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Gpsmap 60c Vs Explorist 500


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I have decided to upgrade my equipment and have settled on either the Garmin GPSMAP 60c or the Magellan Explorist 500.

 

As you can probably tell I dont need the magentic compass offered by the 60CS or the 600.

 

Has the lockup problem been fixed with the latest software on the 60C?

Which mapping software is better Garmins or Magellans?

 

Can anyone offer their 2 cents on which one I should buy?

Edited by Puckhoundz
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I can't talk about the Magellan, but I went from a yellow etrex to an etrex legend to a GPS MAP 60C, and the 60 C is more than I ever would have imagined that a handheld GPS could do, ( color screen, self routing option, easy to use, and just right size to cary) and it does so much more....I didn't use it much for geocaching yet since winter caches in this area are rare, but for navigating in cities, it is awesome.

 

NO REGRETS IN BUYING IT HERE

 

Kingquad

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What are you upgrading from?

 

If it's a Garmin you are upgrading from do you have any garmin software you would be able to use in 60c?

 

Is a 1000 waypoint limit (60c) going to be any problem down the road?

 

Will you ever want to plug in a different GPS Ant. into your gps?

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I can coment on the Exlorist 500, I have mine for 3 days and have been very busy learning how to use it.

The hardest thing for me was learning how to download maps and waypoints. The took several hours but once I figure it out (Read the instructions) I picked it up pretty fast. While you store lots on maps on the SD card, I am sure the 56MB on the Garmin will most cachers just fine, 56MB is going to be a lot of map and it is not hard to load a new map if you need one.

 

One of the features that I really like in the Explorist 500 so far is the ability to load several sets af waypoints in seperate files, For me this is very handy because I do my Geocaching in a very large are the covers several cities, From San Francisco east to Folsom and North to Clear lake south to San Jose, I set a file for each city and then bring up just that city, I have been doing this with my meridian Gold, the Explorist takes it much further, With the Explorist you can have sab files within the files, so say you have a file for Sacramento, in this file you can have caches brken down into smaller groups, You could have a file for 1X1, 2X2, 1X3 ratings or whatever you want, there is a premenent file for Geocaches as well as a file for sets of maps and you can bring up just the file you want to see on the screen.

If I want Sacramento caches displayed I can load those from the SD card of Main memory, or I can turn those off and load San Francosco caches. Likewise in the map file you can have several maps stored and then bring up just the ones you need for that day.

 

like I said I have only had the Exp500 for a few days and there is a learning curve with all the features it has.

 

As far as software both Garmin and Magellan will work just fine.

 

I have not been able to use my explorist much in the field because I have been to busy to do any Geocaching, I had time to hide one cache and thats it. With any luck I will be able to get out and find some caches this weekendm, but that might be it for a month or two :lol:

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I'm no expert on the 500, but doesn't it have a built-in rechargable battery? That is something that would cause me some concern. If I'm out in the woods and the batteries die on a 60C, I pop in a fresh set and I'm good to go. With built-in rechargables, I would have to find copper and tin to built a Layden jar to get myself home. :lol:

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I'm no expert on the 500, but doesn't it have a built-in rechargable battery? That is something that would cause me some concern. If I'm out in the woods and the batteries die on a 60C, I pop in a fresh set and I'm good to go. With built-in rechargables, I would have to find copper and tin to built a Layden jar to get myself home. :mad:

They are not "built-in", they are just not standard. You can buy replacement LION battery packs if you want spares, but they are much more expensive than NiMH batteries.

 

--Marky

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