Magellan Meridian Color - Review

[+GOT GPS?]

I have the Color GPS Now, and it is $499.99 at Sharper Image. It is the top of the line and better than the others.

Should use NiMH rechargables since this gps eats batteries.

 

It has an antenna connector on the side simular to the Garmin eMap & Map76.

 

Photos:

Photo #1 Antenna conector and Wrist Strap:

 

Photo #2 Back side with strap:

 

Photo #3 Compass Screen in Color:

 

Photo #4 The Front of the GPS:

 

Photo #5 The Map Screen in Color:

 

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My home page about GPS units and information

 

[This message was edited by GOT GPS? on November 01, 2002 at 02:37 PM.]

[+leatherman]

Why do you need to use NiMH? Does it come with NiMH?

Does it use the same MapSend Software is the others?

Where did you get it? How Much?

The screen looks very bright, does it suck power?

Does it use any kind of external antenna?

 

Preparation, the first law to survival.

Mokita!

[+Stunod]

What firmware version is the color running? Someone posted earlier that the color would have an upgraded firmware (v3.2??) that took care of the problem of accidently hitting the power button.

 

I would also be curious as to battery life. Leave that puppy on and let us know how long the cells last. How about viewing that screen in the daylight?

 

Thanks for being the guinea pig.

 

"Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand."

[+GOT GPS?]

Uses all existing Assesories.

 

NiMH batteries are popular for high drain devices, like digicams, becase they eat alkalines in only a few shots.

You can turn off the backlight, but that makes it hard to see the screen sometimes. The backlight on the Garmin Street Pilot III, when fully on, eat batteries in 2 hours, but if the backlight is off, the GPS lasts 20 hours on a set of batteries.

 

Magellan Meridian Color Software Version 3.25

 

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My home page about GPS units and information

[+Mr. Snazz]

Please tell me that its a reflective TFT display (the kind that are viewable in direct sunlight).

 

Using anything else for a GPS would be just plain silly.

[SergZak]

I don't know, maybe it's just me but I've always been rather unimpressed by the Meridian's screen resolution. I would rather have a high-rez gray-scale screen than a low-rez color screen. And to top it off, the unit apparently eats batteries in a hurry. Again, maybe I'm just spoiled by the high-rez screens on my Vista, GPSMAP 76S and GPS V.

[+dthigpen]

One question, does that wrist strap (Primarily interested in the bolt with the D-loop on it) come with it? If not, where did you buy it? If you made it yourself, want to sell one to me?

 

Doug

[Team Bohica]

quote:

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Originally posted by dthigpen:

One question, does that wrist strap (Primarily interested in the bolt with the D-loop on it) come with it? If not, where did you buy it? If you made it yourself, want to sell one to me?

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It should be quite easy to make your own. I made my own belt clip from parts I had around the house.

Take one cell phone clip, a rubber washer, and a #4-40 x 3/8 machine screw.

Put 'em together.

Strap it on.

 

No problem. The screw is probably the hardest part to find. I had one but you can pick up a pack of 5 for under a dollar at any hardware store. I clip it to my pocket or my backpack strap for a bit better reception. A wrist strap should be just as easy and cheaper. I'd whip you up one for a couple bucks.

 

The Bohican

 

--

Welcome to nowhere.nu. Now go home!

[+phantom4099]

Darn, now I want one. I guess I will just have to deal with my ipaq and gold. One question though, din't you have the gold/plat before? I was a thinking you where not totaly trilled about it.

 

You should post that link in the sci.geo.satellite-nav group.

 

Wyatt W.

 

The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions.

[+phantom4099]

So, do these advetisments on your page configure to ceratin individuals? I ask because there was a political add on there conserning our sentor seat, and I can't imaging that they would target sites like your(I mean they do more local ones, or news sites). Since I am from South Dakota I don't know how many people will see it that matters.

 

Have you noticed anything special in this firmware that may filter down to the users of the b/w screens?

 

Wyatt W.

Just thought it little odd.

 

The probability of someone watching you is directly proportional to the stupidity of your actions.

[+GOT GPS?]

The color GPS comes with strap, but you could email Magellan for straps to be available to all Meridian owners.

 

I may take it back, because the display is not readable without the backlight in any type of light. It is not as good a display as those anti-reflective displays in high-end PDA's. It's downside is the readability of the display without the backlight. It was disigned to be on always, even when new out of the box, it can be turned off though.

 

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My home page about GPS units and information

[dave and jaime]

for those with magellans and trying to make accessories, the screw for the cable/strap mount is the same as the screws/bolts used in many computer applications such as hard drive mounts, cable plugins, and mother board mount systems.

[Alphawolf]

Color is still useless on a GPS receiver!

 

"Never take a sunset for granted. Stop what you are doing and enjoy it. You never know when it may be your last"

[robertlipe]

The 330X came with a wrist strap that looks like the one pictured. It looks like a great idea for the first day you try to use it, then you realize it's not. The lanyard, becuase it's in the middle of the power/data jack, has to be removed any time you dock it in the car cradle. So if you have the car mount, you're either not able to use it or you have to thread this dorky little thread through a tiny little loop, taking valuable minutes away from your geocaching time. Even if you don't have the car cradle, you'll have to remove it to use the data cable.

 

BTW, does Meridian offer an option to make the idiotic "warning: power lost" alarm selectable like the REST of the alarms? On the 330, they're not so you get this pop-up every time you rip it out of the cradle to hand it to your co-pilot or leave the car to head to a cache...

[+leatherman]

quote:

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Originally posted by robertlipe:

 

BTW, does Meridian offer an option to make the idiotic "warning: power lost" alarm selectable like the REST of the alarms? On the 330, they're not so you get this pop-up every time you rip it out of the cradle to hand it to your co-pilot or leave the car to head to a cache...

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I read, that it wasn't good for the unit to leave it on when you undock it. I thought I read it in the 330 manual. I may have seen it in these forums. I can't remember.

Infact I don't use the DC plug in anymore. My Meridian Plat acted very weird when I used the DC cable.

 

Preparation, the first law to survival.

Mokita!

[dave and jaime]

thanks leatherman that confirmed what i thought about disconnecting the dc power cord for my 315. as for the lanyard for the 330x doesnt that unit have a d-ring on the screw holding down the battery cover? my 315 does and that is where i attach my lanyard, not the hold down for the power/data cable.

[SergZak]

quote:

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Originally posted by dave and jaime:

as for the lanyard for the 330x doesnt that unit have a d-ring on the screw holding down the battery cover? my 315 does and that is where i attach my lanyard, not the hold down for the power/data cable.

---

 

I have both the GPS 315 and the MAP 330 and both unit's exterior hardware is identical...the MAP 330 does indeed have the D-ring screw where the lanyard is attached.

[+Marky]

quote:

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Originally posted by leatherman:

Infact I don't use the DC plug in anymore. My Meridian Plat acted very weird when I used the DC cable.

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I use mine all the time, and may plug and unplug it 10 or more times in one day without powering it down. I've gotten used to the 'External Power Lost' beep and just have my finger hovering over the enter key when I undock it. I did notice that the electronic compass seemed to mess up more if you docked and undocked with the power on, but I disabled my electronic compass, so that's not an issue for me any more.

 

--Marky

"Everyone spends time in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

[+applezz]

I went to Magellan's webaite yesterday and asked about the Color's lanyard. Specifically if they had a part number that I would be able to order it with. I just received a reply that they were going to just send me one!