Basically the unit was like it was new. It has like 9 screens. I only need 3 or 4 so i had programmed to not use the others. They were all back. I cant get the unit to do anything but constantly reset. It is essentially another Magellan paperweight.

 

I called Magellan CS to see what we could work out. Of course the person i spoke with didn't speak English well and i couldn't understand his name or several of the things he said. But he did say this:

 

The unit is no longer manufactured by them so they do not repair the units any longer. He told me i could get several other units. Then said all he would need is my credit card. That way i could pay for an upgrade. I told him i dont want an upgrade. He said if i am not willing to pay then there is nothing that they can do.

 

I told him the unit is practically new! I just want what i paid for. Please replace the unit. I am sorry that they no longer make it or offer service but ignoring the warranty is just dumb. Here comes the good part.

 

He said that i should have checked on the Magellan website prior to purchasing so that i could see if the unit was being manufactured any more. It was my fault for buying a unit they no longer make. There was nothing he could do if i didn't want to pay for a replacement.

 

I was/am beside myself. After some more talking i asked for a supervisor. After a long wait he came back on and did say that his supervisor would replace with a refurbed explorist 500. Normally this would be fine, but then he said that my maps would not work with the explorist and i would need to buy their explorist maps for $150 more.

 

I paid for a new unit and they want to replace it with a refurb unit.

I have maps that will not work with the replacement so they want me to spend another $150 for new maps.

 

I just want what i paid for. (I can hear you garmin lovers now saying "you got what you paid for!")

 

Until i can figure out a solution, i declined their offer.

 

We tried returning to Walmart hoping for the best. They were very nice but couldn't do it because it was after 90 days. I understand what they said. They had no recourse with Magellan.

 

If we were loaded i would forget the whole thing and buy a Garmin. We aren't. It was hard just to get what we had. Now we have nothing and our summer plans with the kids are ruined.

 

I doubt many will spend time to read this. I probably wouldn't- its too darn long.

 

We did not mistreat the unit. It was never dropped or had anything spilled on it. It just simply doesn't work right. When it worked, it was an adequate unit.

 

Now i wish i had a time machine...

 

If it was me I would just take the Refurb 500 unit and consider it a lesson learned. I will never buy Magellan again because of their poor service. Also if your state is anything like Maine, depsite WalMarts 90 day policy you will have a Merchantability warranty law. This law, which most states have is little known but very powerful. It states that your warranty rights despite what the seller or manufacturer claim are actually aginst the seller as it is the seller who entered into a legal purchase agreement with you, and therefore your contract and right to satisfaction is between you and the seller, not you and the manufacturer.

 

Additionally Merchantability Warranty laws offer additional protection in that an item must be fit for the purpose for which it was sold for a reasonable period of time that a reasonable man off the street would expect that item to last.

 

If you understand warranty laws fully you will see that conditions such as 1 year limitations and 'you must return it to the manufacturer' are in most cases and most states illegal, at best.

 

I would say your first level of recourse is against Walmart for selling an item that their supplier clearly indicates they no longer support.

 

PS. If it was me and I experienced this response I would go out of my way to get even and I would go to a torrent site on the web where you will find ripped off Magellan software. I would download the software you need (for free) and then hand it out to anyone you know that needs it. They have no right to upgrade a new unit with a used one and tell you, you need new software as well when you bought the item in good faith and discontinued or not it is still legally under warranty.

Edited September 10, 2007 by Alfresco2006

[+Rockin Roddy]

Sorry...didn't read all the way through the thread!

 

You'll love that Explorist....it's great!

 

Great to see that Magellan is starting to come around (hopefully) and care about Their customers!

Edited September 11, 2007 by Rockin Roddy

[+Rusty105]

A quick note about GSAK:

 

I have only used it for a few hours, but I have to say that I think it is powerful. I have D/L about 1100 Caches and Bench Marks into it, and while my Explorist 500le only holds 200 per file. I have a few 'Locations' set up, such as Home, In-laws, Parents, friends homes, Then I radii from these locations, and then save the resulting waypoints into a file. If you know the general direction, set up some known points and create radii from these to get your searches down to 200 or less for each file. This is what I am going to try to do. Like I said, I only have a few hours play time with GSAK. While it does tie you down to a laptop for the long trips, I think it would be worth it.

 

Rusty

[+nohocache]

Stay away from the Magellan explorist 500LE, it is a total piece of garbage.

Won't recognize data on SD card, door does not seal tight and lets water in, drops signals

in an open field with no cloud cover. Tech support is like a Saturday Night Live spoof skit,

only it is for real. Battery clip will last one month with regular use. You need to pry out

LIon Battery with a knife to get it out. Software is not Vista compatible. Absolute disaster in

every way.