Magellan Triton 500 Handheld Navigation System

List Price: ~~$299.99~~ Buy For: $179.56

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Brand: Magellan

Features:
* Accurate Bearings: A simple-to-use, 3-axis electronic compass delivers stationary heading and bearing at any altitude¿without having to be horizontal to the ground
* Weather Predictions: An embedded barometer allows customers to track pressure and altitude changes
* Memory Boost: Storing data, including additional maps, terrain, and geocache data is easy with the Triton 500¿s SD card slot
* Detailed Maps: Pre-loaded base maps and compatible third-party maps identify major rivers, lakes, cities, and other geographical boundaries
* Crystal Clear Graphics: 2.2" (5.59 cm) full-color display delivers vivid imagery in the field.

Batteries Included: yes
Sales Rank: 7314

Amazingly easy to use, Triton 500 is perfect for the first-time GPS user. The full-color display, SD-card compatibility, fast signal acquisition, reliable signal lock and precision positioning make Triton 500 an excellent choice for the advanced navigator. The smartly designed interface with simple menus, intuitive button, and scroll pad control make navigation fun and effortless. The full-color crystal clear display shows all your maps and navigation information in brilliant, easy-to-view graphics. Instantly see all your maps, locations and saved tracks and waypoints with just a click or two. Unlike other complicated devices that require you to scroll through page after page, Triton 500 gets you to the information you want with a few keystrokes. Exclusive Vantage Point software enables easy management of maps, user generated content, updates and upgrades on your PC. Triton is designed for precision navigation, offering the fastest GPS positioning acquisition in the industry with the SiRFstar III chipset. Built-in signal augmentation reception (WAAS/EGNOS) provides 3-meter accuracy. Add detailed maps - Upload optional marine cartography, topographic maps, and more 3-meter accuracy - SiRFstar III chipset and integrated multidirectional antennae offer superior GPS accuracy using the Wide Area Augmentation System (WASS) Built-in base map of Contiguous U.S., Alaska, Canada and Worldwide Geographic Boundaries 2.2 (5.59cm) diagonal, QVGA (240 x 320) resolution, LED backlit display Keypad Nine direct-access keys Receiver TrueFix - 14 channels, WAAS/EGNOS Acquisition Time - Hot 20 seconds, Cold 60 seconds, and Initial 2 minutes 2x AA Batteries (not included) provides up to 10 hours battery life Dimensions - 4.65 x 2.16 x 1.22 Weight - 6.6 ounces (187.1 grams) with battery

total reviews 13

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Customer Reviews

Don't waste your money or time with this one.
I purchased the Triton 500 prior to going on vacation in Kauai, HI. I wanted to go hiking on some of the many trails. After I purchased it, I found out that it had no topos pre-loaded. Why would one buy a handheld GPS without topos. I live in the SouthEast, so I purchased a Southeast set and a West set of maps (found out that they were keyed only to that unit S/N). I downloaded the maps to the Triton and it worked for the first day (of 9 days). The next day, during a hike, the Triton lost the maps including the street maps that were preloaded. That night, I attempted unsuccessfully to re-load, then to get help from tech support, but no response. It was useless the rest of the vacation. My son had a Garmin and we used it. When I got home, I returned the unit for a refund and attempted to get a refund on the map packages. Magellan refused, even though it could only be used on that unit. I did not trust the unit, so I didn't exchange it for another Triton. I finally did what I should have done in the beginning. Do a cost comparison and check the ratings. I found out that the Delorme PN-20 bundle had topos for the whole US for about the same price as just the naked Triton. If I got the equivalent topos for Triton it would have cost me 5 times the cost of the Triton. I decided to take the loss on the Magellan software and purchase a Delorme. In summary, someone would be crazy or down-right stupid (like I was) to have purchased a Triton. I won't purchase another Magellan product. There is too much quality competition out there. One star is too many.

Triton 500 Performs as Claimed
Bought this at Costco (included carry case) for [...] and worked a couple of evenings getting it to work with my NG Topo! (couldn't see my 2 GB SD Card). I had to call customer support, who were very helpful. I was all ready to give up and take it back the morning of my overnighter to Little Rock Lake in RMNP when, after reloading the Topo! and rebooting my PC, I was able to get the maps to transfer. It came in real handy as we bushwacked through deep fallen timber. The Topo's are just like on the PC with the route and all. It tracks your trail as you go (while it drains the batteries; seems like the 10h claim is correct). The unit orients the map to the compass reading; pretty handy. My buddy had an older model with the compass on screen. However, his 5 year old magellan had low resolution maps that lacked the detail and color of the NG Topo! I've ported over the whole RMNP. Next I'm gong to see if I can get the whole state of CO onto my 2GB SD. For the money (costco sells it with the nice carry case for a very competitive Costco like price), I feel it is a good companion to the NG Topo! software. It's small and light enough and easy enough to use; not overly complicated.

Caution! Not What It Claims!
First off, I would recommend any hiking GPS system as a backup to a simply map and compass. That said, I want to clarify something about this particular model. This is a basic beginner's device to learn about Navigation, Waypoints, Trails, GeoCache and all the additional methods that go along with these. It also has a good "Best Fishing & Hunting Times for Current Location" menu as well as "Viewing Sunrise, Sunset Times" and "Lunar Information". The Triton has all these features and a USA map already included. I would highly suggest a class in GPS along with this.

The biggest problem with Magellan Triton products is they have had some problems with their software in the recent past. After contacting SUPPORT, they assured me that anything not up to date would be processed accordingly. Uh-huh. But, the biggest faux paus was to read, "compatibility with National Geographic TOPO!® maps", stamped on the box cover and stated on-line, only to find out that it is not. Nor is the Triton 300 model. You are unable to download base map information to this device. I was able to download a trail (.gpx), but nothing else. The Triton Models 400 and above have an SD Card for this and they can upload map information, although I went through FOUR 400 models and could not get a 'connectivity' to my PC on any of them.

The overseas support for Magellan is terrible. I wasted over an hour with someone who knew nothing about the product. To make matters worse, not only did I pay for shipping, but when I returned the item, I had to pay for that as well, as it went through a third party. Not good business practices. I would try Garmin.

Not impressed
I only had this for a couple of days before returning it. On the one hand, it offers many features for a relatively low price [...]. It rapidly acquired a signal and locked in from inside my house, so I can't fault the sensitivity. However, the overall fit and finish seemed poor. The battery door felt cheap and difficult to slide on and off easily. I got the impression if I dropped it on some rocks, it might break. Also, the rubber cover for the SD card slot was so difficult to remove that I was very concerned it might tear, especially a thin edge that had to lay flat in a shallow recession for it to fit properly.

My biggest disappointment was in its highly touted compatibility with the National Geographic Topo! software. It wouldn't connect properly, and I had to search the support groups to find a work-around hack to get the Topo! software to even recognize the Triton. Then it took hours to transfer a relatively small geographic area (less than a 7.5 minute quad) - and all I got was a poor resolution raster image of the original map. Since my primary use for the device was to be backpacking and cycling, I decided this was not the GPS unit for me. [...]

Sending the Triton 500 back
My Magellan Explorist 600 was in the shop for a couple months before Magellan told us they weren't making them anymore and didn't have parts to fix it. Magellan said they'd give us a great deal on a Triton 500 instead. What a mistake. The unit can't Go To Trails or Tracks because those features "aren't available yet". The big screen navigation page doesn't allow you to change a field to the odometer... one of my key fields. We are sending the Triton back. Why fiddle with Magellan and their poor customer service when you can get a Garmin? I've been using a friend's Garmin 60. It's easy to use and easy to read. I'll buy one.

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