Yep took the plunge and picked up a Magellan Xplorist400 last monday

I will be returning it for an exchange tomorrow

The battery drained on me so I figure it just needs a charge, no biggie at all right? Wrong (nothing is ever simple with me anymore). So I plug it in and let it charge then fire it up for a drive into Ptown.

Search for sattelites........sattelites found
Basemap invalid....loading stock basemap.......loading........loading.......loading
For an hour it was loading and nothing happened. I got coordinates and compass working just fine so I reload my basemap through the reset screen.

loading....loading.....loading........

Another hour passes and I check it and not a damn thing is happening on the map. So what do ya do? Oh I know you look in the owners manual at their troubleshooting guide.

Stupid me for thinking they would have a basic shooting guide :roll:
So I call support who answers in pretty good time, but again it isn't ever simple with me. I get Habibs sister on the line and she asks for my name, number, email, model of product (I wonder if she is going to call me for a date) and begins with everything I have done...reset....reload map....reset......enter this number....push this contortion of buttons.....reset.

Nothing

So she asks how long I have had the unit and I tell her, then I ask her why a unit would fail like this.....silence....
"Hello?"
"Yes I am here"
"So why would a unit fail like this after one week?"
"I don't know sir I have only heard it happening when someone makes a mistake during firmware upgrade, have you done a firmware upgrade recently?"
"No I am still figuring this thing out and was going to wait to do that"
"Oh well then I suggest you return it to the store for exchange"
"So is that one going to fail as well? I mean if it breaks in the field like this it could cost my group many things including our safety"
"I don't know sir, I have only seen this happen during an error updating"

So in short Habibs sister didn't know dick about shit and only had scripted answers.

I am taking it in tomorrow for a swap and if it fails on me I am going to be looking for a new company to get my GPS business.

Yeah I am a bit pissed at how this all happened

 

everything that is manufactured will have a few bad ones slip out now and then. But I agree with the tech support thing. 1. don't outsource a phone job to a country that can't speak english 2. train them to actually know something. I'm surprised she even knew the word firmware. I actaully argued with a sony testical support guy that a digital video camera doesn't need a video input card, that's what IEE1394 is for. I fucking hate "tech support" these days, they're just a bunch of faq reading tards. Give me my damn RMA and I'll be happy.

 

We have a GPS from Garmin, havent had ANY problems whatsoever

 

Yeah I am giving this one more shot and if it fucks up I will let Thales (Magellans company) know for a fact that I will not reccomend them to our readers or anyone of our staff looking at picking one up.

 

I use a Garmin GPS 10 w/Bluetooth with my Panasonic CF-18 Toughbook whenever on a long trip. I've also got a rerad antenna with a 12v plug.............never loses signal.

 

Yeah I am going to check the price change and swap for a Garmin or Lowerance tomorrow. I can't have this happening under any circumstance especially if I am deep in the hills with a wrecked rig.

 

Yea that would suck. I couldn't imagine being way the hell out in the middle of no where with no sense of direction.

 

OK went and exchanged it tonight for a Garmin RINO120.

Gonna take a bit to get used to but overall I like the detail of the maps a lot better. wish it had a rechargeable pack instead of AA batteries but we wil see how battery life is in the next couple days and the stability of the system.