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Meridian Lanyard Anchor Point..


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Anyone have a better idea regarding the lanyard attachment for the Meridians? I really don't want a case as I have a nice little pocket on my fanny pack that it slides into... All I want is to be able to attach a "tether" from the GPS to a belt loop or ? just to catch it in case of a fall. <_<

 

I've gone through two of these things and want something better. I know the thread of the insert is 4-40, I believe... I think an "eye bolt" or something of that nature is the answer. Better yet some kind of eye bolt with a swivel. Maybe that's asking too much... Magellan should re-design this.

 

Any ideas?

 

Cheers!

 

Team Flushingrouse :D

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Buy a garmin, the cases don't crack and they come with a lanyard and pc cable. All your Magellan problems solved.

Yes, it's terrible that we have to choose between a bad GPS in a good case, or a good GPS in a bad case. <_< Just kidding! I haven't used a Garmin enough to have an opinion, so please let's not start yet another brand debate. I do have a Sportrak Map which fortunately has no cracks yet. My wife just got a MeriPlat. Hers came with a lanyard that looks just like my Sportrak one. Can't say the screw looks like you'd want to yank really hard on it, and the threads being in the middle of the back of the unit isn't ideal, but it seems that it would be

a "tether" from the GPS to a belt loop or ? just to catch it in case of a fall.
and it folds flat , which does make it
some kind of eye bolt with a swivel
I agree it could use improvement, but I couldn't tell from your post if maybe the earlier Meridians didn't come with a lanyard at all. If not, I'm sure they'd send you one.
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Yeah, I didn't want to start a war either, I've just been reading about a lot of quality control/customer service problems with magellans. Don't take my poke at Magellan seriously. <_< I've never owned one nor used one enough to have an opinion(with the exception of an ancient 315-I think that's what it was-looked like it had an 11 segment style calculator screen).

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No, I really love the unit itself. The problem is with that little screw "thingie" in the back that's supposed to allow you to hook a lanyard or clip to it. The screw itself is o.k. but, the part that makes up the eye is basically paper clip gauge wire that just ends up pulling out of the base, leaving you with a screw...

 

Make sense?

 

I thought someone else may have a fix... I'm not looking for Magellan to replace anything... They should just improve on the fastner portion of the setup....

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Here are a couple of images of the lanyard attachment I use:

 

f2437a63-b099-4c25-a621-f085b0f478f6.jpg03e7182e-c5e3-454c-ac4e-3a6981734ae1.jpg

 

The thumb screw came from McMaster-Carr (#94567a120) #4-40, 5/16" long. I had to cut the threads down a little shorter...to about 3/16" (use the screw cutter dies on a pair of wire strippers) so that they didn't bottom out in the hole.

 

I've had no problem with the screw working itself loose...I think the swivel on the end of the lanyard helps.

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This looks like a good place to pass along a contraption sold at theclip.com that could serve as a lanyard.

 

The plus to me is that it doesn't rely on the bolt hole, but rather uses an adhesive mount which one can clip in the detachable lanyard. The drawback is that I couldn't figure out any place except just above the screen display to mount it without interfering with dashboard mounts or data cables.

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Well I normally keep the gps in a pocket on my fanny pack... and then loop a lanyard from the back of the gps to someplace near my belt buckle.... It's really just acting as a safety so, I can't drop it or let it get knocked out of the fanny pack pocket...

 

It's possible I got a couple of defective ones to begin with...

 

Bill

Team FG

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Ahh, the slingshot effect... How fun.. :mad:

 

Yeah, it does exist but once you get a feel for it it's not too terrible of a thing to get past. The latest firmware upgrade (5.12) I believe was supposed to lessen the effects of this. I tried it out and ended up going back to what I had. I didn't notice any fix regarding slingshot and they also added a couple of other undesireable things to the interface....

 

Still waiting for.....? :mad:

 

Still lovin' my Maggies...

 

Bill

Team Flushingrouse 35610437393.jpg

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  I agree it could use improvement, but I couldn't tell from your post if maybe the earlier Meridians didn't come with a lanyard at all.  If not, I'm sure they'd send you one.

I got my Meridian platinum for Christmas. Mine did not come with a lanyard. Was it supposed to? I really would like to have a way to hook something to it.

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AFAIK only the colors are coming with lanyards.

I bought a new Meriplat a couple of months ago and it came with a lanyard. I don't use it though because the it is too inconvenient to remove it every time I set it into my dash mount or connect it to a PC.

 

I really liked the neoprene case with the belt clip that I had for my SportTrak. Too bad Magellan couldn't make a similar case for the Meridians. ;)

 

_______________

Gorak

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Huh--that's the first I've heard that they are now included with Plats

Well, I did say

My wife just got a MeriPlat. Hers came with a lanyard that looks just like my Sportrak one.
earlier in this thread. I promise I wasn't making it up. :D It does seem odd though that some have it and some don't.

 

The Team Flushingrouse Lanyard looks great! Will you be trademarking the name Flushing Lanyard? Any plans to make a long version to replace the lanyard screw on Sportraks that holds the battery compartment shut? I feel like I'm gonna break it every time I change batteries...

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The Team Flushingrouse Lanyard looks great!  Will you be trademarking the name Flushing Lanyard?  Any plans to make a long version to replace the lanyard screw on Sportraks that holds the battery compartment shut?  I feel like I'm gonna break it every time I change batteries...

 

What does the long screw look like on the sportrak look like? If someone would send me a picture I could look into it.... Is it a small screw like the 4-40 threaded one on the meridians?

 

Bill

Team Flushingrouse

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Anyone have a better idea regarding the lanyard attachment for the Meridians?  I really don't want a case as I have a nice little pocket on my fanny pack that it slides into...  All I want is to be able to attach a "tether" from the GPS to a belt loop or ? just to catch it in case of a fall.  :D

 

I've gone through two of these things and want something better.  I know the thread of the insert is 4-40, I believe...  I think an "eye bolt" or something of that nature is the answer.  Better yet some kind of eye bolt with a swivel.  Maybe that's asking too much...  Magellan should re-design this. 

 

Any ideas?

 

Cheers!

 

Team Flushingrouse B)

I use a stick on cell phone thingy that has a mating belt clip, dash mount or lanyard

 

Lanyard

 

They sell the dash/belt clip combo at Best Buy, I think.

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Huh--that's the first I've heard that they are now included with Plats (at least some of the time, apparently).  Live and learn.

 

Gorak, I'm not familiar with the neoprene SporTrack cases, but have you seen these for the Meridians?

How sturdy is the button on the case that slips into the belt clip part? I used a similar case for a cell phone once, and the button ripped apart from the case fairly easily.

 

If these are sturdy, I could use this kind of case for my Gold.

 

Thanks for sharing

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I've seen a couple of variations of this through my Magellan travels. I decided long ago that if I'm going to give up the ability to dock it in the car/cradle, I'll protect the whole unit while doing so thusly but I do see a lot of folks asking for this. (Hint: a well worded plug in the Meridian yahoogroup that didn't come across as crassly commercial might get some business for you.)

 

The question I have not seen answered is about the Meridian case design itself. From a mechanical view, a screwhole meant for tethering a data cable and one meant to support a piece of outdoorsy gear are very different. If this screwhole is anchored in, say, the PCB instead of to ribs in the case itself, it could be Very Bad News as it'd be entirely reasonable for the circuit board to not be mounted to support the unit itself. I've never taken the cover off mine to see how that really is set in the case, but before going nuts with this solution, I suggest someone with a mechanical mindset at least give this a thought.

 

BTW, the screw on the ST battery pod is longer and slimmer, but it already has a lanyard attachemnt. (There's the little detail that the unit is upside down when suspended by the lanyard.) The screw on the power/data port is a 4/40, just like the Meridian and 3xx series.

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Good point Robert!! About the hole not being sound enough for the unit to "hang" from... My Platinum and Gold both came with a hand lanyard as a stock item. So, I guess I never questioned the strength... I'd believe the threaded insert in the back of the unit can handle it...

 

I've never had any of mine apart either... Too scared to take the things apart....

 

Any thoughts anyone else?

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The question I have not seen answered is about the Meridian case design itself. From a mechanical view, a screwhole meant for tethering a data cable and one meant to support a piece of outdoorsy gear are very different. If this screwhole is anchored in, say, the PCB instead of to ribs in the case itself, it could be Very Bad News as it'd be entirely reasonable for the circuit board to not be mounted to support the unit itself. I've never taken the cover off mine to see how that really is set in the case, but before going nuts with this solution, I suggest someone with a mechanical mindset at least give this a thought.
I've had mine open before. The brass theaded insert is only attached to the case. There are small wires connecting the 4 contacts to the circuit board. Edited by Stunod
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It's been brought to my attention that there may be a problem with the internal compass not getting along with the metal keyring and or the metal clip used on many of the lanyards... People with them should check into this... I've already replaced the ring on mine with a solid brass ring and removed the clip from the lanyard. I just "thread" the new brass ring onto the lanyard itself... Seems to have fixed the problem on my end. I just thought you all should know...

 

Bill

Team Flushingrouse

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I get a 4-40 brass round-head machine screw and a small brass washer. File one flat edge in the washer. Stick this in the screw head and solder. Then cover the washer with epoxy putty in the shape of a ball, with a hole through the washer. You can tie your lanyard directly to this. Won't scratch things you put it on and no iron to affect the compass.

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Scout, I tried that and it seemed too weak to me... But, if it's working for you, Great!!!

 

I still have parts if anyone is interested... Probably enough to make at least 3 dozen more(I bought in bulk)...

 

;)

You haven't sold enough yet to let me start siphoning off the profits into my off-shore pivate banking accounts??? Geez... ;)

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I wonder when the Meridian platform will get a re-design and get a built-in lanyard attachment point like the Sportrak Color has. The greatest benefit is that you don't need to remove the lanyard to clip in to a mount or attach the data cable. I've learned to live with the limited memory (not an option for some people, like those that travel a lot). Oh, and I hope that the Meri Color gets the nice higher rez color screen the STC has as well. That would be a really sweet GPS.

 

--Marky

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