UsuallyLost Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 Well, after being on the waiting list, I just received my new explorist 500. I took it out of the box, installed the battery, charged it for 4 hours and....nothing. I've tried charging it with USB and with the AC adapter. I finally tested and in both cases there is voltage on the gps side of the cable...but nothing happens when I hold down the power switch. I'm guessing I have a dead GPS, but of course it's the weekend and I can't call tech support. I can't believe QA for these things would be so low they would ship something DOA. I'm definitely second guessing my purchase. Then again, maybe it's just me. Anyone have any advice on what else I could try? Thanks, Mike Quote Link to comment
tubemonkey Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 No advice on what to try, but I had 3 Magellan's die on me and all 3 went back to the store. An ST Pro kept shutting itself off for no apparent reason, and a Mer Gold and an ST Map instantly died after I placed batteries in them for the first time. I replaced the ST Map with another one and it's working great according to my son. Then I picked up an ST Color for him as a replacement for the ST Pro/ Mer Gold and it's also working great. Lemons happen; though it does strike me as odd that my first three Magellan purchases were all defective. So far, purchases 4 & 5 are doing great. Good luck. Quote Link to comment
Raoul Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 As I can recall,MysteryLady's explorist 500 didn't work to good when she got hers!! She had to send it back the same day she got it because it didn't communicate with her computer... Don't worry to much,though.....there are some people on this forum who have a 500 without the hassle!!! Good luck!! Quote Link to comment
+tirediron Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 From what you've said, I assume the battery is removable; take it out and put a metre on it. Is it charged? Maybe you've got a duff battery? Other than that, nothing to offer. Sorry, that sucks! Quote Link to comment
+Trail Buzzards Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 Maybe you have to hold the on/off button longer... doubt it, but then again. Quote Link to comment
+IVxIV Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 Does the unit ship with a car 12volt charger/cord? Try that & see if it works.. Not that it matters really, if it won't charge at home then it must be busted. Tubemonkey I really admire your persistence! Sticking with the same brand after 3 DOA's in a row Quote Link to comment
+JohnnyVegas Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 I have not had a problem with mine, When I start mine the screen is very dark for about 4 seconds. You might check the battery treminals, there might be some kind of protective film on them from the Manufacturing process that was not removed Quote Link to comment
+EScout Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 Check the 2 outer terminals of the battery with your meter. Fully charged, it should show about 4.1 to 4.2V. Quote Link to comment
Neo_Geo Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 Contrast/Brightness settings set to the brightest extreme and shipped that way from the factory perhaps...? If someone has one of these things that works, perhaps they could provide you with the keystroke sequences to push to get to the brightness and contrast settings. Quote Link to comment
+embra Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 On the Meridian (and of course, I don't know if it holds true for the explorists) the first screen on power up is the lawyer screen. Holding the rocker button to the left decreases contrast; left increases. Maybe this holds true for the joystick on the explorist. Quote Link to comment
UsuallyLost Posted April 2, 2005 Author Share Posted April 2, 2005 Thanks for the ideas everyone. For what it's worth, charger is giving me 4.9V and battery is 4.19... Battery is rated at 3.7v/1300 mAh. So, even if the battery was flaking out due to load or something I'd expect something on the screen, even for a second... My guess is power is good. The contrast thing was a good idea. I tried that no no avail. Also, yeah, I guess the power switch needs to be held 2-3 seconds, and I've definately tried to exceed that every time. I guess I'll be geocaching with my map 330 this weekend. What a let down huh? Quote Link to comment
+embra Posted April 2, 2005 Share Posted April 2, 2005 I would be crushed. Perhaps we should someday get a life. Nah. Quote Link to comment
+Marky Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 As I can recall,MysteryLady's explorist 500 didn't work to good when she got hers!!She had to send it back the same day she got it because it didn't communicate with her computer... Actually, I think in her case the device was fine and the support team was faulty. --Marky Quote Link to comment
Raoul Posted April 3, 2005 Share Posted April 3, 2005 (edited) As I can recall,MysteryLady's explorist 500 didn't work to good when she got hers!!She had to send it back the same day she got it because it didn't communicate with her computer... Actually, I think in her case the device was fine and the support team was faulty. --Marky Yes indeed.....I read the post from Escout yesterday...... It looks like there was nothing wrong with MysteryLady's explorist!! Seems like,at Magellan,they don't even know how their own product works!! I don't get it....How can you sell electronics without a manual and without properly instructing your helpdesk/employee's??? Anyway...I don't think this trick will work for UsuallyLost.....unfortunately!! Edited April 3, 2005 by Raoul Quote Link to comment
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