Magellan eXplorist 300 Handheld GPS Navigator

[ThorsHammer]

My wife says I don’t need it, that it is useless. I already know where every bar and saloon is located in the entire County. Finding my way home though!!! She never thought of that…and NTM…what about other Counties?

[Bigscrb15]

I was taxiing down 27 at Dunnellon, Florida when a small Maltese cross came up on the GPS screen. As the airplane icon rolled over the cross, I looked out under the left wing and saw the surveyor’s monument (mark).The GPS had marked the exact center of the runway.
The better GPS units today are WAAS-enabled which means the circular-error probablity can be measured in inches.

Whoa, thats cool. Im gonna give that a try next time I go up. Wonder if it has it for KGIF.

[dakra2]

According to Magellan’s specs, the 100 does not have a true compass. However, every GPS device has something that looks just like a compass - it draws a compass rose and tells you what direction you are travelling in. However, it only works when you are moving, as it does its job by comparing where you were a few seconds ago with where you are now and points that out on its “compass”. Works better the faster you’re moving. The 300, on the other hand, has a true 2-axis electronic compass - it works even when you are not moving.

And it goes without saying that you only have a 10-foot accuracy when you have a WAAS signal. A standard GPS signal simply won’t give you that kind of accuracy, no matter what the device reports. I have a old Garmin eTrex and I know when it reports accuracies of less than 20 feet that it’s simply not true.

Now the 100 DOES include a WAAS receiver, so it is possible to get that kind of accuracy, depending on where you are.

I have the Yellow Etrex (and Etrex Legend) they both have WAAS and your accuracy is dependent on conditions such as weather, tree cover..etc. There are times when both are right on the money and other times when it can be up to 40 feet off… which when it comes to Geocaching, if my unit is accurate up to 20 feet and the hiders accurancy is 20 feet… the object could be anywhere within that 40? foot area.

Regarding other posts. I have a Magellan 360(?) that I use for my car and although it’s a pain sometimes (as it updates at the last minute - by the time it tells me to turn, i have already passed the intersection) - I use a Garmin Etrex for Geocaching which seems dead on accurate at times - I use a Garmin Etrex Legend which tends to lose it’s signal under tree cover - it tends to be less accurate than my regular Etrex—

The eXplorist seems like a good unit for Hiking, Biking, Kayaking…etc, it will work for Geocaching - probably as starter unit (you may want to upgrade if you enjoy geocaching. It does have maps for Navagating although I am not sure how accurate those maps are and how much detail you will get.

It’s a nice price for the features and although I would recommend the Garmin Etrex (especially for Geocaching) it depends on what your going to use it for.

Dave

[xiron]

Has anyone mentioned this site:

http://rhamphorinkx.newmail.ru/connect.htm

It has pretty detailed instructions on how to build the connect cable - including pictures! Be wary of the “ant strom charakteristicks” though. For someone who understands this stuff…does this make sense?

I’ve got the Explorist 200, the one pictured on the Russian site. It seems to be essentially the exact same as the 300, minus the altimeter, barometer, and compass. When I opened the battery compartment, sure enough, there underneath the rubber cover were the four I/O connectors. Pretty neat. I’m not too worried about ant stroms, so I might actually try to build this thing and experiment.

[Sk8man]

Actually, the color ones are usually even more difficult to see in bright sunlight.

Note that a lot of the confusion comes because the eXplorist line’s increasing model numbers do NOT necessarily represent increasing features. It is a mix of features. The 100 is the basic unit with no basemap. The 200 adds a basemap. The 210 adds an even more built-in memory. The 300 adds an electronic compass and barometer – but is back down to the 200 level’s basemap memory. The 400 adds USB connectivity, an SD card slot, and a LiIon battery, but REMOVES the electronic compass and barometer! So, it isn’t an “ever increasing” line as one might expect. The 500 adds color (but still no electronic compass yet). The 600 is color and adds the electronic compass and barometer back in. The XL has a bigger display and more memory (30MB), but doesn’t have the electronic compass – so it is more like a larger version of the 500.

It’s a confusing line, to say the least. And that is if you even understand the features. For newbies, it is even more confusing!

• John…

The 200 also has an electronic compass.

[tacShooter]

Hmm. This product in itself seems a bit worthless. Whats wrong with onstar?

Or for heavens sake you lazy people, use a map.

Why not use an abacus for your computing needs? Are you just lazy? Why not go to a store and talk to people about deals instead of heading to woot to complain? Are you just too lazy?

–tacShooter

[edz321]

the manufacturer weblink is
http://www.magellangps.com/en/products/product_specs.asp?PRODID=1016
the specs there reveal:
-no maps uploadable
-no data input (this means also no waypoint transfer fom your computer)

every single garmin gps lets you upload waypoints… even the cheap geckos. this one doesnt. cant use it for geocaching, preplanned routes, etc. and the integrated basemap of the u.s. needs to be pretty rough at 8mb… full street maps of the u.s. have something about 500-800mb…

First, you can DOWNload waypoints to the Garmin units. Not much sense in UPloading them. Second, you absolutely CAN use this for Geocaching! Entering waypoint coordinates manually is NO BIG DEAL. I can do it in about 45 seconds… while driving.

[adawg]

Good God, you forgot the duct tape! Stick with a GPS that already has the ability to connect to a PC. Otherwise, we’ll have to elevate you to MEGAGEEK status.

Actually, if you want megageek, do-it-yourself GPS’ing for the car, check out:
Garmin Official Site for the GPS
and
http://www.mp3car.com for the parts
and
http://www.rrdownloads.net/ for the slick (and free) touchscreen interface

You could even read up on “geeking your ride” with the O’Reilly book:
http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/carpchks/

Break out the duct tape, I say! I have always been appalled by the cost of factory in-car navigation “options” from car manufacturers. For the same price, I will make my own Car PC. I think there are people that even sell premade kits now…like the one “Mad Mike” uses on Pimp my Ride:
http://www.drivesoft.net/dfs_vehicles.html

Happy tinkering!

Best,
Adam

[rockerhud]

Shopzilla.com Link
SHopzilla has close prices, but not as low. STill a great back up. If i weren’t poor this month, I’d buy one. THis thing is sooo cute.

Usually, I like shopzilla’s results best also. Don’t get why people like froogle and amazon so much. Interesting phenomenon. I’m not sure about the “cuteness” factor though. I guess “cute” should be worth something these days.

[e46grant]

My first woot!!

been using GPS units way before this whole USB connection and even before maps were available. better to learn the unit than depend on PC uploads. IMHO

[jgoggan]

The 200 also has an electronic compass.

No. It does NOT. Go read what I told that guy that said his friend has a 100 with the electronic compass. Then go read it again.

Only the 300 and 600 of the eXplorist line have electronic compasses. Period. The 100, 200, 400, 500, and XL do NOT.

• John…

P.S. If you still think they do, go read what I wrote again – it explains it in detail.

[flashfriday]

Oh noes! I cant upload waypoints from my PC!

Who cares…this one is better then the POS Garmin eTrex I have so entering coordinates manually wont kill you. Quit being lazy.

Who cares? If you’re a casual user I would agree with you, but if you are planning to use this thing for caching I’d just LOVE to see you manually enter 500 waypoints. LOL! It’s not about laziness it’s about common sense.

BTW, it’s not just the waypoints. As mentioned earlier, the maps need to be updated constantly or they will be useless in a year. I read some talk of being able to connect to a PC, so if that is possible then this GPS might be worth it.

[jvestal]

Looks like ebay has a few 400 models, which has the SD expansion slot. Going price is similiar to this woot, but who knows how the sniping will go in a few hours. . .

[HobBramble]

I’ve got one of these, and it works great. Easy enough for my 6 year old brother to use (to play silly little “Follow-my-trail” games) and yet still good for real scavenger hunting.

Execpt, mine’s yellow… not blue.

Sniff… I like blue.

[paulhtck]

Last thing said to Magellan before he boarded his ship:

“If you’re going to circumnavigate the globe, you’ll need one helluva rabbi.”

[edz321]

Who cares? If you’re a casual user I would agree with you, but if you are planning to use this thing for caching I’d just LOVE to see you manually enter 500 waypoints. LOL! It’s not about laziness it’s about common sense.

BTW, it’s not just the waypoints. As mentioned earlier, the maps need to be updated constantly or they will be useless in a year. I read some talk of being able to connect to a PC, so if that is possible then this GPS might be worth it.

If you’re going Geocaching you don’t need 500 waypoints at one time. 20 or 30 is a good weekend of 'caching for most people. Also, why do the maps need to be updated constantly? Where do you people live that the streets change so frequently?

[paulhtck]

So, a question from a GPS newb:

Does one need to pay a monthly fee for this thing to work? If so, how much?

No monthly fee at all-- GPS is a taxpayer-financed service-- but you can slip me a couple of bucks if it makes you feel better.

[ambideXtrous]

If you really can’t upload new maps or waypoints from your computer to this thing then it is worthless! You can get a Garmin Etrex Legend for less and it does all this. I got mine for about $85 a year and a half ago. I’m sure you could even find them for less now. Bad woot!

[ejlamas]

I have this one and I am very happy with it. I bought it like a year ago and I paid much more than $100. It has barometer and themometer and the maps are quite good it has relatively good battery life and and I like that it works on common batteries.

[jgoggan]

Looks like ebay has a few 400 models, which has the SD expansion slot. Going price is similiar to this woot, but who knows how the sniping will go in a few hours. . .

But, as I said earlier, the models don’t necessarily get more feature rich as the numbers go up. For some people, the 300 is a better unit than the 400. The 400 doesn’t have an electronic compass. This is one of my “must haves” now. I won’t go back to a GPS without an electronic compass in it.

So, you can’t really compare them quite the same – the 400 isn’t necessarily a better unit than the 300 as the numbering might suggest. It adds things, but also removes things over the 300.

• John…