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The Explorist 500 Experience


Jamie Z

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wow.. this forum on the Explorist 500 is almost overwhelming! I currently have a Legend and have been very frustrated with of late for not staying locked when entering the slightest tree cover. Is it my location or the GPS itself. I have seen a sale for the Explorist 500 for $199 and I'm debating buying it, but couldn't tell from the forum whether the signals for this model would be better than the Legend... it has alot of things going for it, but the comparison for signal strength/reception/lock wasn't really covered. Could the person who uploaded the pictures of the two help me? What is your experience? Thanks.

Edited by clachan girl
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The 500 has a much better receiver than the original Legend. IN difficult locations, the 500 will get a very good position fix when the Legend will not not even receive a satellite. (I have had the Legend for almost 4 years and the 500 for 1.5 years.) the 500 is a very good value now. I have heard some packages under $200 include mapping software.

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Looking to buy my first GPS unit.

I actually first found this unit through Costco. But I did a search on pricewatch.com and found this deal at Crutchfield.com Explorist 500

 

Seems like a pretty good deal to me. What do you all think?

 

Reading this topic I am getting a little hesitant about buying this model but since it is my first gps I might not know any difference :blink:

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Looking to buy my first GPS unit.

I actually first found this unit through Costco. But I did a search on pricewatch.com and found this deal at Crutchfield.com Explorist 500

 

Seems like a pretty good deal to me. What do you all think?

 

Reading this topic I am getting a little hesitant about buying this model but since it is my first gps I might not know any difference :blink:

 

I bought an explorist 500 this summer at a pretty good price of $235 + a 50$ rebate but sitll had to buy the mapsend software etc. I've been seeing all these deals for the explorist 500 here and the Crutchfield one is astounding. I've seen deals on other explorist models a well. However I think this is a bad omen for the explorist series. I think Magellan is starting to dump its stock of explorists and is going to get out of the handheld market to focus on auto gps. Other indications would be the fact that they have not done a firmware update on the lesser explorists and I will have to say, Mapsend Street Route is pretty poorly implemented for a $150 piece of software. There is alot they could do to make it more useful, like allowing you to print out maps at any resolution, editing your street routing, saving street routes as files, make searches more intellegent, and include the same poi's as in the topo version etc. So you might be able to pick an explorist up "cheap" but who knows if you'll have any support in a year.

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Looking to buy my first GPS unit.

I actually first found this unit through Costco. But I did a search on pricewatch.com and found this deal at Crutchfield.com Explorist 500

 

Seems like a pretty good deal to me. What do you all think?

 

Reading this topic I am getting a little hesitant about buying this model but since it is my first gps I might not know any difference :blink:

 

 

Costco's price is $179.99 free shipping and handling.

 

I bought one but I am going to return it to Costco.

 

Other then a nice color screen, I like my "old" MariGold better.

 

When my MG poops out, I will be looking at the Garmin 60 series for several reasons that have been stated on this fourm.

 

Nick

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Looking to buy my first GPS unit.

I actually first found this unit through Costco. But I did a search on pricewatch.com and found this deal at Crutchfield.com Explorist 500

 

Seems like a pretty good deal to me. What do you all think?

 

Reading this topic I am getting a little hesitant about buying this model but since it is my first gps I might not know any difference :D

The Costco package includes the Topo3D software; it's pretty straight-forward.

 

The Crutchfield package is harder to decipher. It appears to include MapSend DirectRoute in the purchase price. If so, that's a pretty good deal. It would depend upon what kind of software you want. The Costco package seems to me to be the better bargain otherwise.

 

The speculation that Magellan might drop handhelds is an interesting one. They were just bought out from Thales, and we're sorta waiting to see what the new owners want to do with the company. I hope that they decide to pump some resources into restoring the luster on the handhelds that Thales allowed to tarnish. It does seem possible that they might determine that the best profits potential are so concentrated in the auto navigation market that they could indeed jettison the handheld division.

 

Time will tell. I wouldn't let the prospect of having an orphaned product deter me too much, since they usually are pretty reliable and [personally] I expect to upgrade every 3 or 4 years to a newer model anyway. Firmware-wise, explorist owners are practically operating as orphans, anyway.

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Looking to buy my first GPS unit.

I actually first found this unit through Costco. But I did a search on pricewatch.com and found this deal at Crutchfield.com Explorist 500

 

Seems like a pretty good deal to me. What do you all think?

 

Reading this topic I am getting a little hesitant about buying this model but since it is my first gps I might not know any difference :D

Thanks for the link. I've dealt with both Costco and Crutchfield for years and had good experiences with both of them. I'm going with the Crutchfield package. I started with the eXplorist 200 and loved it except for the obvious not being able to download coords. I later got the etrex legend and I hate it. The tiny screens make it useless as a driving navigational aid, and the poor reception makes it frustrating for geocaching. So, as most folks do, I'll stick with what has worked best for me, and that's eXplorist, hands down. I was going to get the XL, but this deal is too good to pass up.

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I ordered the package from Crutchfield. I called customer service to see if I'm really getting all the DirectRoute maps, or if I'm only getting the DVD and will have to pay more to activate it. The guy said he THINKS you get everything they talk about in the description, which would be an unbelievable deal. I'm more cynical and figure someone just took a casual glance at the package as they were writing the copy, saw the DVD and assumed everything is included. I'll let you know when I get the stuff...

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I ordered the package from Crutchfield. I called customer service to see if I'm really getting all the DirectRoute maps, or if I'm only getting the DVD and will have to pay more to activate it. The guy said he THINKS you get everything they talk about in the description, which would be an unbelievable deal. I'm more cynical and figure someone just took a casual glance at the package as they were writing the copy, saw the DVD and assumed everything is included. I'll let you know when I get the stuff...

 

I am the same as you. I found this at tiger direct Explorist 500 photos look at the close up of the box (second row second picture)...in the yellow sticker it says introductory MapSend dvd! wonder if that is the same with crutchfield? And what does introductory mean...30 day trial?

If that is the case than really the only thing crutchfield has going for it is the extra accessories which I guess could make up the price difference. (Windshield mount and Cigarette lighter adapter)

I really hope this has the full version!

 

edit...

Ok I called them as well...they are saying it comes with MapSend DirectRoute v3

Detailed maps are included with the unit on DVD-ROM (MapSend DirectRoute Version 3) and can be uploaded into the eXplorist 500. Three additional map discs are available from the manufacturer: MapSend BlueNav XL3 Charts--North America, MapSend BlueNav XL3 Charts--Europe, and MapSend DirectRoute--Europe

 

The right hand side of their page is a little confusing when it says

MapSend DirectRoute Version 3 installation instructions

 

Hope that helps. But please let us know how you make out with your order. Oh and they have 50 left well 49 once I get mine :laughing:

Edited by dsarnold
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edit...

Ok I called them as well...they are saying it comes with MapSend DirectRoute v3

Detailed maps are included with the unit on DVD-ROM (MapSend DirectRoute Version 3) and can be uploaded into the eXplorist 500. Three additional map discs are available from the manufacturer: MapSend BlueNav XL3 Charts--North America, MapSend BlueNav XL3 Charts--Europe, and MapSend DirectRoute--Europe

 

The right hand side of their page is a little confusing when it says

MapSend DirectRoute Version 3 installation instructions

Magellan has been shipping units with a DVD that has DirectRoute v3 (and possibly Topo3D) on it. Yes, you do get the DVD with the maps on it. HOWEVER, you have to to pay Magellan to unlock the maps and send them to your GPSr.
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Ok, first of all thanks to Jamie for starting this thread way back when.

 

I have been looking at replacing my old Meridian Platinum for awhile now, but haven't really found what I want. I have been thinking about the explorist series, but there are several things holding me back all of my concerns have been addressed in this thread, or at least I think they have.

 

Now not to hijack this thread, but if you had a perfectly good working Platinum would you shelve it for a 500 or 600 explorist?

 

Thanks for any input, I am leaning towards staying put.

Cya on the trails,

Rusty

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edit...

Ok I called them as well...they are saying it comes with MapSend DirectRoute v3

Detailed maps are included with the unit on DVD-ROM (MapSend DirectRoute Version 3) and can be uploaded into the eXplorist 500. Three additional map discs are available from the manufacturer: MapSend BlueNav XL3 Charts--North America, MapSend BlueNav XL3 Charts--Europe, and MapSend DirectRoute--Europe

 

The right hand side of their page is a little confusing when it says

MapSend DirectRoute Version 3 installation instructions

Magellan has been shipping units with a DVD that has DirectRoute v3 (and possibly Topo3D) on it. Yes, you do get the DVD with the maps on it. HOWEVER, you have to to pay Magellan to unlock the maps and send them to your GPSr.

No you don't! I ordered my 500 from Crutchfield on Sunday night and got it... Wednesday! When I opened the box first thing I read was something about purchasing maps, but then I saw the instructions for downloading Direct Route and the coupon code that makes it... free!! This is a great deal. I'll wirte a detailed report in a couple of days but I will say right now that this package is better than I could have imagined. I am not that tech savvy but I have managed to get just about everything to work and it's been great. I have not experienced any of the problems others have expressed concerns about. About the only thing I haven't figured out how to do yet is delete found caches from the 500.

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No you don't! I ordered my 500 from Crutchfield on Sunday night and got it... Wednesday! When I opened the box first thing I read was something about purchasing maps, but then I saw the instructions for downloading Direct Route and the coupon code that makes it... free!!

That must be what they mean by "MapSend DirectRoute Version 3 installation instructions" in the What's Included What’s in the Manufacturer’s Box? section.

Wish they would be a little more careful with their wording.

 

Thanks for the update!

Edited by dsarnold
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Ok, first of all thanks to Jamie for starting this thread way back when.

 

I have been looking at replacing my old Meridian Platinum for awhile now, but haven't really found what I want. I have been thinking about the explorist series, but there are several things holding me back all of my concerns have been addressed in this thread, or at least I think they have.

 

Now not to hijack this thread, but if you had a perfectly good working Platinum would you shelve it for a 500 or 600 explorist?

 

Thanks for any input, I am leaning towards staying put.

Cya on the trails,

Rusty

 

I bought my 500 almost a year and a half ago to replace my Maggy gold which I used for a little over 3 years.

And I have not been unhappy about it the 500 is more accurate then the gold

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Looking seriously at the 500 as a color upgrade to my SporTrak Pro. But I have noticed that there is a 500 and 500LE the difference being the LE can take 3AAA batteries. Tell me will the LE also take the Li battery pack that comes standard on the 500?

 

Thanks in advance to your replies

 

Manny(Doublestuff)

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The 500 NA comes with a Li-ion batterry. The 500 LE comes with an adapter that allows you to put in AAA bats. If the 500 LE is $30 cheaper than the NA, buy it, because if you want it to be rechargeable, you have to buy a $20 battery and a #10 cable. On the other hand, you can just buy the 500 NA and gat a bat. adapter for $9.

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Need some advice. Bought the 500LE from costco and it will be arriving tomorrow. Did I get an ok deal or should I return it and get the crutchfield package? I do like the return policy of costco.

This is a long thread to sort through, so you're forgiven for perhaps overlooking a comment that addressed your question fairly directly (short answer: good deal...and it's frosting on the cake that costco will bail you out if you don't like it. If you prefer autorouting software over the topo, then Crutchfield looks better).

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Just got my 500LE via the Costco deal. Went caching with it today. Seems to be more accurate than my SportsTrak Pro. One thing I noticed is that I am getting pathetic battery life (even with the backlight off). I am using 900 mAh AAA batteries. What I mean by pathetic is about 2 hours.

 

The only thing I can think of is that my battery recharger is going caput and not charging the AAAs to their full capacity. I have a new charger on order. My question is what kind of battery life are people getting with the AAA option in real life conditions.

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The 500 NA comes with a Li-ion batterry. The 500 LE comes with an adapter that allows you to put in AAA bats. If the 500 LE is $30 cheaper than the NA, buy it, because if you want it to be rechargeable, you have to buy a $20 battery and a #10 cable. On the other hand, you can just buy the 500 NA and gat a bat. adapter for $9.

 

Thanks! I found a deal for the 500 NA for $165 (no tax/free ship) should get it in by the end of next week. Where can you get a AAA bat apdater? Magellan doesn't have this on their site.

 

Doublestuff

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The only thing I can think of is that my battery recharger is going caput and not charging the AAAs to their full capacity. I have a new charger on order. My question is what kind of battery life are people getting with the AAA option in real life conditions.

IIRC I think EScout has reported something like 9 hours with AAA alkelines.

 

Where can you get a AAA bat apdater? Magellan doesn't have this on their site.

Many places carry the clip. TigerGPS was one of the names I recognized, and I know people here have bought from them.

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I've had my 500 for three weeks and so far am happy with it. I've only been using it for geocaching. I ran into this; I've heard from a couple of people who were able to pry this out of Magellan:

 

http://www.rebateplace.com/forms/9643.pdf

 

They said you have to call them on the phone to get it.

 

I've e-mailed customer support twice (once immediately after purchase and the other October 30) with no replies. I did get an e-mail customer support survey on October 30:

 

"Thank you for recently contacting Thales Navigation’s Technical Support Center for your Magellan product(s). We continually strive to provide the best possible service to our customers and would appreciate your candid feedback regarding your most recent experience with our Technical Support Center".

 

Isn't that kind of bass-ackwards? Is their customer support located in Bombay or similar? If it's good I don't care. My Dell tech support was but they were knowledgable.

 

The 500 probably does more than I need but the price was good. My other GPS is a 1997 GPS Pioneer. What a difference!

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Please steer me in the right direction if this is in the wrong place.

 

I have an Explorist 500, and I used it once for geocaching, and it worked perfectly. Now I am having problems uploading to the 500. Geocache Manager says the upload is complete, but the info is not in the 500. If there is a place for troubleshooting, please let me know. I haven't gotten ahold of Customer Service yet, but I don;t hold a lot of hope for it.

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I have an Explorist 500, and I used it once for geocaching, and it worked perfectly. Now I am having problems uploading to the 500. Geocache Manager says the upload is complete, but the info is not in the 500. If there is a place for troubleshooting, please let me know. I haven't gotten ahold of Customer Service yet, but I don;t hold a lot of hope for it.

Can you be a little more specific--what's missing? An entire file? Individual POIs? If you provide an outline of what you are doing we can more easily pinpoint the problem. As you present this, there could be several different directions to go.

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I'll try not to be confusing.

 

The file is missing, as well as the POIs; however, when I open the 500 from my laptop and look at the files, they are there, along with the points I tried to upload. Also, when I go into, say, the internal memory, then Geocaches (or any other file), there is no option to create a new folder, only Up One Level.

 

The weird thing is I did manage to upload a couple POIs after a bit of wrangling, and the unit worked perfectly. Now, it's not uploading.

 

I realize this is difficult if not impossible to do this way, but I do appreciate the help.

 

First I enter the info from this site into Geocache manager, then I press the send to GPS button (or whatever it's called). I create a folder under Geocaches. The hit OK, the computer says the upload was successful, but when I hit Goto on the 500 and select Geocache Pts., the points and folder are not there.

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I'll try not to be confusing.

 

The file is missing, as well as the POIs; however, when I open the 500 from my laptop and look at the files, they are there, along with the points I tried to upload. Also, when I go into, say, the internal memory, then Geocaches (or any other file), there is no option to create a new folder, only Up One Level.

 

The weird thing is I did manage to upload a couple POIs after a bit of wrangling, and the unit worked perfectly. Now, it's not uploading.

 

I realize this is difficult if not impossible to do this way, but I do appreciate the help.

 

First I enter the info from this site into Geocache manager, then I press the send to GPS button (or whatever it's called). I create a folder under Geocaches. The hit OK, the computer says the upload was successful, but when I hit Goto on the 500 and select Geocache Pts., the points and folder are not there.

I had a similar problem this morning. I had previously loaded my first few caches in the handheld via geocache manager in a folder called "Patchogue". Today I uploaded a new batch in a new folder called "Hubbard Park". When I first hit "Goto" all I saw was my first list. After pushing all the buttons in various combinations I finally managed to get to the "Up one level" option, and that's where I found my other list!

I will be posting my first experiences with the 500 later today or tomorrow, but here's a question for those who've been using it: I can put caches in a "found caches" group on the handheld to get them off the list, but the only way I can find to get them out of the gps altogether is plug it into the computer, open it as a drive, and delete it from the file that way. Is there anyway to delete "found caches" in the field?

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Only with the pc can you delete the cache permanently, but this will work for downloaded geocaches in your active file, to delete a found (you still have to have the cache as active) cache push the down load button scroll down to mark cache as found click on it then the screen will show clear goto yes or no hilite yes and click on it,it will then be marked as found. If you don't want your found caches showing on the map, go to menu then map setup when your in map setup move your click stick to the left or right,you'll then be on the display screen, scroll down and check or uncheck what you want to see on the map.

Edited by vagabond
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I've had my 500 for three weeks and so far am happy with it. I've only been using it for geocaching. I ran into this; I've heard from a couple of people who were able to pry this out of Magellan:

 

http://www.rebateplace.com/forms/9643.pdf

 

They said you have to call them on the phone to get it.

 

I've e-mailed customer support twice (once immediately after purchase and the other October 30) with no replies. I did get an e-mail customer support survey on October 30:

 

"Thank you for recently contacting Thales Navigation’s Technical Support Center for your Magellan product(s). We continually strive to provide the best possible service to our customers and would appreciate your candid feedback regarding your most recent experience with our Technical Support Center".

 

Isn't that kind of bass-ackwards? Is their customer support located in Bombay or similar? If it's good I don't care. My Dell tech support was but they were knowledgable.

 

The 500 probably does more than I need but the price was good. My other GPS is a 1997 GPS Pioneer. What a difference!

 

 

I just called customer service about the Mapsend Topo for $9.99. They said that offer is "Not available right now" I suspect you can only get that if you buy that particular package (like from Costco.com).

Ah, well... I'm happy with the Crutchfield package that came with DirectRoute.

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Just to give any one out there might have bought the Crutchfield GPS deal a heads up.

click here

They dropped the price!

Here is their policy:

As a Crutchfield customer, you're covered by our thirty-day Low Price Guarantee. If we offer an item you've purchased from us at a lower price within 30 days of your purchase, we'll be glad to refund the difference. Please contact Customer Service at service@crutchfield.com or 1-800-955-9091 to request a refund.
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I have just purchased a 500 -- first Magellen.. I am trying to manually upload a geocache coordinate, but am having difficulty doing that. Is it even possible or do I have to do it via my PC? I didn't want to install the drivers on my PC as I wanted to use the 500 and directly compare it to my satellite reception of my Garmin Legend. I'm beginning to think that I prefer my Garmin... am quite frustrated.

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I have just purchased a 500 -- first Magellen.. I am trying to manually upload a geocache coordinate, but am having difficulty doing that. Is it even possible or do I have to do it via my PC? I didn't want to install the drivers on my PC as I wanted to use the 500 and directly compare it to my satellite reception of my Garmin Legend. I'm beginning to think that I prefer my Garmin... am quite frustrated.

A: you don't need drivers, an explorist just works.

B: just make a poi and click on the coords. edit them to that of the cache.

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I have just purchased a 500 -- first Magellen.. I am trying to manually upload a geocache coordinate, but am having difficulty doing that. Is it even possible or do I have to do it via my PC? I didn't want to install the drivers on my PC as I wanted to use the 500 and directly compare it to my satellite reception of my Garmin Legend. I'm beginning to think that I prefer my Garmin... am quite frustrated.

A: you don't need drivers, an explorist just works.

B: just make a poi and click on the coords. edit them to that of the cache.

Click the "mark" button on your 500. Then just give it a name and change the coords. It's much easier to do it on the eXplorist than on etrex. The 500 uses the entire screen instead of the tiny overlay the etrex uses.

Edited by hukilaulau
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After pushing Mark, adjust the coords, change the name, and use Save As. Then choose the memory (Internal or SD card), folder and file to put this waypoint in. Then go into: Menu>Preferences>Active Setup> and choose the file in the My POIs field. Then the waypoint/POI will show on the map page.

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After pushing Mark, adjust the coords, change the name, and use Save As. Then choose the memory (Internal or SD card), folder and file to put this waypoint in. Then go into: Menu>Preferences>Active Setup> and choose the file in the My POIs field. Then the waypoint/POI will show on the map page.

 

I think I've got it... even when I try to save it in the "Geocache" file, it goes into the POI file... but at least I can find it... now, with all my experimenting, I have these bogus coordinates with strange names. How do I delete them?

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Just to give any one out there might have bought the Crutchfield GPS deal a heads up.

click here

They dropped the price!

Here is their policy:

As a Crutchfield customer, you're covered by our thirty-day Low Price Guarantee. If we offer an item you've purchased from us at a lower price within 30 days of your purchase, we'll be glad to refund the difference. Please contact Customer Service at service@crutchfield.com or 1-800-955-9091 to request a refund.

Thanks for the tip! I just got off the phone with customer service and my refund will be credited back to my credit card in a few days... Now if I can just refer 10 more people, my gps will cost me 9 bucks!

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The weather here in Long Island has been so nice that it's hard to stay inside and write the review I promised! I've got to get outside again today, but here are a few random thoughts until I can write something more coherent...

 

Not being able to delete caches in the field (from the geocache database) is annoying, but on the positive side, you can transfer them to a "Found caches" file. The nice thing about this is, when you get home you have a ready made list of your days activity, in reverse order of finding them, with the time of day recorded.

 

To clarify what someone else said: You CAN download Mapsend DirectRoute to more than one computer, but not to more than one gps.

 

Someone said the lack of many navagation screens is "borderline unacceptable." What the heck are they talking about?!? There are more than enough options to use either road or point to poinnt navagation.

 

Since mounting anything on your windshield is illegal in some states, the box contains a sticky round plate for dashboard mounting. Only thing is, the cradle I got has three small suction cups, not the one large one that you see in the picture. The plate won't work. But I've used the cradle, stuck to the upper driver's side corner of the windshield in my Sonoma pickup, for about two weeks now with no problem.

 

With three different backlight levels, the street maps are easy to follow under any conditions. All the buttons are easy to reach with my left hand.

 

The package is great! The user's manuals leave a lot to be desired!

 

More later...

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I have been reading through the threads here and figured I would post my comments.

 

I have had my 500 since late Oct 2006, upgraded from a Meridian. My biggest complaint has been the 200 vs 500 caches otherwise now that I have gotten use to where things and and such I really like it.

 

I got the Traveler package that included the MapSend software, car adapter and window mounting bracket. After my first use of the window mounting bracket, I switched out the bases with my dashboard mount I had for my Meridian, I found that the window mount just bounces too much to read it while driving down the road.

 

I use GSAK to load caches in to my 500, havent even used the Geocache manager that comes with the unit. I started with a 256mg SD card and have loaded a couple of map (WA, OR, ID and part of MT in one) files and hundreds of cache via multiple files.

 

I like the Li battery as it will charge in the car on the mounting bracket. I did have to purchase another data power cable tho since I don't like having to drag the cable from the house to the car all the time to plug the unit in. I have considered purchasing the AAA battery mount as a backup but I havent killed the battery yet with the car being able to charge the battery where as I always had to have backup batteries with the Meridian for long caching outings.

 

The 500 will charge via the USB cable plugged into the PC as long as the unit is off even if the power cord is not plugged, will charge either on or off if the power cable is plugged in.

 

Thanks for reading.

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Hi guys,

 

I am new here & I am new in GPS stuff!

I just bought an Explorist 500 LE with the SD card TOPO Mexico as I leave in Mexico

I need the Explorist to travel in Mexico

 

So,my questions are:

 

1-I dont understand about this format mgi & imi ;I tought it was img but the files in my SD are:

bacground map : Basemap Mx.mgi

Details map : Topo Mexico.imi

I cannot open it with Mapsend in my computer ! why?

Why there is no Mapsend Topo Mexico?

3-I tried all software that comes with the explorist & they look useless!

Do I have to buy something else to get to see something from the Topo Mexico in my computer and to

modify?

3-In case this is not possible to open with Mapsend,how can I edit the map & add roads that are not in ?

4-the card is protected;Is it a way to get rid of it & copy the files to another bigger card?

5-How can I create a Custom Map ? What do I need comming from Google Earth or else?

6-what is this basemap where I dont see anything ?

 

I know it looks strange for you but i dont understand much;Did I bought a difficult product to start with?

Was there something easier to manipulate maps & travel in Mexico?

 

Thank you for the help

 

enotar

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:unsure: Unsure of what I'm doing wrong, bought the explorist 500LE last week, and the darn thing won't download sites from my laptop. Everything else seems to work. I read the manuals till I'm blue in the face.

This is my first GPS and a new geocacher. Any help? Or did I just get a bad one.

The explorist, unlike many other GPS's should show up as a drive letter in your windows explorer. Are you at least getting that far? If the GPS isn't connecting try turning the cable over on the back of the GPS. I don't know why they did this but it will only connect to the pc when the cable is in the right position.

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:unsure: I just browsed through this chain of messages and found it rather complimentary to Magellan and very little criticism emerged. I don't want to be a killjoy, but there are some pros and cons according to my experience.

 

First of all this eXplorist 500 of mine is bought from a store in Finland on January and it has been used mainly for geocaching in Finnish environment. With the unit I bought also a topo-map SD to cover my immediate vicinity of my house on the map.

 

First some pros. This screen is very clear and I happen to like the icons used (someone liked Garmin icons better). The size of the unit is also very nice indeed and it fits into jacket pocket nicely. The operating time with single charging of battery is conciderably better than in my previous unit (SporTrak Map with chargeable AA-batteries) even in cold conditions.

 

Some cons. I got used to the goto-line that gives a direction to the target from the place you currently are and that feature is sabotaged totally by replacing former visible line with almost impossible to see sized dotted line. On the other hand the route line from the place goto was set to the target is bright red clearly visible... and totally useless line. So far I haven't found any means of getting that goto-line useable. If the user interface with SporTrak Map was cryptical this eXplorist UI is even more so. I just wonder if there has ever been a straight thinking UI-designer in company payroll. Even first year students of ITC-studies must be able to create a LOGICAL user interface to such a simple gadget.

 

Unfortunately there is also a MAJOR DISASTER built in the unit too. It cannot endure cold weather. The unit was placed in the glove compartment of my car for several hours in -15 degrees centigrade and when the unit was powered on it discarded its flash memory completely and showed only NAND error on the screen. For that NAND problem I found a cure from internet which included upgrading the firmware to the most recent one (SD card detached, of course) but since that the operations with SD memory has been catastrophic. The handset corrupted my Topo-Map SD completely (I've not yet seen if manufacturer is willing to replace that) and all other SD cards placed in the slot are available only couple of hours before getting corrupted also.

I bought a 1GB SD card to see if Map Send maps can be used with the unit but it's getting tiresome to format a SD-card and copy its contents before each and every sortie of geocaching.

 

Has anyone experienced any similar problems and if so... managed to find a cure for the "disease".

 

Member A from Team Pitkis

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Has anyone experienced any similar problems and if so... managed to find a cure for the "disease".

 

Member A from Team Pitkis

I may be wrong, but I thought the operating parameters of the explorist line was...

 

Ah, found it on the maggie web site:

"Operating Range 14 to 140°F (-10 to 60°C) "

 

so - stop making your eXplorist into an ice cube. Then it should work just fine.

 

good luck.

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:lol: Unsure of what I'm doing wrong, bought the explorist 500LE last week, and the darn thing won't download sites from my laptop. Everything else seems to work. I read the manuals till I'm blue in the face.

This is my first GPS and a new geocacher. Any help? Or did I just get a bad one.

The explorist, unlike many other GPS's should show up as a drive letter in your windows explorer. Are you at least getting that far? If the GPS isn't connecting try turning the cable over on the back of the GPS. I don't know why they did this but it will only connect to the pc when the cable is in the right position.

If your running Vista it may be the problem, There seems to be a existing issue with not being able to access The Explorist through the Magellan Softwair if your running Vista. There is a patch in the works but ii dont know when its aspose to be out. I just got the 400 today and am a little sour on it now but as with most things e-bay I may be suck with it. If any one knows a work around that be great.

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