Magellan Explorist 300..........
- Thread starter swwit
- Start date
I personally use a Magellan Meridian Platinum, but I was looking at the 300 in the Cabelas catalog last night. It looks like a nicely featured unit. I'm considering purchasing one for my nephew to geocache with. Good Luck!
swwit said:
I'm not familiar with that model but I use the Magellan Meridian and am very pleased with it. Does the explorist have expandable memory and can you load maps into it? My Maridian's base map was pretty lame and not much use in the Pines until I uploaded better map data into it.
Steve
I just looked quickly on Magellan's website. The Explorist 300 is extremely limited and only has an 8MB basemap which is pretty tiny. The specs say you can't upload maps to it. So this unit would be OK for plotting a track of where you're been (sometimes called a "cookie trail") but you wouldn't see any useful maps of roads, except very major ones like the Garden State Parkway, etc.
The Explorist 400 allows you to load maps through a USB port and SD memory card and would be much better. Of course you must pay extra for the maps and decide whether you want the topo or city versions.
Look back in this forum for my impressions of the Garmin vs Magellan maps and software. I sold my Magellan Meridian Gold (to another member here!) because I like my two Garmin GPS'es much more. The Magellan's are well made and they work very well - don't get me wrong. I just like the Garmin maps and other features better. Also, consider whether it's worth the extra money for a color screen. I personally find this really worthwhile when it comes to the topo maps.
The Explorist 400 allows you to load maps through a USB port and SD memory card and would be much better. Of course you must pay extra for the maps and decide whether you want the topo or city versions.
Look back in this forum for my impressions of the Garmin vs Magellan maps and software. I sold my Magellan Meridian Gold (to another member here!) because I like my two Garmin GPS'es much more. The Magellan's are well made and they work very well - don't get me wrong. I just like the Garmin maps and other features better. Also, consider whether it's worth the extra money for a color screen. I personally find this really worthwhile when it comes to the topo maps.
swwit said:
Just as long as you understand that none of the roads and trails in the Pines will not be displayed, and you're ok with that, then it sounds like it's the one for you.
Steve
Fine, you seem to have defined your expectations. However, I'd suggest that you might think about this just a little more. Here's a link to the product on Magellan's site:
http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product.asp?PRODID=1016
The Explorist 300 is limited in ways beyond uploading maps. It appears not to have any sort of interface at all. This means that any data you collect with it will be trapped inside and can't be exchanged with a computer. So you can't plan a route in advance and load it into the GPS. You also can't save a track or waypoints of your travels and display them overlaid on a map on your computer.
Aside from uploading actual maps to the GPS, I would consider this sort of track data exchange essential myself. I think you can get a GPS which has these features, plus the others that you want, for a similar price. You might want have a look at the Garmin eTrex line before making a final decision. I have a Legend C (which is probably more than you want to spend) but others on this site have some of the less expensive models. Here's some more info:
http://www.garmin.com/products/etrex/productShowcase/flash_content/index.html
http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product.asp?PRODID=1016
The Explorist 300 is limited in ways beyond uploading maps. It appears not to have any sort of interface at all. This means that any data you collect with it will be trapped inside and can't be exchanged with a computer. So you can't plan a route in advance and load it into the GPS. You also can't save a track or waypoints of your travels and display them overlaid on a map on your computer.
Aside from uploading actual maps to the GPS, I would consider this sort of track data exchange essential myself. I think you can get a GPS which has these features, plus the others that you want, for a similar price. You might want have a look at the Garmin eTrex line before making a final decision. I have a Legend C (which is probably more than you want to spend) but others on this site have some of the less expensive models. Here's some more info:
http://www.garmin.com/products/etrex/productShowcase/flash_content/index.html
The 600 looks very nice. Just curious - have you ever looked at any of the Garmin products? In that price range you would have a number of options from both Magellan and Garmin.
Heh, heh I just had to laugh when looking at the Magellan website. One of the big "features" which they advertise on all their models is No access fees, ever. Damn, I need to switch to one of those cause my monthly GPS roaming charges are killin' me
Heh, heh I just had to laugh when looking at the Magellan website. One of the big "features" which they advertise on all their models is No access fees, ever. Damn, I need to switch to one of those cause my monthly GPS roaming charges are killin' me
Umm.... just to be sure we're on the same page... I was joking. Nobody anywhere has ever paid an "access fee" to use a GPS. They are only receivers which pick up signals, you're not sending anything back. So advertising a GPS with "no access fee" is like saying they won't charge you for the air that you breathe 
If you're interested in GPS'es you might find this site interesting:
http://gpsinformation.net/
If you're interested in GPS'es you might find this site interesting:
http://gpsinformation.net/
That sounds like some government license fee, like the modem and even TV tax that is charged in some foreign countries...