timdthomas's Full Review: Magellan Meridian Color Handheld GPS Receiver
I bought this unit to use primarily to go geocaching (see www.geocaching.com for information). Geocaching is a kind of treasure-hunt meets orientiering game. There are tens of thousands of caches all over the world, and you can find one in pretty much any public park - in my area at least.
I'm no expert on the different models of GPS units. I bought primarily on price and mapping capability. The Meridian seemed less expensive than the Garmin equivalent, and the mapping software was slightly less as well. I haven't compared the mapping software of the two companies though.
Within the Meridian family, there are several different models. One of the primary differences is the basemap that each provides. The standard model, which I'm reviewing, has a 2MB basemap. The basemap is used before going to the detailed map, and it switches automatically based on how far you are zoomed into the map.
I always use the detailed map because:
- the base map stinks, there is very little level of detail. Only a handful of roads are shown in the entire state of New York!
- usually I want to be in the detailed level anyway, if I'm driving around trying to figure out where to turn, how far to go etc ...
To use the mapping software, you have to buy a memory card. I bought a 128MB SD card, which seems to have plenty of space. The detailed map of most of New York takes up < 14MB. One limitation of this unit is that it only allows you to load 16MB detailed map files, and only 4 different files. So if I was driving around NY, PA, and OH, I'd probably create 3 map files (approximately 1 per state - each detailed map file is a rectangular area you define on the PC). You need to manually change from one detailed map file to another. You can program the SD card through the included serial cable, but it is faster to buy a SD card reader.
There are two types of mapping software: streets & destinations, and topo. I have both, but if I had to pick one I'd pick the topo. The topo has all the street information, topo info, but does not include the destinations such as restaurants.
Both types of maps can be loaded at the same time, and a menu option allows switching between the two.
The unit has a number of different screens. I pretty much only use two of them. I use the map display while driving, and use the compass screen while geocaching. The compass screen has the familiar compass display, and indicates the direction of your destination (in my case a geocache).
I've had very little troubles getting a satellite fix. It takes a minute or two after turning it on to get a fix, but once it has a fix it keeps it. There was one area in the Adirondacks where I had a problem getting fix, but the trees were very heavy.
Battery life seems reasonable. I drove to the Adirondacks last week with the unit on the entire time (5 hours), and did 3 caches, and had plenty of battery life left.
Meridan Color handheld GPS unit MapSend DirectRoute CD-ROM 64 MB SD memory card Vehicle mounting bracket Turn-by-turn audio prompts; includes serial i...More at Amazon Marketplace
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