Magellan Meridian Gold

[Superdottie]

Hello. So glad to have found this website!

 

Hubby and I are heading to the north shore of Minnesota for Labor Day weekend and are trying our hand at finding our first cache. I purchased a Megellan Meridian Gold from ebay. Seemed to be a good price.

 

Anyone using this GPS? Would love to get input/reviews.

 

Thanks!

[stryder717]

Just doing a quick google search it looks like it would work. But i have no familiarity with this model or brand. You could try this link to read more about it

[+GRNZOOM]

HI... The MariGold is a great GPS. That was our first one, then I decided I need a color screen. My MariGold is about 4 years old and still works great. I added the street navation and we used it on lots of trips, never got lost.

 

I have read on other fourm that the MariGold is the best GPS Magellan ever made.

 

You made a good decision, but as you get more experience may want to move up to a color screen ect.

 

A good friend with 1,000's of finds used the MariGold and won't give it up.

 

Nick

[+Kit Fox]

I've found over 1000 caches, and hidden over 100 using my Meridian Gold. I recently upgraded to a new Garmin Etrex, only because my Meridian is showing it's age, and sometimes takes awhile to get a satellite lock.

 

I blame this on high use, and one drop off a cliff, as well as one trip into a ditch when I forgot to take it off the roof of my truck.

[+Dgwphotos]

I've found over 1000 caches, and hidden over 100 using my Meridian Gold. I recently upgraded to a new Garmin Etrex, only because my Meridian is showing it's age, and sometimes takes awhile to get a satellite lock.

 

 

I agree, I use one currently, but I've been having some issues with losing satellite locks in the woods, and I'm kinda excceding it's capabilities. I just ordered a Garmin Etrex Venture Cx from Amazon, so that I can take advantage of local trail maps compiled by a local geocacher, plus the fact that it incorporates newer technologies, like USB cables for sending WPT's to the GPS. Be aware that if you don't have a serial port on your computer, you will need a USB to Serial port adapter for sending data to the GPS. Also, get a SD card and download the latest firmware for it. I'm planning on keeping the Meridian around, though, as a loaner and for street navigation. It's a good solid GPS, though, that is flexible.

[+briansnat]

I have one and really don't like it for a number of reasons that probably won't make sense to a novice. That said, the MeriGold has many fans. At one time it was considered to be among the cream of GPS units and is the unit that won Magellan many fans among geocachers (many of whom they lost with subsequent offerings like the Triton).

 

So if you didn't pay a lot for it, I'd say you got a darn good unit. By a lot I mean under $100 if it's new and under $75 if used and in good condition.

 

Look around now on Ebay for Mapsend Topo so you can get detailed maps on your unit.

[+Dgwphotos]

The other thing that somewhat bothers me is the size of it. It's just a bit too big for the average pocket.

[cliff_hanger]

Hello. So glad to have found this website!

 

Hubby and I are heading to the north shore of Minnesota for Labor Day weekend and are trying our hand at finding our first cache. I purchased a Megellan Meridian Gold from ebay. Seemed to be a good price.

 

Anyone using this GPS? Would love to get input/reviews.

 

Thanks!

 

The Merigold was my first GPS and, as mentioned by others, was probably the best handheld ever made by Meridian. I found my first couple hundred caches with it. It has a 500 waypoint limit, of which only the first 200 can have notes. That can be problematic for some folks. It works best, IMO, if you also have an SD Card (about 1gB) for maps and waypoints. Mine always got good reception. The firmware is a bit dated and hasn't been updated recently so it may not pick up the newer WAAS satellites. Shouldn't be much of a problem for caching, though. Many cachers turn off the WAAS on their GPSrs.

 

Did you get any mapping software (Mapsend DirectRoute or Topo)?

 

My ex-boss had one too and, not being too tech-savvy, I made a "cheat sheet" for him that had most of the common tasks. It's a Word doc but could be a pdf. PM me if you want a copy.

[+trainlove]

The Gold is great, well it's good at least.

Most of my 2000 finds have been done with one.

Most were after discovering a workaround to a problem. I describe that in http://ray.jerome.jobs.googlepages.com/gpshints

There is a more, or less, troublesome problem I describe in

http://ray.jerome.jobs.googlepages.com/majormagellanproblem

but loss of WAAS has not impacted the last 1000 finds of the last 18 months.

 

Join the yahoo Magellan Meridian users group for great information. And to know of the few mechanical problems such as the loose battery connection (on the Platinum) that I have never experienced in 3+ years.

[Superdottie]

Thank you so much for all the information! We did pay over $100 for it new it included the car charger and case. Maybe not the best deal, but live and learn I guess.

 

I also got a the Magellan MapSend WorldWide Basemap. But it came with a disclamier that it won't work with XP with Service Pack 2 installed. So.... I'm not sure if it's going to do me any good.

 

We're setting it up now.

 

I'm excited for our first hunt.

[+SwampYankee]

Thank you so much for all the information! We did pay over $100 for it new it included the car charger and case. Maybe not the best deal, but live and learn I guess.

 

I also got a the Magellan MapSend WorldWide Basemap. But it came with a disclamier that it won't work with XP with Service Pack 2 installed. So.... I'm not sure if it's going to do me any good.

 

We're setting it up now.

 

I'm excited for our first hunt.

 

Good luck on your first hunt. I have 3 GPS here and I purchased the Meridian Gold about 2 years ago and really liked it. Its easy to read with the large screen, I have big hands and poor eye site yet I can read it without my glasses and the larger buttons feel great in my hands. It gets satellites very well under cover and using it in geocaching its a great unit. I have a Garmin 60C and a Garmin 60CSX and have not problem taking the Meridian Gold over one of those. Each has features I like better in each one, but I like all 3 of these. I used them more for trail riding and hiking than anything else. It was a top of the line unit back when it still in my opinion is a far better buy than entry level units by garmin or magellan... For geocaching. The color one I don't care for in daylight and found the black and white one better. Then again, I'm not thrilled with the screen brightness on my 60CSX either. The 60C screen is small but very good in daylight. Again, each has its plus and minus. factors.... There are alot of web sites with good info on them and how to get more out of them. Just google them...

 

Swampy