Why My New Explorist 600 Sucks!!!!

[Tikishark]

The Explorist 600 by itself is a great little unit. However, over the past 2 days (since I received it), this little charm has turned into a nightmare...

 

1. I can't get the Explorist to communicate with my computer. When I install the drivers, everything appears okay, however, as soon as I turn on my Explorist, I receive the message "USB Device not Recognized... One of the USB devices attached to this computer is no longer working..."

 

2. I purchased Mapsend DirectRoute from Magellan... However, I found out that maps cannot be directly downloaded to the Explorist 600... You need to save the maps to your hard drive, and then send them over to a SD card through a reader, or by connecting the Explorist as a hard drive and transferring them that way. However, since I can't connect, I'm basically out of luck. That goes the same with the two programs that come with the 600 "Conversion manager, and Geocache manager"... Since I have no connection with my 600, I can't use either.

 

3. I'm not able to register my 600.. It seems that the website wants a serial number that starts with a 118 and all 600's have a 119..

 

4. Poor documentation... The manual doesn't reference anything about connecting to the 600, nor does it talk about file structures or any of that. In fact the manual that is mailed out is the Explorist 300 manual.

 

5. Magellan's website is of little use. There are no support pages for the 600 yet, and in looking at the support for the 100 - 300, all they give is a basic manual.

 

I know this may seem like I'm bit*hing, but wouldn't you think a large company like Thadeus would test drive their units, and have a complete support section ready before releasing their products? I mean after-all 80% of all PC users use Windows XP now and connection issues should have been resolved before the first shipment... I can understand if I were a beta-tester, but this is a pre-packaged (complete) unit. What was Thadeus thinking?

 

I'm really about ready to throw this unit back to REI and just buy a good old-fashioned Garmin product.

[+steameng8]

I just got my eXplorist 600 and agree, but have not yet tried connecting to my XP Computer.

One additional thing that I have not been able to do is to buy an Extended Warranty thru Magellan for my eXplorst 300 or 600. I have called Magellan on this a couple times during the last two months and they say to check the web page for updates.

[+steameng8]

Test to see if picture shows

[+GOT GPS?]

If you can, try deleting the USB drivers for the Explorist GPS off of the XP computer, then re-installing the drivers without the GPS plugged in. Then Reboot the PC, then try plugging your GPS in after the PC has booted back up into windows.

 

When the GPS 60C first came out I had alot of trouble in with that GPS, and the Drivers not working. I seem to remember that i plugged the GPS in first, and that messed things up big time.

 

Try another PC and see if there are the same problems with that.

 

I think there is alot of problems with USB on Windoze PC's anyway.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

I mean after-all 80% of all PC users use Windows XP now and connection issues should have been resolved before the first shipment... I can understand if I were a beta-tester, but this is a pre-packaged (complete) unit. What was Thadeus thinking?

What a coincidence. 80% of all statistics are made up too!

 

I have Win98se on two of the 3 computers I use at home. I know many people that refuse to "upgrade" to XP. Where do you get your data?

 

Relating that to your topic, Win95 and Win98 (well, all versions of Windows actually) were released with some many bugs. Microsoft is a much larger company then Thales Navigation. You'd think their product would be perfect with so many employees testing it out, right?

 

One of my favorite games, Diablo II, had to be patched the day I bought it.

 

Did you report your issues with the eXplorist to the company? They're counting on your input to make a better product.

[Buckskins]

Please try turning the adapter that connects to Explorist around 180 degrees. The correct position is for cord end to point to bottom of GPS. Make sure it is turned on in menu and not on power only mode. Hope this may help. I can access the SD memory card through Explorist through My Computer - show as a SD drive.

Edited April 17, 2005 by Buckskins

[+IVxIV]

You need to save the maps to your hard drive, and then send them over to a SD card through a reader, or by connecting the Explorist as a hard drive and transferring them that way. However, since I can't connect, I'm basically out of luck.

 

External memory card readers are pretty cheap nowdays, and having one of those 10/12-in-one readers I found is reallly nice to have around especially now that so many GPSr/s/PDA/digital cameras have so many different card formats.

 

Your PC should be able to read the Explorist's memory card via a reader no problem. If you DO have a problem with that as well, then you PC is somehow at fault, not the GPSr.

[+embra]

2.  I purchased Mapsend DirectRoute from Magellan... However, I found out that maps cannot be directly downloaded to the Explorist 600... You need to save the maps to your hard drive, and then send them over to a SD card through a reader, or by connecting the Explorist as a hard drive and transferring them that way.  However, since I can't connect, I'm basically out of luck.  That goes the same with the two programs that come with the 600 "Conversion manager, and Geocache manager"... Since I have no connection with my 600, I can't use either.

 

3.  I'm not able to register my 600.. It seems that the website wants a serial number that starts with a 118 and all 600's have a 119..

 

4.  Poor documentation... The manual doesn't reference anything about connecting to the 600, nor does it talk about file structures or any of that.  In fact the manual that is mailed out is the Explorist 300 manual.

 

<snip>

 

I'm really about ready to throw this unit back to REI and just buy a good old-fashioned Garmin product. 

2> When DR came out, there was no capability for USB communication. I think on function of the Conversion Manager applet is to take care of this communication, as well as apparently converting maps in some manner specific to the explorist. It's cumbersome to run through another program, but until the new DR comes out it's the necessary workaround. On the positive side, you shouldn't have to do a map more than once.

 

3> Call Magellan and tell them, this one is their problem more than yours. It shouldn't affect your gps experience in the sense that registering usually isn't necessary per se.

 

4> Yeah, the documentaion is thin. I think they should have been up on this better. Come here and we'll figure things out. On the other hand, if you have little tolerance for bumps in the road, getting a comparable Garmin product that's been on the market for a while may be a more satisfying experience.

Edited April 17, 2005 by embra

[stutzismydog]

embra~

You are a class act and always conduct your responses with thoughtful consideratuon,....this is appreciated by us less knowledgeable and stress for patience users of this high tech tool. Thank you.

[tubemonkey]

And here I wasn't going to get one of these just because they wouldn't take AA batteries. Man, these units have more problems and flaws than I'd be willing to put up with, especially considering their cost.

 

The lack of backwards compatibility with their older maps is now another deal breaker for me.

 

Oh well, it looks like I'll be wedded to my Legend and AAA maps for quite awhile now.

[+Renegade Knight]

Short product cycles, and short development cycles do not lend their hand to quality. The problem is universal. That doesn't help you any, but the Garmin 60 is still resolving issues and it would not suprise me if the magellan 600 has a similar issue live span.

Edited April 17, 2005 by Renegade Knight

[Pinon]

I admit that I am a first time user with a GPSr. I looked and read all I could about the new 400,500 and 600 series. I went to my local (big) sports shop and handled just about every GPSr they had in stock. I settled on a Magellan "MeriGold". I have used my MeriGold for about a month now and I am learning more about this unit everyday and I don't have any problems. I am totally happy with my MeriGold. Hindsight IS GREAT...I am glad I did not buy one of the new Magellan units. I love my MeriGold !!

[+Jat311andElf]

wow i was thinking about upgrading to an explorist 500 from my sportrak color. After reading all these comments it sounds like an exploRISK. One question about the 600, has anyone ever use the geocache manager application, and if did was it useful?

[tiber]

My big complaint about magellan units is that they are fragile. The garmins are a lot better built. The one guy I cache with -- LawnGnomeHitman -- has dropped his a bunch and even taken (broke?) the antenna off. It still works great with all the parts shoved back in there. I took a spill biking and my Meridian Colors screen is shattered. Magellan wants $100 to repair it with no hope of warrenty, I told them I'll take a $160 garmin with warrenty, thanks.

 

For your problem, this issue was addressed on the front page of Magellangps.com awhile back. It's a known issue with WinXP SP2. Either roll SP2 back out of the system or install the following:

 

http://www.magellangps.com/en/support/products/msupdate.asp

 

Also, you may be bitten by the "USB compat" problem in your BIOS. Make sure your BIOS is set to "USB2" and not "auto" or "compatible with USB1".

[+Team Cotati]

My big complaint about magellan units is that they are fragile. The garmins are a lot better built. The one guy I cache with -- LawnGnomeHitman -- has dropped his a bunch and even taken (broke?) the antenna off. It still works great with all the parts shoved back in there. I took a spill biking and my Meridian Colors screen is shattered. Magellan wants $100 to repair it with no hope of warrenty, I told them I'll take a $160 garmin with warrenty, thanks.

 

For your problem, this issue was addressed on the front page of Magellangps.com awhile back. It's a known issue with WinXP SP2. Either roll SP2 back out of the system or install the following:

 

http://www.magellangps.com/en/support/products/msupdate.asp

 

Also, you may be bitten by the "USB compat" problem in your BIOS. Make sure your BIOS is set to "USB2" and not "auto" or "compatible with USB1".

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT remove SP2 from your XP system. As a matter of fact if you haven't installed XP SP2 do it today. This SP will be the base for all future security updates from Microsoft and in itself has fixed many security weaknesses in the OS. While Windows will never be perfect, removing XP SP-2 would be a gigantic step backwards...........DO NOT DO IT.

[+Team Cotati]

The Explorist 600 by itself is a great little unit. However, over the past 2 days (since I received it), this little charm has turned into a nightmare...

 

1. I can't get the Explorist to communicate with my computer. When I install the drivers, everything appears okay, however, as soon as I turn on my Explorist, I receive the message "USB Device not Recognized... One of the USB devices attached to this computer is no longer working..."

 

2. I purchased Mapsend DirectRoute from Magellan... However, I found out that maps cannot be directly downloaded to the Explorist 600... You need to save the maps to your hard drive, and then send them over to a SD card through a reader, or by connecting the Explorist as a hard drive and transferring them that way. However, since I can't connect, I'm basically out of luck. That goes the same with the two programs that come with the 600 "Conversion manager, and Geocache manager"... Since I have no connection with my 600, I can't use either.

 

3. I'm not able to register my 600.. It seems that the website wants a serial number that starts with a 118 and all 600's have a 119..

 

4. Poor documentation... The manual doesn't reference anything about connecting to the 600, nor does it talk about file structures or any of that. In fact the manual that is mailed out is the Explorist 300 manual.

 

5. Magellan's website is of little use. There are no support pages for the 600 yet, and in looking at the support for the 100 - 300, all they give is a basic manual.

 

I know this may seem like I'm bit*hing, but wouldn't you think a large company like Thadeus would test drive their units, and have a complete support section ready before releasing their products? I mean after-all 80% of all PC users use Windows XP now and connection issues should have been resolved before the first shipment... I can understand if I were a beta-tester, but this is a pre-packaged (complete) unit. What was Thadeus thinking?

 

I'm really about ready to throw this unit back to REI and just buy a good old-fashioned Garmin product.

Ya knows what? You try and tell people.........don't waste your time.

[tiber]

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT remove SP2 from your XP system. As a matter of fact if you haven't installed XP SP2 do it today. This SP will be the base for all future security updates from Microsoft and in itself has fixed many security weaknesses in the OS. While Windows will never be perfect, removing XP SP-2 would be a gigantic step backwards...........DO NOT DO IT.

I contest you are far from correct and drastically underinformed.

 

Microsoft has muddled in FireWire and USB connectivity:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885222

While that knowedgebase article covers FireWire, the hotplug drivers have overlap. If we mess with one, we probably have messed with the other. The real question is: Does uninstalling correctly restore the drivers?

 

Professional SysAdmins (Me being one of them) avoid SP2 to the tune of less then one quarter of XP installs actually needing and using SP2.

http://www.tomshardware.com/column/20050414/index.html

 

Please take the time to read the TSBs and Knowledgebase articles on Microsoft.com and other sources before going "OMFG!!!1! ANOTHER PATCH FROM MS! I NEEDS TO INSTALLS IT!"

Edited April 17, 2005 by tiber

[Tikishark]

If you can, try deleting the USB drivers for the Explorist GPS off of the XP computer, then re-installing the drivers without the GPS plugged in. Then Reboot the PC, then try plugging your GPS in after the PC has booted back up into windows.

 

When the GPS 60C first came out I had alot of trouble in with that GPS, and the Drivers not working. I seem to remember that i plugged the GPS in first, and that messed things up big time.

 

Try another PC and see if there are the same problems with that.

 

I think there is alot of problems with USB on Windoze PC's anyway.

Thanks for the help... Unfortunately that didn't work either... I even tried two seperate computers with no luck. I called REI today, but they told me my best bet was to give Magellan a call on Monday.... At this point Magellan is going to hold the answers to all the secrets

 

I really appreciate the help though...

[+Stunod]

I got my eX600 on Friday. Have had no problems with it (except trying to register on-line, but I have contacted Magellan about that).

 

Reception is good, and it doesn't seem to suffer the same lag that the Meridians did (no more going 100' past the cache and doubling back).

 

I'm happy.

[+Team Cotati]

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT remove SP2 from your XP system. As a matter of fact if you haven't installed XP SP2 do it today. This SP will be the base for all future security updates from Microsoft and in itself has fixed many security weaknesses in the OS. While Windows will never be perfect, removing XP SP-2 would be a gigantic step backwards...........DO NOT DO IT.

I contest you are far from correct and drastically underinformed.

 

Microsoft has muddled in FireWire and USB connectivity:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885222

While that knowedgebase article covers FireWire, the hotplug drivers have overlap. If we mess with one, we probably have messed with the other. The real question is: Does uninstalling correctly restore the drivers?

 

Professional SysAdmins (Me being one of them) avoid SP2 to the tune of less then one quarter of XP installs actually needing and using SP2.

http://www.tomshardware.com/column/20050414/index.html

 

Please take the time to read the TSBs and Knowledgebase articles on Microsoft.com and other sources before going "OMFG!!!1! ANOTHER PATCH FROM MS! I NEEDS TO INSTALLS IT!"

Nevermind. You are quite correct. OK everone, remove SP2 this evening. If you haven't installed it, do not ever do so. Thanks for your assistance in correcting my mis-informed little self.

[Tikishark]

My big complaint about magellan units is that they are fragile. The garmins are a lot better built. The one guy I cache with -- LawnGnomeHitman -- has dropped his a bunch and even taken (broke?) the antenna off. It still works great with all the parts shoved back in there. I took a spill biking and my Meridian Colors screen is shattered. Magellan wants $100 to repair it with no hope of warrenty, I told them I'll take a $160 garmin with warrenty, thanks.

 

For your problem, this issue was addressed on the front page of Magellangps.com awhile back. It's a known issue with WinXP SP2. Either roll SP2 back out of the system or install the following:

 

http://www.magellangps.com/en/support/products/msupdate.asp

 

Also, you may be bitten by the "USB compat" problem in your BIOS. Make sure your BIOS is set to "USB2" and not "auto" or "compatible with USB1".

Tiber, thanks for your help... I tend to agree with you about SP2... I have had a few problems with SP2 since installing it on my laptop (mostly wireless connection problems). I'm going to give Magellan a call on Monday and see what they can sort out. Thanks again for the help....

[Tikishark]

I mean after-all 80% of all PC users use Windows XP now and connection issues should have been resolved before the first shipment... I can understand if I were a beta-tester, but this is a pre-packaged (complete) unit.  What was Thadeus thinking?

What a coincidence. 80% of all statistics are made up too!

 

I have Win98se on two of the 3 computers I use at home. I know many people that refuse to "upgrade" to XP. Where do you get your data?

 

Relating that to your topic, Win95 and Win98 (well, all versions of Windows actually) were released with some many bugs. Microsoft is a much larger company then Thales Navigation. You'd think their product would be perfect with so many employees testing it out, right?

 

One of my favorite games, Diablo II, had to be patched the day I bought it.

 

Did you report your issues with the eXplorist to the company? They're counting on your input to make a better product.

I should have stated that "80% or the users at my work use XP", or "8 out of 10 Dentists prefer XP over Trident", or something like that... In all truth, I made the 80% statistic up as a guess.... However, I do have to say, I haven't seen Windows 98 or Windows 95 on any new systems coming on the market lately (All Windows XP, or XP professional). In fact, I can't say I have seen a Windows 98 computer in about a year. --- But like Jery Seinfield would say, "Not that there's anything wrong with that"

 

I do have to admit I need to stop whinning... In fact, looking back on a few of my posts, I almost asked for this. I was in such a big hurry to have this unit "NOW", that I didn't stop to realize that I'd need to take a few lumps and setback before Magellan worked the bugs out. After all the unit itself is fairly impressive....

 

Thanks to all for your great posts.... I will have an update from Magellan tomorrow.

 

[+Team Cotati]

DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT remove SP2 from your XP system. As a matter of fact if you haven't installed XP SP2 do it today. This SP will be the base for all future security updates from Microsoft and in itself has fixed many security weaknesses in the OS. While Windows will never be perfect, removing XP SP-2 would be a gigantic step backwards...........DO NOT DO IT.

I contest you are far from correct and drastically underinformed.

 

Microsoft has muddled in FireWire and USB connectivity:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/885222

While that knowedgebase article covers FireWire, the hotplug drivers have overlap. If we mess with one, we probably have messed with the other. The real question is: Does uninstalling correctly restore the drivers?

 

Professional SysAdmins (Me being one of them) avoid SP2 to the tune of less then one quarter of XP installs actually needing and using SP2.

http://www.tomshardware.com/column/20050414/index.html

 

Please take the time to read the TSBs and Knowledgebase articles on Microsoft.com and other sources before going "OMFG!!!1! ANOTHER PATCH FROM MS! I NEEDS TO INSTALLS IT!"

Nevermind. You are quite correct. OK everone, remove SP2 this evening. If you haven't installed it, do not ever do so. Thanks for your assistance in correcting my mis-informed little self.

[coolclay]

Good 'ole magellan, I think I'll stick with Garmin, thanks

[+Team Cotati]

Good 'ole magellan, I think I'll stick with Garmin, thanks

You're quite welcome.

[+IVxIV]

It's times like this,, I especially love being a LOWRANCE guy

[+JohnnyVegas]

Once you get use to loading the map onto the hard drive then onto the Explorist with the conversion software it is very easy to do, besides as one other poster stated, how often are you going to change the map?

 

It sounds like the cable may be hooked to the GPS upside down when attached the cable should run down toward the bottom of the GPS.

 

Did you remember to include the GPS serieal number when you loaded the software? if you are using direct route on another GPS you must change the serial number.

 

If you are trying to send waypoints alone, you still must use the conversion software that came with the GPS. As was state before this is because the explorist 400, 500 and 600 use a USB conection.

 

It took me a little while to get use to my Explorist 500 but now it is second nature.

Check the explorist 500 thread, the 500 and 600 will work the same way with the exception on the compass function. An advantage to the compass on the magellans is that it is a triaxial compass, you do not have to hold a magellan GPS level for the compass to work.

 

There is also somethng to be said for having an SD card in your GPS for loading an unlimited number of maps if you travel alto, maybe Garmin will figure this out someday.

Edited April 18, 2005 by JohnnyVegas

[reidster]

It's times like this,, I especially love being a LOWRANCE guy 

Now, now IVxIV be nice!

Now for your first lesson in GPSr diversity training repeat after me: Baaaaaaaa, Baaaaaaa, Baaaaaaa....

Edited April 18, 2005 by reidster

[tubemonkey]

There is also somethng to be said for having an SD card in your GPS for loading an unlimited number of maps if you travel alto, maybe Garmin will figure this out someday.

There's something to be said for having a power source that uses readily available AA batteries for extended excursions in the woods where charging stations are non-existent. Maybe Magellan will figure this out someday.

[+JohnnyVegas]

There's something to be said for having a power source that uses readily available AA batteries for extended excursions in the woods where charging stations are non-existent. Maybe Magellan will figure this out someday. 

 

This is such a non issue for geocaching, very few geocachers are going to be in the woods for more than 8-10 hours, with a battery life of up 17 hours it is going to be longer than is needed for most geocachers. As has been stated before, the explorsist can be charged with the correct adapter with a 12 volt outlet in a car if some one is driving between cache areas. Most cachers that may undertake a long hike in to find a cache that may require and overnight stay are going to be experianced enough to get to their camp site without even using a GPS. IF they are not experianced backpackers, that know how to use a map and copmpass they should not be in the back country unless they have someone with them that is.

Edited April 18, 2005 by JohnnyVegas

[+ritzvin]

There's something to be said for having a power source that uses readily available AA batteries for extended excursions in the woods where charging stations are non-existent. Maybe Magellan will figure this out someday.

you might want to pick up an emergency charger. They contain 4 AA batteries, and plug into the device. I've seen them for $15 (I was researching the ique at the time).

[+maleki]

Good 'ole magellan, I think I'll stick with Garmin, thanks

Early releases of the recent Garmin products had there own set of probs and still do from the posts in these forums.

 

Early adopters are just guinea pigs and gluttons for punishment. You get what you beg for. All so a few months down the line everyone else can purchase a polished(fixed) product for a lot less than you paid for it.

 

Our backup GPSr, after our trusty(2k+finds) old Magellan MeriGreen, is a $ 60.00 Explorist 100. It outperforms the Merigreen for caching IMO and we have no connectivity problems at all other than occasional user I/O breakdown -lol.

[Tikishark]

Thanks for everyone's help... Especially Stunod and Vegas... Yup, I couldn't connect with my computer because the USB cable was positioned in the wrong direction. The cord needs to face down... After this was fixed, everything worked as planned.

 

In addition, I spoke to Magellan today and they stated that they are aware of the registration problem and they are working on it. The online registration doesn't really matter they said, because all warranty information is handled through your invoice or receipts.

 

I installed MapSend direct this weekend, and went on a few neighborhood (street-to street) drives, as well as went searching for 3 caches. Now that everything is purring along... This is a great piece of equipment...

[+Marky]

There's something to be said for having a power source that uses readily available AA batteries for extended excursions in the woods where charging stations are non-existent. Maybe Magellan will figure this out someday. 

you might want to pick up an emergency charger. They contain 4 AA batteries, and plug into the device. I've seen them for $15 (I was researching the ique at the time).

He doesn't really need one because he has stated about five times that he is sticking with his Legend.

 

--Marky

[+Cheminer Will]

I don't know much about all the different GPSr's, but I am happy so far with my SporTrak. I sometimes go with a friend that has a Garmin, (I don't know which model), and under trees, his always has trouble. So... we rely on mine. My SporTrak even picks up the satellites when plugged in to the computer. It's by a window but the house has an exterior overhang outside the window of about 3 feet.

 

I also like the fact that the SporTrak takes AA batteries. We do a lot of camping and sometimes are away from civilization for over a week. The only thing is that you need to make sure you have certain info saved before you change out batteries. And you need to recalibrate the compass every time you do.

[tubemonkey]

This is such a non issue for geocaching, very few geocachers are going to be in the woods for more than 8-10 hours, with a battery life of up 17 hours it is going to be longer than is needed for most geocachers.

True; just as SD capability is (witness all the Garmin users). Still, both features would've made these units more versatile. Remember, not everyone using a GPSr is a geocacher. A lot of us are hikers, backpackers, kayakers, hunters, etc.

 

BTW, I always take map and compass whenever I hit the trail. I never leave home without the 10+ essentials.

[tubemonkey]

you might want to pick up an emergency charger. They contain 4 AA batteries, and plug into the device. I've seen them for $15 (I was researching the ique at the time).

Thanks for the tip, I appreciate it. I've seen these devices and I have no intention of lugging along extra bulk and weight, and having to wait for the battery to charge, etc. Too much hassle; but thanks anyway. Besides, I'm quite pleased with my Legend.

[tubemonkey]

He doesn't really need one because he has stated about five times that he is sticking with his Legend.

Did I mention that I like my Legend?

[+Team Cotati]

Thanks for everyone's help... Especially Stunod and Vegas... Yup, I couldn't connect with my computer because the USB cable was positioned in the wrong direction. The cord needs to face down... After this was fixed, everything worked as planned.

 

In addition, I spoke to Magellan today and they stated that they are aware of the registration problem and they are working on it. The online registration doesn't really matter they said, because all warranty information is handled through your invoice or receipts.

 

I installed MapSend direct this weekend, and went on a few neighborhood (street-to street) drives, as well as went searching for 3 caches. Now that everything is purring along... This is a great piece of equipment...

I don't know what you were doing, but by design, it is not possible to insert a USB connector incorrectly.

[+embra]

I don't know what you were doing, but by design, it is not possible to insert a USB connector incorrectly.

It's not on the PC side, it's the connector to the explorist. I think if you connect one direction it's power only, reverse it and it's power + data. It is not yet clear why they designed it that way, although I don't think it was by accident.

[+FamilyDNA]

I talked to Magellan yesterday for about 45 minutes total and they gave me some good information about the 600. The cable that comes with the unit needs to be pointed down (It looks backwards to me, but it works). In order to transfer anything from the pc to the 600, the 600 needs to be in the File transfer mode before the tranfer program is even opened. Doesn't make sence to me but he proved my wrong. He also emailed me a copy of the 600 user's manual. I would love to share it but I can't attach any files here. If anyone has any other questions I can answer, I will do my best to comply. If you would like a copy of the manual, maybe I can email it to you some how. I hope this helps.

[+embra]

That's kinda interesting, since the transfer program tells you at one point to turn the GPSr on (implying that it should have been off). Oh well.

 

There is a free site for downloads that perhaps you could post the document (if it's the 24 page users manual, we've got access to that. If it's the 100+ page users guide, that would probably be appreciated by some). Here it is:

 

http://rapidshare.de

 

If that doesn't work, try this.

[+E = Mc2]

Thanks for everyone's help... Especially Stunod and Vegas... Yup, I couldn't connect with my computer because the USB cable was positioned in the wrong direction. The cord needs to face down... After this was fixed, everything worked as planned.

 

In addition, I spoke to Magellan today and they stated that they are aware of the registration problem and they are working on it. The online registration doesn't really matter they said, because all warranty information is handled through your invoice or receipts.

 

I installed MapSend direct this weekend, and went on a few neighborhood (street-to street) drives, as well as went searching for 3 caches. Now that everything is purring along... This is a great piece of equipment...

Darn, there goes any chance of me being able to buy the thing from you at a discount!

 

Have fun.

[+Marcie/Eric]

email me tha manual and I will host it for you all.

[ratherbskiing3]

I have the 600 ordered but now am having second thoughts!

 

How can you regharge it on the trail? Is it just for single day trips?

 

Is there no way to use AA's?

 

How much do additional batt. packs cost?

What is a similar unit in regards to features and cost that uses AA bats that I should consider?

 

Thanks, I am very new to all of this.

[+user13371]

I have the 600 ordered ... How can you recharge it on the trail? Is there no way to use AA's? How much do additional batt. packs cost?

You can charge it from a wall outlet, the 12V power plug in your car, and the USB port in your computer. You can also buy "battery boxes" specifically made for recharging/powering USB devices.

 

One user here (Embra? Johnny Vegas?) reported a little over 16 continuous hours use with minimal backlight. That was on a 500 though, haven't seen any field tests with a 600 yet.

 

Spare battery should be available from Magellan for around $40. And once the cost-conscious folks have had their hands on them for a while, they'll find a third-party solution and I'm guessing it will be about half of that. This ISN'T a battery custom designed for Magellan - it's just a small rectangular Li-Ion rechargeable - so it's just a matter of finding who really makes it and what part number will fit.

 

SO.... if you KNOW you'll often be away from all of those power sources and can't carry a battery box, buy a different unit. I expect that "hard core" kind of user isn't the target market for this device.

[ratherbskiing3]

Thank you for the prompt reply, could you tell me a little more about how these battery boxes ?

 

Any ideas on another GPSr that will be similar to the 500/600?

 

Another question have is: Is it possible to load street and topo maps in a GPSr to be used at the same time?

 

ALso, would a 512 SD card be enough space for a few states?

 

thanks

[ratherbskiing3]

Thank you for the prompt reply, could you tell me a little more about how these battery boxes ?

 

Any ideas on another GPSr that will be similar to the 500/600?

 

Another question have is: Is it possible to load street and topo maps in a GPSr to be used at the same time?

 

ALso, would a 512 SD card be enough space for a few states?

 

thanks

[+embra]

Any ideas on another GPSr that will be similar to the 500/600?

You probably ought to take a look at the Garmin 60C or 60CS. No SD card and doesn't hold lock quite as well, but nicer interface, from what I hear.

 

Another question have is: Is it possible to load street and topo maps in a GPSr to be used at the same time?

If you have SD card or sufficient internal memory, you can have both loaded but only one active at a time. However, topo maps often have quite accurate street detail. There is a means with Magellans to actually combine topo lines with the MapSend DirectRoute software to have topo lines and autorouting in the same detail map. See here.

 

ALso, would a 512 SD card be enough space for a few states?

Well, it depends on the size of the states, but yes, 512MB would hold quite a bit. See some examples on this page.

[+FamilyDNA]

ALso, would a 512 SD card be enough space for a few states?

 

I bought a 512 sd card for my 600 and downloaded northern california map onto it. It only took up 2.5 megs. The Magellan reps seems to think the whole country will fit easily on a 512 card, but it would have to be several files because the program that comes with direct route only allows about 4 megs to be saved at one time.