Magellan Triton 300... First Impressions

[swales]

Just got the Triton 300... only because the 400 and 500 don't appear to be shipping yet...

 

Here are some of my first impressions.

 

I was happy to see it did come with a USB cable for connecting to my PC and the Vantage software on the CD allows me to upload and download from the unit. I was disappointed that it only handles Magellan .GS and .GSX formats... it does not know what a .LOC file is.. you have to convert one with GPSBabel or some other program... however EASYGPS converted files did not work.

 

I am not sure how I will like the buttons on the unit... the buttons are very small and are not round, but more like a MINUS sign.. you have a tendacy to want to use your finger nail instead of your finder tip to press them... I am sure this will wear on them down the road.

 

The software definitely is version 1.. the date on mine was 11/14/2007 version 1.24.0.43. I found I had to remove batteries a couple times after I was done connecting it to my PC... not sure why. Also it takes alot of clicks to simply create a waypoint at your current location... it acually takes 9 clicks.. Menu.. Down Arrow to Create Menu...Enter... Enter on Waypoint Menu.... Enter on Current Location.... Down Arrow 3 times... Enter. There has to be an easier way!!!!

 

The problem with the 300 is the memory. Yes it has 53MB, but with the included 12MB map loaded you only have 9MB left... so not much to add a TOPO map to this unit... the $50 for the 400 would be a good investment since the 400 has a SD slot... this 300 is going back just because of that.

 

First major complaint... I noticed my Elevation screen was switching from Feet to Miles. I called Magellan support and they told me that above 4000ft the unit switches to miles. So I live at an elevation of .8 miles. This has to be the dumbest thing I ever heard of. Who cares about Elevation in terms of miles... unless you are a pilot or astronaut.

 

The good is the screen is bright... as long as you have the backlight on... otherwise you cannot read it... but you will want the light on. Unit feels sturdy... just wish the buttons were round... not dashes.. The battery compartment hold 2 AA's... I suggest some high capacity NIMH... The USB cable attaches a little weird... you hold it against the unit while you try to screw on the cable... what ever happened to a simple slide on cable... or how about a standard USB cable end??? would be nice.

 

I did like the fact you can hit the Page/Go To menu to see the Current Location screen which shows Lat/Lon, Destination, Odometer, Bearing, Date, Time. If you press it again it shows a customizable screen.. meaning you can pick from a large number of things to show.. such as Elevation, Current Speed, Accuracy, Time, etc.. If you press Page/GoTo again you will see a Current Speed, Max Speed, Odometer, and Current Trip counter. Press it again and you will see a Compass with 2 customizable boxes at the bottom.. Press again and you get your satellite strengh screen. Indoors I was getting Accuracy of about 22ft.

 

There is also a Vertical Profile screen which is pretty cool... it shows you what elevation you were at at different times of the day.

 

I think Magellan has the potential to have a great unit here... but it will take software updates and listening to their users to have one. The unit runs Windows CE 5.0... just like their Magellan series. The 300 costs about $130 and to get the same level of hardware with a Garmin you will spend over $400. So I am looking forward to updated software and trading it back in for the 400 when it comes in.

 

I only wish Magellan would release the OS open source.. Just think of what could be done with this type of unit if it was!

[+Evshro & son]

Just got the Triton 300... only because the 400 and 500 don't appear to be shipping yet...

 

Here are some of my first impressions.

 

I was happy to see it did come with a USB cable for connecting to my PC and the Vantage software on the CD allows me to upload and download from the unit. I was disappointed that it only handles Magellan .GS and .GSX formats... it does not know what a .LOC file is.. you have to convert one with GPSBabel or some other program... however EASYGPS converted files did not work.

 

I am not sure how I will like the buttons on the unit... the buttons are very small and are not round, but more like a MINUS sign.. you have a tendacy to want to use your finger nail instead of your finder tip to press them... I am sure this will wear on them down the road.

 

The software definitely is version 1.. the date on mine was 11/14/2007 version 1.24.0.43. I found I had to remove batteries a couple times after I was done connecting it to my PC... not sure why. Also it takes alot of clicks to simply create a waypoint at your current location... it acually takes 9 clicks.. Menu.. Down Arrow to Create Menu...Enter... Enter on Waypoint Menu.... Enter on Current Location.... Down Arrow 3 times... Enter. There has to be an easier way!!!!

 

The problem with the 300 is the memory. Yes it has 53MB, but with the included 12MB map loaded you only have 9MB left... so not much to add a TOPO map to this unit... the $50 for the 400 would be a good investment since the 400 has a SD slot... this 300 is going back just because of that.

 

First major complaint... I noticed my Elevation screen was switching from Feet to Miles. I called Magellan support and they told me that above 4000ft the unit switches to miles. So I live at an elevation of .8 miles. This has to be the dumbest thing I ever heard of. Who cares about Elevation in terms of miles... unless you are a pilot or astronaut.

 

The good is the screen is bright... as long as you have the backlight on... otherwise you cannot read it... but you will want the light on. Unit feels sturdy... just wish the buttons were round... not dashes.. The battery compartment hold 2 AA's... I suggest some high capacity NIMH... The USB cable attaches a little weird... you hold it against the unit while you try to screw on the cable... what ever happened to a simple slide on cable... or how about a standard USB cable end??? would be nice.

 

I did like the fact you can hit the Page/Go To menu to see the Current Location screen which shows Lat/Lon, Destination, Odometer, Bearing, Date, Time. If you press it again it shows a customizable screen.. meaning you can pick from a large number of things to show.. such as Elevation, Current Speed, Accuracy, Time, etc.. If you press Page/GoTo again you will see a Current Speed, Max Speed, Odometer, and Current Trip counter. Press it again and you will see a Compass with 2 customizable boxes at the bottom.. Press again and you get your satellite strengh screen. Indoors I was getting Accuracy of about 22ft.

 

There is also a Vertical Profile screen which is pretty cool... it shows you what elevation you were at at different times of the day.

 

I think Magellan has the potential to have a great unit here... but it will take software updates and listening to their users to have one. The unit runs Windows CE 5.0... just like their Magellan series. The 300 costs about $130 and to get the same level of hardware with a Garmin you will spend over $400. So I am looking forward to updated software and trading it back in for the 400 when it comes in.

 

I only wish Magellan would release the OS open source.. Just think of what could be done with this type of unit if it was!

 

I have been anxious to hear first impressions. Thanks for sharing! My main focus has been trying to find out if it allows for paperless caching. I heard initially that it would allow for that, but now I hear different from actual users. Do you know anything about that? I think that the Triton has tremendous potential if the bugs get fixed. How was your experience with their customer support.

 

Thanks again!

[robertlipe]

I only wish Magellan would release the OS open source.. Just think of what could be done with this type of unit if it was!

 

The folks they license the OS from (Microsoft) would be unlikely to share the joy in that preponderance.

 

If, however, Magellan releases an API so that Windows/CE programs can get to the GPS hardware and/or talk to the nav engines, there could be a lot of opportunities for aftermarket programs that marry into the existing software. Heck, even if they make it as easy as MIO does to make their own software go away,and get to the underlying OS & hardware, there is likely to be a niche for programmers.

 

It's funny that Vantagepoint won't grok gpx or loc and you rely on GPSBabel to convert it. Vantagepoint includes GPSBabel...

 

Thanx for the coherent write-up.

[Baumer]

Not to be rude, but your post is inaccurate.

 

Use the import tool to bring in other file formats.

 

 

It's posts like this that inaccurately make these units look bad, when it's simply the operator not understanding how the software or hardware work.

Edited December 31, 2007 by Baumer

[nljones]

Thanks for the review. I hope you will post your observations on battery life and position and tracking accuracy at some point, if you keep the unit long enough to check that. You are right about the Triton v. Garmin on price and features. If they could get the software right it would be a no brainer situation.

[swales]

Had a chance to take the 300 out on a 50 mile ATV ride today.... here is what I discovered.

 

1. In reply to the VantagePoint import... I think the version that came on my CD did not allow for other types... but doing an upgrade to 1.21 has fixed it.

 

2. Battery life... I am using NIMH 2500mah.. I noticed that if I suspend the unit (have not seen any other 'OFF' option... just push and hold power button) that in the morning my batteries will show they are almost dead... not sure why... It might be an option I had set... Power Off = Off... I set it to Power Off = 5 min today during the trip and the battery power was still good after 8 hours... the BAD part is that my track log only had data when I turned it on. I wish it would continue to log when the screen is off... I will be sure to set the Screen Off option to 60 seconds and the Power Off to Off during my next venture. Rather have the log then the battery life.

 

I also noticed the batteries die quickly when you have the screen on full bright. I was entering waypoints the night before and was messing with the unit for a couple hours. I guess I got an hour or so before they were registering dead. I had to replace batteries twice. I will do more testing to confirm how long they last.

 

3. So where is the lanyard? Magellen does not include one in the box. My old ETREX had one... was convenient to have it around your neck when hiking. Also wish they would include a carrying case.. I have learned that throwing stuff in my ATV bad tends to mess up the shiny plastic from all the vibration. I suggest wrapping the unit in a towel... I was fortunate to find a cloth cover that came with my ATV goggles that worked perfectly.

 

4. Waypoints It takes quite a few clicks to set a waypoint at your current location (around 9). Would be nice to reduce this a bit. The onboard keyboard for entering names is good though. When you click on the default waypoint name you are sent to an onscreen keyboard... Magellen was smart enough to put the cursor on the delete(backspace) icon since they figure you want to rename the waypoint... nice touch.

 

5. VantagePoint. If you want to keep from having to remove the batteries (lockup) when using VantagePoint.. just remember to hit ESC on the GPS when you are done with VantagePoint... and before disconnecting your USB cable... when you hit the ESC the unit reboots and does not lockup.

 

6. Elevations... this still ticks me off... elevation goes to Miles once above 4000ft. There are other screens you can see your 'true' elevation.. but you have to go to View - Tracks - Vertical Profile... I reported the issue to Magellan support and hope they fix in the next firmware.

 

7. Satellite aquisition is fast. It only takes a few seconds for it to figure out where you are.. even inside it typically takes < 30 seconds.

 

8. Accuracy is good... 22ft - 26ft inside... didn't check when outside.. but I am sure it is much better.

 

9. Speaker... beeps... these need to be louder. Even on the highest setting you can barely hear them. If it is in your pocket forget about it.. you won't here them.

 

10. Buttons. In my last post I complained about the buttons.. I am getting used to them... still wish they were round, but I would not consider them show stoppers.

 

11. Screen Brightness. Had no problems seeing it in the bright sunlight. Actually was a ton better than the old grayscale ETREX I have. I have to admit the screen looks great.

 

12. Speed. Pretty good.. only once in awhile when you go to certain screens it can be a little sluggish... I think it depends on how many waypoints / geocache you have shown. Not a big deal, just has a noticable pause.. second or two. Most of the time it is instantaneous when you select an option.

 

13. USB cable. This must be a cable used on Magellans other GPS's. It has a clip at the top and looks like it would slip into a slot before you screw the cable down. But the 300 has no clip area... you just hold it in place over the 4 round dots and screw it down. It is a little cumbersome to do this, would be nice if they had an easier way to connect the cable.... but hey... at least they give you one..

 

14. TOPO software. The CD has a National Geographic TOPO software with it... but it is only a demo advertisement.. Costs around $99 to get a real one. Would like to load a TOPO map to see how different it is.

 

So do I like the unit.... yep... and as I said.. I would buy the 400 model just for the SD slot... The 300 will give you about 20mb of space if you remove the included map.. but for $50 get the 400 with SD slot. That way you can also view the pictures you take on your digital camera.. since both probably use SD.

 

I will keep messing with this and let you know what I discover.....

[swales]

Also if you are having a problem connecting your Triton to VantagePoint or TOPO be sure that your unit is set for VantagePoint in the View - Settings - Connectivity menu.

 

For some reason it switches from VantagePoint back to Power Only after each connection. You have to set it back before it will connect again.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

Great report Swales. Thanks!

[+Evshro & son]

swales, with the firmware upgrade, are you able to view the entire cache description on the GPS?

[+TheBlueDog]

Hello all... I'm new to geocaching, new to the forum and just purchased this same unit.

 

I haven't had time to really spend some time with it yet but have been wondering about some of the things you point out. I've had only a chance to take it out of the box, power it up, install VP on my laptop and use it to trace my route to the office and back home.

 

I have no experience with any other GPS unit to base this on, but I do UI design and development for a software company. My first impressions so far are not glowing reviews, but am giving it a chance to learn the device before going back to REI.

 

But, the BIGGEST issue I've seen so far is the distance/odometer. I started it at the office the first day I used it, got in the car and drove home, glancing at it once in a while to see how it was at following me along. The speed'o was dead on with my car, but its mileage was WAY off! The trip is about 40 miles and when I got home it said I had gone 101 miles. I did a one mile test using the trip meter in the car and it came out to about 2.2 miles on the GPS for 1.0 mile on the car.

 

The basemap that comes installed on it also seems about pointless. I use 3 major highways on my trip back and forth to work and it only recognized one of them.

 

Anyone have any clues? Is there some configuration I need to do out of the box?

[+LostMontanan]

But, the BIGGEST issue I've seen so far is the distance/odometer. I started it at the office the first day I used it, got in the car and drove home, glancing at it once in a while to see how it was at following me along. The speed'o was dead on with my car, but its mileage was WAY off! The trip is about 40 miles and when I got home it said I had gone 101 miles. I did a one mile test using the trip meter in the car and it came out to about 2.2 miles on the GPS for 1.0 mile on the car.

 

This is unacceptable....

[+geowizerd]

Hello all... I'm new to geocaching, new to the forum and just purchased this same unit.

 

I haven't had time to really spend some time with it yet but have been wondering about some of the things you point out. I've had only a chance to take it out of the box, power it up, install VP on my laptop and use it to trace my route to the office and back home.

 

I have no experience with any other GPS unit to base this on, but I do UI design and development for a software company. My first impressions so far are not glowing reviews, but am giving it a chance to learn the device before going back to REI.

 

But, the BIGGEST issue I've seen so far is the distance/odometer. I started it at the office the first day I used it, got in the car and drove home, glancing at it once in a while to see how it was at following me along. The speed'o was dead on with my car, but its mileage was WAY off! The trip is about 40 miles and when I got home it said I had gone 101 miles. I did a one mile test using the trip meter in the car and it came out to about 2.2 miles on the GPS for 1.0 mile on the car.

 

The basemap that comes installed on it also seems about pointless. I use 3 major highways on my trip back and forth to work and it only recognized one of them.

 

Anyone have any clues? Is there some configuration I need to do out of the box?

 

Are you sure it's not set to kilometers or something?

[+mizdeeds]

But, the BIGGEST issue I've seen so far is the distance/odometer. I started it at the office the first day I used it, got in the car and drove home, glancing at it once in a while to see how it was at following me along. The speed'o was dead on with my car, but its mileage was WAY off! The trip is about 40 miles and when I got home it said I had gone 101 miles. I did a one mile test using the trip meter in the car and it came out to about 2.2 miles on the GPS for 1.0 mile on the car.

 

This is unacceptable....

 

Definitely unacceptable! But..... is it possibly set for kilometers instead of miles??

 

What do you use for detailed street maps on it? I can't find any info on that anywhere, they are just pushing the National Geographic topo maps. I don't care about topo maps. Does DirectRoute North America work on it??

 

On my Magellan Meridian, you just hold the "goto" button down for 10 seconds or so and it brings up the screen to mark your current location as a waypoint. I think I read somewhere that the Triton does it the same way. Did you try that?

 

Thanks for the info!

[+elmuyloco5]

I don't know if this might be your problem, but are you sure that you let the GPS settle for a few moments to get a good fix? All units can read kinda screwy if they don't have a good signal with the satellites. Also, make sure you have the upgraded firmware installed on your unit. Just because you just got the unit, doesn't mean it will necessarily have the newest software installed on it. There were some various issues with the first version installed and the newest firmware was supposed to solve alot of them.

 

Try those things first and then check it again. If it's a true problem, let Magellan know. I'm sure they are very interested in learning about any issues the software may have. They don't want a faulty product out either. I haven't dealt with their Customer Service much, but when I have, they have been very helpful. I haven't seen the issues that others have on here, I am fortunate to say.

[+TheBlueDog]

Going by the VP software that checks the firmware, both VP and Firmware are on the latest version.

 

As far as the units goes, I'll double check, but almost positive that it says "mi" in both distance windows.

 

Signal has been great. In the car I had 4 bars the whole trip, except when I get to the "back country" area where I live and it dropped to 3 bars for a second or two.

 

Regarding street maps... I haven't loaded anything onto the unit. In fact, its only been connected to my PC once when installing the software and checking for updates. I'm guessing I need to buy some map libraries? I've been looking at the NatGeo Topo maps for hiking and caching.

 

I'm going to take the unit with me to Europe next month. Where can I get some street maps of European cities? The NatGeo software only seems to cover the US.

 

EDIT: Just grabbed the unit from the car and confirmed that it IS set for Miles/Feet, not k.

Edited January 2, 2008 by TheBlueDog

[+Krankher]

I also have the Triton 300 and would agree with all the items that was brought up. I posted a bug report on the tritonforum.com about the odometer issue which was my biggest concern and was told that it would be fixed in a firmware upgrade that should release any time now. Have to wait and see. I did load an NG demo map of Yosemite National Park and did like the way it looked. Good to know the solution to the lockup problem after disconnecting.

[+TheBlueDog]

I also have the Triton 300 and would agree with all the items that was brought up. I posted a bug report on the tritonforum.com about the odometer issue which was my biggest concern and was told that it would be fixed in a firmware upgrade that should release any time now. Have to wait and see. I did load an NG demo map of Yosemite National Park and did like the way it looked. Good to know the solution to the lockup problem after disconnecting.

 

Have you tried any point-to-point navigating yet? My guess is that if the odometer unit is off, then the unit is kind of worthless until that is fixed. If where you are going or trying to get to is 1 mile away and its saying 2.2 miles, that wouldn't be too helpful.

[+embra]

What do you use for detailed street maps on it? I can't find any info on that anywhere, they are just pushing the National Geographic topo maps. I don't care about topo maps. Does DirectRoute North America work on it??

In another thread, someone confirmed that he was able to load and display a DirectRoute detail map on his Triton (I forget which model). It did not allow autorouting, but it showed position.

 

I'm going to take the unit with me to Europe next month. Where can I get some street maps of European cities? The NatGeo software only seems to cover the US

If this is so, I would expect that DirectRoute Europe would provide street level maps for there.

[+TheBlueDog]

If this is so, I would expect that DirectRoute Europe would provide street level maps for there.

 

Is that a Magellan product?

[+embra]

Yes, the formal name would be Mapsend DirectRoute Europe (I think). You should confirm my hunch before buying, though.

[+rpestes]

But, the BIGGEST issue I've seen so far is the distance/odometer. I started it at the office the first day I used it, got in the car and drove home, glancing at it once in a while to see how it was at following me along. The speed'o was dead on with my car, but its mileage was WAY off! The trip is about 40 miles and when I got home it said I had gone 101 miles. I did a one mile test using the trip meter in the car and it came out to about 2.2 miles on the GPS for 1.0 mile on the car.

 

This is unacceptable....

 

Definitely unacceptable! But..... is it possibly set for kilometers instead of miles??

 

What do you use for detailed street maps on it? I can't find any info on that anywhere, they are just pushing the National Geographic topo maps. I don't care about topo maps. Does DirectRoute North America work on it??

 

On my Magellan Meridian, you just hold the "goto" button down for 10 seconds or so and it brings up the screen to mark your current location as a waypoint. I think I read somewhere that the Triton does it the same way. Did you try that?

 

Thanks for the info!

Try using Mapsend TOPO 3D. It has a great street level map too and is very easy to read. The colors and layout are far superior to NG Topo as far as I am concerned. I returned my NG Topo because I liked the Mapsend so much better.

[+TheBlueDog]

 

Try using Mapsend TOPO 3D. It has a great street level map too and is very easy to read. The colors and layout are far superior to NG Topo as far as I am concerned. I returned my NG Topo because I liked the Mapsend so much better.

 

Does it work on this unit? I was under the impression that you had to use specific map software.

[+elmuyloco5]

 

Have you tried any point-to-point navigating yet? My guess is that if the odometer unit is off, then the unit is kind of worthless until that is fixed. If where you are going or trying to get to is 1 mile away and its saying 2.2 miles, that wouldn't be too helpful.

I've read on one forum (forget which one, there are a few out there with some activity on this subject right now) that someone has used the unit to geocache. The distance must be working on their unit in order to find the cache, so who knows.

 

 

Try using Mapsend TOPO 3D. It has a great street level map too and is very easy to read. The colors and layout are far superior to NG Topo as far as I am concerned. I returned my NG Topo because I liked the Mapsend so much better.

 

From what I understand, the only maps that currently work on the Triton are the following:

 

maps and software

 

and of course the National Geographic State Maps and the Backyard Explorers. National Geographic said on one forum that they intend to include the entire National Geographic line of software, but it will take awhile to completely develop.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

 

From what I understand, the only maps that currently work on the Triton are the following:

 

maps and software

 

and of course the National Geographic State Maps and the Backyard Explorers. National Geographic said on one forum that they intend to include the entire National Geographic line of software, but it will take awhile to completely develop.

 

I've successfully loaded MapSend Topo 3D USA to the Triton 1500.

[+elmuyloco5]

 

From what I understand, the only maps that currently work on the Triton are the following:

 

maps and software

 

and of course the National Geographic State Maps and the Backyard Explorers. National Geographic said on one forum that they intend to include the entire National Geographic line of software, but it will take awhile to completely develop.

 

I've successfully loaded MapSend Topo 3D USA to the Triton 1500.

 

Have you had any issues with it, bugs, glitches, etc? It would be wonderful if there were more options like that available for the units. I truly hope they get these units working well with their firmware upgrades pretty quickly and can then focus on getting out the "trails and trips" firmware additions they had planned on. I sincerely hope they look to adding an upgrade that will allow organization of files in sub-folders like they had in the past. I'm really shocked this appears to be a missing feature.

[+Redwoods Mtn Biker]

Have you had any issues with it, bugs, glitches, etc? It would be wonderful if there were more options like that available for the units. I truly hope they get these units working well with their firmware upgrades pretty quickly and can then focus on getting out the "trails and trips" firmware additions they had planned on. I sincerely hope they look to adding an upgrade that will allow organization of files in sub-folders like they had in the past. I'm really shocked this appears to be a missing feature.

 

Yep...Magellan Triton 1500 - First impressions

 

I hope to get a full review posted soon, but its going to have to wait until after I return from CES. I hope to get some Garmin Colorado series news for you guys.

[+glorybee]

Review of my Triton 500

I purchased the Triton 500 primarily because of the memory slot. and for the Geo Topo feature.

 

Heres what I noticed after spending an intense 3 days drilling the heck out of the GPS. I'm pretty patient because I assume Magellan wanted to get this out for Christmas and had to work hard with Topo for the software overlay. I do see that the firmware needs some patches to fix the freeze ups.

 

Battery Life.

I initially put in Die Hard AA Alkaline Batteries which is a Sears brand stating 15A 1.5 Volts. They lasted roughly 14 hours. Eats em like candy. I think we all expect that. Just like any digital camera with a LED screen.

I bought the Energizer AA's which are the NiMet Hydrides rated at 2500mah. I found that I've used them for about 14 hours and they are still at half life. This is with my screen set to medium and backlight timer to 30 secs and power off timer to 15 minutes. Note: There is a button on the left side of the screen to put out the screen light but you got to push it 7 times. Each push increases the intensity until you hit black then one click past will go to dim, brighter etc.

 

Software

 

This is a challenge, you definitely need to download the Vantage Point and the Upgrade to Topo. Once you get the 4.4.2 upgrade it opens the world to you. It has its own Triton menu on the right side of the topo map. Very easy to figure out. (I'm using Windows XP) What is surprising is that when I have Topo open and select the map I want I can export it directly to my Magellan. Nice. Then I close it and open VP and sync. It all comes across to Topo. I'm not too pleased with the VP program. It does work though. What bothers me most is that everytime I connect the USB, Windows does not recognize the device. Topo says to point to the drivers in the Topo file but it still refuses to see it. Maybe me...hmmmm.. never the less I close out the warning and it works.

 

Hang Ups

My unit hung several times while in the field and I figured it just lost the lites, I really wanted to give this a try because I liked the simple menu and the topo maps. It continued to hang more while in the menu. a couple of times in the first tier "Create" menu then in the "View" menu. This really bothers me. If I'm out in the woods and this booger goes, I have no saved way points. After 5 days it got the best of me and I exchanged it for another. After 1 hr I got my first Fatal AP error. Outdoor nam.exe did a no no. I tried to power off and got another freeze on the countdown timer with one sec left. Heres something I noticed as well. Since this fatal error, I don't have a compass needle on the elect compass.

 

Maps

The maps saved on the GPS ok and have the great detail as Natl Geo. They are a bit blurred but its no PC screen with dot pitch equivilant. Bottom line, I can zoom in and zoom out until I can get an idea of where I am. Its a tiny screen. What do you want? Right. Oh when the unit is powered off, you got to go back to the settings and change the connectivity from Power Off to Vantage Point in order for you to hook up to the Topo

 

Timezone

You got to change your timezone in the profiles for Hiking and for Geocaching. I thought that the satelites would be able to determine what zone I'm in.

 

Alarm

As stated below, its not loud, maybe thats a good thing, I really don't want a loudspeaker going off in the woods.

 

Bottom Line

I hope Magellan comes through with the patches needed to stop the freezes, this is a serious thing. As stated above /below, it has potential.

 

Hope this helps. I still need to do some tinkering and am making serious comparisons with the Garmin. Mine cost 250 buckeroos.

 

Edited January 3, 2008 by glorybee

[+glorybee]

Review of my Triton 500

I purchased the Triton 500 primarily because of the memory slot. and for the Geo Topo feature.

 

Heres what I noticed after spending an intense 3 days drilling the heck out of the GPS. I'm pretty patient because I assume Magellan wanted to get this out for Christmas and had to work hard with Topo for the software overlay. I do see that the firmware needs some patches to fix the freeze ups.

 

Battery Life.

I initially put in Die Hard AA Alkaline Batteries which is a Sears brand stating 15A 1.5 Volts. They lasted roughly 14 hours. Eats em like candy. I think we all expect that. Just like any digital camera with a LED screen.

I bought the Energizer AA's which are the NiMet Hydrides rated at 2500mah. I found that I've used them for about 14 hours and they are still at half life. This is with my screen set to medium and backlight timer to 30 secs and power off timer to 15 minutes. Note: There is a button on the left side of the screen to put out the screen light but you got to push it 7 times. Each push increases the intensity until you hit black then one click past will go to dim, brighter etc.

 

Software

 

This is a challenge, you definitely need to download the Vantage Point and the Upgrade to Topo. Once you get the 4.4.2 upgrade it opens the world to you. It has its own Triton menu on the right side of the topo map. Very easy to figure out. (I'm using Windows XP) What is surprising is that when I have Topo open and select the map I want I can export it directly to my Magellan. Nice. Then I close it and open VP and sync. It all comes across to Topo. I'm not too pleased with the VP program. It does work though. What bothers me most is that everytime I connect the USB, Windows does not recognize the device. Topo says to point to the drivers in the Topo file but it still refuses to see it. Maybe me...hmmmm.. never the less I close out the warning and it works.

 

Hang Ups

My unit hung several times while in the field and I figured it just lost the lites, I really wanted to give this a try because I liked the simple menu and the topo maps. It continued to hang more while in the menu. a couple of times in the first tier "Create" menu then in the "View" menu. This really bothers me. If I'm out in the woods and this booger goes, I have no saved way points. After 5 days it got the best of me and I exchanged it for another. After 1 hr I got my first Fatal AP error. Outdoor nam.exe did a no no. I tried to power off and got another freeze on the countdown timer with one sec left. Heres something I noticed as well. Since this fatal error, I don't have a compass needle on the elect compass.

 

Maps

The maps saved on the GPS ok and have the great detail as Natl Geo. They are a bit blurred but its no PC screen with dot pitch equivilant. Bottom line, I can zoom in and zoom out until I can get an idea of where I am. Its a tiny screen. What do you want? Right. Oh when the unit is powered off, you got to go back to the settings and change the connectivity from Power Off to Vantage Point in order for you to hook up to the Topo

 

Timezone

You got to change your timezone in the profiles for Hiking and for Geocaching. I thought that the satelites would be able to determine what zone I'm in.

 

Alarm

As stated below, its not loud, maybe thats a good thing, I really don't want a loudspeaker going off in the woods.

 

Bottom Line

I hope Magellan comes through with the patches needed to stop the freezes, this is a serious thing. As stated above /below, it has potential.

 

Hope this helps. I still need to do some tinkering and am making serious comparisons with the Garmin. Mine cost 250 buckeroos.

 

[+rpestes]

 

Try using Mapsend TOPO 3D. It has a great street level map too and is very easy to read. The colors and layout are far superior to NG Topo as far as I am concerned. I returned my NG Topo because I liked the Mapsend so much better.

 

Does it work on this unit? I was under the impression that you had to use specific map software.

 

I have Mapsend Topo 3D on my 2000 and have no problems. Works just fine.

[+embra]

From what I understand, the only maps that currently work on the Triton are the following:

 

maps and software

I find that link very interesting for what it doesn't say...i.e., neither DirectRoute nor Topo3D are listed. I wonder if they are being phased out.

[+TheBlueDog]

From what I understand, the only maps that currently work on the Triton are the following:

 

maps and software

I find that link very interesting for what it doesn't say...i.e., neither DirectRoute nor Topo3D are listed. I wonder if they are being phased out.

 

I did a search on their site for "DirectRoute" and it comes up with a list of the products. Each of the links goes to the GPS Units page.

 

On the Units page there is a link over under "Popular Software" for DirectRoute - North America, which leads you to their quite unclear software page.

[swales]

Not sure if this might be contributing to the Odometer issue, but if you turn the unit on and let it sit there it will show your track line moving a little... probably due to the Accuracy being 20+ feet indoors. My theory is that it is tracking this as distance traveled... so something to try would be to reset the Odometer before you start your trip to see if this is what is causing it....

 

We all need to expect that there will be some bugs with this unit as it is so new... remember how bad some of the Garmins were when they first came out... So I am willing to give it Magellan some time to get it perfect (but just not too much time). I also own a Maestro 4040 and they have been pushing quite a few firmware updates to it lately... and they have improved speed and accuracy with those updates.

 

On battery life.... I turned my unit on last night with the 2500 nimh and set the screen to full bright and no power off... let it sit there for 30 minutes and only lost one bar on the power meter (granted I also had been using the unit for probably another 30 minutes off and on before starting the test). When I get more time I will do a full drain test and report my findings.

 

Another post asked if I updated the firmware... there is no new firmware available yet... only the update for VantagePoint and TOPO.

[swales]

I also discovered that if I turn on the unit and wait until it aquires the satelites before connecting the USB for VantagePoint, Windows XP does not have the issue of an Unrecognized Hardware.

 

I believe when it is aquiring sats it is no talking to Windows via the USB... so boot it first... then connect it up.

[+elmuyloco5]

I also discovered that if I turn on the unit and wait until it aquires the satelites before connecting the USB for VantagePoint, Windows XP does not have the issue of an Unrecognized Hardware.

 

I believe when it is aquiring sats it is no talking to Windows via the USB... so boot it first... then connect it up.

 

I was the one who mentioned the update. The update occured through Magellan. There were some intial firmware issues and they had performed the update on the units. You might want to call them to see if yours is current. Think of it like going to Verizon or Sprint and taking your phone in for a software update. Yours could very well have the update, just trying to give you options to help.

[+TheBlueDog]

I also discovered that if I turn on the unit and wait until it aquires the satelites before connecting the USB for VantagePoint, Windows XP does not have the issue of an Unrecognized Hardware.

 

I believe when it is aquiring sats it is no talking to Windows via the USB... so boot it first... then connect it up.

 

Hmmm... so when I'm at the office I can't connect it since I can't get a signal? I connected and did get the hardware connect warning, but the VP software seemed to figure it out.

 

On another issue... backlight. I figured out how to change the profile settings and is it me or does the setting for backlight level not seem to do a thing. The screen brightness doesn't change when fully lit or after its timed out (and then its far too dark.) Is there a way to change the level of the dimmed state? I would think that setting would be far more helpful.

[+elmuyloco5]

I also discovered that if I turn on the unit and wait until it aquires the satelites before connecting the USB for VantagePoint, Windows XP does not have the issue of an Unrecognized Hardware.

 

I believe when it is aquiring sats it is no talking to Windows via the USB... so boot it first... then connect it up.

 

Hmmm... so when I'm at the office I can't connect it since I can't get a signal? I connected and did get the hardware connect warning, but the VP software seemed to figure it out.

 

On another issue... backlight. I figured out how to change the profile settings and is it me or does the setting for backlight level not seem to do a thing. The screen brightness doesn't change when fully lit or after its timed out (and then its far too dark.) Is there a way to change the level of the dimmed state? I would think that setting would be far more helpful.

That's not what he's saying. You can connect your unit to your computer and download all you want. But without reception to satellites, you won't have an accurate reading, if any at all to tell you where you are located. You won't have accurate tracking, speed, distance, etc. The GPS unit has to have reception with the satellites to do that. Sometimes you can connect with satellites when you are close to windows, but sometimes not. None of those things are needed to download maps or info to the GPS.

[swales]

I have confirmed that the Odometer is incorrect... as others have mentioned. I took a trip that registed 17.4 miles on my automobile odometer and it registered 36.2 on the GPS. it seems to be a factor of around 2.08x that is is off by.

 

I did store the journey as a track file, so later I will load into VantagePoint to see how it measures it.

 

Also the speedometer seems to be correct on the unit.. it matched my vehicle speed.

 

On the backlight issue..there are 2 options... the first is the Backlight Level (Off, Low, Medium, High) and the other option is the Backlight timer (Off, 15, 30, 60 sec). Set these the way you want.. then be sure to go back to the Profile you selected and hit Activate. I confirmed that this works on my unit... Whatever I set it to it changes to... also if I manually set the backlight to low and have the setting in the Profile to High once the backlight timer shuts off the backlight and I hit a key.. it goes to the backligh setting in the Profile.. which is high... so it seems to be working correctly. The only weird thing I have noticed with the backlight is when manually changing it... sometimes it does not go to 'off' mode... just cycles back to low,med,high... I have to try a couple times to get it to go off...

 

Also the only buttons that reset the backlight timer are the center (silver ones). The Zoom, Page, Manu, and ESC do not reset the timer... so if you are pressing Page button to see the next page and the backlight timer has hit it's setting.. the backlight goes off.

[swales]

I also discovered that if I turn on the unit and wait until it aquires the satelites before connecting the USB for VantagePoint, Windows XP does not have the issue of an Unrecognized Hardware.

 

I believe when it is aquiring sats it is no talking to Windows via the USB... so boot it first... then connect it up.

 

Hmmm... so when I'm at the office I can't connect it since I can't get a signal? I connected and did get the hardware connect warning, but the VP software seemed to figure it out.

 

On another issue... backlight. I figured out how to change the profile settings and is it me or does the setting for backlight level not seem to do a thing. The screen brightness doesn't change when fully lit or after its timed out (and then its far too dark.) Is there a way to change the level of the dimmed state? I would think that setting would be far more helpful.

That's not what he's saying. You can connect your unit to your computer and download all you want. But without reception to satellites, you won't have an accurate reading, if any at all to tell you where you are located. You won't have accurate tracking, speed, distance, etc. The GPS unit has to have reception with the satellites to do that. Sometimes you can connect with satellites when you are close to windows, but sometimes not. None of those things are needed to download maps or info to the GPS.

 

Actually what I was recommending was to boot the GPS.. wait until it aquires satellites and then connect the USB cable. If you cannot get reception it would probably be best to still wait a minute or two for the unit to figure out it can't get a signal.. Either way it really doesn't matter as Windows takes care of it anyways... just an annoyance.

[+TheBlueDog]

Little update on my issues with the 300.

 

I finally figured out how to get the clock to read right. Had to go into the profiles, select one (hiking in this case), go into the settings and then select my time zone and set daylight savings time. Not sure why this is the location for these data fields instead of the general Settings screen. Not really intuitive.

 

I booted up the device and set it on the dash of the car while I went into the gym. So it had plenty of time to calibrate itself and settle down. I set the trip meter in the car to 0 and made sure to clear any previous trails in the unit and then drove home. Several checks along the way and the speed on the unit was dead on and surprised how quickly it would reflect changes in the rate of speed. However when I got home, the odometer on the car read 38.4 miles and the Magellan said the trip was 112.3. Something is WAAAAYYY off here.

 

Interesting that it would get full signal in the car with lots of glass and metal around, but at 70 mph if would flash a total signal loss when I'd pass under an overpass. It would return to full signal between 1-2 sec.

[xxgg]

Since this unit runs on Windows CE...

 

Maybe someone can get Triton software to run on other brands of GPS units that also runs on Windows CE. (ex. Mio Digiwalker, which people are already unlocking to install other types of softwares like, iGuidance, TomTom, few others,,, I think Garmin Mobile XT might be able too in future?)

[swales]

I have confirmed that the Odometer is incorrect... as others have mentioned. I took a trip that registed 17.4 miles on my automobile odometer and it registered 36.2 on the GPS. it seems to be a factor of around 2.08x that is is off by.

 

I did store the journey as a track file, so later I will load into VantagePoint to see how it measures it.

 

Also the speedometer seems to be correct on the unit.. it matched my vehicle speed.

 

On the backlight issue..there are 2 options... the first is the Backlight Level (Off, Low, Medium, High) and the other option is the Backlight timer (Off, 15, 30, 60 sec). Set these the way you want.. then be sure to go back to the Profile you selected and hit Activate. I confirmed that this works on my unit... Whatever I set it to it changes to... also if I manually set the backlight to low and have the setting in the Profile to High once the backlight timer shuts off the backlight and I hit a key.. it goes to the backligh setting in the Profile.. which is high... so it seems to be working correctly. The only weird thing I have noticed with the backlight is when manually changing it... sometimes it does not go to 'off' mode... just cycles back to low,med,high... I have to try a couple times to get it to go off...

 

Also the only buttons that reset the backlight timer are the center (silver ones). The Zoom, Page, Manu, and ESC do not reset the timer... so if you are pressing Page button to see the next page and the backlight timer has hit it's setting.. the backlight goes off.

 

Update... I took the Track file for the trip I mentioned above and loaded it into VantagePoint. Although the GPS said 36.2 miles on the screen for a trip measuring 17.4 on my automobile odometer, the track file loaded said it was 17.4. So this is good news... at least the track file is correct, which means the hardware is working correctly and storing the results correctly. The odometer problem seems to be in the display which I am sure will be resolved in a future firmware patch.

[+elmuyloco5]

 

Update... I took the Track file for the trip I mentioned above and loaded it into VantagePoint. Although the GPS said 36.2 miles on the screen for a trip measuring 17.4 on my automobile odometer, the track file loaded said it was 17.4. So this is good news... at least the track file is correct, which means the hardware is working correctly and storing the results correctly. The odometer problem seems to be in the display which I am sure will be resolved in a future firmware patch.

 

That's really good to hear. I think we'll see a few more bugs before it's all said and done, but they appear to be working to fix everything. We're willing to give them a little time. I've heard about alot of issues with every new unit out there (Delorme, Bushnell, and Garmins when they put their last version out). I'm sure we will see issues on this site with any new units to still come out as well. It's just sort of something that you have to expect. What will really be telling is how long these future firmware upgrades will take and how helpful they are along the way.

[CacheNCarryMA]

Review of my Triton 400

 

I'll chime in with my initial impressions of the Triton 400 I got yesterday. The 400 is the same as the 300, but with an SD card slot.

 

My last GPSr was a Magellan Sportrak Map.

 

My unit has firmware version 1.7 (12/3/07).

 

I'll take it caching this weekend. These are my opinions based on checking out the 400 out while sitting at my desk. I installed VantagePoint, but don't have NG Topo yet.

 

LIKES:

- good reception. I was able to eventually pick up 6-7 sats inside the house.

- menus are all similar to the Sportrak. Buttons are different, and some of the initial entry points are different, but it didn't take long to get use to it.

- waypoints, geocaches, and places are sorted separately.

- GC.com icons

- price. $199 list price at REI, minus $20 Christmas coupon.

- nice packaging. compact corrugated cardboard and cardstock, nicely embossed with Triton logo and outline of GPSr, no plastic.

 

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT / WISHLIST

- lag on some screen changes. Button clicks will "catch up" if you impatiently click too many times.

- inability to save "favorite" gauges. When I'm caching I use the compass screen with bearing and distance. I modified the compass screen to show bearing and distance, but when I switch to another screen (like the map) and return to the compass screen, the default gauges (LAT and bearing?) are shown.

- lack of accessories. No lanyard included (Sportrak had one). No protective case with clear screen protector. I realize that these may be marketed, given time.

- lack of updates to Magellan website. For example, the dropdown on the Support Request page doesn't even include "Magellan Triton". The dropdown is correct when accessing from VantagePoint.

- might be nice to have an on-screen icon to indicate backlight brightness level. I can eventually tell which level I'm at, but it takes about 2~3 cycles (12 clicks!)

- inability to turn on/off nav screens. Sometimes all I need is the compass screen and map screen, and don't need the current location, speedometer, and large data screens.

 

BUGS

- 12 hour clock format is wrong. I chose a "12 hour" time format. The clock showed "00:15 AM" instead of "12:15 AM".

- Large data screen time isn't always in sync with time at top of screen. (I had good sat reception at the time)

- Memory fault, OutdoorNav.exe. When I was selecting the "bricks" for the large data screen, it started "looping" between the large data screen and the gauge selection screen. Eventually, the memory fault popup window appeared. Sometimes, hitting the ESC key stopped the cycling, sometimes it didn't.

- Create a Profile. Only the geocaching profile is available. The profile selection menu shows "Hiking" and "Geocaching" in yellow and "Marine" is greyed out, but only "Geocaching" can be chosen. There is no highlighting to indicate which profile type you're choosing. When "Geocaching" is selected, the subsequent screen says "Geocache...Activate Profile" (It should say "Geocaching" - a minor point, but lacks consistency)

- Owner information improperly justified. I inputed my name, address, phone number and email on the owner's info page. Address was two lines long with embedded carriage return, email addr is 21 chars long. Everything is displayed correctly on the input screen, but when you're finished and navigate away and then return all fields are displayed on single lines with center justification. Input screen and display screen should be in sync. Left justification is preferable over center justification.

 

 

I will update this post once I get NG Topo.

Edited January 4, 2008 by CacheNCarryMA

[+TheBlueDog]

Update... I took the Track file for the trip I mentioned above and loaded it into VantagePoint. Although the GPS said 36.2 miles on the screen for a trip measuring 17.4 on my automobile odometer, the track file loaded said it was 17.4. So this is good news... at least the track file is correct, which means the hardware is working correctly and storing the results correctly. The odometer problem seems to be in the display which I am sure will be resolved in a future firmware patch.

 

That's somewhat good to know. I'll try to download mine and see if the numbers match up. Will be interesting to see if the ratio is the same. Off the top of my head I think it is.

 

However, as far as navigating in the field, it seems to me that it still makes the unit useless until they fix the bug and send out the firmware. And field nav is the main reason I bought it, so in a way I'm kinda upset with Magellan. I didn't make the purchase with the intention of waiting for them to make it work right.

[+elmuyloco5]

I encountered the same issue and I emailed the Magellan webmaster to point out the lack of Triton "options" on the website. I was going to email them with a question as I knew the phone lines would be busy the day after Xmas, and I couldn't because I had to make a product selection in their menu and Triton did not exist. Hopefully they will recognize this problem and have it fixed quickly.

[+embra]

However, as far as navigating in the field, it seems to me that it still makes the unit useless until they fix the bug and send out the firmware. And field nav is the main reason I bought it, so in a way I'm kinda upset with Magellan. I didn't make the purchase with the intention of waiting for them to make it work right.

This may not be of any help, but there was a similar (though less extreme) bug on the Explorist such that the odometer overestimated mileage but the track was pretty accurate. So long as I set the current track to begin from my point of interest, I could get the mileage from the track in the field by highlighting the active track on the track log screen. It wasn't as convenient as glancing at a data field, but it was more precise.

[+TheBlueDog]

This may not be of any help, but there was a similar (though less extreme) bug on the Explorist such that the odometer overestimated mileage but the track was pretty accurate. So long as I set the current track to begin from my point of interest, I could get the mileage from the track in the field by highlighting the active track on the track log screen. It wasn't as convenient as glancing at a data field, but it was more precise.

 

Interesting. I've downloaded a Geocache location near my office to the unit. Punching in the GPS location into google maps of both the cache and my office it tells me that it's 0.4 miles. I'm gonna use this as a test.

 

I'm now in the tech support system at Magellan about this issue. Look for another thread to follow this issue. I'll start a new one in order to document the process and help anyone else that is having the same problem.

 

Edit: I've posted the full rundown here.

Edited January 4, 2008 by TheBlueDog

[CacheNCarryMA]

I encountered the same issue and I emailed the Magellan webmaster to point out the lack of Triton "options" on the website. I was going to email them with a question as I knew the phone lines would be busy the day after Xmas, and I couldn't because I had to make a product selection in their menu and Triton did not exist. Hopefully they will recognize this problem and have it fixed quickly.

 

I selected "Magellan eXplorist XL" and in the first line of my comment I wrote "MAGELLAN TRITON 400 ISSUE"

 

Something gives me the feeling that the Magellan marketing department, the folks who administer their website, and their tech support/call center do not coordinate their efforts.

Edited January 4, 2008 by CacheNCarryMA

[+elmuyloco5]

I encountered the same issue and I emailed the Magellan webmaster to point out the lack of Triton "options" on the website. I was going to email them with a question as I knew the phone lines would be busy the day after Xmas, and I couldn't because I had to make a product selection in their menu and Triton did not exist. Hopefully they will recognize this problem and have it fixed quickly.

 

I selected "Magellan eXplorist XL" and in the first line of my comment I wrote "MAGELLAN TRITON 400 ISSUE"

 

Something gives me the feeling that the Magellan marketing department, the folks who administer their website, and their tech support/call center do not coordinate their efforts.

 

Seems they are a tad behind. I couldn't believe that they hadn't included their new line throughout their website. I found many areas that the Triton was not included and should have been. Sounds like they need to be looking for some new website staff.

[CacheNCarryMA]

I encountered the same issue and I emailed the Magellan webmaster to point out the lack of Triton "options" on the website. I was going to email them with a question as I knew the phone lines would be busy the day after Xmas, and I couldn't because I had to make a product selection in their menu and Triton did not exist. Hopefully they will recognize this problem and have it fixed quickly.

 

I selected "Magellan eXplorist XL" and in the first line of my comment I wrote "MAGELLAN TRITON 400 ISSUE"

 

Something gives me the feeling that the Magellan marketing department, the folks who administer their website, and their tech support/call center do not coordinate their efforts.

 

Seems they are a tad behind. I couldn't believe that they hadn't included their new line throughout their website. I found many areas that the Triton was not included and should have been. Sounds like they need to be looking for some new website staff.

 

I also found the following, when you "Connect..View Support For My Magellan" through VantagePoint:

3-meter accuracy - SiRFstar III chipset and integrated multidirectional antennae offer superior GPS accuracy using the Wide Area Augmentation System (WASS)[sic]

Notice how they spell the abbreviation "WAAS"? What, now they want us to proofread *and* beta test?