Calling Magellan users

[Tortoise]

Hope this is a legit new topic. I always seem to miss stuff even after much searching

I’m still grappling with the decision of which GPS. If cost wasn’t such a consideration, the decision would be easier.

It seems there are many more Garmin users on this forum. If Magellan is more user-friendly, as most comments suggest, and the 1:25k maps of all Tassie are available for $49, what are the problems? (Is this map series in raster or vector ‘format’ btw?)

Is it just that Garmin ones, with extra cool stuff they can do, are more fun for techno-weenies once they work out the user-unfriendliness?

I began my search thinking i really only wanted to be able to get a reference point re where i am, still using paper map & compass as my main navigational tools, so don’t need all the bells and whistles – but am coming around to thinking the odd bell or whistle might be rather nice.

So a few specific questions:
Would the Explorist 310 and the 510 both use whatever data type paper maps use? (UTM / AGD... whatever they are and aren’t...)

With the Explorist 510, what’s the significance of ‘ability to download the Summit Series Topo maps via SD card’? Does that mean you can’t load other maps onto it, like OSM? (And does it mean that you just buy the SD card when you buy the GPS?)

As the 310 has no apparent sd card slot, how are the maps obtained?

Can both the 310 & 510 utilise ‘Vantage Point’, the free downloadable ‘do your walk plan in computer & load to GPS via USB & vice versa’ program?

Many thanks for any de-confusion

[Tortoise]

Any comments a'tall re Magellan GPSs?

[DameEdnaBrown]

Hi there, I've only just got into GPSing for want of a better word. I wanted a device that I could use when I go on hols with my kids to show us where we are how we could get back to where we came from. I bought a Garmin Dakota 20 (AU$420). I did some research on the web before my purchase including watching videos, one of which was from OutdoorGearLab.com. The guy doing the video reckoned the Garmin had it all and that the Magellan was difficult to use. Within 10 minutes of using my Garmin I gave up. The menu system is difficult to navigate whereas the Magellan has 4 corner spots on the screen for quick access. Also, the top right hand spot has at least 10 quick access icons that you can define to suit yourself. I bought a Magellan 510 for AU$349 and it's great. To answer some of your questions:- All GPS units have some internal fixed memory, the Dakota has 850mB of internal memory as well as a micro sd card slot. The Magellan 510 has 500mB of internal memory as well as a micro sd card slot. Forget about the size of the internal memory as you should be using a sd card instead. To load maps onto whatever GPS you have you connect it to your PC via a USB cable. I believe some maps can be supplied an a sd card. I haven't looked too far into maps yet, but I did make a custom map for the Garmin but the resolution wasn't to good. To improve it I would have to find a higher resolution image. I don't know if you can make custom maps for the 510, haven't gone that far yet - don't really care either way. I can't say weather the Garmin can use Vantage or not. I did purchase a Summit map for Western Australia for AU$50, it's not too bad but ask me in a few weeks. I have seen maps for Garmin advertised for AU$300, there ain't no way I'd spend that for a map. I hope I've been some help, good luck.

[Overlandman]

There is a bit about this topic here,


viewtopic.php?f=21&t=10279

I am waiting for Ent to post" This is the one to buy", he seems to have a good knowledge on GPS's.
I am still using my Garmin Geko 201
Regards Overlandman

[Ent]

Hi

I was staying back from this to see what users of the other major brand think of their units. Also have not sighted one nor compared it. Curious myself to see if the opposition to Garmin is a worthwhile bit of gear.

Read a few reviews and comparisons but bit suspect with them based on what they say about my unit! Must admit I am bit suspicious of paid reviews in general. Much prefer warts and all personal experience of known posters. At least that way you can factor in their idiosyncrasies.

Cheers

[Tortoise]

There is a bit about this topic here,
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=10279

Yes, I had a few looks at that one, hoping it would reveal more each time I visited.

The best potential info by an actual magellan user would seem be from Taz73, but the pm i sent him some time ago is still in my outbox - which doesn't make sense to me as he has apparently logged on since then Hellooooooooo Taz73?

by Ent » Sat 08 Sep, 2012 10:41 am

I was staying back from this to see what users of the other major brand think of their units. Also have not sighted one nor compared it. Curious myself to see if the opposition to Garmin is a worthwhile bit of gear.

Read a few reviews and comparisons but bit suspect with them based on what they say about my unit! Must admit I am bit suspicious of paid reviews in general. Much prefer warts and all personal experience of known posters. At least that way you can factor in their idiosyncrasies.

I thought you were being very restrained, Ent! I have been tempted to wonder if all the Magellan users are having trouble finding their ways home , but then i don't want to antagonise the very people who could help me!

I confess the same suspicion re reviews by any man or his dog who may have a vested interest.

[Ent]

Hi

Well curiosity got the better of me so off to Tamar Marine to check them out. The 610 was presented to me.

Impressions from my brief play.

1. Slooooow

2. Hung when scrolling so had to zoom out and then in.

3. As a mapping unit I looked at the Weston Creek area and it had that track plus the Higgs track. Promising.

4. Noticed that the Higgs tracks required walking on water as the track crossed part of Lake Nameless in places.

5. Neither Ironstone or Whitelys Hut showed up.

6. Weston Creek Track started in the bush not on a road. The road link was missing.

7. The zoom level for showing tracks was at a too higher level so when zooming out you would lose the tracks.

Opinion

It appears that low resolution maps have been the source and then GPS traces gathered and overlaid with no attempt to match their alignment and the connection points. Now for fifty bucks this might be a case you get what you pay for.

The overall slowness surprised me. The touch screen display feels ok but I did not use the menus so can make no constructive comments on this aspect.

Now for people that use them in the real world to comment. .

Cheers

[Tortoise]

Hellooooooooooooooooo! Anyone using (or used to use) a Magellan?

Last edited by Tortoise on Sun 09 Sep, 2012 2:16 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[north-north-west]

Yes, but I have a Triton, not an Explorist.

[phan_TOM]

I used to have a Magellan Explorist 600 and found it incredibly slow. It was slow to acquire satellites and then slow to get a fix, it was slow to scroll, slow to navigate through menus etc etc. Slow. That was an older model though, the newer ones may have improved, but I'm guessing not after seeing Ent's comments...

I have an etrex 30 now and for mention of Garmin being user unfriendly I don't have any issues with it at all in this regard. It does have a lot of extra bells and whistles that I don't use but what it does do is impressive & its size, weight, screen & battery life are more than sufficient for my needs & a million miles from my old Magellan. and so fast, fast to turn on, fast to acquire and position fix, fast to scroll, etc etc

[Tortoise]

Yes, but I have a Triton, not an Explorist.

Hi there NNW. I'm thinking that as the Exporist series 'replaced the Tritons', your experience might well be very relevant.

Which model do you use? Which maps? (a can of worms, it seems) Likes & gripes?

Thanks

[Tortoise]

G'day phanTom,

Thanks for your comments - the plot thickens.

I have an etrex 30 now and for mention of Garmin being user unfriendly I don't have any issues with it at all in this regard.
...what it does do is impressive & its size, weight, screen & battery life are more than sufficient for my needs & a million miles from my old Magellan. and so fast, fast to turn on, fast to acquire and position fix, fast to scroll, etc etc

Was originally considering an Etrex, but am technologically challenged - the MP3 player someone gave me a few years ago sat unused for 18mths until someone helped me get started.. So I'm assuming as a number of people have mentioned the unfriendliness, I'm going to have some problems with that. Do you happen to know if the Etrex 10 & 20 have the same kind of speed as yours?

[north-north-west]

Well, the Triton 2000 was pricey but, being a cybercretin, I got it because it's the easiest mapping GPS around, due to the touch screen.
It's a bit slow to pick up the satellites and decide just where it is, sometimes. Particularly in heavy forest on a steep hillside, facing south or southeast, early in the morning. Does get there eventually, just takes a few minutes. Otherwise it's great. Accurate, consistent, easy to use, rugged. It gets snowed on, rained on, dropped in puddles, dropped on the ground, blah, blah, blah, just keeps on working.
It came with a card that has a full mapset for Australia, reasonable scale and detail, but some curious inconsistencies and omissions. I suspect the maps are badly out of date but as I use it mainly for logging my walks rather than for route-finding, that's not really a major issue for me.
I don't know what average battery use is for a mapping GPS, but this thing - as I have it set up - gets around 18-19 hrs from a pair of Energizer Lithium AAs. There are a lot of bells & whistles you can fiddle with that use more power, and some little lurks to reduce the usage, but I think 17 - 20 hours is about it.
VantagePoint is OK. Being able to plan walks is sometimes useful for the offtrack stuff. Not being really geeky, I don't use it for a lot except looking at all the lovely coloured lines on the map of where I've been, and drooling over all the places I could go. Only major issue I have with VP is not being able to figure out how to view the Vertical Profile of a logged walk on the PC. It must be possible, but I'm buggered if I can get it to work.
I should edit some of the tracks, get rid of spikes from shutdowns and the like, but I'm scared of stuffing something up.

I'd love to be able to use the Tasmanian Summit Series maps, but they won't work with the Triton. But a few other people here have reported on them and say they're better than most.
You should be able to use any Magellan maps with the better Explorists, or OSM/Shonky & Contours; they make a thing of the Summit Series maps because they're fairly new and (supposedly) higher than average quality.
You can change the map datum to whatever is appropriate for your matching paper maps, either via VP or (probably) on the unit itself.

Anything else?

[walkinTas]

The first GPS I owned was a magellan 500 explorist. I bought if very cheaply on fleebay. I had nothing else to compare it with so didn't know if it was slow or fast. You turn it on, it finds the satellites and you know where you are. That takes a minute or two. I had the base map on this device, but also added the whole list of high-places and the whole list of waterfalls.

I'm guessing that the main reason folk choose Garmin over Magellan is "custom maps". You can't add your own maps to a Magellan (well at least, I don't know how if you can). On the new summit series you can subscribe and download satellite imagery but I think its only USA - and you can upload waypoints and tracks etc., as with any GPS. The Magellan works with OzExplore and GoogleEarth no troubles. On the latest summit series, tracks are stored in gpx - these can be imported straight into GE. The Tassie map on the magellan is great.

Picture of yesterdays walk - tassie map, waypoint and track in VantagePoint (crappy Magellan software for working with GPS).

redwater.png (192.34 KiB) Viewed 25420 times

Same area on GoogleEarth after importing the gpx file from the Magellan.

redwater2.png (394.73 KiB) Viewed 25420 times

If you would like this sort of detail while you are out walking, you can save the GE picture (as above) in jpg format and upload it to your Magellan as a visual reference.

The 510 is a much heavier battery user than the old 500 was. It uses rechargeable Ni-MH batteries, so you'll need to invest in a charger and spares. No charger supplied with the GPS. The new GPS chip in this model is faster at working out where you are. The screen tells you the estimated accuracy.

I use a GPS for three reasons. 1) to tell me exactly fairly precisely where I am. I find this much easier than trying to work it out from a map. 2). To record tracks for future reference - i.e. playing with Ozi and GE. 3). The record the location of different feature - mostly waterfalls. I suppose a fourth benefit is the ability to back-track up your recorded route if you get disoriented, but I have only ever needed this once. Still, it saved a lot of time searching. I did try to use the 500 to estimate waterfall heights, but it wasn't accurate enough for that.

I often carry the GPS and a map because the map is a much bigger viewing area and it is much easier to get the overall picture from a map than on a 3" screen. Especially when you know exactly where you are on the map. I just acquired a Motorolla defy and I hoping to play with maps on that and compare the two.

Last edited by walkinTas on Mon 05 Nov, 2012 12:04 am, edited 1 time in total.

[Taz73]

Hi Tortoise.

Sorry, I don't check my inbox on this site so probably a good time to start

For the $400 I spent I am more than happy with my unit and the Tassie Topo map.

It is my first unit so I have no idea what speed others are capable of.

My 2 big dislikes are the loss of tracks when you zoom out (very annoying) and the absence of huts being marked.

I don't find it slow and it never freezes up.

It does what I want it to do (I don't get lost), it was cheap and there are more tracks marked than I'll ever walk.

The GPS positioning with the Magellan is accurate (it's the loaded tracks that appear out in some places).

Some tracks are older variants (Quamby Bluff) and some appear incomplete but that does not cause an issue as the track gets remarked as you walk.

On a recent walk I was off trail on the GPS by 20 meters but I was clearly on the marked track.

I have no idea if the GPS was inaccurate due to thick canopy cover or if the track on the GPS was positioned wrong.

It was no way an issue as you do not walk step by step to what is on the screen.

If a track was marked over some water I am not going to walk through the water because the GPS says to

It functions for me to show me where tracks are and if I have gone the right way at an intersection, simple.

I am not that critical of the the track accuracy, I really like the Tasmania now in the palm of my hand.

The walks I now see possible from the GPS are a great inspiration to go and explore our beautiful state more.


The reason I bought a Magellan is because I refused to pay the $700 to $800 I would have had to spend if I went for a Garmin.

The map set is very expensive and making your own custom maps can be difficult and a lot of work.

For $40 Magellan, you get all of Tasmania in one hit.

I read Garmin are good for road maps but not walking tracks and that sealed the decision for me.


I purchased the 510 and I am so glad I did.

The Explorists are by now means a cutting edge hand held GPS units of today but access to the Magellan Topo Summit Series makes up for this.

The best feature is the camera that I use to quickly save waypoints by simply taking a photo.

The instruction manual doesn't appear comprehensive but I have learnt that is because the unit is so easy to use.

I have heard of people struggling with Garmins but my 8 year old could use the Magellan with minimal instruction.

Battery life using Energiser Ultimate Lithiums is amazing.


I hope this answers a few questions.

[Tortoise]

Many thanks everyone for all your input. I think you've clinched it for me, Taz73, though I expect your 8 yr old is more tech-savvy than me

Yes, i expect i'll find the loss of tracks with zoom out very annoying, but will have my paper map/s anyway - I want to revitalise my old navigation skills rather than replace them.

[Taz73]

Sorry, I forgot to mention, Tamar Marine are very expensive for the units.

The cheapest price I found online was from C.H.Smith Marine, IIRC they can be had for around $320.

Dick Smith just started stocking them in Launceston and their price was $350 for the 510.

I bought mine from Ray's Outdoor for $370 and the map set was purchased online for just over $30 as they had a 40% off special that may be still going (normal price $49).

The download is size is not that dramatic.

The Magellan RRP for the 510 is $349 so don't pay above that by too much.

Happy trails.

[Onestepmore]

Doesn't the magellan explorist 710 come with all the maps already included?
I am just starting to research this mind boggling topic, as I want to purchase for my hubby for Xmas.

[Tortoise]

Can't remember why i didn't go for the 710. Probably $. I did go to to the shop to buy the 510 - only to discover they had none in stock.
Then somehow ended up with the Etrex 30 after a bit more thinking! I think i'll be happy with it, though. For me, buttons won over touch screen (often wear gloves for cold or scrub), long battery life (bigger screen sucks power), big memory and capacity to add other maps (thanks Ent!).

Others swear by bells & whistles, though.

http://www.magellangps.com.au/Products/ ... lorist_710
"The eXplorist 710... The World Edition map allows for 2D or 3D viewing angles. It includes a complete road network in Australia, United States, Canada and Western Europe and major roads throughout the rest of the world.
...also includes the Summit Series Australia/New Zealand Topographic Map + City Series Australia/New Zealand Tourer Map including turn by turn street navigation. These maps in combination provide water features, urban and rural land use, contour lines, trails, waterways and points of interest. In addition the eXplorist 710 comes preloaded with the GeoScience Australia 1:250k Raster Map giving you a complete product from car to bush to mountain top."

All the best in your research, Onestepmore. Lucky Hubby!

[wayno]

i had a magellan 710 for reviewing, I think the preloaded maps on the magellan arent anywhere near as good as garmins, i dont think they are that useable for bush walking, hard to view in sunlight, lack of detail. hard to see contour lines...
the software for the magellan on my pc crashed every five minutes,

[Taz73]

If I need more detail than the screenshots in this thread viewtopic.php?f=21&t=10151, then I stop looking at the GPS and use the detail around me.

The only detail not in the Summit Series that is annoying is that Huts are not marked.

These I have had to enter as way points.

I find the comment strange in regard to map comparison as most reports are that Garmin maps are useless for bushwalking.

[wayno]

teh default resolution o the magellans is even lower than in the garmins

[Ent]

Just out of curiosity do the Magellans support maps like OSM and does anyone use them?

OSM still has a long way to go with data but it is improving every day.

Cheers

[Taz73]

I believe you about the resolution and no they do not support OSM or the like yet.

It does however do what I need it to do for under half the price of a Garmin that couldn't do what I needed it to do.

[cookie-monster]

this has been an interesting thread!
although all its done is made me even less sure what to get hahaha