Exporist 500

5.3k · March 30, 2005

My Explorist 500 got here a day early!! Have not had a chance to do much with. the screen is very sharp and easy to see in daylight. Tonight I am going to work on laoding a topo map onto it, the 500 does not work the same as other Magellens as far as loading maps.

2k · March 30, 2005

5.3k · March 30, 2005

I guess it's time for an early call to Mag. tech support

Explorist ises something called and ASCII file system, what ever that is. :laughing:

It is very easy to use in one hand though, but I might have and edge up, I spent many many years learning slight of hand

Edit to Add: OK it's 12:20AM, I just got a batch of waypoints and a topo loaded onto my Explorist 500. I will post a follow up after I get some sleep, but first I think I might go for a FTF before it gets to late.

Edited March 30, 2005 by JohnnyVegas

March 30, 2005

Johnny...an ASCII file is simply a text file. If you opened Windows Notepad, for example, and typed something, you're essentially creating an ASCII file. It's a good one to use because they're small and can be read by almost any computer.

March 30, 2005

:rolleyes:

Hi it's me again. I got my explorist 500 the day before Easter.(see other thread) We have spent almost 2 days on the phone with Magellan tech support because my computer (with Windows XP SP1) will not recognize it. We also tried it on the laptop (with Windows 2000) and it still was not recognized and would not communicate with either. Bottom line, after many diagnostics and tweaking of settings on both the computer and unit, Magellan is replacing it. So I apologize for not being too much help. Also didn't take any pictures because I was too busy talking to tech support. (and unfortunately, like you guys I can't' stay up until 4:00 am!!)

I do like the fact that it is small. The buttons may be difficult for someone with large hands but work well for me. The screen size is a little smaller than my SportTrak Pro, but the graphics are larger so I think it is better.

The waypoint files that I downloaded from the website and used with EasyGPS I can load with Geocache Manager (don't know if they download since I can't get it to talk!)

I'm at work again so no more until tonight.

-- Carol

March 30, 2005

@MysteryLady:

sorry to hear that your device allready has to be replaced.. :rolleyes:

(that really sucks big hairy one's)

Hope that you will still find the time tonight to give us all you got!!!(information wise offcourse) :unsure:

5.3k · March 30, 2005

Magellan tech support is not 100% up to speed on these, I talked to the one person that was up to speed on the new explorist I told them they would be gettng lots of calls, There is a set of instruction for loading files into the explorist, I think it is titled working with map send (I already missplaced my instructions :rolleyes: )

I did get a topo map and waypoints loaded onto mine last night.

To load a Map you have to save it to the Hard Drive first, you cannot send the map the same way it is done on early Magellans. Once it is on the hard drive you put the GPS into the file transfer mode, then you use the Magellan Conversion Manager, From here you seledt the map you want to send to the GPS and you would select the SD card and then send it.

As far as waypoints I sent one file just as I sent the map. I also sent one with the geocache manager by draging a file from my PQs into the cache manager, at least I think that is how I sent it, it was at about 1:30 and I was getting punchy.

4.3k · March 30, 2005

To load a Map you have to save it to the Hard Drive first, you cannot send the map the same way it is done on early Magellans. Once it is on the hard drive you put the GPS into the file transfer mode, then you use the Magellan Conversion Manager, From here you seledt the map you want to send to the GPS and you would select the SD card and then send it.

Maybe I'm being a bit naive here, but...

MapSend DirectRoute and Topo 3D were both available before the Explorist 500, work with Meridians and SporTraks, and those models don't support USB. So I'm wondering iif the "conversion manager" is really CHANGING the generated map files in some way - or if all it does is provide USB connectivity that the Mapsend program lacks.

SO...

What happens if you just take the generated map file out of Mapsend's export folder and copy it to the SD card (using a strandard card reader/writer) like any other file?

If that doesn't work - what does the conversion magager actually DO to MapSend's generated map files? It ought to be easy enough to do a comparison of a file before and after conversion.

Edited March 30, 2005 by lee_rimar

5.3k · March 30, 2005

The geek in me, with no real inside knowledge here, things it must be doing something interesting.

The new units appear as a mass storage device to the host, right? So for Windows-like substance, it'll show up as a lettered drive, just like an SD card in a flash reader. Since the supported Mapsends all know how to write files to an SD device on a mounted drive, and the new models should look just like an SD device on a mounted drive, there must be more to it than this or else they'd just tread it like a mounted drive. I doubt they'd spend programming resources to make a wrapper for "copy" or File Explorer or whatever.

Maybe CM is building additional indices in the data so that searches work sensibly on regions of unlimited size. Maybe it's unwinding the map and changing endianness, word size, cache line alignment, or something to be more efficient for the new processor, allowing you to pay an upfront annoyance cost so the unit doesn't have to coddle things at runtime.

Hey, if they're still relying on the output of Mapsends that have limited region sizes and they're claiming unlimited region sizes are supported in the new models, how does that work?

Disclaimer: above is just nerd speculation/analysis and not based on having seen any of this.

March 30, 2005

Hey, if they're still relying on the output of Mapsends that have limited region sizes and they're claiming unlimited region sizes are supported in the new models, how does that work?

I am not sure about unlimited region size. Tim Cahono metioned in another thread answer from Magellan Tech. Support:

(Question of the SD card was proprietary like some/all Garmins use)
* You can use any brand of sd card and a map region can not exceed 64mb

...

Tim Cahono

Team Cahoon

MiGO Member

I know Lowrance iFinders have unlimited region size. People are reporting that they using 240Mb map file without problems. Only problem is that iFinders have limit - 32 files per card.

Edited March 30, 2005 by Hoary

4.3k · March 30, 2005

...the new units appear as a mass storage device to the host, right?

This would be ideal. But is it so?

The little I have read so far gives me the sinking feeling that they are acting more like some proprietary communications device.

Soneone who already has one should be able to answer this though: When you plug the thing in, DOES it show up as a drive on the desktop?

March 30, 2005

Hi,

For what it's worth department...

I had the same problem with my laptop not recognizing (communicating) with my Garmin Legend. After a few hours of searching for an answer in my Windows XP I found the problem. The serial port on my laptop was designated as being used for another piece of hardware. After I deleted this usage designation I was in business and everything works OK. Most newer computers have more than one serial/USB port so it isn't hard to find one free.

:rolleyes:

2k · March 30, 2005

I did get a topo map and waypoints loaded onto mine last night.

What Topo did you load?

The new 3D or the old one?

If it was the new 3D topo do you know if the old Topo will load too.

Thanks,

4.3k · March 31, 2005

...What Topo did you load? The new 3D or the old one?
If it was the new 3D topo do you know if the old Topo will load too.

I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say that ANY version of MapSend (streets, destinations, topo, topo 3d, direct route, etc) will work with the new Explorists, whether Magellan says they will or not.

Magellan obviously can't come out and say "Sure, software we stopped making last year will work with this year's new models." There are support issues and the more obvious one about them wanting to sell new software.

BUT: Every version of MapSend released so far has worked with every PREVIOUS Magellan GPS except those that don't have enough memory. I've written programs that "decompile" the maps from Mapsend Streets and MapSend Topo into their component parts; take my word that they are all very similar in their internal layout.

The US versions of MapSend "officially" supported on the Explorist are DirectRoute and Topo 3D. But for these to work on the OLD models as well means there can't be too much different about the generated maps.

Of course, everything in this post could be wrong

March 31, 2005

Okay, now if I can figure out how to load pictures, I'll put them up. I took one next to my Magellan SportTrak Pro (don't have a Meridian nearby but you know it's considerably larger). Also I tried to show how the SD lies flat "under" the battery. Weird but I guess it's efficient.

-- Carol

guess I don't know how to upload pictures - help, please.

2k · March 31, 2005

Okay, now if I can figure out how to load pictures, I'll put them up. I took one next to my Magellan SportTrak Pro (don't have a Meridian nearby but you know it's considerably larger). Also I tried to show how the SD lies flat "under" the battery. Weird but I guess it's efficient.
-- Carol

guess I don't know how to upload pictures - help, please.

Feel free to email them to me and I will post them.

Or you can upload them to your TB page and post the link here using the "IMG" button on top of your post page.

I can't wait to see them.

Edited March 31, 2005 by Milbank

March 31, 2005

OK, I read through the Explorist manual from the link on the post before it was moved. In it, it talks about a User Reference Manual. So does anyone have a link to the URM???? It should have all of the GOOD stuff in it. The Manual was pretty generic.

Cheers

Muddler

March 31, 2005

Milbank,

I sent them.

-- Carol

2k · March 31, 2005

Okay, now if I can figure out how to load pictures, I'll put them up. I took one next to my Magellan SportTrak Pro (don't have a Meridian nearby but you know it's considerably larger). Also I tried to show how the SD lies flat "under" the battery. Weird but I guess it's efficient.
-- Carol

guess I don't know how to upload pictures - help, please.

Here are the photo's of MysteryLady Explorist 500.

I resized them so they would not take to long to load.

I will just post one here and link the rest incase they are still to big.

It looks awesome!

The photo's MysteryLady sent of the color display show the display as really bright and clear. Some of that is lost because of me resizing the file size.

Explorist 500 back and battery

Explorist 500 vs SproTrac Pro in Hand

Explorist 500 Display Light

Explorist 500 Memory card/battery/cover

Explorist 500 Memory card and battery

Thanks for the photo's, I like it....

5.3k · March 31, 2005

Those are nice to view, thanks Carol and Milbank for setting that up.

A question I'm wondering about and want to get in the queue: does the Explorist firmware take care of any of our gripes with how DirectRoute operates on the older units? I'm wondering in particular about the backlight coming on and all those alarms when turn points are approached/reached.

It really bugs me that I punch a button to knock out the alarm, which either activates some feature I have to escape from or (if I hit the power button) requires no further action except waiting for the power down screen to disappear and restore my display.

March 31, 2005

Thanks for the post of the photos. It appears to be quite the neat little unit. The capacity of the battery is only about 75 percent of what you get with a set of NiMh though, which really is a detriment to an outdoor adventure type user, but I would think it would work with most peoples caching/vehicle navigation needs quite nicely. It will be interesting to see how these units perform in the field in regards to reception, battery life, functionality etc.

2k · March 31, 2005

JohnnyVegas,

How did the field test go

.

March 31, 2005

...What Topo did you load? The new 3D or the old one?
If it was the new 3D topo do you know if the old Topo will load too.

I'm gonna take a wild guess here and say that ANY version of MapSend (streets, destinations, topo, topo 3d, direct route, etc) will work with the new Explorists, whether Magellan says they will or not.

Love to know the answer to that one. I got the standard response from Magellan tech support when I asked about the Canada Topo and the US Topo (not 3D). They said probably for the first and no for the second but the response seemed like they were just quoting off their compatability chart which just shows the latest versions.

If it works with the old US topo 4.20D then I'd be much more confident about going ahead and ordering a 500.

5.3k · March 31, 2005

So the SD card is on a swivel mount/hing? That's, uuuuh, interesting. Moving parts on a memory bus. Wow.

Thanx for the fotos.

5k · March 31, 2005

Moving parts on a memory bus. Wow

I noticed that too. They seemed to have packed quite a bit into that little thing. I guess that's one of the reasons AA batteries were shelved in place of a smaller and thinner Li ion pack.

Given the design of the battery--in that it's supposed to stay in the GPS almost all the time, I think the swivel SD slot will only be rarely used. I mean, how often does everyone remove the SD card from their Meridians? Hopefully this should not be a weak link.

Jamie

5.3k · March 31, 2005

I remove my SD card somewhat frequently (every week or two) to update waypoint files for caches and benchmarks. However, with USB connectivity I expect it will be rare that the card needs to be pulled and slapped into a reader. Still depends how this Geocache Manager and/or Conversion Manager works out.

March 31, 2005

Praise MysteryLady & Milbank for sharing those pics. with us.......they're SWEET!!!!

March 31, 2005

Praise MysteryLady & Milbank for sharing those pics. with us.......they're SWEET!!!!

Amen to that. Makes me wish I had an extra $350 to drop on a 5 or 600.

5.7k · March 31, 2005

So the SD card is on a swivel mount/hing? That's, uuuuh, interesting. Moving parts on a memory bus. Wow.

The HP iPaq 6315 has an almost identical mechanism for its sim card that lies under the battery. Of course, sim cards probably don't get swapped all that often.

--Marky

March 31, 2005

In the posted picture,, is the backlight "on" the Explorist and "off" the Sporttrack? Or is the Explorist display really that much brighter?

March 31, 2005

The backlight was on for both units. The explorist is really bright. The graphics are also larger and fill more of the screen. The info boxes are customizable the same as the sportrak.

-- Carol

March 31, 2005

What does the cache manager do? I'm hoping that .gpx files can be loaded directly into the GPS and have the same info available that we get from a PocketQuery.

Edited March 31, 2005 by GeoCraig

5.7k · March 31, 2005

What does the cache manager do? I'm hoping that .gpx files can be loaded directly into the GPS and have the same info available that we get from a PocketQuery.

I'm going to say "yes it does", since I tend to be a wishful thinker and this is what I'm hoping for. Until I get my 600 (shipping soon, I hope), I won't know for sure what capabilities it has.

--Marky

March 31, 2005

What does the cache manager do? I'm hoping that .gpx files can be loaded directly into the GPS and have the same info available that we get from a PocketQuery.

Looking at the images from the "Where are they" topic of the Geocache manager, it will load everything from a pocket query except the cache description and past logs. Cache type, owner, date placed, found, and hint are there though.

2.3k · March 31, 2005

The capacity of the battery is only about 75 percent of what you get with a set of NiMh though, which really is a detriment to an outdoor adventure type user, but I would think it would work with most

The eXplorist has a battery that is 3.7V and 1300 mAH. Two AA NiMh give you 2.4V at about 2000 mAH. According to my math this is about the same power.

March 31, 2005

The backlight was on for both units.

I'm in awe now.

April 1, 2005

Thanks for the pics. I can hardly wait for my 600!!!!!

5.3k · April 1, 2005

Magellan tech support is not 100% up to speed on these, I talked to the one person that was up to speed on the new explorist I told them they would be gettng lots of calls, There is a set of instruction for loading files into the explorist, I think it is titled working with map send (I already missplaced my instructions )

I did get a topo map and waypoints loaded onto mine last night.

To load a Map you have to save it to the Hard Drive first, you cannot send the map the same way it is done on early Magellans. Once it is on the hard drive you put the GPS into the file transfer mode, then you use the Magellan Conversion Manager, From here you seledt the map you want to send to the GPS and you would select the SD card and then send it.

As far as waypoints I sent one file just as I sent the map. I also sent one with the geocache manager by draging a file from my PQs into the cache manager, at least I think that is how I sent it, it was at about 1:30 and I was getting punchy.

Which TOPO product did you upload? The "new" 3D Topo or the "old" Topo? I'm curious (as others are, I'm sure) if the old one will work after Magellan said it was not supported.

5.3k · April 1, 2005

JohnnyVegas,

How did the field test go

.

I did not get to do much, I did hide a new cache under some trees I will have to see if there are any comments, I took the Meridian Gold along with the Exlorist to compare the coordinates and reception as far as Reception between them I did not see much of a differance, I had them in the open sky and under tree cover.

I did take the explorist on a road trip while ridding in a freinds truck, I left the Explorist on my lap and it maintained a lock on about 6 satellites most of time, the only time it was lock on fewer satellites was while we were on the lower deck of a bridge while crossing the north end and San Francisco bay. I hope to doing a little caching this weekend, after that I may be to busy to do any caching for a month or two :lol:

Edit to add: So far I like the Exporist, the screen is very easy to read, even in bright sunlight.

Edited April 1, 2005 by JohnnyVegas

5k · April 1, 2005

Is there any indication that the Explorist has the dumb waypoint comment limitation as does the Meridian line.

What I mean is, the Meridians will hold 500 waypoints, but only 200 of them can have comments. This makes the other 300 waypoints much less useful (In fact I refuse to use them). I hope the Explorist does not suffer from this.

So far, I have to say that reports about the Explorist have exceeded my expectations.

Jamie

April 1, 2005

Is that battery proprietary to this manufacturer, or are they to be had aftermarket as well?

IMHO this is THE issue with the Explorist 500.

April 1, 2005

Hi JZ. Buy one of these so's I can play with it, willya?

5.3k · April 1, 2005

Is that battery proprietary to this manufacturer, or are they to be had aftermarket as well?

IMHO this is THE issue with the Explorist 500.

I do not know if the battery is proprietary.

Magellan is going to be selling extra bateries and a 12 volt cig lighter plug.

April 1, 2005

Magellan is going to be selling extra bateries and a 12 volt cig lighter plug.

Lots of them, would be my guess.

I suppose if the they draw as much power as I suspect that they do, then there is no alternative, but I was REALLY hoping for them to continue using the old AA's.

Oh well.

5.3k · April 1, 2005

The Batteries for are not a big issue, I may order and extra one, While driving to the cache I use my Meridain Gold with Direct route to get to the cache while hooked up to my 12 volt outlet, then I use a smaller GPS to find the cache.

In the early days of GPS, before geocachng 8 hours was about the maximum battery life, and that was with four batteries. Some people would just turn on their GPS just long enought to save a waypoint, then turn ot off, then they could set up a route to get back to the traile head with the stored waypoints.

5.7k · April 1, 2005

Is there any indication that the Explorist has the dumb waypoint comment limitation as does the Meridian line.

What I mean is, the Meridians will hold 500 waypoints, but only 200 of them can have comments. This makes the other 300 waypoints much less useful (In fact I refuse to use them). I hope the Explorist does not suffer from this.

So far, I have to say that reports about the Explorist have exceeded my expectations.

Jamie

I'm guessing that since I think waypoints can be tied to the GPX data, or info field in the manager, there is no such limit.

--Marky

2.3k · April 1, 2005

Magellan is going to be selling extra bateries and a 12 volt cig lighter plug.

Belkin makes a cig lighter plug with a USB port. It has a quality switching power regulator inside that provides 5.5 V and can be used to charge using the USB cable. I bought some of these recently at the 99 Cents store, packaged with cell phone and PDA USB cords. I also got a handfull of these at an electronics swap meet for a dollar each. If you can't find them, I can send a few out.

Also, see my "review" on the 500 in the other topic on them.

Edited April 1, 2005 by EScout

April 1, 2005

The capacity of the battery is only about 75 percent of what you get with a set of NiMh though, which really is a detriment to an outdoor adventure type user, but I would think it would work with most

The eXplorist has a battery that is 3.7V and 1300 mAH. Two AA NiMh give you 2.4V at about 2000 mAH. According to my math this is about the same power.

Actually, if you're going to use the 3.7 volt static rating of the lithium, the more correct static rating for the NiMh would be 2.5V. Both delivering less voltage under load of course. The most common NiMh and one of the cheapest NiMh batteries I could think of were the evereadys, which are 2500 mah.

That said, you really have to put them under load to do any meaningful comparisons. A month or so ago for another forum I capacity tested a fairly new 1200 mAH (A little less rated capacity than the battery we're talking about) Lithium-ion camera battery and a couple 2 year old Rayovac NiMh batteries that had been charged in a 15min charger several hundred times over the years (Beat up to the point of only having around 80 percent of the capacity of new cells). The Lithium cell produced about 95 percent of the watt hours of the NiMh batteries when cap checked at a 1/10 C dishcharge rate.

In the end, the capacity of the battery only lets you guess at how long it might last. The efficiencies of the device are at this time unknowns, but it will be interesting to see how long the device can be used in field conditions. At the moment, it's anyones guess how they'll really do, but hopefully you new owners will be filling us in on the particulars in short order.

5.3k · April 4, 2005

Magellan is going to be selling extra bateries and a 12 volt cig lighter plug.

Belkin makes a cig lighter plug with a USB port. It has a quality switching power regulator inside that provides 5.5 V and can be used to charge using the USB cable. I bought some of these recently at the 99 Cents store, packaged with cell phone and PDA USB cords. I also got a handfull of these at an electronics swap meet for a dollar each. If you can't find them, I can send a few out.

Also, see my "review" on the 500 in the other topic on them.

Would you have a Belkin stock number for those?

Edited April 4, 2005 by JohnnyVegas

April 4, 2005

Does anyone know what sort of antenna the Explorist 500 (and 600) has? I sent an email to Magellan about 2 months ago asking about it but never received a reply. All of the previous Magellan's specifically mentioned the quad-helix antenna in their specs but the Explorist's specs make no mention at all of the antenna which leads me to believe, hopefully erroneously, it is a patch antenna. Hopefully someone will be able to shed some light on that topic.

Batteries are also a big issue. I'm glad to see the battery is removable/replaceable. It will be interesting to see how much the batteries go for and if there will be 3rd party batteries available as there are for lithium ion camera batteries. As a sea-kayaker who relies on a GPSr for navigation for several days at a time without access to any sort of external power, a supply of extra batteries is a necessity.

Exporist 500

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