modernsportsman.com Gear Review
Gear Reviews

Indiana Dan gives us a look into the features of the different Magellan GPS's and see what our members think of this brand of GPS.


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Magellen 315 Handheld GPS



The Magellan 315 is an affordable handheld GPS receiver loaded with features. It has a 12 parallel channel receiver for superior tracking in any outdoor environment, and a high resolution display (104x160). The unit comes pre-loaded with a 15,000 point worldwide city database (location markers - not maps), which can be updated to include Points of interest, or Nautical Nav-Aids using the optional DataSend CD-ROM.

The Magellan 315 has nine graphic navigation screens (customizable) which clearly show speed, heading, distance, bearing to waypoint, position, elevation and more.This GPS receiver also features automatic position averaging to increase accuracy, a best fish and game time calculator, sunrise sunset data, EZstart initialization, and a lot more.

Whether your use is for hiking, hunting, boating or just outdoor adventure, the 315 will give you the confidence of knowing where you are, and where you are headed anytime of day, in any weather. The Magellan 315 GPS receiver comes with a wrist strap, owner's manual and quick reference guide. It has a 1 year warranty. Size 6.0"H x 2"W x 1.3"D. Weight 7oz. with batteries. Manufacturers Suggested List Price $ 212.49

Below are some comments from members of ModernSportsman.com who have used the Magellen 315.

Chuckhunter
July 8th, 2001, 9:05am

I have been using a Magellen 315 and I love it. It replaced my old Magellan xl1000. The new unit is lighter and smaller does everything, I need it to do IE. Mark Waypoints, gives eta and distance and has a go to and backtrack feature and is user friendly. Saved my but 3 years ago on an Elk hunt in colorado. It's also great for marking your located turkeys in the spring and finding that treestand way back in when it's still dark. The Parrallel Channels make satalite acquisition quick and easy and operates under cover. Their cost is around $145.00 and can be purchased in most sporting goods stores, camping stores or sporting catalogues.


MTNMAN
July 11th, 2001, 1:01pm

I have one of the first Magellen's that came out, think it cost me $138. I spend a great deal of time in the mountains and use it mainly scouting. Works great to triangulate deer, flocks of turkey, whatever ... Take all info home and post to a topo with dates and times, Etc... By the time the season rolls round I have a pretty good Idea who's coming and going, when and where...add some traditional scouting, rubs, scrapes, trails and you can end up in Mr. Bigs bedroom ...still carry a compass as well as the GPS.
As for other uses, carry it ice fishing to mark Hot Spots, in the boat, ditto on long trips... Its alot more reliable than putting an X on the bottom of the boat ... it's definitely paid for itself......


Otsi
January 1st, 2002, 2:24pm

Last Christmas my girlfriend gave me a Magellan 315. Being very particular about GPS navigation (I'm a surveyor), I was skeptical at first. The more I play with it, the more I love it. It won't give you centimeter accuracy, but then again none of the non-differential ones will. They cost $130-$140 and do more than you will ever need. I always carry extra batteries with me. The nice thing about this model is it runs on 2 AA batteries; a lot of them use 4. Battery life is 12-15 hours. Just my opinion, but to rely entirely on your GPS and leave your maps and compass in the truck is a great way to stay temporarily disoriented. Mr. Murphy shows up when you need him least. Leave your unit set to UTC for time display, and you'll have no excuse for your VCR clock to be wrong!


Magellen 310



The Magellan 310 handheld GPS offers a low cost handheld GPS. It has NMEA data output and PC interface capabilities. The 12 parallel channel receiver and lock on tracking will navigate you in almost any conditions. You can save up to 100 locations in memory and program one reversible route of up to 10 legs. Three easy to follow navigation screens show bearing, heading, distance, speed and more on an EL backlit LCD display. The 310's resettable trip odometer enables you to know how far you've traveled, so you can estimate the time and distance to return to your truck, camp or dock.

Built tough with waterproof construction and rubber armoring, the 310 runs continuously for up to 20 hours on just two AA batteries. If you should happen to drop it in the water -- It floats!

The Magellan 310 has the same capabilities as the Blazer-12 model, but with the added feature of an optional PC interface.

One year warranty. Ships with wrist strap, users manual, quick reference guide. Size 6.2"H x 2.0"W x 1.3"D Manufacturers Suggested List Price $ 167.99

A member from ModernSportsman.com speaks rather candidly of his Magellen 310.

Nate_Smith
July 12th, 2001, 10:49am

I own the less than popular Magellan 310. I very rarely even turn it on. Usually I use it to check the accuracy of my speedometer or to show my wife how high we really are in altitude...just to blow her mind.
Last season I was hunting Mountain Quail in an area I was not familiar with so I took out the GPS, turned it on and started hiking. I got lost. I pulled the GPS out of my vest pocket and took a look at the trail I left. Took me about 1 minute to figure my route back to the truck. When I got within 5 feet of the truck, it beeped several times at me. I guess it works.

Nate then added the following comment.

Nate_Smith
January 16th, 2002, 6:54pm

"If you can do it, I would suggest adding the Magellen Meridian to the mix of reviews also. No one has talked about it here because no one has it YET. If I buy another, it will be the Magellen Meridian...but that may be next year."


Magellen Meridian GPS



The Meridian GPS is one of Magellan's new premier line of rugged handheld GPS receivers designed with serious navigators in mind, who demand a superior easy-to-use navigational tool to get them where they need to be. The Meridian GPS receiver is the most affordable of the Meridian Line, but in this case, lowest price doesn't mean sacrificing features.

It features a 2 megabyte basemap of U.S. cities, interstate highways, state highways, political boundaries, major waterways, and airports. The Meridian's mapping capabilities can be further enhanced to show secondary roads, points of interest and detailed waterway information with Magellan's optional MapSend CD-ROM's and plug-in SD datacards in 8, 16, 32 and 64 MB sizes.The Meridian has a large backlit display for easy map viewing in any condition, as well as a backlit keypad. On the outside the high impact plastic case is waterproof, and the rugged rubber armoring helps withstand harsh environments.

Other features include backtrack, built-in help, Northfinder with sun/moon positions, Sunrise/sunset calculator and more. The Magellan Meridian Supports several languages; including: English, French, German, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch. 1 year warranty. Size: 6.5"H x 2.9"W x 1.3"D. Weight 8 oz.

Magellen Meridian "Gold"



Magellan's new Meridian GOLD GPS was designed with the serious navigator in mind who demands a superior, easy to use navigational tool to get them where they need to be.

The Meridian GOLD GPS has the most detailed basemap of any handheld GPS on the market today. It's large 16 megabyte US database includes highways, major roads, parks, waterways, airports, cities and more. This is more than twice the detail of most handhelds on the market. The Meridian GOLD's mapping capabilities can be further enhanced to show rural roads, points of interest and more detailed waterway information with Magellan's optional MapSend CD-ROM's and plug-in SD datacards in 8, 16, 32 and 64 MB sizes. The Meridian GOLD has a large backlit display for easy map viewing in any condition, as well as a backlit keypad. On the outside the high impact plastic case is waterproof, and the rugged rubber armoring helps withstand harsh environments.

Other features include backtrack, built-in help, Northfinder with sun/moon positions, Sunrise/sunset calculator and more. The Magellan Meridian Supports several languages; including: English, French, German, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, and Dutch.

1 year warranty. Size: 6.5"H x 2.9"W x 1.3"D. Weight 8 oz

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