+sseegars Posted December 2, 2010 Share Posted December 2, 2010 I am considering buying a Magellan Tough Case for Christmas. I have an iPod touch so the GPS would be a big plus. I am not a Magellanite! I was wondering if anyone has tried out the unit with a Touch. Quote Link to comment
+Devoir Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I would read this article posted.... http://www.habitationofjustice.com/magellan-toughcase-review-what-you-need-to-know Quote Link to comment
+Devoir Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 (edited) I would read this article posted.... http://www.habitationofjustice.com/magellan-toughcase-review-what-you-need-to-know I got this as a gift and tried to Geocach. Walking it would not update unless you ran or restarted the application.... kinda defeats the purpose of have it.... 1st i'm calling Magellan tomorrow... 2nd if not happy then i'm returning it.. Today with the Geocaching app 4.2.1 I was also tracking the battery usage, fully charged after two hours of usage 2 of the 4 bars were used .... so I would extrapolate it will only allow usage for 4 hours or less..... Edited January 3, 2011 by Devoir Quote Link to comment
+northernpenguin Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I would read this article posted.... http://www.habitationofjustice.com/magellan-toughcase-review-what-you-need-to-know I got this as a gift and tried to Geocach. Walking it would not update unless you ran or restarted the application.... kinda defeats the purpose of have it.... 1st i'm calling Magellan tomorrow... 2nd if not happy then i'm returning it.. Today with the Geocaching app 4.2.1 I was also tracking the battery usage, fully charged after two hours of usage 2 of the 4 bars were used .... so I would extrapolate it will only allow usage for 4 hours or less..... The latest version of the Geocaching app is a bit laggy. Fix is coming "soon". As for battery performance, running a smartphone (or similar device) for 4 hours straight with GPS is actually pretty good performance! Grab yourself a battery pack and carry on happily. Quote Link to comment
+geodarts Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 (edited) I got this as a gift and tried to Geocach. Walking it would not update unless you ran or restarted the application.... kinda defeats the purpose of have it.... The SIRF III chip is probably set on static navigation, meaning that if you are moving it will not jump back and forth when you slow down and stop. That is great for a car, but not so good for hiking because it does not refresh. I have a pda/gpsr with this chip and had to find a utility to turn this feature off before it would work for hiking and geocaching. You would think that a tough case would be better designed for outdoor use. I don't know of any similar utility for the iphone - perhaps Magellan offers something. Edited January 3, 2011 by mulvaney Quote Link to comment
+DR4 Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I find the Touchcase to be a solid product with decent battery life when GPS enabled. The lack of coordinate updates when travelling less than 5km/hr is a BIG issue for Geocaching and walking. What I find frustrating is not knowing what the root cause of the update issue is and therefore who to pursue for a solution. From reading other posts by people who have contacted Apple, Groundspeak and Magellan, there appears some be some finger pointing going on. If anyone has any information on the root cause or solutions please contribute. Quote Link to comment
FireBatwing Posted January 3, 2011 Share Posted January 3, 2011 I am considering buying a Magellan Tough Case for Christmas. I have an iPod touch so the GPS would be a big plus. I am not a Magellanite! I was wondering if anyone has tried out the unit with a Touch. The tough case does not work for geocaching! It utterly fails at the task because it does not update at walking speeds. It is only being advertised to help sell Ground Speaks Iphone app, which is shameless. I just spent $110.00 to waterproof my Ipod. Just my opinion Quote Link to comment
+WallynSC Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 Freekacher, Have you used your ToughCase enough to give an opinion? Quote Link to comment
+CampgawCrawler Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I am considering buying a Magellan Tough Case for Christmas. I have an iPod touch so the GPS would be a big plus. I am not a Magellanite! I was wondering if anyone has tried out the unit with a Touch. Freekacher, I have the Toughcase and have used it with the Ipod. I used the geocaching app and a free GPS app by MotionX. It is very clear that when at walking speeds the coordinates DO NOT UPDATE regardless of the app used. I am currently in contact with Magellan about the issue...waiting a response. It simply, in its current configuration, is not usable for geocaching. Hope this helps. CampgawCrawler Quote Link to comment
+Berz Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 (edited) Hey Everyone, Ok here is an update. For any of you thinking on buying this product for Geocaching DO NOT BUY!!! I repeat DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!! After several hours, yes you read that correctly hours, on the phone with Magellan and getting the run around we finally were told that the Toughcase is NOT compatible with the Geocaching app for iPhone/iTouch's. Not only that but once you receive the Toughcase you will be required to spend more money on Magellan app's through iTunes to Maps. These maps are not Geocache friendly either. Now personally I think this is Flagrant false advertising as the tough case was advertised ON THE GEOCACHE HOMPAGE and yet is NOT compatible with the geocaching app. When this was brought up to Magellan they had no comment. We had a heck of a time trying to get a refund and they even refused to pay us back for our expedited delivery of 2 days (it actually came in 7) and then wanted us to pay 50$ to ship it BACK to them for the refund. All in all I am going to say we are extremely displeased in Magellan as a company and with Geocaching.com for allowing this false advertising pretense. Sorry for long post but just thought anyone considering this should be aware of what they are buying. Edit: If Groundspeak could adapt their iPhone and iTouch app to work with the Toughcase I'm sure this product would be fantastic but as it stands now it is completely useless to Geocachers. Berz out. Edited January 4, 2011 by Berz Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted January 4, 2011 Share Posted January 4, 2011 I considered the case for a while but figured the $110 was better spent on a known good GPSr for Geocaching. So i went to Amazon.com and picked up an eTrex Legend H. I still use my iTouch with the Geocaching app since it allows me to go paperless. Quote Link to comment
FireBatwing Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 (edited) Freekacher, Have you used your ToughCase enough to give an opinion? WallynSC, I only give opinions on things I have direct knowledge of and I think will be of interest to others. I have been an avid outdoorsman for 25 years, and have been using GPS units (I have 5) for 15 years (although just recently started Geocaching for my 5 year old son). Instead of questioning my credibility, why not try and add something meaningful to the discussion =:^)> Edited January 5, 2011 by FireBatwing Quote Link to comment
+jsuvman Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 The SIRF III chip is probably set on static navigation, meaning that if you are moving it will not jump back and forth when you slow down and stop. That is great for a car, but not so good for hiking because it does not refresh. I have a pda/gpsr with this chip and had to find a utility to turn this feature off before it would work for hiking and geocaching. You would think that a tough case would be better designed for outdoor use. I don't know of any similar utility for the iphone - perhaps Magellan offers something. I agree. It is a SiRFstarIII chipset setting. I just posted this same thing ove here. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=266441&view=findpost&p=4580929 I know the command to turn it on and off but do not know how to do it on an iPhone or iTouch? Someone will find out how to turn it off. I am very supprised that Magellan did not turn it off? Quote Link to comment
+ecanderson Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 Over in the iPhone section, one user reports a consistent result based upon cable in use, which may point to the issue with the Toughcase. http://feedback.geocaching.com/forums/75277-geocaching-for-iphone/suggestions/1339795-ipod-touch-magellan-toughcase-coordinate-issue?ref=comments and perhaps tied to this: http://feedback.geocaching.com/forums/75277-geocaching-for-iphone/suggestions/1335315-gps-stops-running-when-power-source-changes?ref=comments There may well be a relationship between those complaints. Quote Link to comment
+CodeJunkie Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Well I'm in the same boat as all you other buyers on the sweetheart GC deal that was posted. I've also started a thread on the WI Geocaching Association where I listed some of the pros / cons of the device in my using of it. http://www.wi-geocaching.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=12151 Quote Link to comment
+geodarts Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Just out of curiousity (and because I was considering getting one), has anybody tried the toughcase with geosphere or an alternate caching app? If there is a hardware issue with the chip, it probably would not make a difference, but it would be interesting if it works fine with other apps. Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 As i understand it the Toughcase is a hardware issue not software. Something to do with slow response of the hardware. It seems to update very slow. Quote Link to comment
+journey4truth Posted January 11, 2011 Share Posted January 11, 2011 Just out of curiousity (and because I was considering getting one), has anybody tried the toughcase with geosphere or an alternate caching app? If there is a hardware issue with the chip, it probably would not make a difference, but it would be interesting if it works fine with other apps. I've tried it with Geosphere, the official Groundspeak app and Google Maps. The same issue occurs on all of them. It is definitely a hardware issue. Quote Link to comment
+lazylightning Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I should have learned my lesson with the last magellan product I bought. It was JUNK and the toughcase is JUNK too. magellan products are pretty worthless. Stay with Garmin, they have quality products. Quote Link to comment
+jsuvman Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 I'm sure the Toughcase is a good product from what I have read. It was just not made for Geocaching since the SIRF III chip is most likely set on static navigation just like on most car GPSr that use this chip. There is a program from SIRF Technology called SIRF Demo in which you can plug in you GPSr to your computer and change the setting to static navigation "off". I had to do this with my original TomTom One in order to use it for Geocaching. I then found a script that could be loaded on the TomTom so I added buttons on the TomTom to turn it on and off but that is for a different discussion. Anyway, I do not know if the software would work with the Toughcase? I guess the question would be if you plug the toughcase into your computer without the iPod in it, does the computer detect it? I am also supprised that Magellan, or someone, just doesn't make an app to do turn it on and off? Quote Link to comment
+jsuvman Posted February 6, 2011 Share Posted February 6, 2011 (edited) I'm sure the Toughcase is a good product from what I have read. It was just not made for Geocaching since the SIRF III chip is most likely set on static navigation just like on most car GPSr that use this chip. There is a program from SIRF Technology called SIRF Demo in which you can plug in you GPSr to your computer and change the setting to static navigation "off". I had to do this with my original TomTom One in order to use it for Geocaching. I then found a script that could be loaded on the TomTom so I added buttons on the TomTom to turn it on and off but that is for a different discussion. Anyway, I do not know if the software would work with the Toughcase? I guess the question would be if you plug the toughcase into your computer without the iPod in it, does the computer detect it? I am also supprised that Magellan, or someone, just doesn't make an app to do turn it on and off? I guess I should have checked this older post first. http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=266441&view=findpost&p=4603218 Looks like Magellan is offering a firmware update due to all the complaints. Good for them. Now I wonder if you can still get one for $99? Edited February 6, 2011 by jsuvman Quote Link to comment
+richardspda Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 any updates with the new firmware and the ToughCase? I just ordered mine and have confirmed it should be shipping with the new firmware. Quote Link to comment
+jsuvman Posted June 18, 2011 Share Posted June 18, 2011 Now that the problems with the Magellan Tough Case has been resolved with the firmware update and works for Geocaching, is anyone using one with an iPod Touch? If so, I am curious as to what geocaching app you use and what map you might have installed that will let you navigate to a cache using the map? The Geocaching app needs a connection to the internet to get the maps and an iPod Touch only connects to wireless so I figure it would not work out on the road unless a standalone map is installed? Also, I have the geocaching app and it will not let you use a standalone map installed on your iPod Touch. There must be some options for a geocaching app and a map so you can navigate to caches with an iPod Touch using the Tough Case? Quote Link to comment
+johnvanderlip Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I can answer a couple questions but I use the XGPS251. I use the geosphere app and Navigon for driving. It's pretty slick, geosphere has an option to allow you to switch to Navigon to get driving directions to the cache. It's perfect for park and grabs, as you get closer you switch to the compass page in geosphere, get as close as you can and the pop the iPod/cradle unit out and walk the rest of the way. As far as maps with the caches, if you look at the map page in geosphere while you have wi-fi the maps are tempoarily stored in memory so they are still available while you're out caching. Quote Link to comment
+jsuvman Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 I can answer a couple questions but I use the XGPS251. I use the geosphere app and Navigon for driving. It's pretty slick, geosphere has an option to allow you to switch to Navigon to get driving directions to the cache. It's perfect for park and grabs, as you get closer you switch to the compass page in geosphere, get as close as you can and the pop the iPod/cradle unit out and walk the rest of the way. As far as maps with the caches, if you look at the map page in geosphere while you have wi-fi the maps are tempoarily stored in memory so they are still available while you're out caching. Thanks for the reply. It would probably work the same way with the Tough Case. That is what Groundspeak should do in one of their new versions of their geocaching app. Give you the option to switch to a map, or even use a map installed on you iPod within the geocaching app. Quote Link to comment
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