Magellan GPS import or Aus.

[4by]

I'm looking to buy a Magellin Platinum GPS and have noticed variable price difference.
I believe this is as some are imported from the US and some are Aus delivered.
I have been told the only difference is the US units take a couple of minutes to calibrate when turned off for long periods. Apart from that they are the same. All maps for Aus can be loaded.
Price is far cheaper for the US based and is far more affordable.

Does anyone know of any problems with US based GPS units.

Thanks in advance.

[bogged]

Does anyone know of any problems with US based GPS units.

No problems in 2 yrs with numerous units

[-Mick-]

I have been told the only difference is the US units take a couple of minutes to calibrate when turned off for long periods.

cold start/ initialisation should be around a minute for them... regardless of where they come from

[-Mick-]

I have been told the only difference is the US units take a couple of minutes to calibrate when turned off for long periods.

cold start/ initialisation should be around a minute for them... regardless of where they come from

[Gordo]

I use 1 gold import and have setup another meridian gold from US/CAN. Easy to upload the Aus basemap.

Magellan thieves wanted $200+ to prog Aus basemap for 5 mins effort .. a-holes

supercheap meridians here (great service, Canada) : www.gpscentral.ca

If u decide to go local www.gpsoz.com.au also provide great service and advice.

[Maxtd5def]

Any reason you want a Platinum in particular, instead of the others e.g. Colour?

Regards
Max P

[RoldIT]

The Color is US$299 here.

http://www.gps4fun.com/mag_mer_color.php

[Tiny]

Speak to Brian from GPSOZ, he is very helpfull, and has a grat range of units to choose from

[4by]

[quote="Maxtd5def"]Any reason you want a Platinum in particular, instead of the others e.g. Colour?

The Platinum has a few extra features....thermometer, 3 axis compass.

Plus I can get one with car mount, 12v, software, Discover Aus Track 256m card for under $750.

Is the color a better unit & should I buy that instead?

[Toy80Diesel]

I bought a US model, i did get a better price on it.
It only needs time to calibrate once, no difference from the aussie model, after the first time its shorter unless you switched it off for ages.
only problem is if something goes wrong the warranty is questionable.
loading aussie basemap isn't a problem, *cough *emule *cough...
do it from the sd card much better.
i have the colour one and i'm very happy with it, you'll need the discover aus cd too coz its got heaps of roads and tracks on it, except no topographical stuff as thats on a different cd.

[Gordo]

According to last gpsoz bulletin : Next discoveraus should have Topo included and requires 512mb SD

[bogged]

I bought a US model, i did get a better price on it..

so do most, gettin them for around $260-300us compared to $1000au for the colour.

[Maxtd5def]

The Platinum has a few extra features....thermometer, 3 axis compass.

Plus I can get one with car mount, 12v, software, Discover Aus Track 256m card for under $750.

Is the color a better unit & should I buy that instead?

Have a good look into those extra features e.g. thermometer will tell you the temp inside the casing inside the car. Useful??

And the compass works when stationary, but it reverts to the GPS calculated compass reading over a set speed..pointless if you ask me.. an ordinary compass will do the stationary reading if thats what you want.

And the colour, with one exception, is much easier to read

Regards
Max P

[4by]

I've decided to buy the platinum.

You can switch between GPS or Magnetic compass in the menu.

The package was new complete with 256m card, Aus tracks, 12v power, computer connection and car cradle. It would have cost me more for the color and I was on a budget.

Color screen sounds nice but i've been told the color is hard to read without the backlight on and also uses more battery power.

Thanks for all your help.

[Charlie]

I bought a US model, i did get a better price on it.
It only needs time to calibrate once, no difference from the aussie model, after the first time its shorter unless you switched it off for ages.
only problem is if something goes wrong the warranty is questionable.
loading aussie basemap isn't a problem, *cough *emule *cough...
do it from the sd card much better.
i have the colour one and i'm very happy with it, you'll need the discover aus cd too coz its got heaps of roads and tracks on it, except no topographical stuff as thats on a different cd.

Warranty is intl so shipping it over to WA is the way to go unless you load an illegal base map in which case they won't fix it.
Regards Charlie

[Toy80Diesel]

Warranty is intl so shipping it over to WA is the way to go unless you load an illegal base map in which case they won't fix it.
Regards Charlie

I was told no warranty unless it was sold through a magellan agent.
It was the WA agent that told me all this. And because it was bought on ebay, I guess not.

They would fix it for me, (recently i had some problems), but at a cost.
Cost was $99 including return postage if the problem was simple.
A replacement was over $500 and the you get 2 months warranty.

Although the guy i bought it from in the USA offered to help by having it repaired there.

[bogged]

... unless you load an illegal base map in which case they won't fix it.

Actually they will, they charge you $400 for the changed basemap since it is copyrighted etc blah dribble..

... and you dont get your GPS back until you pay the money - repaired or not!

[Toy80Diesel]

Actually they will, they charge you $400 for the changed basemap since it is copyrighted etc blah dribble..

... and you dont get your GPS back until you pay the money - repaired or not!

Fantastic Customer Service

Reminds me of a lovely episode I had with an epson printer.....
let me see, buy a new one $89, repair mine $150, pickup my broken one (inspected only) $120..... what to do, what to do...... Tell the repair people where to stick it??? PRICELESS!!!!

By the way, if anyone owns one of these basic model printers and it start blinking like crazy coz the ink pad is soaked, there is a software reset for it.. AND ITS FREE!!!!

[Charlie]

If you have the warranty card I can't see why they would'nt fix a overseas model because I"m sure they would charge it back to the country of origin.
Regards Charlie

[bogged]

Actually they will, they charge you $400 for the changed basemap since it is copyrighted etc blah dribble..

... and you dont get your GPS back until you pay the money - repaired or not!

Fantastic Customer Service

after you have broken copyright, they could take you for $50,000 if your happier with that?