Magellan's Explorist GC GPS Users Wait for a Much Needed Firmware Update

Earlier this Spring, geocachers received the latest digital tool available to assist in the popularity game. In April 2010, Magellan, the popular GPS manufacturer, released the Explorist GC, the newest handheld GPS in the Explorist series. Setting this GPS apart from the rest of Magellan's family of hand-held devices, the Explorist GC (GC for geocaching) is designed specifically for the sport and does not include traditional navigation features. Consumers and geocaching enthusiasts excitedly welcomed the device upon its release; however, after some serious use in the field by the community, many users have experienced misbehavior when putting it to practical use. Fortunately, in quick response, Magellan has been hard at working on developing a firmware update.

Personally, and overall, the Explorist GC has been a reliable device alongside my Apisphere Geomate Jr., however, the device has had its moments of sporadic quirkiness and failure. Like other users have experienced and blogged, one common problem is the Explorist's tendency to take up to 15 minutes (or more) to acquire satellite signals. Admittedly, this would be normal behavior in conditions of strong cloud/tree cover with weak-to-dead batteries, but unfortunately the issue seems to occur in even the best conditions - clear skies and fresh double AA batteries.

Another current popular behavior of the device is it's all too happy ability and preference to freeze and lock-up when within a certain radius of the cache. Although it has locked on other numbers, the magic number seems to usually be 22 feet. Adding insult to injury, the device doesn't accurately regain its consciousness for sometimes five to ten minutes. As far as accuracy goes, this means you could be walking for another five to ten minutes in effort to have the device respond, all-the-while placing you another 10-20-30+ feet away from the cache. Usually after having waited that long, the only unfortunate solution is to recycle the Explorist's power.

Now, this isn't to say that the Explorist GC is a poor device, because is certainly isn't. When it works, it works extremely well. There is also satisfaction at knowing the device has upgradable firmware. An upgrade that nails out the kinks will turn a great product into an excellent one. Upon its initial release, firmware version 1.0 was installed on the device. Shortly thereafter, early reports found by Googling various terms revealed that firmware version 1.2 was in the hands of "Magellan Insiders" for testing. Move forward a few weeks, and message board threads state that version 1.4 is currently being tested. It is uncertain as to what the actual version number will be upon release, however, Magellan's Facebook page recently stated that the update is due out shortly.

Resources:

Discussion: The awaited Magellan Explorist GC firmware update is currently in the hands of Magellan Insiders for testing (groundspeak.com message thread).
Discussion: Magellan Outdoors Facebook page features discussions of device bugs and firmware update progress.