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Magellan Explorist 400, 500 & 600 Accessories


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Found Belkin cigarette USB Sync Charger for $10. at OfficeMax on clearance. If you can't use cable for another device and just keep USB cigarette adapter. Puts out 5.5 Vdc at 700mA. Will work with cable that came with Explorist.

Edited by Buckskins
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I've got a few things in the mail and starting to show up that I thought I'd pass along as they came in.

 

I found these lanyards (photo) for 25 cents each at cellularaccessory.com (vendor's page).

 

I turned them up on a Froogle search; hadn't ordered from these guys before but the lanyards were cheap and delivered on time. There's nothing spectacular about them but they look like they'll do the job. Those concerned about being able to click the explorist into a Magellan mount with data cable may be slightly reassured that the wire-like nylon loop going through the GPSr lanyard hole is of a slightly smaller diameter than that of the lanyard I had borrowed from my digital camera.

 

There are two slightly tacky "Samsung" labels on either side of the plastic button thingee sealing the loops in the lanyard on the ones I received. From what I can tell of the vendor's display page, it's a bit of a luck o' the draw.

 

I ordered some things for my cell phone so the shipping wasn't such a disproportionate part of the overall cost. I would suspect that you might be able to grab something like this at a local camera store without having to pay $6 for S&H.

Edited by embra
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Just got the BoxWave battery adapter sku bw-9-0-0 that hold 4 AA rechargable or regular batteries and it works with USB cable that comes with Explorist as external power or to recharge battery in GPS. This will give you a way to use GPS in field without need for electricity, as long as you have batteries. It has on/off switch and led power light. You can get it at BoxWave for 19.50 plus shipping. Fast service from BoxWave.

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Buckskin,

 

I too saw the unit from Boxwave, but don't you need a compatible multisync cable? Or are you just using the battery pack and plugging the USB connector into the y-connector cum USB cable supplied with the Explorist?

 

Please advise and I want to get the item from Boxwave too.

 

Regards,

Axeon

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You only need battery pack from BoxWave. You plug the cable that came with the Explorist directly into battery pack. I just saw that Everyready has 2500 mAh rechargable batteries in stores. You would only need a couple sets of these to last a whole week in field with the BoxWave. My old ones from Everyready are 1700 mAh that are a couple of years old and still going strong.

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Has anyone been able to find extra Eplorist cable? Magellan was taking orders for defective ones and did not have any to sell.

I haven't. I wanted two, one for my car's swivel mount and one for the PC's. It will be a drag to have to swap them all the time. Of course, it doesn't really matter to me when they have them available because tigergps HASN'T STARTED SHIPPING 600s YET!!! :(

 

--Marky

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Thanks for your input Buckskin. Just a couple of last ones before I go out and get myself one...

 

The battery on the Explorist is 3.7v but charging it with 4X1.5v batteries equals 6v. Wouldn't this overload the explorist?

 

Or do you actually require a higher voltage than 3.7 to charge the internal battery?

 

And does the exporist get 'hot' when its running off the battery pack?

 

*can't wait to go get one and spend a couple of days hiking*

 

Axeon

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Thanks for your input Buckskin. Just a couple of last ones before I go out and get myself one...

 

The battery on the Explorist is 3.7v but charging it with 4X1.5v batteries equals 6v. Wouldn't this overload the explorist?

 

Or do you actually require a higher voltage than 3.7 to charge the internal battery?

 

And does the exporist get 'hot' when its running off the battery pack?

 

*can't wait to go get one and spend a couple of days hiking*

 

Axeon

The voltage supplied by USB is 5 VDC, so the battery pack will be very close.

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Got my Magellan swivel mount for the explorist this week. It works pretty much as expected, but I have a few disappointments with it for the way I use my 500.

 

1) I decided I'd best move my lanyard from the hole top backside to the d-ring on the cover screw. The mount seems to want all the real estate in the hole to make a positive latch that gives a good mating to the cable. I'll be interested to see if any other lanyard users find they have to do this or not. The lanyard on the d-ring is not quite as nice, but still feels reasonably good in my hand.

 

2) The mount takes the cable in the down position, but it looks to me that many of us will want the cable to be in the up position in the car to allow external power operation and charging simultaneaously. It looks to my eye that it's going to be hard to modify the mount to allow a good cable up positioning that maintains a good cable mate with the gps...the pairing is just so weird. I'll await the dremel-dexterious efforts, but at this point I think my best solution will be to get two mounts and two cables: one mounted down for data transfers on the desk and one mounted up for charging/operating in the care. $ :D $ I think I might have to epoxy in my cable up mount. We'll also have to wait and see what the RAM explorisit holders look like whenever they get those out (boys and girls! Write them and tell them you want one!)

Edited by embra
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And does the exporist get 'hot' when its running off the battery pack?

no it doesn't I left mine hooked up to my laptop port over night for charging and fully charged by morning. it charges a pretty good rate by usb, not super fast but I'd say a little longer than the instructions of 4hours for a fullcharge.

 

flir67-------------

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Got my Magellan swivel mount for the explorist this week. It works pretty much as expected, but I have a few disappointments with it for the way I use my 500.

 

1) I decided I'd best move my lanyard from the hole top backside to the d-ring on the cover screw. The mount seems to want all the real estate in the hole to make a positive latch that gives a good mating to the cable. I'll be interested to see if any other lanyard users find they have to do this or not. The lanyard on the d-ring is not quite as nice, but still feels reasonably good in my hand.

 

2) The mount takes the cable in the down position, but it looks to me that many of us will want the cable to be in the up position in the car to allow external power operation and charging simultaneaously. It looks to my eye that it's going to be hard to modify the mount to allow a good cable up positioning that maintains a good cable mate with the gps...the pairing is just so weird. I'll await the dremel-dexterious efforts, but at this point I think my best solution will be to get two mounts and two cables: one mounted down for data transfers on the desk and one mounted up for charging/operating in the care. $ :grin: $ I think I might have to epoxy in my cable up mount. We'll also have to wait and see what the RAM explorisit holders look like whenever they get those out (boys and girls! Write them and tell them you want one!)

The car swivel mount works fine with the cable down for charging.... with a catch. I've got the AC adapter connected in and run to an inverter. I called Magellan and they advised it'll be the end of May before the 'proper' 12V cables for the new eXplorists start shipping. Apparently they're waiting for the manufacturers of the cables & extra batteries to ship to them.

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Another piece of equipment. Sigh. :grin:

 

Well, I guess before I do anything radical, it will be worthwhile seeing what the official 12v cable will do. It's really only in the car where 12v charging and operating simultaneously is an issue for me.

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The other way to do it would be to find a plug that fits the Y adaptor where the wall wart normally plugs in. That one is wired to the top pins on the Explorist which are the ones you need for charging while operating. Then you just need to get 5V to that via a 12V adaptor, battery box or whatever. I went the inverter route as I already had one kicking around.

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i should be getting my Swivel mount in a couple days and I have been thinking of options. One idea, like Hard Oiler, is to find a coax plug like the one on the wall wart cable. Attach it to a USB cable, and use the cig lighter USB adapter.

 

If I can't find the right coax plug, use the one on the wall wart cable. Cut the wall wart cable. Install molex connectors, and put another molex on a USB cable. That way you can still use the wall wart, and quickly change it to USB cable for charging in car.

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I don't know if anyone else is awaiting the availability of the Gilsson Explorist cases (I am), but here's a the response I got to the inquiry on availability today:

 

Our Magellan eXplorist cases are on their way to California already.  Our container shall arrive on May 10 + 2-3 days for USDA X-Ray and towing of container from the pier to our warehouse.

 

To place a backorder or submit a payment, please kindly either (1) call us at 510-940-7777 (M-F 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Pacific Time) or (2) send an online payment to sales@gilsson.com via www.paypal.com. 

 

Please email us or call us at 510-940-7777, if we can be of service.  Thanks !

 

Kindest regards,

Bobby Lee

Customer Service

2576 Barrington Court

Hayward, CA 94545  USA

510-940-7777 (Mon-Fri 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Pacific Standard Time)

510-740-3459 fax

 

Brian

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My local photo store had a sale on and I picked up a neoprene wrist strap cheap. Found I prefer it over a neck lanyard - one less thing hanging round the neck, you can punch the buttons one handed without taking it off your wrist and the attachment lets you slip the Explorist into the cradle easily as long as it's attached to the battery compartment screw. Used it yesterday on a caching expedition and really liked the way it worked. And the price was right :laughing: . For a padded carry case the Micro Camera Pouches are just the right size for the Explorist and are well padded and very secure - but, of course, no window or button access like the Gilsson Explorist cases.

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I've gotten used to my lanyard on the battery case screw, too. I find that one of the most useful things with the lanyard (I'm also using a wrist lanyard) is that if I leave the lanyard hanging out of whatever pocket I slip the GPSr into, the lanyard makes it very easy to retrieve for use.

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I don't know if anyone else is awaiting the availability of the Gilsson Explorist cases (I am), but here's a the response I got to the inquiry on availability today:

 

Our Magellan eXplorist cases are on their way to California already.  Our container shall arrive on May 10 + 2-3 days for USDA X-Ray and towing of container from the pier to our warehouse.

 

To place a backorder or submit a payment, please kindly either (1) call us at 510-940-7777 (M-F 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Pacific Time) or (2) send an online payment to sales@gilsson.com via www.paypal.com. 

 

Please email us or call us at 510-940-7777, if we can be of service.  Thanks !

 

Kindest regards,

Bobby Lee

Customer Service

2576 Barrington Court

Hayward, CA 94545  USA

510-940-7777 (Mon-Fri 8:30 am to 3:30 pm Pacific Standard Time)

510-740-3459 fax

 

Brian

I might just have to get a couple of those. They are cute looking. I see that they are based out of Heyweird. I wonder if they have a brick and mortar store I could drive over to, since it's only like a 45 minute drive there from San Jose. Guess I should call that handy # and find out.

 

--Marky

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I might just have to get a couple of those. They are cute looking. I see that they are based out of Heyweird. I wonder if they have a brick and mortar store I could drive over to, since it's only like a 45 minute drive there from San Jose. Guess I should call that handy # and find out.

 

--Marky

See if you can get a discount on a few of them. I'd probably buy one.

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I might just have to get a couple of those.  They are cute looking.  I see that they are based out of Heyweird.  I wonder if they have a brick and mortar store I could drive over to, since it's only like a 45 minute drive there from San Jose.  Guess I should call that handy # and find out.

 

--Marky

See if you can get a discount on a few of them. I'd probably buy one.

I'll ask. I couldn't tell, but I hope that the term "window" in the description means "opening" and not some crappy plastic covering. I hate plastic over the screens, it ruins the contrast of the display, and also makes it difficult to operate the buttons. I'll ask about that too.

 

--Marky

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Gilsson's unique Magellan eXplorist GPS case is custom-tailored with a clear map window for easy map viewing and two button windows on the sides for easy button access.

 

This sounds to me like there is a plastic window (over the front at least).

 

The photo also has a reflective sheen over the right top corner that would be consistent with a plastic covering.

 

MEN_compositelarge.jpg

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If you look closely at the picture of the case, you can actually see the 'cutouts' in the plastic covering around each of the buttons.

 

I agree with others - once you toss it in your pack (or on the ground!) you'll be happy with the plastic cover...

 

Brian

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If you look closely at the picture of the case, you can actually see the 'cutouts' in the plastic covering around each of the buttons.

 

I agree with others - once you toss it in your pack (or on the ground!) you'll be happy with the plastic cover...

 

Brian

My problem has always been that the screen gets dirty/spotted/etc and the extra glare is a pain, especially in conditions where the covering might fog up.

 

These are cheap enough to buy once and see how I like them.

 

--Marky

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The post about getting scratches out of the explorist screen prompted me to post this note that I got the screen covers from Strong Engineering. $9.35 + shipping for a precut pack of 12.

 

I've used their covers from my Meridian, Palm PDAs, and now the explorist. I like 'em because they are precut, and disappear a few days after applying. I switch them every 6 months or so. You have to be careful to get all stray bits of dust off the display or they can cause bubbles.

 

Here's a snapshot of my 500 screen. You can barely see the outline around the edge of the screen.

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The car charger for the Explorist 400/500/600 series has been posted on the Magellan website: http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/pro...asp?PRODID=1086 as have replacement wall chargers: http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/pro...asp?PRODID=1087 and USB cables: http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/pro...asp?PRODID=1085

 

The car charger simply plugs into the Y connector on the original USB cord and charges/powers the unit the same way the wall charger does. It does not have an additional plug for a swivel mount or anything else. I believe that any 5 V charger with the correct plug and polarity could be used as well.

 

ScottOski

Edited by ScottOSki
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Cables will be available soon-

Pc-Mobile Cables

I've ordered from them twice in the past year without incident. What I've ordered I am happy with. The price was good and the shipping reasonable. I was a little leary of the retractable cords durability but the 2 different ones that I ordered have held up without problem and I'm still using them.

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I use one of those retractable usb cables for my ipaq 4155 for about a year and it still works fine. I haven't had any problems with it.

 

-Bobby

 

ps. Marky - congradulations on finally getting your 600 :unsure:

Edited by BobbyC
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Cables will be available soon-

Pc-Mobile Cables

I've ordered from them twice in the past year without incident. What I've ordered I am happy with. The price was good and the shipping reasonable. I was a little leary of the retractable cords durability but the 2 different ones that I ordered have held up without problem and I'm still using them.

The Car USB adapter - 5v - for most PDAs has me intriqued.

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Cables will be available soon-

Pc-Mobile Cables

I've ordered from them twice in the past year without incident. What I've ordered I am happy with. The price was good and the shipping reasonable. I was a little leary of the retractable cords durability but the 2 different ones that I ordered have held up without problem and I'm still using them.

That site also has a good description of how to use the Explorist USB cable and particularly the difference between the down and up positions:

 

http://pc-mobile.net/mexusb.htm

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I use one of those retractable usb cables for my ipaq 4155 for about a year and it still works fine. I haven't had any problems with it.

 

-Bobby

 

ps. Marky - congradulations on finally getting your 600 :unsure:

Mister UPS man, Bobby seems to think you already left me my present. Bobby is wrong. Maybe you need to stop by today like the UPS tracking site says you will. Heck, it says you left at 6:14am this morning. What have you been doing all day?

 

--Marky

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That site also has a good description of how to use the Explorist USB cable and particularly the difference between the down and up positions:

 

http://pc-mobile.net/mexusb.htm

That's a nice picture of what is going on. I'm wondering why someone couldn't make a symetric USB cable that didn't matter which way it was connected (i.e. one that supplied USB power to pins 2 and 5, and USB ground to pins 1 and 4). Is there some problem doing this?

 

--Marky

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I use one of those retractable usb cables for my ipaq 4155 for about a year and it still works fine. I haven't had any problems with it.

 

-Bobby

 

ps. Marky - congradulations on finally getting your 600 :D

Mister UPS man, Bobby seems to think you already left me my present. Bobby is wrong. Maybe you need to stop by today like the UPS tracking site says you will. Heck, it says you left at 6:14am this morning. What have you been doing all day?

*Ding Dong* Marky scrambles downstairs to see a guy in brown shorts walking back to the big brown truck. Hey, there's a small package here. *Yoink*.

 

Okay, who was smoking what when they designed the swivel mount?! What a piece of crap! You can't dock the GPSr into the cradle if you have a lanyard attached to the lanyard attachment point. Stupid!

 

Anyway, I'm happy that I finally got my 600, yay!

 

:P:P:P

 

--Marky

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That's a nice picture of what is going on. I'm wondering why someone couldn't make a symetric USB cable that didn't matter which way it was connected (i.e. one that supplied USB power to pins 2 and 5, and USB ground to pins 1 and 4). Is there some problem doing this?

You can't because Magellan deliberately set it up this way. I have had several USB powered rechargeable devices and I've never had one that mattered if it was on or off or if it charged or not. They have all charged when plugged in even when on.

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