+DragonMaster & LadyFaire Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 Greetings fellow cachers, I am in desperate need of your opinions. We are about to purchase a new GPSr and we have taken the list down to: Magellan Meridian Gold or... Magellan SportTrak Pro Please let me know and pros/cons you might have on either of these units. Thanks for all you help in advance. We want to get back out to caching and need to make this purchase ASAP!! DM & LF Quote Link to comment
+GOT GPS? Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 Don't buy any sportrak, but get a MeriGold. Both the SporTraks and the eTrexes are to be avoided due to manufacturing defects that are not going to be fixed. The best value out there is a Meridian Gold with Direct Route and a good memory card Quote Link to comment
+IV_Warrior Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 When I bought a Magellan, the one and only reason was to be able to use SD cards.....so I went with the Meridian. Even if I wasn't looking to use SD cards, I'd avoid the Sporttrak line, after all the posts I've seen here complaining about them cracking......... Quote Link to comment
+Kit Fox Posted July 10, 2004 Share Posted July 10, 2004 (edited) I wouldn't trade in my Meridian gold unless.... a Platinum was given to me. I bought mine with a carrying case for 204.00. www.shopharmony.com All I need now is the Directroute software, and I have a simple autorouting navigation system. Bill, Edited July 10, 2004 by Kit Fox Quote Link to comment
HodgesFamily Posted July 11, 2004 Share Posted July 11, 2004 We had the same decision to make; we first bought and tried the Sport, then took it back for the Gold because of the bigger base map and SD card upgrades. We love the Gold and have had good luck with it. Quote Link to comment
+phantom4099 Posted July 11, 2004 Share Posted July 11, 2004 Only advantage the sportrack pros has is the size of the unit. Having the SD memory in the gold allows you to have multiple maps sets (consisting of the same map program or a mixture of programs e.g. topo and direct route), fast uploads of maps with a memory card reader/writer, basically unlimited waypoints/routes/tracks, and as many maps as your card can hold. Wyatt W. Quote Link to comment
+grandkid 38 Posted July 11, 2004 Share Posted July 11, 2004 We have been using the meridian gold , except for heavy canopy and lack of active compass it is good . I have ordered a garmin 60cs and will give you a comparison after using . Quote Link to comment
+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite Posted July 11, 2004 Share Posted July 11, 2004 I wouldn't trade in my Meridian gold unless.... a Platinum was given to me. I bought mine with a carrying case for 204.00. My Platium took a dump after about 900 finds. I bought the gold and love it. My compass on the platium never really worked right from the beginning anyhow. The gold is the best value on the market. Quote Link to comment
4x4van Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 I believe the ST is getting a bad (and undeserved) rap here. Comparing those two units, yes, the Meridian is a better unit becasue of the SD card/base maps, but the ST Pro is still a very good unit as well. Some people have made a big deal over the cracks, but IMO that is way overblown. Most of those are so small that it takes very close inspection to even see them, and Magellan has been very good about replacing them if/when the owners want, oftentimes even when out-of-warranty. The cracks are also only on the outside, so they don't affect the water-proofing at all. I love my ST Pro, even with the tiny, nearly imperceptible cracks, and prefer it's more compact size over the Meridian line. The ST's 23MB of memory is plenty for what I do, so the SD card is not an issue for me. Anyway, if the larger physical size is acceptable to you, and/or the SD card is important, then the Meridian is the obvious choice. But it would be a mistake to rule out the ST only on the basis of tiny cosmetic cracks. Quote Link to comment
+DragonMaster & LadyFaire Posted July 12, 2004 Author Share Posted July 12, 2004 Thanks all for your input. We have opted for the MeriGold and look forward to getting out and caching again. See you on the trails! Quote Link to comment
+CompuCash Posted July 12, 2004 Share Posted July 12, 2004 I believe the ST is getting a bad (and undeserved) rap here. Comparing those two units, yes, the Meridian is a better unit becasue of the SD card/base maps, but the ST Pro is still a very good unit as well. Some people have made a big deal over the cracks, but IMO that is way overblown. Most of those are so small that it takes very close inspection to even see them, and Magellan has been very good about replacing them if/when the owners want, oftentimes even when out-of-warranty. The cracks are also only on the outside, so they don't affect the water-proofing at all. I love my ST Pro, even with the tiny, nearly imperceptible cracks, and prefer it's more compact size over the Meridian line. The ST's 23MB of memory is plenty for what I do, so the SD card is not an issue for me. Anyway, if the larger physical size is acceptable to you, and/or the SD card is important, then the Meridian is the obvious choice. But it would be a mistake to rule out the ST only on the basis of tiny cosmetic cracks. I gotta second that ! I had a Map and traded it for the Pro for the memory. Love the size and accuracy! Quote Link to comment
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