WAAS the Difference?

The addition of WAAS technology to your Magellan GPS hand held receiver goes a long way to improve the accuracy of your position fix. WAAS, developed by the U.S. government, calculates errors in the GPS signal then transmits correction messages to WAAS capable GPS receivers like the new Magellan Meridian receivers. Your Meridian GPS receiver will provide you with greater accuracy, not only from WAAS signals, but also when receiving correction signals from the European Geostationary Navigation Overlay System (EGNOS) for when you're hiking in the Alps or navigating the narrow streets of Barcelona your Meridian GPS will guide you accurately along the way. Projected specifications for the upcoming Multifunctional Transport Satellite-based Augmentation System (MSAS) for Asia suggest that your Meridian receiver will be compatible with this system as well. As a result, you will enjoy the security of better than three meter positioning accuracy throughout much of the world.

How is the View?

You can easily monitor a great deal of information on the easy to read backlit display by taking advantage of the various informative screens at your fingertips. With the Map Screen you can track your progress on a moving map that also displays roads, waterways, parks, cities and more. Stay on course while monitoring speed and distance to your destination with the Compass Screen. When you're on the road, you can use the Speedometer Screen to keep track of multiple trip parameters like heading, distance and E.T.A. The Navigation Screen gives you a clear view of six customizable navigation parameters and a strip compass, while with the Large Navigation Screen you can view your navigation data with large, very easy to read text. There is also a Large Data Entry Screen that provides the same easy on the eyes advantages for when you input data. A "3-D" Road Screen gives you another easy path to follow. With the Satellite Status Screen, you can track up to 12 satellites simultaneously and monitor their signal strength and position.

Ready to Go

Your Meridian GPS receiver is a powerful navigational tool straight out of the box. To start with you have a built-in 2MB base map with a world wide database of political boundaries and major cities. The internal flash memory has room to store 20 routes, 500 waypoints and 2,000 trackpoints; and its non-volatile which means it doesn't require battery power so your information remains safely stored even if your unit loses power. Special abilities include Save Track-to-Route, Northfinder with Sun/Moon Positions, a Sunrise/Sunset Calculator and Built-in Help. Meridian series GPS receivers also support several languages including English, French, German, Swedish, Finnish, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and Dutch. The rugged rubber armoring and high impact plastic that encase this GPS receiver provide superior protection in the harshest environments. Your Meridian series GPS receiver is waterproof (IEC-529 IPX7 standard) and it floats so it can survive a dunking and come back for more.

Expand Your Horizons

Its easy to expand your Meridian's abilities as needed. Memory can be boosted by simply purchasing optional SD Memory cards (available in a number of different capacities). SD cards are extremely easy to use and with the additional memory you can not only save additional routes etc., you can also use the added memory to download and use Magellan MapSend software that provides a wealth of valuable map data to assist in your navigation. Besides the extra map info available from MapSend software, adding MapSend to your arsenal also opens up additional tools within your GPS receiver. For example, with the addition of MapSend Topo for the United States your Meridian GPS receiver can calculate your vertical point of track and provide a horizontal profile. With the addition of any version of MapSend software, you have a handy address search at your fingertips.

Comparison Specifications

• 12 Parallel-Channel Receiver
• 500 Waypoints
• MapSend Compatible
• 20 Routes, 2000 Trackpoints
• 1.75" x 2.2" Display size
• Vertical Screen Orientation
• Backlit Display (120 x 160 pixel, grayscale), Backlit Keypad
• Up to 14 hours operation from 2 - AA batteries
• 2MB Built-in U.S. Database
• Built-in Quadrifiler helix antenna

Additional Specifications

• Expandable Memory Capacity with optional SD Memory Cards
• WAAS Technology
• Indefinite User Data Backup (non-volatile flash memory)
• Acquisition time: cold - less than 2 minutes, warm - less than 1 minute
• Position Update Rate: 1 per second
• Operating Temp: 14 degrees F to 140 degrees F
• 76 Datums plus 1 User Defined
• Maximum Velocity: 951 mph
• Operating Altitude: up to 60,000 feet
• Waterproof to IEC-529 IPX7 Standard

Manufacturer Specifications

• Rugged Rubber Armoring & High Impact Plastic (and it floats)
• Save Track-to-Route
• Satellite Status Display
• Built-in Help
• NorthFinder with Sun/Moon Positions
• Sunrise/Sunset Calculator
• Vertical Profile of Track (requires MapSend Topo for U.S.)
• Horizontal Profile (requires MapSend Topo for U.S.)
• Address Search (requires any version of MapSend software)
• Supports several languages

Dimensional Specifications

• 8 oz.
• 6.5" x 2.9" x 1.3"

Magellan Meridian GPS Warranty Details

1 Year Parts and Labor

Amazed

Reviewed By: Lawrence C. Ross - Avonmore, Pennsylvania 15618

My first experience with my Magellan Meridian was a trip to Germany. A friend who also has one helped in loading all of the addresses of the places I would be staying and visiting. I was amazed at the accuracy in guiding me to my destinations. I was not aware of the fact that Germany does not use North,South,East or West on road signs, it is the next town you are traveling towards. My GPS always kept me going in the right direction on the right road. It certainly made my traveling in Germany a pleasurable one. Amazed

A Great Product from a Great Store.

Reviewed By: Paul Moore - Newark, Ohio

First, a little about my experience with Vanns. I made on online purchase, and after I recieved my order verification email, I found that they had the same item posted as a ReturnOpened item in their clearance section. I fired off an email asking if there was any way to do an exchange. This all happened at about 1130 at night Vanns time. The next morning when I checked my email, I had a response, and they were willing to do it as long as I called before the original order went out. I called and after 5 minutes on the phone with a very nice guy, the exchange was complete, the refund invoice for the difference was on the way. AWESOME!!!



Now for the Magellan Meridian GPS. I was a little nervous, since it was a return. Well when I got it was in perfect condition, so I put batteries in it, and started playing around with options. Well after 10 minutes, it still didn't have a lock on my location. So, I shut it off and restarted it so that I could find the version number of the firmware. Sure enough, it was way out of date, but nothing 5 minutes on the Magellan website wouldn't fix. After the update, in 2.5 minutes I had a lock, and was showing the kids how it works. Great products, and very accurate...



Thanks for the service, it is getting harder and harder to find!



Paul Moore

Best GPS on the Market!

Reviewed By: John Mangiantini - Pullman, WA

I have had two GPS units before this one. My first was a Magellan 310. It was hard to use and had few features that I actually used. The second was a Garmin etrex Venture. It was better, but it was not expandable enough to meet my needs. You could not download detailed topo maps into it and the base map was poor. It also worked poorly under tree cover. I then bought the Magellan Meridian GPS. The same day, I also bought a 16MB memory card/Mapsend Topo combination pack. I took the unit home and quickly initialized it. It only has a 2mb base map and it was very limited. I easily installed the memory card into the unit. I then installed the Mapsend Topo onto my computer. It was so easy to use that within 10 minutes, I had the entire State of Washington downloaded into the Meridian. I then took a drive and I was amazed! It tells you who owns the railroad tracks you cross as you drive in addition to the creeks, streams and rivers. It also has detailed topo information at every point. When you come to s street corner it tells you the names of all the streets at that intersection. The elevation reading is always within 2-3 feet in relation to the topo maps. The unit's 7 nav displays are easily customizeable to suit your needs. It works well inside a house or vehicle and performs excellent under tree cover. I just can't say enough about this unit. For $300 (Unit, SD card, Mapsend Topo) you can have a navigation system that will outperform anything any other manufacturer has on the market at 2-3 times the price.

Magellan Meridian GPS

Reviewed By: Terry Fowler - Pearland, TX

I purchased the Meridian GPS with Mapsend software - Streets and Destination. I found a 32 meg SD memory card on the internet, since they were in short supply at the time I purchased. The memory card can be supported up to 512mb IF you have a card reader that can load the maps to the card. Otherwise it appears that 64-128mb is the maximum the Mapsend software will support for uploading directly to the GPS. I did find that I could make the trip utilizing only 16mb, and never use the remaining 16mb of memory card space, BUT this was a short trip from Houston to Dallas.

I also wasn't sure the GPS would track along with the route while driving, but you only initialize takes 5-10 minutes it the first time you use it so that it locates the satellites in your area, but after that it turns on more quickly to establish connection. It tracks continuously as you move with lots of information and location, including lakes and waterways. The Streets and Destination Mapsend software installs on your computer and a furnished cable uploads whatever areas you will be travelling through called regions into your memory card. Each region can be up to 16 meg, so I would buy a 128-512 meg card for long trips. The Mapsend software adds lots of detail to the basic map which comes installed. For example, the GPS information at the bottom of the display changes from compass direction and speed to give you large lettered street name intersections as you approach them on your route. You can indicate waypoints for navigation purposes, street addresses, points of interest, etc. along your route to allow the GPS to plot each leg. It also tracks your route establishing automatic waypoints that you can then use to update and save your route for reuse another time after you return, or for backtracking when you need to reverse the route while in progress.

It is more complicated than I imagined, but that just means it has lots of features. It will take the first time user some days to get a feel for what is happening and to understand the nice features it provides

I did have trouble getting one computer running XP Pro to communicate with the GPS so I installed the Mapsend software on my Windows 98 system and it worked fine it does not say it supports XP software, so I think it is out of date software over five years old!. The port would appear BUSY after being recognized by the automatic function, and I never found why this was the case. It takes a long while to upload the regions to the GPS. But you can already plan your route from the software rather than on the GPS, marking your waypoints and destinations at the computer map. It uploads the routes separately from the regions and the routes load fast, however.

I thought about getting the topography map instead of streets and destinations. Topography has virtually the same USA street information plus terrain visuals, I understand. Topography doesn't have Europe information and maybe not marine information, and possibly not as many points of interest. They told me there would be software updates forthcoming since many streets and subdivisions are missing that have been added since 1998 or before in my area. This was disappointing that the software was so old and outdated, but they assured me by email that updates would be forthcoming do I need to pay for these updates? Unknown. Five plus years is a long time between good quality updated software maps. The software comes on a CD disk. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to upload updates via the internet? Maybe they will get the hint! Their current provision is not adequate.

I have the GPS velcro attached to my Van's dash and I purchased their optional DC adapter to power it in the van. It came with the computer interface cable, but the cable was already furnished. Added expense for very little gain, if you ask me. They did not offer the DC Power cable separately where I purchased it, only with both DC power and Serial cable together.

The GPS performed quite well and helped in navigating or confirming the route while we went to Dallas and returned. In some areas Maquest on the internet filled in travel directions where none was available on the GPS. Once I got back I saved the actual waypoint plotted by the GPS plots back to the route we indicated, making a return trip much more acurate instead of an aircraft point to point navigation aircraft with GPS navigation make point to point navigation extremely easy - no maps or plotting courses on charts for location and direction! Every airplane should have GPS navigation installed.

Was it helpful? Yes, it confirmed several times that we were on the correct route when no visible Highway markers were evident after taking branches on our course. It confirmed we were headed the correct direction to the point where we met for the reunion. And it was nice to see intersections indicated so we knew we were on track.

I saved the waypoint travel data route back to the computer for future need. I can't image anything better than voice activated GPS, which costs close or over $2000 installed in a vehicle. My brother-in-law was contemplating having voice activated installed in his new car, so that is their quote to him. He declined.

The only improvement I can see is having a larger memory card to input more regions. My Dallas, Houston, San Antonio region used about 16 meg of the 32 meg card. You can break the regions into small areas and create a more confined and detailed track, though, using smaller amounts of memory card space. I image that I could navigate directly to New York City by specifying small regions along my route with my present memory card. It is nice to see the data - food, gas, etc., plus elevation, bodies of water, compass heading, distance traveled, time to arrival, odometer, speedometer, etc. I found that my vehicle actually is indicating my speed about 3 mph more than actual. The ETA was always right on the money. It's like flying to see where you are, the distance you have travelled and have left on your course, and when you expect to arrive.

With the GPS mounted on my dash close to the instrument panel I could easily change between the 7 or so screens, move in or out of the display, and leave the unit on since it was using the vehicle's battery power. I saved several new waypoints and named them for the new locations of relative's homes in the Dallas area. The automatic tracking made it possible to learn some new routes by following others. All saved for future reference, if needed.



I guess any GPS is a great addition. Color or black & white. But I would look for some expandability for uploading map data with any GPS purchase. The Meridian GPS is an excellent low cost model, only improved by more current Mapsend software.

Magellan Meridian GPS

Reviewed By: M. Sams - Alexandria, Virginia

As a previous owner of a Garmin GPS III, the Meridan has ample features. The expandable SD memory is a must. Based on the features of the Standard and Gold and Platinum, I think the Standard is the best value. You can buy a 64Mb SD memory card for under $50, which is still less than the difference between the retail cost of the Standard and Gold. With the right amount of memory, it easily exceeds the capabilities of (what I think is similar) the Garmin Legend. I also like the mounting accessory selections. However, I still think all gps's with map capability are a bit pricy. I purchased mine on Ebay for about $25 less than retail, thus saving on shipping.