vickibluemountain Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I'm new to geocaching and was thinking about buying the Magellan eXplorist GC as a starting device. However, despite endless online searching, I can't really find an answer as to whether it will work satisfactorily in the UK. Does it have UK maps? And how detailed are they? I'm not sure what the difference is between a basemap and a street map. Help, anyone?! Quote Link to comment
+Bear and Ragged Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 It will work in the UK. (It'll work worldwide ) Basemaps are useless, unless you only want to drive on motorways. I don't know of any maps available, but someone may be along soon... Quote Link to comment
+srmk00 Posted July 2, 2011 Share Posted July 2, 2011 I'm new to geocaching and was thinking about buying the Magellan eXplorist GC as a starting device. However, despite endless online searching, I can't really find an answer as to whether it will work satisfactorily in the UK. Does it have UK maps? And how detailed are they? I'm not sure what the difference is between a basemap and a street map. Help, anyone?! Hi, I started geocaching in October last year and after a few failed finds with my iPhone, because the GPS would send me near to the cache but on occasion not near enough to make a hint usable, I decided to invest in a 'proper' GPS device. After lots of research and with a price in mind that would justify the amount of time I spend caching in North West England (just a weekend hobby at the moment) I settled on the Magellan GC. I paid about £100 online for the device but had to pay a further £35 to customs for shipping from the US. I have now been using the Magellan GC for about 2 months and I have found it an excellent GPS that meets all my requirements. It is pre-loaded with UK maps that, although quite basic, have been more than adequate for the many finds I have logged in the last two months. The maps obviously mainly show roads, so any caches in fields etc.. and at a close zoom, you just end up with a green screen but if the co-ordinates are correct the Explorist GC will put you right on GZ. The only 'gripe' I would have is that I was un-aware that you have to pre-load it with geocaches before setting out meaning you can't 'cache on the fly' without pre planning (this is the case with most GPSs I have since found out), so I still on occasion fall back on my iphone but that said I would recommend the Explorist GC as a good GPS for any new GCr. Quote Link to comment
+me N u Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 We bought an Explorist GC in the USA last year and have used it in Cornwall - the preloaded maps generally displayed the country lanes if you zoomed in far enough and it seemed to be very accurate in position, the only annoying feature was that the compass rose "spins" when you are stationary. We use pocket queries to download caches in the area we wish to visit - at 1000 caches a time, and it is capable of storing 10,000 caches complete with listings and hints etc, it gives plenty of choice! Quote Link to comment
+jj n kitt Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I have had the magellan gc now for about three months i admit the maps are basic but it is extremly accurate for the money a very good buy Quote Link to comment
+julietr4 Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Hi, very interested in what everyone is saying about the Magellan GC. If you buy it from the USA (which seems incredibly cheap compared to the UK) does it come with a UK charger or does it charge vis USB? Quote Link to comment
+loopyhoop Posted July 17, 2011 Share Posted July 17, 2011 Hi, very interested in what everyone is saying about the Magellan GC. If you buy it from the USA (which seems incredibly cheap compared to the UK) does it come with a UK charger or does it charge vis USB? I bought mine from Amazon and it comes with a USB cable which is used for data only, it runs on AA batteries so you don't get a charger Quote Link to comment
+wildbrownies Posted July 19, 2011 Share Posted July 19, 2011 I bought mine from the USA NEW BOXED for £45 + shipping and it comes with everything you need. It is an excellent piece of kit for geocaching. No problem with loading your Pocket Queries onto it. Very accurate and it has all the little B and C roads on it as well. the only problem I have with it is, if you walk to fast it takes a few seconds to catch up. I have got use to it now and when I am 100ft away from the cache I slow down and wait for it to catch up. Regards Ian Quote Link to comment
vickibluemountain Posted July 19, 2011 Author Share Posted July 19, 2011 Thanks for all your helpful replies. It sounds like it will be fine for what I need but although I have tried to buy it on the geocaching site, it can't be shipped to me, so I'll have to buy it in the UK for a much higher price. Things are never as straighforward as they seem! Quote Link to comment
+The Gaggle Posted July 20, 2011 Share Posted July 20, 2011 ebay is the way to go - they were happy to ship to the UK Quote Link to comment
+objon2 Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 I also have this device and am new to the sport and I am happy with the purchase glad to hear that it works well and i plan to use it all over NY CT VT and AZ. I am looking for a way to download and update in one easy step. John O Quote Link to comment
+mpilchfamily Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 I only scanned the thread but it doesn't seem the map question was answered fully. Its base map is vary basic as most are. But the real problem lies in the units inability to have better maps installed onto it. Quote Link to comment
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