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| Magellan eXplorist 600 Handheld GPS | 
 enlarge | Brand: Magellan
Category: CE
List Price: $449.99
Buy Used: $229.99
You Save: $220.00 (49%)
Used (3) from $229.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 10759
Color: Black
Media: Electronics
Memorabilia: No
Tracks: 5
Native Resolution: 160x120
Display Size: 2.3
Includes MP3 Player: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 2.1 x 1.3 x 4.6
Array:
MPN: 980771-06
Model: 980771-06
UPC: 763357109412
EAN: 0763357109412
ASIN: B0007RPW2M
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Good GPS Handheld unit March 8, 2006
8 out of 10 found this review helpful
GPS receiver is great. There are some minor flaws with the unit though. Weather gauges are rarely correct. Also the speedometer works until about 30 mph and then is inaccurate. Other than those issues fairly impressed with the GPS unit.
Patience grass hopper, patience February 23, 2006
61 out of 61 found this review helpful
I believe I read every review on the web and in magazines. It appears they were dichotomous for either a great gadget or junk.
I purchased an explorist 600 and immediately after receving the box I suspected the unit I had was a returned unit by someone else. The unit was not purchased from Amazon.com, rather from an interent company whom guaranteed the product was 100% brand new. I worte an email stating I had doubts about the unit being brand new or it was possibly refurbished, but I would still try to use it.
Immediately, the unit temperature read 518 def F. I was unable to reprogram the temp. Customer service was very polite and able to walk me through a recalibration process. As stated in many reviews, I waited for 1hr and 15 min. I'm glad I had speakerphone. But we solved the problem.
I did not have any problems installing the software or with the computer identifying the SD drive. After loading regions of maps, limited to a region size of 246mb per region, I started experiencing "Checking Media" problems. The unit would cycle and restart during startup into a "checking media" phase. Eventually, the unit would continue doing this and would not work. I called tech support and only waited about 20 min. I spoke with a very polite and helpful person. We performed a hard reset and she gave me her company email if I had anymore problems. Unfortunately, I did. I sent an email stating the problem seemed to be getting worse. Tech support was very prompt in replying to emails, (within 6 hrs). She stated the problem was not common and to return the unit.
I returned the unit to the internet store where I purchased it. After paying shipping to and from, they stated they would send me another unit, but to get the unit faster I should just return the defective unit and order another unit and repay the twenty dollars in shipping again. No thanks. What looked like a bargain in lowest price turned out to be expensive in shipping cost. I declined the second order and purchased the next unit from another company with free shipping, though the unit cost a little more.
The new Explorist 600 unit works flawlessly. It works how one would expect a $350 GPS unit to work. This is my first GPS unit and I think it is very easy to operate. Allow me to list the pros and cons.
Pros:
1) Very easy to use IF you read the directions once through. The rest is intuitive for a novice GPS person.
2) The software (purchased separately) and unit are very accurate for location and details
3) The unit is light-weight and small enough for one hand operation.
4) The satellite lock is very strong, even indoors, in bad weather conditions.
5) Tech support is very helpful and experienced.
6) There are many features including some I have no intention on using.
7) SD card. This is HUGE! I use a 1GB SanDisk. Using Topos 3D USA, a 246mb region is the entire southeast from below VA and as far west as the Mississippi river. The new unit works without error moving from one area to another. I do have to switch detail maps manually when crossing into VA into my north region. Very easily done. I have plenty of room that I could actually cut a region of the map for the entire east coast if the width were narrow enough.
8) The background maps is adequate for general navigation.
Cons:
1) The first unit seemed to be an older firmware version. The new unit is AWESOME. I was seriously considering purchasing the similar garmin unit. After previewing the software for garmin, I noticed several inacuuracy. I also really wanted to have SD capabilities. If you purchase an explorist 600 unit and experience problems, you may have an older unit.
2) Waiting for tech support on the phone is time consuming. Email is great, but make sure you enter info accurately and be polite!!
3) The Map Send V1 Topo USA 3D software is not easily transferred to the unit in terms of direct connect. You must use a conversion program for all map regions, routes, POI's. The program is included, but it is an extra step.
4) As many reviews indicated, the temperature indicator is not 100% accurate. No big deal. I feel it is close enough though after it has been in the environment for a period of time. The purist will have issues though. I do not require the use of an altimeter, so I never use it.
5) The additional software needed to use the unit for back country is expensive ranging $70-$150. Shop around. They sell road software as well, but i would have to research other units if I were to primarily use the unit for highway navigation. The Map Send Topo 3D software is fairly detailed with streets already and I do not anticipate purchasing the road version.
In summary, I would recommend the Explorist 600. You need patience to work through data transfer, but once you do it, it is quite simple. The unit itself is quite easy to use. If the unit starts acting up right away, don't allow a long testing period, send it back and get another one. I hope this helps your decision making.
 DO NOT BUY. January 28, 2006
13 out of 19 found this review helpful
I got this product after ignoring the horrible reviews and I paid heavily for it. This product continually freezes making it unusable. As previously stated buy another reviewer the unit goes to checking media every 5 seconds and then after, the unit will freeze. I thought adding the SD card would help with its problems but, it didn't. Also trying to add any map software just makes the problem worse. I have already sent this product back, and after carefully reading reviews I have chosen to buy a garmin quest 1 (not the quest 2 because of its problems). Magellan makes inferior software and backs it up with inferior customer service.
 Excellent Product January 15, 2006
11 out of 14 found this review helpful
So far I have found this product to be easy to use and extremely helpful. It's great that it has unlimited memory expansion thru its Secure Disk (SD) slot in back below the battery. The only down side I have found so far is that it is only loaded with the basic maps and if you want anything more extensive you need to pay for it. It would have been nice if Magellan had included some more extensive maps on a disk in the box. Even though they haven't, I feel that the product is so good that I am more that confident to give it a five star rating. I would recommend it to anyone.
It was time for an upgrade... December 7, 2005
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
I've been a very happy Magellan customer for years, using the units mostly for Geocaching. I still have my first GPS from them - the Magellan Sportrak yellow. It was that unit that made me absolutely love the company. Being able to get accurate readings even in urban canyons and under heavy tree cover was wonderful.
But I wanted to try out the eXplorist series. I picked up an Orange 100 and was mostly impressed. I missed a couple of the screens from the Sportrak, but it was esentially the same unit, but smaller, better battery life, and a better light.
Christmas has finally come around and we took advantage of the (...)rebate to pick up the 600. Without the pricing on Amazon, and the rebate, we would have likely settled for a 400, or perhaps a 500. Having used the color screen, the 500 or the 600 is absolutely my choice.
We've been using it for geocaching over the last week and in a wide variety of enviroments. The geocaching features are nice - the data is right there on the screen for the cache you're seeking. Transfering data using the Magellan Geocaching converter works nicely, but I'm a GSAK lover, and there is direct support for the unit in the program.
The base map has reasonably good street detail - of course not every street is listed, but major streets by the mile are there which will get you around most regions. I've always hated the Mapsend software and was rather happy to find rather nice conversion utilities on the net to put most any map onto my unit, including some rather nice customization programs I had no idea even existed.
WAAS lock from cold start was 3 minutes, initial location was found in about two minutes with a good degree of reliability. The more you use the unit, the more accurate it seems to get.
Now for the bad.. Intuitive methods of doing things seems to have escaped the programmers over at Magellan. Why the features you pay extra for would be on a separate menu makes no sense - the temp/bara should be one of the default screens. The magentic compass seems to work properly, but is slow to update at times.
The lack of wisdom extends to the geocaching utilities. It would seem natural that the manufacturer included software would handle splitting files to avoid overloading the memory - nope. If you exceed some mysterious size, it simply tells you an error and drops those extra waypoints off. How many? Depends on how much data is on each cache. One hundred geocache waypoints per file seems to be working just fine, but I've not spent enough time experimenting to find the absolute range.
And whomever designed the USB interface on the unit figured that style made more sense than function. Far too large of an interface without indication as to the appropriate direction to install the cord with contacts that can make intermitent connection unless properly aligned and firmly tightened down.
Interfacing with GPS programs works just fine; Streets and Trips handled it with zero problems. But make sure you get a mount if you're going to use it in the car - the interface cord is awkward for just putting the GPS in a cup holder.
Other cachers who have joined along with us have found all sorts of ways to borrow our unit, and most enjoyed it. Plus it has nice style. Better battery life would have been nice, but there is no lack of usb portable rechargers out there, and our generator has a cigarette lighter port, perfect for recharging the laptop or the gps.
Overall, I'd say that I'd buy it again, but if it lasts as long as my Sportrak, we won't be needing one for a good long time.
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