Product ReviewsMagellan Meridian Color Handheld

good Bang for buck

Bought this to replace an old Meridian Gold. The color screen is more battery intensive but it is easier to distinguish details than the B&W. This unit provides a great amount of functionality and with a WAAS lock is very accurate horizontally. The controls are also large enough to use with gloved hands. It is a shame that they are no longer supported. I was also able to use an existing data card and it will store enough data from the TOPO USA program to handle 5 states, much of it with search capability. The unit is a little large for cell phone pockets etc but it does provide a nice screen size as well. The units are also very rugged, I had dropped my old unit several times, including in water and it just kept working- however it did not survive being run over. Overall, bought used at a quarter of the new price in 2004 it is a great bargain.Read full review...

Meridian Color Handheld GPS Receiver eats batteries!

Top of the line when introduced in 2002, these units are still working with
info that's in place now.

Very good for Geocaching but eats batteries! Not sure if you (I) really need a color GPS. It's the color that sucks up the juice!

The user manual is a MUST READ! Only 102 pages, but good info. Many key strokes require hold down time to access other screens. So on and so forth.

Built tough!!! Slid off my dash and out the window of my car while making a
turn onto the highway at about 25mph with a hard landing. It put a scuff mark on the rubber case but did not break or upset the electronics! WOW, I though I was going to have to get another one.

My first UPS was a Garmin E-Trex. A good starter unit for Geocaching. When a
friend showed me her Meridian I was impressed so I E-bayed one at a good deal.

Did you ever drive a VW Beatle (E-Trex)? Well, the Meridian is like driving a Lexus!

I know that there are better units out there for more $$$'s but for the money,
this was a good buy.Read full review...

Can't get lost with this badboy!

Well, I bought this GPS new in 2004 at a retail store to replace a GPS 315 I got in 1994. I still have it and it works great. I have a preference to Magellan GPS's because I also had a Roadmate 700 that I gave to my dad, I got a TomTom to replace it. (This was only because mom got it for me for Christmas.) So back to the Meridian.
First, I bought this Meridian because of the color screen. In 2004 this was the newest thing and I thought it was awesome. The colors are vibrant and it makes it very easy to distinguish items on the screen.
The second selling point for me was the SD card slot. I installed a dedicated 512MB card just for my Meridian. I bought the TOPO USA software about 3 months after buying the GPS in 2004, it is awesome! It is somewhat hard to figure out at first, because the data cable is a 9-pin serial. So I bought a serial to USB adapter from Radio Shack, and this is probably the worse part of the setup because it needs a driver installed. So once it gets setup it is really cool though. You highlight a point on the map you want and download it to the card. Then going into the Meridians menu you load the map and viola, you have streets and TOPO data for the selected area.
Other good features of the unit are the rugged casing, the large buttons, the SD slot is sealed within the battery door. This is both good and bad because you have to remove the batteries to access the card. The screen is large and well lit. As are the buttons. The screen are:
1. Satellite info screen and power bar. Also shows when WAAS satellites are enabled.
2. Map Screen shows installed map or downloaded map, and has two customizable data fields.
3. Compass screen with two customizable data fields. Due to the technology, it is not able to turn on its axis, so you have to move to get a new direction.
4. Large data screen with four fully customizable data fields in large font.
5. Position screen shows Lat/Long, MGRS and a dozen other ways to give position coordinates, and has two data fields and the odometer. Displays your two selections on the same screen, pushing left or right brings up another detail screen of the coordinates.
6. Road screen shows a graphic of a road, and has 4 customizable data fields.
7. Data screen has six customizable data fields and a compass ribbon at the bottom.
8. Speed screen has a speedometer, odometer and four data fields.
The choices for the data fields are: Bearing, Distance, Speed, Heading, VMG, CTS, ETA, ETE, XTE, Turn, Elevation, Time, Date, EPE, Avg Speed, and Max Speed. Not all of these can be selected on all fields but the Data screen allows up to six and can be any.
The menu allows Database management, Route management, Setup, Vert. Profile, Sun/Moon, Fish/Hunt, Contrast, Alarm/Messages, Card Utilities, Help and an about screen.
There are 3 different backlight settings. I have used it as a vehicle GPS when Roadmate 700's were $1500, but thats kinda hard to do, but it can be done.
In conclusion, I have had this GPS since 2004, and have used it frequently. I have "kid gloved" it, just because I paid over $400 for it when I got it and I like to take care of my stuff. It has performed flawlessly.
Another note about the Map Send TOPO, there is SO much data stored in the unit that you can only view with the software, I replayed a continous data stream of a trip and had constant data information. I am out of space.. I LOVE THIS GPS!!!Read full review...

Works for geocaching

I prefer using Magellan units to the Garmin or other brands. I've been geocaching for more than 10 years now. This one works as well as any of the others I have used.

Get a Magellan Meridian, don't add your name to the Darwin Pool.

I do a lot of hunting and fishing in remote places or out of sight of land. Even in warm weather it only takes 1 freak storm to turn a nice day into a disaster. These Magellan GPS units are easy to use and have backtracking to bring you right back to within 9 feet of your original starting point. I have one in my hunting pack, and another in my float bag for fishing. I pretty much won't leave home on a trip without one, because they've saved my life fishing offshore.Read full review...

A real bargain in GPS units

I bought the Meridian Gold new several years ago and recently bought the Color on Ebay for cheap. I gave the Gold to my wife and I use the Color. It's so nice that I may have to get one for her. I like the Meridian series because of the large screen (although the Color is just a hair smaller in width). The Gold is easier to read without back light(my Gold light burned out and I didn't really notice) whereas the Color depends more on the white back light to illuminate the colors (still usable without light). I have the Mapsend Topo software and I've found it to be very good. I did wildlife studies for the BLM and Forest Service and used the Gold a lot with the Topo Map and, in conjunction with my Terrain Navigator software, proved more than adequate. I've been very impressed with the Gold and Color units ability to lock onto the satellites and keep them, even in pretty heavy forest canopy. I've thought about upgrading to a newer GPS but I'm not really sure I need all of the new "bells and whistles" that some of them have and plus I'm not convinced that the screen visibility is the best possible yet. I would recommend either the Gold (at a low price) or the Color (especially if you can find it for around $70 since it cost around $400 new when it came out) because it's a real bargain for what you get when compared to some of the newer units that might cost $300 to $500 +. The Meridians uses a serial cable which most computers don't have anymore but you can get a serial cable that connects to it (with the proper driver) or better yet, you can get a ready made single piece cable that connects USB to the Meridian from kawamall here on Ebay. Make sure you update the Color to the most recent 5.40 version (go to Magellan website). You can get information about the various updates before you download. Also go to Yahoos Magellan Meridian Group for information and help.Read full review...

Great Magellan color GPS, Love it would recommend to all

I have had a Magellan gold for a long time and loved it. It always works great so My son ask me to get him a GPS. I have had no problems with mine so I got him a Magellan color which is one better than mine. The Magellan always gets great reception even in real wooded areas. We use them for hunting and they have saved us on more than one occasion tracking back to our deer to pack him out and gets us back to camp even in the dark. I wouldn't go hunting with out it. Easy to use and battery life is good.Read full review...

Meridian Color GPS

Deent unit with good color and lighting but very battery intense.
One of the problems I had was not with the unit, but Map Send from Magellan, The program is not compatible with Windows XP Prof. in fact the only operating system that I found that works with the program is Windows 95/ 98
Do not like the fact that the PC Connection is a Serial Port, but you can purchase an adapter that will adapt a serial cable to USB providing you don't care the extra expense.
Since this unit has been discontinued, support is non-existent but the unit is a very reliable with very little problems.,
As a whole, you would be better off to fork out a little extra and buy a Magellan Triton.Read full review...

Great for lake navigating

I use mine for marking the lake channel to navigate on those foggy mornings when I can't see 15 feet from the boat.
It also is good to mark those hot fishing spots. I can use different icons for every purpose and can zoom in and out
to view all items stored. For me...it is a must have item.Read full review...

Verified purchase:  Yes | Condition: pre-owned | Sold by: odhainwisconsin

Gellin' with Magellan

I have a preference for Magellan GPS products. Before I bought the Meridian Color, I had the Meridian Gold and Platinum. Whether on water or land they all perform with precision and accuracy. I use them on my boats, bike, and in my car; when checking the cattle or the progress of the rice crop, I have my GPS. Anyway, I like the Color Meridian best of all, as you can probably guess, because of the color. I have never invested in a talking GPS because I understand that this is the very feature that gives the most trouble and that the touchscreens give out if not treated with TLC. Well, if its not going to talk eventually and I have to wear kid gloves to use it; it's not for me. The maps (Streets/Destinations; Topo; and BlueNav) are dead on and the PC communication with the unit is flawless. Needless, to say I would encourage anyone, when looking at purchasing a GPS whether for car, farm, water, general outdoors and would rather talk to a person or wander in silence, to invest in the Meridian GPS Series and furthermore I would specify the color model. Respectfully yours, Louisiana ManRead full review...