Magellan Explorist 500LE

I wrote this review some time ago, but please enjoy.

Magellan Explorist 500LE

Well, I received my Magellan eXplorist 500LE and my first instinct was to take it apart. I opened the back battery door and the first thing that struck me was how ingenious and simple the battery pack construction was. Brilliant! The 3-AAA batter holder takes the place of was what I assume the Li-ion battery (purchased separately) would go. I know from experience that some of the places I ride to do not have power so having an alkaline battery option is beneficial in those cases that recharge power is not available.

The second thing I noticed is that behind the battery pack was the expandable SD card slot. The SD card is inserted and sits like most cell phone SIM cards. All of this sits behind a door with a watertight seal. This was a great use of space with versatility in ways to power the GPS.

The size is relatively small. This has benefits and drawbacks. Let me start with the drawbacks.

The screen is small but comparable to most handheld GPS units. When in motion on your motorcycle it may take a while to focus on what you are looking for. (such as speed) There is a good amount of buttons squeezed on the both bottom of the unit. Although I feel all of these buttons are necessary, they have been made small and may be difficult to press the buttons with gloves on.

However, I feel the benefits outweigh the drawbacks. The unit is vertical and the screen cannot be changed to horizontal but the length is only 4.7inches (11.9cm) with no protruding antenna. This makes the unit more compact and less likely to hit other items on your bike. (Such as tank bags or wind visors)

If you do not prefer to mount your GPS the unit is small enough to fit in a small pocket so that when you stop you can quickly pull it out and get your bearings. For the limited drawbacks in the small size, Magellan has packed a lot of features that outweigh these drawbacks.

Next I loaded the software onto my computer. My computer runs Windows XP and I had no trouble installing the software.

First I loaded the Installation Wizard. This software loaded the following on my computer.
• Serial to USB driver
• Basic User Manual
• Magellan Conversion Manager
• Magellan Geocache Manager
• Reference Manual

I did have some problems here.

Connecting the Magellan 500LE to the PC was some kind of cryptic code I needed to figure out. All of the instructions say to first connect the cable to the GPS, and then connect the cable to the computer, and only then should you turn it on. It has to be in that order every time or it won’t work. That’s funny because that is how my bike starts sometimes. Another key item to note is that the cable must run down and along the battery cover to be connected properly. There are no pictures or descriptions of how to connect the cable but I found that out after calling customer service. It is very easy to connect the cable in the wrong direction. This may also pose a problem when using a hard-wire while it is mounted.

After the many failed attempts to connect the Magellan 500LE to my computer, I finally gave up and called customer service. My new friend at Magellan’s customer service and I ran through a series of troubleshooting drills to finally come to the conclusion that the cable is faulty and that they will send me a new one. After 2 hours of trying on my own and 30 minutes on the phone I was very discouraged.

When using the Magellan 500LE it worked like most handheld GPS units. It started up relatively fast and I was ready to go out of the box. It had all of the major roads and highways loaded up which was nice but like most GPS units, I still needed to load up the detailed map. Setting waypoints was easy and the tracking feature was working. Also setting quick waypoints was easy. The color screen was a nice and that you could set the light level was helpful to increase battery life.

I used the Goto feature and on the map page the directional line seemed to be alittle small so it was hard to view on the screen. The map fields needed to be changed when using the go to feature. I usually prefer to different fields when using Goto and changing them manually is a pain.

Managing the unit was simple and like any other handheld as far and switching pages, adding waypoints, tracks, and routes. Something I did have to get used to is managing the files in the memory. I like it and it makes since, but it is just one of those things I needed to get used to.

Features:
• Color screen - 16-color screen makes it easy to read maps and information in all lighting conditions
• Built-in maps - North American or European basemap shows major roads, parks, waterways and many points of interest
• SD-card expandability - Add unlimited MapSend topographic maps or turn-by-turn street routing
• Simple file system - Save, organize and access all your stored data with ease
• USB data port - Manage maps and waypoints and download coordinates from your PC
• TrueFix® technology - Reliable accuracy to within 3 meters
• Area calculation - Instantly see the distance and area between any geographic points
• Vertical profile - View graphical elevation changes for where you've been or where you're going
• Geocache Manager - PC application to download and organize coordinates from the Internet
• Track logging - Store 5 track files with 2000 points each and an unlimited number on your own SD cards
• Four navigation screens - Map, Compass, Locator and Satellite Status deliver easy-to-use information
• Advanced power management - Three (3) AAA batteries or optional Li-ion ion battery (not included)
• Rugged construction - Encased in rubber armored, impact resistant plastic
• Water resistant - Don't worry about getting it wet
• Languages - Choose English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Portuguese, Dutch or Norwegian.
• No service fees - Ready to use with no activation required
• Full Warranty - One-year in North America, Two-year in Europe
Specifications:

Case Rubber armored impact-resistant plastic, water-resistant seal
Base Map Built-in basemap of North America or Europe
Size 2.2" W x 4.7" H x 1.3" D (W 5.6 cm x H 11.9 cm x D 3.3 cm)
Weight 5.4 oz (164.4 g) - w/ batteries
Display 2.25" diagonal, 16-color transflective TFT, high resolution (122 x 160), backlit
Memory 16 MB user data
Data Storage Unlimited / Secure Digital (SD) Card compatible
Antenna Built-in multidirectional patch
Keypad Nine direct-access keys
Joystick Eight-way easy scrolling w/ push-in instant enter
Operating Range 14 to 140°F (-10 to 60°C)

PERFORMANCE
Receiver TrueFixTM 14 channels, WAAS/EGNOS
Acquisition Time Hot: 20 seconds, Cold: 60 seconds, Initial: 2 minutes
Update Rate Once per second
Accuracy 3 to 5 meters (10 - 16 feet) - WAAS/EGNOS, < 7 meters (15 feet) - GPS only
Velocity 0.1 knots (RMS)
Dynamics 6 g
Grids 75 including Lat/Lon, UTM, OSGB,MGRS, Finnish, German, Swedish, French, Irish, Swiss, USNG, User Grid (90 Max)
Languages English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Portuguese, Dutch, Norwegian

POWER
Source Three (3) AAA batteries