+AJ of Dunbar Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 Hey yall. I have been using my Sportrak map since feb, and I have been wanting to get maps for it but the small memory makes it hard to have a lot of maps. So consiquently im looking to upgrade. I am looking at the Meridian color traveler pack. Its got every thing i would need, except topo maps. But can you use topo and direct route together? I have read the color screen isnt as great as the 60cs screen. But i am having a hard time finding screen shots of the meridian color? might any one here have one? is it easy to see while driving/brightlight? Do you like your meridian color? i have read a few threads but id figure i post one for new users to throw in their ideas. aj Quote Link to comment
+embra Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 Don't have a color myself, so I can't speak to the display issues. But Topo and DR go together well. I have detail map files from both programs on my SD card, but most of the time I use a file combining the all the features or DR with the topographical data of Topo as described in this thread. The only thing that doesn't fold into this recipe is the Topo POIs. Quote Link to comment
+leatherman Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 If you are going to choose a GPSr only on the merits of the color screen than the 60 is the only choice. It has the best screen on the market. The Meridian is a two year old technology. If you want to maintain the familiarity of your Sport trac, than the Meridian is an excellent choice. The screen is very easy to view on the dash of my van. The back light does have to be on to view it. However when it's plugged into your car that doesn't matter. As for battery life in the field. I turn the light timer down to thirty seconds and I don't notice a significant drop in battery life compared to the Platinum I had. The Meridian is the only GPSr that meets my expectations. It doesn't have the best screen but it has unlimited memory. I can load all of the US and Canada on three SD cards. I don't have to take a computer with me. I can also save unlimited waypoints, in 500 waypoint files, to the SD card. Quote Link to comment
+AJ of Dunbar Posted August 16, 2004 Author Share Posted August 16, 2004 Yeah, the unlimited map space is a big plus, although i rarely go out of state. Is there any place with meridian color screen shots? i have seen some for the 60cs and it looks impresive, but they only shots i have seen for the meridian are the stock megellan photos. as much as i like magellan products, the 60cs does look like a good choice, i just wonder about memory capacity... i got atleast 4 months to decide, so ill be studying each product. aj Quote Link to comment
+embra Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 If you have a few months to mull it over, there has been a hint that Magellan may have a new model out in the fall with a display more comparable to the new Garmins. Quote Link to comment
+leatherman Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 If you have a few months to mull it over, there has been a hint that Magellan may have a new model out in the fall with a display more comparable to the new Garmins. Awesome! I roughly translate li-ion rechargeable via USB. Is that internal only? Do the explorist have the same menu system as the Meridians? Quote Link to comment
+AJ of Dunbar Posted August 16, 2004 Author Share Posted August 16, 2004 . The screen is very easy to view on the dash of my van. The back light does have to be on to view it. However when it's plugged into your car that doesn't matter.As for battery life in the field. I turn the light timer down to thirty seconds and I don't notice a significant drop in battery life compared to the Platinum I had. what exactly do you mean the backlight has to be on to view? all the time? in the field? i saw some other screen shots (not many) of the color andits doesnt look to bad. I wouldnt mind have a 60c, but it would cost over $100 more then the meridian color travler kit. plus the 60c memory is limited.... thanks for the info guys. aj Quote Link to comment
+embra Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 I roughly translate li-ion rechargeable via USB. Is that internal only?Do the explorist have the same menu system as the Meridians? That ad in French is the only thing I've seen, so your guess is as good as mine on your other questions. I do see that manuals for the 100, 200, and 300 are available for download at the Magellan site, but I haven't looked at them yet. One of us should take a look through there and report back. We can only do some reasoned speculation on the 500 offerings. Quote Link to comment
+GOT GPS? Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 . The screen is very easy to view on the dash of my van. The back light does have to be on to view it. However when it's plugged into your car that doesn't matter.As for battery life in the field. I turn the light timer down to thirty seconds and I don't notice a significant drop in battery life compared to the Platinum I had. what exactly do you mean the backlight has to be on to view? all the time? in the field? i saw some other screen shots (not many) of the color andits doesnt look to bad. I wouldnt mind have a 60c, but it would cost over $100 more then the meridian color travler kit. plus the 60c memory is limited.... thanks for the info guys. aj The MeriColor I had, had a black screen when turned OFF, kinda like a black PDA screen, and you know how hard a PDA is to view outside when you can't get the backlight bright enough. Quote Link to comment
Team-RBS Posted August 21, 2004 Share Posted August 21, 2004 I have Meridian Color. I can see the screen just find, even out in the desert sun. The only thing that kinda bothers me is the accuracy of the Mapsend Topo software. Out here in Far West Texas I'm not sure that the maps in the software match what is REALlY there. What I mean is that driving in El Paso the maps are pretty accurate. But farther east of town, Horizon City and east El Paso county, the position on my GPSr showns that I am always about 10-15 yards to the west of every road. It's like the Horizon City (a very small town) is not correct. I have traked and backtracked all over town and my GPSr always puts me in the same locations, but the map is off. Weird huh. But the Meridian has worked well for me, found some benchmarks and it put me within 1 yd of them. Quote Link to comment
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