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| Magellan eXplorist 400 Handheld GPS | 
 enlarge | Brand: Magellan
Category: CE
This item is no longer available
Avg. Customer Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 18124
Color: White/black trim
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Tracks: 5
Native Resolution: 120 x 160
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 2.1 x 1.3 x 4.6
Array:
MPN: 980771-04
Model: 980771-04
UPC: 763357109399
EAN: 0763357109399
ASIN: B0007RPW22
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| Customer Reviews:
 Does what I want. :-) August 21, 2006
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
(This is my first GPS so this is coming from a not so GPS technically inclined person.)
I use it for geocaching and it does what I expected it to do and does it nicely. :-) Downloading waypoints by the dozen and sorting them is easy using freebee software, GSAK. While the ability to use it for driving directions is also appealing, I haven't invested in any since the reviews are so iffy.
Did get a 2Gb memory card off eBay really cheap, and after trying out the Magellan case which is pointless except when storing it in a drawer, I got the neoprene Gilsson case specifically made for the Explorist, and it fits perfectly as it has a clear window protector for the screen and all the buttons on the bottom are easily accessible... even the ones on top sides aren't hindered!
Am looking to invest in a simple PDA too for paperless caching (no more printing out full pages) since the hint section in the Explorist doesn't either seem to download or provide enough space. Anyone know how to override this? Still trying to figure out how to edit info once it's downloaded into the unit but I'm sure it can be done.
Overall, I really love my Explorist 400. :-)
 defective lcd screen August 5, 2006
6 out of 10 found this review helpful
The lcd sreen had small spots ...than lines that grew to be obvious lcd defect. This is after it was charged and right of the box. I returned it to Amzon for replacment. The Sc card is located behind the battery -very poor location you have to take the battery out to replace SD card. Geocahe cocrdinates uploaded keep coimg out unreadable on device. Not sure what issue was. Called tech service and got the indian call center..hard to understand.
 Explore your world with an excellent value GPS May 20, 2006
13 out of 14 found this review helpful
The Magellan eXplorist 400 is a feature packed Global Positioning Satellite receiver that should be seriously considered before any other if you want accessories such as memory expandability and PC connectivity to upload topographic and/or street maps to your GPS -- all at a value price point.
While this model can be used for car travel, the eXplorist 400 is a compact, handheld unit that's intended for hiking, orienteering and other fun in the great outdoors. It weighs about six ounces with a backlit B&W screen that's the size of a closed paper matchbook. Backlight is red and settings are low, high and off; the display is easy to see and use in the dark, but it does run the battery down quickly. According to the Magellan website, a fully charged battery will last up to 8 hours using the full backlight. With the backlight off, the battery will last up to 17 hours of continuous use; that's about three hours longer than the usual rating of about 14 hours for a pair of AA alkaline batteries.
The eXplorist 400 model provides virtually unlimited memory expansion with the Secure Digital (SD) memory card slot (an SD card is about the size of a postage stamp); it's located inside the unit under the rechargeable Lithium Ion battery. The method for charging the battery is to attach the PC USB connection cable to the GPS unit and then plug either the AC adapter or DC car charger into the cable; proper orientation of the PC cable to the back of the unit is not covered in the paper Basic User Manual that comes in the box, but it is in the Reference Manual that's on the installation CD. Included software comes with a MapSend Manager and Conversion program that is only compatible with Windows 2000 and above so you can use MapSend, Magellan's topographic and street mapping/routing software that pre-dates the eXplorist series. It comes on CD-ROM that runs on your PC, and you need the above noted utilities to upload maps to your GPS.
The unit is a lot of fun to use while the action buttons, menus and display are fairly intuitive; there's a lot to cover regarding usage so you will want to spend some time experimenting with it before venturing too far afield. Once you do, however, you will find it to be accurate and confidence inspiring. While the packaging says the unit is waterproof to IPX7 rating (a European test specification), it only covers accidental immersion in just over three feet of water for about thirty minutes. The battery compartment lid doesn't look watertight enough to meet this specification even though there's a gasket under the lid around the opening for the battery/SD memory slot, so just be careful with it around water.
GPS units generally have a fairly high learning curve, and the more you want to do with them the more complicated they become. Magellan models have a quality feel to them, but the documentation and website you need to use leaves something to be desired because they have a lot of gaps.
As always, appreciate the beauty of life in the outdoors while staying safe!
Great up grade! April 7, 2006
13 out of 13 found this review helpful
I really enjoy the 400 and found that up grading from the 200 was a good move. Acuracy is pure magellan, EXCELLENT! No matter what the model. The extras here I like are the optional SD card for adding more detailed maps and most of all the NMEA output so you can use it with Microsoft steet and trips or any other preferred software. Very durable as expected with all the explorist models, adding the mapsend 3d topo usa program for another $70.00 (+-) made this gps perform like a race horse! The only thing I think should be included is a dc power cable. The other slight issue, did not have anything to do with the gps, but the user! Shop around, these models are often in a bundle, what I paid totally for it including software was far more than the current "wilderness bundle" now offered with software, carrying case, power cable etc. Regardless, you will be pleased I know I am, me and my son have had some good geocaching times with both the 200 and 400!
Great unit if you buy the software and SD card! April 3, 2006
90 out of 93 found this review helpful
Out of the box, this unit will not allow you most of it's excellent features, like turn by turn road directions, the ability to enter a regular postal address instead of GPS coordinates to get driving directions, or find out the nearest Chinese restaurant, gas station, or dozens of other places of interest near you, or near any city.
But once fully loaded, this device is like having a pocket sized internet browser, without the internet connection!
And when the restaurants, grocery stores, golf courses, parks, museums, etc, I search for come on the screen, they list the addresses and phone numbers of the establishments as well.
When you enter an address, by street and city, it knows the range of the number of the addresses for that street and you just need to edit it to the exact number address you want. As a road would come near that I had to turn at, the unit would beep slowly, and when I had come up to the intersection it beeped fast. The backlight also came on during times to turn, when it beeped, and then went off again on it's own, which would be great for night driving! (You can turn the beeps off if they annoy you)
You don't need to watch the display at all until a road comes up you need to turn at, and the unit will let you know (beeps and/or lights up) when that is, so you can just enjoy the drive and keep your eyes on the road! BIG TURN ARROWS show which way to go, and it even lets you know what the next street or road name is that will be the next turn in the trip.
Built in help screens, easy to navigate menus and features, I absolutely love this thing now that it works as it should have out of the box.
But even though I had to pay around $300 for it, (prices will be lower as time goes on) I wasn't able to do any of the great things I just reviewed with it.
First I had to pay another $150 for the "MapSend DirectRoute" software. (you can find it cheaper now at many sources) and without this software, you can not do any turn by turn directions or search for nearest Hospital or all the fun stuff I mentioned above.
I had to pay another $75 to get an SD memory card so that I could install the maps into the GPS unit with the software. (These are also always coming down in price)
After spending an additional couple hundred dollars, I still couldn't load the maps into the unit, because even though it states clearly that it is compatible with Windows98SE, it is not.
I have two computers with Win98SE, and I could do everything up to the point of loading the final converted map files into the GPS unit, and that it would not do.
I had to wait for a friend to bring over his XP laptop so that I could load a few maps into my GPS and loading time was very long too, and this was on the latest and fastest computer. However, it is not only loading streets, rivers, train tracks and map info, but phone numbers and addresses of every restaurant, airport, museum, etc too, so there is a lot of info it is storing in the GPS.
Turns out the software was made before the Magellin Explorist models existed, so you need to install yet more software so that the end map files can be properly converted and loaded into the Explorist GPS unit. Some of the instructions you read will make no sense, and you have to read other papers that tell you what to do different with the Explorist, since the instructions are for other Magellan units that work differently.
So read EVERYTHING first before loading maps or installing software. Yeah, not fun, but neccissary, because if you go by the wrong directions, it isn't going to work. It will only allow you to load ONE map area, when in fact, you can load several different map definition areas into the GPS.
You can't load the whole country into your GPS either, it won't all fit. At most, you will get one state or two, but if you just save certain areas of certain states or areas you will be going to, this it will allow you to do. I put in all the specific areas of the only 5 states I travel to, and they all fit on the 512 MB SD card with lots of extra room to spare.
You can buy even more SD cards and store as many states and areas as you want, or delete ones you had loaded and load in more, but this requires computer connection, which I don't have, since it doesn't like Win98.
Now I need a car mount and bike mount which should cost be at least another $50 or so. Then more money for the cigarette lighter power supply.
Oh, and none of the stores the Magellan website lists as carrying these accessories carries them. The web site listed stores like Radio Shack, Walmart, Sams Club, etc, and NONE of the stores listed carry any of the accessories for the explorists. (at time of this review)
So total, I think it ended up costing more than double for this thing, and hours of grief figuring out and loading software, but in the end, this thing is really great now!
I still have to do an additional accuracy test, because even with added WAAS system, the display giving current accuracy never reads better than 30 feet at any time, even when tracking around 8 sattelites, while my cheap Garmin Geko for $50 tells me 15 feet or better accuracy. (Not to say that what each unit is reporting is actual fact)
In doing three quick Geocaches, this unit led me directly to the exact location of the caches to the exact spot. I just walked right up to all 3 of them imediately with this thing, so it is much more accurate than 30 feet, I don't know why the thing doesn't ever report better than 30 feet accuracy when it is MUCH better than that.
One other complaint would be that this unit uses a rechargable pack and won't take batteries. If you are out Geocaching and the rechargable goes dead, then what do you do? I will be purchasing the cig lighter car charger.
They should have used a normal DC power connector instead of the bizzare screw in one, but they did this to keep the unit entirely sealed to keep water out. Regular power jacks would let water in, but I won't be swimming or showering with mine, so I would rather have had the traditional power jack and plug.
Hopefully one day soon, someone will make a GPS unit that comes preloaded with all of the US maps from the factory.
Since no one does this yet, I can't really knock this particular brand or model for all the extra work and expense I had to put into it, since any other brand or model would have most likely made me do the same thing.
In the end, it finally does what it was designed to do, and it is working great!
It even gives you accurate time to the second (which it gets from sattelite and is right on with my atomic clock) the date, and tells you the sunrise/sunset times and rise and set of the Moon as well. (and that it does straight out of the box)
There is a base map that IS in this unit straight out of the box that does list major roads (just not small residential roads) but the turn by turn directions feature will not work until you buy the MapSend DirectRoute software and load it into the unit.
I used the unit out of the box for a few months before I was able to get the detailed maps loaded into it, and still had tons of fun with it, but now it is just amazing and has tons of extra features opened up since loading the detailed maps.
Another thing with the software... It asks for the serial number of the GPS unit you have, so if you want to buy two of these units, the software will only work for ONE unit not the other as it checks the serial number of the unit during connection to the computer.
The unit, right out of the box, and without a computer, will let you enter in your name, address and phone number, so if it gets lost, someone finding it can know who it belongs to.
The fact of all the time and extra expense would have dropped the total score of this item to a 2. But I had to give it a 4 because now that it is loaded, this thing is really great!
At the time I got mine, Magellan did not offer preloaded SD cards with specific areas or states, but they may in the future, who knows.
TIP:
The unit came with a plastic film over the screen (like most digital watches and digital camera LCD screens do) meant to be peeled off and thrown away after purchase and I just left it on. I can wipe it off easy and it keeps the screen protected.
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UPDATE
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When trying to find the cigarette lighter car charger for the eXplorist units, the photos online always show a connector that does not look right for this unit. Turns out that you need to use the AC charger/USB cable that came with the unit and the AC part unplugs, revealing the connector that you plug the cigarette lighter connector into.
In other words, the car charger doesn't plug into the GPS, it plugs into the cable that comes with the unit, and THAT screws on the back of the GPS.
However, this means you need to bring the whole big USB cable mess into the car. I did find a place that sells an extra cable, so I can leave one whole mess in the car, and the AC charger cable in the house. I suggest getting the extra cable, because if you lose the one, you can't ever charge the GPS in the house anymore either. Plus if one goes bad, you have an extra ready.
I also found out this unit can tell me where the closest ATM machines are, even ones that are from my specific bank. (when mapsend software is installed)
The eXplorist 400 also has the feature of being able to save Geocaching coordinates direct from a computer (along with hints and notes for paperless caching) but since it doesn't work with Win98se, I am not able to use or review that feature. However, even though I have to enter coordinates manually, I can also enter in the hints or Geocache descriptions, and they show up when searching the Geocache, so you don't have to bring any paper printouts with you. (thus the term "paperless cache")
I also use this to put phone numbers and addresses into saved coordinates, to make sure I know which house number I am walking up to when visting a house for the first time, or call a business to make sure it is open before driving out to it.
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