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Magellan Insiders Program Reintroduction of the eXplorist LINE.


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Later this year, another new one from a higher class will be more of what you want to buy for your own.

The now released unit is one to buy for your kids.

 

Speculation or facts?

 

This was'nt the only new release from Magellan this year.

You can take that as a fact. But there will be no other comment on this, cause "Magellan Insiders" get their hands on it much later.

It should not be such a surprise, that two years after the Triton and after this "little toy" there would be no more in near future. But there is still no release date, just "later this year".

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To any of the Insiders,

 

What cable is used to conect from usb to GPS?

 

Can you post a picture of the cable and how it is attacked?

 

Please tell us it is not the same screw thread.

Oh man, that was a bad design wasn't it? I still have my SporTrak Pro and that's one thing I hate everytime I use it. :lol:

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Later this year, another new one from a higher class will be more of what you want to buy for your own.

The now released unit is one to buy for your kids.

 

Speculation or facts?

 

From my correspondence.

"The eXplorist GC is the first product launch for Magellan Outdoor in 2010, but we have other great products “up our sleeve!” Stay tuned."

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We are also members of the Magellan Insiders Program and have had the unit for a little over a week. We have used it to find 20 or so caches and so far, we have to give the unit 2 thumbs up! There are a few things that will need to get worked out but as others have mentioned, we think it offers a lot of features. We did carry our Garmin's (Map 60 and Colorado) to compare and the new Magellan had very good accuracy. It also maintained signal under a dense pine forest.

 

We did realize that you can just drag and drop the PQ file directly into the gps folder when connected to the PC with the mini usb. Very cool. You do get all of the cache page information with hints & attributes, etc... on the unit. The type/font is a bit small on the screen so I do have to use my reading glasses. The color map screen is very nice. As for the accuracy, it is spot on!!!

 

We plan to use it more this week but overall, I think most folks will have a small learning curve with the unit and would be very pleased.

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Standard mini-USB.

 

Looks like all the crying and screaming about the Triton and Magellan products is paying off.

 

No more VantagePoint needed to upload geocaches, no more weird propitiatory cable, better battery life, no more 6 different models, no need to buy US maps.

 

I wonder if you can delete out all the preloaded caches with the unit though, like I said, preloaded caches can be a potential headache if the database for them isn't updated on a regular basis.

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Please tell us it is not the same screw thread.
Oh man, that was a bad design wasn't it? I still have my SporTrak Pro and that's one thing I hate everytime I use it. :)
You never bought the "dock" for it? I think I still have one lying around. Made it so nice to just snap the SporTrak into the dock and have it connected to the computer instead of having to deal with that lame screw connection.
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I wonder if you can delete out all the preloaded caches with the unit though, like I said, preloaded caches can be a potential headache if the database for them isn't updated on a regular basis.

 

It's a separate .gpx file, so you should be able to.

Yes you can. I made a copy then deleted from the unit just to see if you can. No problem at all. I also made a .gpx from GSAK and loaded it and that worked also. So you can either just drag and drop the file straight from your email (unzipped) or create a special one from GSAK. I'm thinking you could easily send a .gpx from GSAK to the gps, but I haven't tried that yet.

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The file system and loading process is pretty straight forward (once you know how).

 

Connect the GC to the Computer with a standard mini-D connection.

Power up if it isn't already (not automatic)

Select the "connect to PC" option.

It works as a thumb drive and you will get a drive letter in which to access it.

 

The locations are pretty much self explanatory with a place for Geocaches and another folder for Waypoints. You will need to separate these out from the ZIP file in your Pocket Query(ies).

 

I am using the automotive power cord from an old cell phone to provide power in the car.

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I am mildly curious as to how you fellas became insiders.

by having never let a Garmin product touch your hands!

Hmm so I guess when I did my rant in the Triton forums, about my 400 and my two exp500s I burnt my bridges <_<

I think I'll wait awhile before trying the new explorist, maybe when they come out with more bells and whistles

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Hmm so I guess when I did my rant in the Triton forums, about my 400 and my two exp500s I burnt my bridges <_<

Maybe not so much the bridges thing; more the expats running like they were being chased w/icepicks.

I know, for one, they couldn't've "Shanghaied" me back on board. I heard, and couldn't resist the sirens

once, It'd take some pretty sweet singin' to get me to steer that close to the rocks again. In fact, I may

be too close now just peekin' through the fence. No need to tie me to the mast just yet, . . . Whew!

 

Norm

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For those interested. I had to spend the night before last in Texas so I took this unit with me. I only had time to grab one cache (a TB hotel) and when I got in my rental car and turned it on, it locked on and updated my location in less than a minute.

 

On a related note - man is Texas flat! No tree interference at all! <_<

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I am mildly curious as to how you fellas became insiders.

by having never let a Garmin product touch your hands!

Alright, I've been called out and busted on this one. I must admit that I had a fling with an old eTrex. But I swear it was just a physical thing, no emotional attachment, and I always wore gloves.

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When you compare accuracy and reception with newer models from competitors, you will not find much differences.

 

Lowrance Endura, Magellan Triton, Garmin Oregon, Garmin 60/76CSx and many more units > all of them have a great accuracy and reception.

 

If you compare with an way older model like the Meridian, well, no wonder that it's so much faster and so much more accurate.

That's not the point anymore.

Better look for available maps, limited battery life, screen readability in sunshine, the software that is needed on a PC, available accessories for this device.

 

I have plenty of gpsr inside my desk drawer. They all are able to get a position in under one minute, under canopy cover or even inside my house (european style made of stone).

In 2010 to mention how good the reception of a brand new gps-device is, is like to mention that a new washing powder can make your shirt whiter than white. <_<

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Looks like I might be going back to Mgellan as they seemed to take care of the issues that had me switch to the Oregon.

 

I was using a Explorist 500 but after the screw stripped in the back it became a pain to charge plus having to convert files before using them added extra work. I did like the fact that I could store an unlimited number of files for different areas to cache . But the 500 waypoints limitation was still a problem.

 

Looks like this new unit fixes my issues.

 

Now what are the mapps like?

 

TSD

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If you compare with an way older model like the Meridian, well, no wonder that it's so much faster and so much more accurate.

 

WoW! Where's the love?

The Meridian is still the most powerful and accurate GPSr I've used! As far back as the mid 90's it had unlimited expandability and USB load-ability. A simple firmware update gave it auto-routing.

 

I think the model would excel with a faster chipset and a trans-reflective screen. Firmware could add drag and drop GPX support. Still a viable front runner. IMHO

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Yes, it probably would be best to wait until people who buy this Magellan GC on the street level review it for a good unbiased review. Amazing how many bugs start showing up on new GPSr units when hardcore geocachers get their hands on them.

 

One good thing, Magellan is now owned by a real GPS company (MiTac). When the horrible Triton came out, they were owned by something called "Shah Capital partners", who ran the company into the ground.

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curate.

 

WoW! Where's the love?

The Meridian is still the most powerful and accurate GPSr I've used! As far back as the mid 90's it had unlimited expandability and USB load-ability. A simple firmware update gave it auto-routing.

 

I'm not trying to stir up something but the MeriPlats, MeriGolds, MeriGreens used a propitiatory serial cable and not USB and they weren't around in the mid 90s. 2001 was the release date.

 

But yes, when they were released in 2001, they had stuff the Garmins didn't have, like SD card capability and they were built like tanks. They were the best consumer grade GPS units on the planet for a number of years.

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I'm not trying to stir up something but the MeriPlats, MeriGolds, MeriGreens used a propitiatory serial cable and not USB and they weren't around in the mid 90s. 2001 was the release date.

 

But yes, when they were released in 2001, they had stuff the Garmins didn't have, like SD card capability and they were built like tanks. They were the best consumer grade GPS units on the planet for a number of years.

 

I said USB load-ability. The SD card readers were USB. I've only used the serial cable for firmware updates. All other features are loadable via USB card reader.

 

Good catch on the release date. I probably confused it with the Map330.

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Now what are the mapps like?

 

No loadable maps on this model.

 

The base map is very extensive. I haven't been on a street that hasn't been on the GC.

 

Are the base maps at a topo level or just street maps?

 

TSD

 

Streets only. Green for parks and blue for rivers and bodies of water.

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Just a short note for GSAK users.

 

I plan to fully support the Explorist GC via GPS=>Send, "adding value" to the process.

 

The latest GSAK build sees the start of this support. For more information please see this post

Last night I upgraded my GSAK to include this new build and it loading caches to the new Explorist GC worked like a charm. One note, remember to change your preferences to the 1.0.1 gpx version under your profiles. This is what will get some of that extra information into GSAK to load to the gps.

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I know this is an old topic but I'm new to geocaching. I'm also a new owner of the Magellan eXplorist GC. I've never used any kind of GPS before and I feel like I'm holding an alien in my hand. Is there anywhere I can get step by step instructions on how to use this thing? I understand how to get the caches loaded on it but I don't know how to use the darn thing. Any help would be appreciated.

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