By Beverly
Howard, Austin, Tx, 2006
Content may be "linked" but
not reposted as the contents are updated
regularly
This Page Formatted for Viewing with PocketPC
Information here from the Yahoo Groups Explorist,
Meridian
and GPSU forums
as well as
Excellent input from other people such as
Robert Lipe, Skramblr and Alan Murphy
The following is a collection of observations and discoveries made during my transition from the Magellan Meridian GPS unit to the Magellan Explorist 500 and includes help and information received from other participants on the Yahoo Explorist Group
General
Observations
USB vs Serial
Serial
Transfers...
NOT!
File/Memory/SD
Card Access
The
Missing Screens Issue
NMEA Data Mode
Waypoints/Routes/Tracks
Battery and
Power Issues
Connector
Pinouts
Buttons and
Dims
Software,
Serial
Numbers and Map Generation/Transfer
If you
have
more than one GPS Unit
SD File
Conversion Issues
The Explorist
500 European Firmware Upgrade (2.57)
(http://www.magellangps.com/support/softwareupdates/500_600_4257.asp)
has, unfortunately, been removed by Magellan.
Google Maps
Routing
allows you to generate turn by turn route files which can be used in
the Explorist's
For small files, this removes the time and effort necessary to move the SD card between the GPS and a PC card reader. It has the additional utility of providing you with an SD card reader to meet any need as long as you remember to bring the USB cable along.
However... it's a pretty damm slow memory card
reader.
Some quick time tests indicate that transferring files to the sd card
using
a USB 2.0 memory card reader is 33 times
faster
than transferring the same files using the Explorist's USB
connection...
2.46 MB/Sec vs .075 MB/Sec via the Explorist, so, the usb connection is
ideal for transferring waypoint/route/track files, but use an SD card
reader
to transfer maps.
However Magellan has posted a Explorist 500 European Firmware Upgrade (2.57) which restores the additional screens which were found in the meridian units. NOTE! Firmware upgrades are specific to each model number and cannot be used on other models.
While the many Meridian Screens could be confusing
and
time consuming, I ended up customizing all of them to meet needs which
I discovered from year's of use, so this a major loss IMHO. One
design
option would have been to leave the screens in background and allow
advanced
users to activate them to meet special needs such as speedometer
replacements.
The internal memory on the 500 is 16megs, just over half of it is used for the basemap plus a half meg binary file named CRITMEM.MEM in the directory root, leaving just over 7megs free for storage.
The hidden USBTRAN folder contains the following
ascii
text files with the contents as shown below. On my unit, these
three
files are identical in both Internal Memory and the SD Card with the
exception
of the last line which reads "USB Device=SD"
|
|
|
[User POI] MAX=500 NAME=20 MESSAGE=46 [Route] [Geocache] [Tracklog] |
BackgroundMaps=Background Maps DetailMaps=Detail Maps MyPOIs=My POIs Routes=Routes TrackLogs=Track Logs Geocaches=Geocaches |
Model=eXplorist ID=118 SW Version=2.03 Serial Number=12345678901 Code Flash=4 NAND Flash=16 SD=488 SD Serial Number=6543FE861032313544534D54 CF=0 CF Serial Number= Disk=0 Disk Serial Number= USB Device=NAND |
Since the device's memory uses standard "Mass
Storage
Device" protocol, direct file transfer access is possible in other USB
environments such as Mac, Linux, etc.
The USB connection options are;
No navigation features nor the menu are accessable
when
the File Transfer selection is made.
I think the primary misunderstanding on the Explorist "serial" communications comes from the fact that the primary software (MapSend3DTopo) which most explorist owners use, still contains serial file transfer options... but, these transfer options do not work with the Explorists lines.
With most earlier gps units, the onlyway to transfer files to and from the devices was via the serial connection using each device's serial file transfer protocol, so, most gps utilities have that capability built in as part of their core design.
Newcomers are justifiably confused when they can't
transfer
waypoint, track, route and map files via the serial port with or
without
the NMEA communications mode. Re-read the USB
section above to understand that all Explorist file transfers are now
handled
as drive to drive file transfers and the NMEA
Communications
section below for more on using the NMEA connection.
"Card Utilities" is no longer used to access
waypoint,
track, route, map file access. It's now under Menu/Preferences/ActiveSetup
Where the Meridians were not picky about filename extensions, they are now required in the Explorist for them to be visible to the device and the user.
".upt" for waypoint files
".poi" for user points of interest.
".gs" for geocaches (presumably named for
Groundspeak)
".log" for tracks.
".rte" for routes.
...and, they are stored (by default) in different
folders
although POI's and Waypoints share the MY POI folder.
While the file format appears the same as the
Meridian
SD file format, there are differences. Where the Meridian SD
format
waypoint files contained both waypoints and routes, the explorist now
uses
a separate file for each... see SD
file format discussion.
The "Conversion Manager" utility on the CD that
shipped
with the GPS transfers files to the currently selected GPS "File
Transfer"
setting, so, confirm where the files will end up as all you are shown
is
the GPS "drive letter"
Many Magellan Meridian users who upgraded to the Explorist
series were disappointed to find that the Explorists dropped 4 of the 8
screens available on all of the Meridian GPS
units.
A large number of us who had been using one or more of the missing
screens expressed our disappointment that they were no longer available
when we upgraded from the meridians so that Magellan finally released
firmware version Ver 2.57 which replaced them.
Strangely, that release was removed not long after it came out, but, I
was happy to gain access to a couple of screens I had used extensively
on the meridian. As of this writing, the Explorist 2.57 firmware
is available on the Yahoo Explorist
Forums Files section.
The default "navigation" screens on the Explorists were;
Map (2)
Compass (2)
Satellite Status
Lat/Long/Alt/Time/Date (2)
and the following additonal screens were on all Meridians but finally
added to one late explorist firmware versions
(number indicates the number of configurable data fields on each)
data (6)
large data (47)
speedometer (4)
road view (4) (crude)
The large data and speedometer are very valuable on a bike, motorcycle
or car... the data gives quick access to 6 fields you configure, but I
rarely used the road view.
Note that the user can turn any of these screens on and off
using the Menus Setup option.
The explorist works fine as a remote NMEA receiver if that generic modem driver is installed and working... look in the PC's device manager under modems for the Explorist's NMEA connection status and properties after the explorist is connected, turned on and the communications mode on the GPS is set to "NMEA"
GPS Utility has the ability to set this higher limit
when
editing waypoint/route files... I'm just sorry it took me so long to
discover
it. For more on editing waypoint route files, see the Google
Maps Routing page.
None of the waypoint/route/track up and download options in MapSend3D work via the Explorist's USB connection... only detail maps can be transferred directly by MapSend3D to the Explorist. You must save these to MapSend waypoint files, then use the Conversion Manager or other GPS utility to convert them to Explorist SD file formats.
IMHO, the Conversion Manager is now the easiest way
to
convert MapSend waypoint/route/track files to and from the PC and SD or
Internal Memory.
Appears that we will have to accept the fact that
the
new name for waypoints is "POI's" However, it is interesting to note
that
there are two different filename extensions to differentiate between
the
two.
Preferences/ActiveSetup/MyPOI's
is how to select a default set of waypoints using the Explorist's menu.
Waypoints/Routes/Tracks are no longer "loaded" from
SD
card but simply "opened" for use during that power on session.
"Marks" generated on the gps are appended to the
"default
POI" file selected in Menu/Preferences/ActiveSetup
The same is true of routes generated on the GPS but in the "Default
Route"
file.
Menu/Pts of Interest/My Pts of
Interest
is
equivalent of pressing "GoTo"
Saw one message here on the "Straight Line back to
startpoint"
but could someone clarify how this get's generated and how to prevent
or
erase it without erasing the entire track?
"AAA" battery clips are apparently being "bundled"
with
new (non "LE") Explorists although it is not indicated on the
packaging.
If you depend on the GPS, I strongly recommend getting one of these as
"AAA" batteries may be available where a charger is not.
The "AAA" battery tray is Part number LG228269
(~$10)
available from http://www.cabelas.com and http://TigerGPS.com and
probably
others but not shown on Magellan site
"AAA" battery clips supply power, but are not
recharged
when they are in the unit connected to an external power supply.
Swap "AAA" batteries without removing clip from the
GPS
to save time and effort.
Shaving a tiny ramp edge on the "AAA" battery clips
opposite
the contact end helps in seating the clip over the two retaining clips
at the top of the battery compartment. Applying a tiny amount of
lube such as chapstick to the same edges will help insert/extract the
clip.
The Magellan 3.7v Li-Ion Battery part number is 37-LF025-001, 1300 mAmpHr, but the Motorola t720 cellphone battery (Motorola SNN5595, 1100mAmpHr SNN5588A, 500mAmpHr or SNN5588B, 700mAhr) is supposed to, and appears to the be interchangeable with the explorist battery and it's dimensions (2.12 x 1.25 x 0.24) nominally matches the Magellan batt's (it's width is .05" greater than what I measure the Magellan's, but that width would fit.)
I have not tried to use this battery, so I can't speak from experience, so, as usual, buy one at your own risk. I do note that Magellan enclosed an offer for both a battery and ac charger in my package for $20 which is less expensive than just the Motorola battery alone, but there have been several forum posts indicating difficulty receiving the battery in this offer.
The explorist 5vdc power supply is a very common
coaxial
center positive connector (10mm x 4mm x 1.4mm center pin) tip/center
positive
which is common to many pocketpc and other devices such as the Ipaq and
game units such as the PlayStation Portables, but, if you decide to use
a non Magellan supply, do so at your own risk and assure that the
polarity
is correct. When a power supply is plugged into the female
connector
in the middle of the USB cable, it will both power the GPS and recharge
the Li-Ion battery.
When the Explorist is connected to a computer USB
port,
the USB connection provides external power to the device _but does not
recharge the battery_ while the unit is in use. When the unit is
powered off and connected, the USB connection will charge the
battery.
This means that automotive and AC chargers which use a standard "USB-A"
connector will power the Explorist but will recharge the Li-Ion battery
only when the GPS is powered off.
The Color Explorists' Backlight have three levels
and
no "OFF"
On Monochrome screen Explorists, the backlight settings
are OFF, LOW, and HIGH.
Data- o
o
Pwr +5v
Gnd o x
o
Gnd
USB +5v o
_ o Data+
|\key
|
wire
The design of the orientation appears to deal with the expectation that users may install the connection with the plug reversed which should do no damage as the common ground pins will be the same, the 5v connectors will be swapped as will the data pins... i.e. the power connections would still work but no communication would take place.
fwiw, the "correct" orientation of the usb connector
to
the explorist is with the wire oriented downward over the battery
compartment.
The colors shows above are for a general reference
only... oem color codes are not a reliable indicator of the wiring as
they are subject to change and should be verified before using... note
that since the two GND connectors are connected, their coding (white
& black) should be considered the same.
(Connector Wire Down) |
Power |
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(NMEA |
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GPS ON | USB and Charger Connected |
YES | YES | YES |
(Connector Wire UP) |
||||
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GPS ON | USB and Charger Connected |
YES | YES | NO |
(Why
do I feel like Jim's wife in the Vicar of
Dibley? ;-)
Since the unit battery does does not charge from the usb connector when the gps is turned on, reversing the connector will reconnect the usb 5v+ power to the power terminal, which will allow the USB connection to charge the battery.
Connecting it to a pc with the connector reversed
results
in an "unrecognized device" windows message and disables USB file
transfers
and NMEA communications, but, where the unit shows "Ext Power"
connected
only to usb with the connector wire down, it shows "charging" when the
connector is reversed... which could be valuable in certain
circumstances.
If you use a "USB Power Supply" you will need to use
the "Wrong" connection orientation (wire up) as the Explorist will not
take full advantage of the power supply with the wire oriented down.
The following (thanks to David
Read) shows the Explorist XL connector
pinout
connections...
the view is looking at the connector side of the cable connector (plug)
with the wire at the bottom.
NC| |Data-
USB +5v o
o o
o Data+
Gnd o x
o Pwr
+5v
|
wire
As you can see, it got to me and I finally dug in with a pocket knife and discovered that the black casing around the power jack is just 1/16" thick, so it was possible to carefully cut out a notch, then carve the silicone potting material and free the four USB conductors making a space big enough for a mini female usb connector. A little solder, hot glue and care later ended up with a travel cable that removes half of the previous wire from the dashboard... since I normally have a USB to MiniUSB cable (the silver one shown above) I'm good to go although I have found that the need for a USB connection on the road is rare since I prefer to use the much faster card reader for file transfers.
Magellan! Are you listening???
In the mean time, for a source of third party gps cables,
try pc-mobile.net
The "full" MapSendTopo 3D software requires that one
of
the 3 CD's be insterted for it to start... http://freightyard.net/projects/MagellanGPS
discusses this issue and offers options to deal with the CD requirement.
The Explorist cannot use maps generated by older
versions
of MapSend that were usable on the Meridian series... see http://www.msh-tools.com/exploristmsend.html
for map conversion options if this is an important issue.
Laurence Lombard has some good tips on converting
Garmin maps to use on the explorist at his
site.
The MapSendTopo 3D software requires a serial number
before
it will generate maps for use on any Magellan Mapping
GPS.
For the Explorist, the serial number is used to restrict use of those
maps
to that specific device, but, for older devices such as the Meridian
which
use a different serial# code, the serial number is simply used to
determine
that an .img instead of an .imi file will be generated. On
Meridians with updated rom versions, the serial number is apparently a
limiting factor when using a generated map file.
A maximum of Five Serial#'s can be used with the CD
version
of MapSendTopo3D version 1. If you exceed this number the
software
must be removed and re-installed to begin again.
Use the Explorist's serial number in the GPS's Menu/About
Field... the number on the barcode label in the battery
compartment
shows two additional digits, one at each end making it too long to
enter
in the field. Attempting to enter the barcode number will result
in an .img file being generated which cannot be used in the Explorist.
Generating detail map files to the HD and copying
them
to the SD is the best way to get detail maps transferred. (the
"transfer
to SD Card" transfers the file, but doesn't put it in the detail maps
folder
nor retain the Map Region's Name)
The waypoint/route/track Upload/Download options in
MapSend
apply only to GPS units which use Serial (RS-232) COM
port
connections. With USB based units, use Conversion Manager to move
files to and from the GPS or SD card. (click for
details)
Combining multiple MapSend "Regions" into a single
file
is no longer an option with MapSend3D as the default, but can be
increased
by editing the Mapsend.ini file and editing the line
"Maximum_Number_of_Regions=1"
Unlike Older versions of MapSend for the Meridian,
where
the long "map generation" process only happened the first time you
defined
a region, the entire regeneration process will repeat for each device
"upload"
It should only be necessary to use a single serial
number
for devices older than the explorists as the generated maps for any one
should appear to work in all older units.
Create a folder for each GPS unit off of the
.\Export\Images
folder to store generated Explorist .imi Maps as they will be
overwitten
when generated for a different serial#
What follows are three sample files showing the
primary
differences (shown in red text below) I
have
observed between the Explorist and Meridian SD file formats.
--Explorist conversion manager .upt (waypoint/poi) file---
--note the <end of file> line (not in Meridian SD Files)---
--note that empty comments are not replaced with wpname---
--note that last arguments are different from GPSBabel OP---
$PMGNWPL,3012.388,N,09808.634,W,0388,M,Rt2McGre,,a*14
$PMGNWPL,3015.359,N,09809.299,W,0387,M,RLDogLeg,1/2Mi Grn Fence,a*7C
$PMGNWPL,3016.940,N,09809.562,W,0350,M,200Reafd,Hard L/RDnH YLkRt,a*22
$PMGNWPL,3016.809,N,09809.566,W,0352,M,RedRoof,200 Reaford Xng 894-3609,a*03
$PMGNWPL,3011.493,N,09805.243,W,0349,M,RR12,,a*77
$PMGNWPL,3010.086,N,09805.206,W,0333,M,RR150,,a*4D
$PMGNWPL,3007.918,N,09801.921,W,0319,M,E2Aust,RR1826,a*3A
$PMGNWPL,3006.234,N,09801.151,W,0303,M,Mandola,13308 Fm 150W 858-1470 ,a*5C
$PMGNWPL,3013.747,N,09753.288,W,0291,M,1826-290,,a*68
$PMGNWPL,3017.193,N,09803.884,W,0374,M,HamPRR12,,a*69
$PMGNWPL,3014.955,N,09803.495,W,0350,M,FitzRR12,,a*57
$PMGNWPL,3018.585,N,09757.919,W,0295,M,71HamPl,,a*09
$PMGNWPL,3018.505,N,09756.720,W,0278,M,71-620,,a*66
$PMGNCMD,END*3D
--Explorist conversion manager .rte (route) file---
--note the <end of file> line (not in Meridian SD Files)---
--Explorist SD Route Lines have extra field containing the "Route Name"--
$PMGNWPL,3012.388,N,09808.634,W,0388,M,Rt2McGre,,a*14
$PMGNWPL,3015.359,N,09809.299,W,0387,M,RLDogLeg,1/2Mi Grn Fence,a*7C
$PMGNWPL,3016.940,N,09809.562,W,0350,M,200Reafd,Hard L/RDnH YLkRt,a*22
$PMGNWPL,3016.809,N,09809.566,W,0352,M,RedRoof,200 Reaford Xng 894-3609,a*03
$PMGNWPL,3011.493,N,09805.243,W,0349,M,RR12,,a*77
$PMGNWPL,3010.086,N,09805.206,W,0333,M,RR150,,a*4D
$PMGNWPL,3007.918,N,09801.921,W,0319,M,E2Aust,RR1826,a*3A
$PMGNWPL,3006.234,N,09801.151,W,0303,M,Mandola,13308 Fm 150W 858-1470 ,a*5C
$PMGNWPL,3013.747,N,09753.288,W,0291,M,1826-290,,a*68
$PMGNWPL,3017.193,N,09803.884,W,0374,M,HamPRR12,,a*69
$PMGNWPL,3014.955,N,09803.495,W,0350,M,FitzRR12,,a*57
$PMGNWPL,3018.585,N,09757.919,W,0295,M,71HamPl,,a*09
$PMGNWPL,3018.505,N,09756.720,W,0278,M,71-620,,a*66
$PMGNRTE,4,1,c,0,KenW,71-620,a,71HamPl,a*5B
$PMGNRTE,4,2,c,0,KenW,HamPRR12,a,FitzRR12,a*0C
$PMGNRTE,4,3,c,0,KenW,RLDogLeg,a,RedRoof,a*43
$PMGNRTE,4,4,c,0,KenW,200Reafd,a*38
$PMGNRTE,5,1,c,1,KW2BBdy,200Reafd,a,RLDogLeg,a*64
$PMGNRTE,5,2,c,1,KW2BBdy,RedRoof,a,Rt2McGre,a*10
$PMGNRTE,5,3,c,1,KW2BBdy,RR12,a,RR150,a*2B
$PMGNRTE,5,4,c,1,KW2BBdy,E2Aust,a,Mandola,a*1B
$PMGNRTE,5,5,c,1,KW2BBdy,E2Aust,a,1826-290,a*45
$PMGNCMD,END*3D
--Meridian SD output from earlier GPSBabel versions---
--Routes on Meridian SD Files use Start/End points as descriptors---
--Note, Data is not the same as above!---
$PMGNWPL,3011.493,N,09805.548,W,0000206,M,RR12-290,,a*57
$PMGNWPL,3002.092,N,09810.781,W,0000348,M,LedgeRk,LedgeRk,a*4D
$PMGNWPL,3004.022,N,09810.075,W,0000329,M,HodgTrn,HodgTrn,a*4B
$PMGNWPL,3006.122,N,09805.774,W,0000346,M,GatlinCk,GatlinCk,a*43
$PMGNWPL,3006.444,N,09807.874,W,0000398,M,RayJenn,RayJenn,a*48
$PMGNWPL,3004.333,N,09808.443,W,0000359,M,MtSharp,MtSharp,a*47
$PMGNWPL,3004.861,N,09810.278,W,0000375,M,LedgeRkN,LedgeRkN,a*42
$PMGNWPL,3002.719,N,09806.151,W,0000333,M,2MtSharp,2MtSharp,a*49
$PMGNWPL,3003.592,N,09809.747,W,0000313,M,HodgGate,,a*56
$PMGNWPL,3003.205,N,09809.119,W,0000303,M,HogdStud,,a*52
$PMGNWPL,3017.922,N,09750.428,W,0000280,M,RRGAR,,a*11
$PMGNWPL,3017.931,N,09750.450,W,0000283,M,RR-DW1,,a*44
$PMGNWPL,3018.046,N,09750.366,W,0000289,M,RR-T5,,a*09
$PMGNWPL,3018.991,N,09752.339,W,0000265,M,CR-T1,,a*15
$PMGNWPL,3019.479,N,09752.341,W,0000231,M,CR-T2,,a*12
$PMGNWPL,3019.783,N,09751.807,W,0000228,M,CR-DW,,a*63
$PMGNWPL,3019.753,N,09751.713,W,0000238,M,CR-Stud,,a*40
$PMGNRTE,3,1,c,1,GatlinCk,a,RayJenn,a*73
$PMGNRTE,3,2,c,1,MtSharp,a,LedgeRkN,a*5D
$PMGNRTE,3,3,c,1,HodgTrn,a,,*08
I have tested Meridian SD format waypoint/route files both with, and without ebedded routes and the waypoint information appears to work without problems if the file extensions is changed to .upt or .poi which the explorist recognizes.
If you wish to manually convert Meridian SD files containing routes to Explorist SD formats, the additional field containing the route name will have to be manually added to each route line and the extension .rte usedReturn to GPS Page
Conversly, since .RTE files contain both waypoint and route information, it's possible to use the same .RTE file for each need... i.e. generate an .RTE file and copy it to the explorist's route directory, then copy the same file with the extension changed to .UPT to the points of interest directory.
At the moment, the Explorist appears tolerant of files which do not contain the above end of file marker lines.