Comments for Darren Osborne

Comment on Magellan eXplorist 610 review by pprass

pprass — Thu, 24 May 2012 23:32:31 +0000

A very fair and accurate review of the 610 and I think that one other important Pro is the quality of the maps and the seamless progression from one to the other as you zoom in and out. The unit comes with Discover Aus Topo which is fantastic in its own right as it includes every single track and walking trail, but also with the Raster maps (Natmap) – great for the big overview picture when travelling big distances.
regarding the Cons – they need to be commented upon:
1. Anchor point doesn’t appear sturdy enough for outdoors.
Do you mean the integrated loop atthe bottom of the unit where you can attach a lanyard? If so then from my experience it actually is very sturdy. However I tend not to have the unit hanging around my neck as it bangs on everything in sight as I scramble up rocks, wooded slopes etc.
2. Start up time can be long.
Yes – this was a problem and mine took ages to boot up. However with one of the latest firmware updates and a re formatting of the SD card – it is now fixed. It takes mine about 34 seconds to boot up – even with very large GPX files.
3. Video and audio capability embarrassingly bad.
The latest FW update includes some modifications for a new camera that later units will incorporate – so the picture quality may be improved. However I am very disappointed with the audio quality. As I voice record the details of every cache find/DNF, I rely heavily on the quality of the voice recorder. Out in the field when there is even a slight breeze about, the recorder just doesn’t cope. And I hate it when I am back home listening to my recordings to write a log and all I can hear is a rumble with some strange voice saying blablablabla!
The audio quality has been reported to Magellan (MiTAC) and I have been advised that they are looking into it – don’t really know what that means though!

Regarding VantagePoint there is now a satellite map called DigitalGlobe, which is just fantastic. It is like Google Earth and it can be downloaded onto the GPSr so you get “real” views of areas you are lookiing at. The only draw back is that Aus users (or anyone outside the USA it seems) do not have the ability to subscribe to this mapping, so we can’t download it – a bit odd isn’t it? We can just see it on our PC’s – which is very impressive for now.

Another Con which was reported to the representatives from MiTAC at the Albury Mega Event (with the help of a few Garmin users I might add) was that adding a WPT; adjusting it for the new co-ords and going to it, is a very slow and cumbersome process. I have cached many times with Garmin Oregon/Montana users and they are off and telling me how far it is to the next stage or final of a cache before I have even finished altering the co-ords!

Overall though it is an excellent GPSr and very easy to use with a very clear screen and menu. Just needs a few tweeks to be a perfect unit.

Comment on Have a Geomate Jr? Don’t panic. by Tom Walker

Tom Walker — Fri, 18 May 2012 15:52:09 +0000

GEOMATE JR IS BACK!
Brand 44 of Colorado has purchased the product line and will be resurrecting the update site.

Comment on Have a Geomate Jr? Don’t panic. by spindocbob

spindocbob — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:09:08 +0000

If you’re after a ‘bigger’ device that’s still easy to use I’d recommend the Garmin eTrex of Magellan eXplorist GC.

Comment on Have a Geomate Jr? Don’t panic. by Jason Jermann

Jason Jermann — Thu, 17 May 2012 01:32:37 +0000

i love the geomate jr will try all this to keep it going, our scout pack is getting into geocaching is there a device similar to this i could use for the 7 to 11 age range?

Comment on Decipering the list of authors on a paper by Turning science speak into plain English « 365 Completed Tasks

Turning science speak into plain English « 365 Completed Tasks — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 12:26:47 +0000

[...] posted on my main blog page an interesting piece about the order of the authors on a scientific paper and what it all [...]

Comment on Have a Geomate Jr? Don’t panic. by soulvy

soulvy — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 21:28:37 +0000

I got the Geomate Jr as a Yule present, and updated exactly once before I couldn’t do it again. I’ve had this happen more times than I care to count (like Leapfrog selling devices that interface to their site and then dropping the online support). Kudos to Apisoft for giving us a solution we can control, instead of just leaving us with bricks. Not thrilled with $30/annum but GroundSpeak is a good cause.

Comment on Magellan eXplorist 610 review by Reviewing geeky toys « 365 Completed Tasks

Reviewing geeky toys « 365 Completed Tasks — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:59:41 +0000

[...] the review is done, although in the online world it’s never dusted. Now to get my hands on the next one. Share [...]

Comment on Magellan eXplorist GC review by Magellan eXplorist 610 review | Darren Osborne

Magellan eXplorist 610 review | Darren Osborne — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 12:39:35 +0000

[...] 18 months ago I was fortunate enough to be one of the first to test out the Magellan eXplorist GC. Overall I was thoroughly impressed with the unit and suggested that Magellan was back in the game. [...]

Comment on Have a Geomate Jr? Don’t panic. by spindocbob

spindocbob — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 23:08:18 +0000

This is good news. However, given what happened last month I would encourage people to try out other options as a back up. My only criticism of the Geomate Jr (even before the recent end of support) was its dependance on the website for updates.

Comment on Have a Geomate Jr? Don’t panic. by GArunner

GArunner — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 22:44:49 +0000

I was very disappointed in the news with Geomate Jr. But today I got the message that they have a temporary fix for the updates. Go to http://www.geomatejr.com rather than http://www.mygeomate.com. Sign in and do the update from http://www.geomatejr.com I just did it and it works! I am not sure how long this will last so try it out now.