As myself, I am sure that a lot of people are looking for information
on the Magellan ColorTRAK but for what ever reason this newsgroup
did not give it the publicity that it deserves.
As with all products the ColorTRAK as its pros and cons, I think that
the
biggest drawback against it, is the lack of information / data on it.
It seems that
every time you need answers from Magellan Service support it is like
pulling teeth,
even if their support is lacking, I still think that they have a good
product.
I bought one a the first few ColorTRAK that have been put out by Magellan,
the early production units have a defect with the POWER / DATA connector.
The first
time you insert the cable connector in the back of the GPS, you will
hear a popping sound,
that is the male connector falling inside the unit. Magellan
recognize this manufacturing
defect and will replace any unit that suffers this problem. For
those who have not
plug your data connector, I would advise you try it ASAP and find out
if you have bad unit.
My GPS had a S/N in the 0005xx or so, the replacement unit is
in the
00087xx range and you can see that Magellan redesigned the keyboard
as well as fixing
the connector problem. No more keys sticking in the keypad.
The first machines came with a firmware rev of 1.01, the current level
of
firmware is 2.01. This new code fixed some problems and brought
in new functionality
like a redesigned "Road Screen". Just like Garmin you can
flash the EPROM
with new versions of firmware.
You will need your GPS ColorTRAK receiver, PC interface cable, Fresh
AA
alkaline batteries and a PC meeting the requirements below:
Required PC hardware
IBM - Compatible PC
· Either DOS 3.3 or higher, or Windows 95
· Serial data port configured as a standard
COM port
· 3.5" disk drive
· Hard drive with a least 6 megabytes of free
disk space
· 8 megabytes of RAM memory
All of this is done using a program called CPUPLOAD.
I personally did not have any problems replacing the firmware but I
have
heard of some people who had to send their machine back to Magellan
because the
transfer did not successfully complete.
TO ATTEMPT AN UPDATE AT YOUR OWN RISK.
If you feel that you need to upgrade your firmware you should contact
Magellan at support@mgln.com or call Tech Support @ 800 669 4477
and ask for the
latest code. Magellan web site is : http://www.magellangps.com
In order to be able to upload the code you need to put your ColorTRAK
in
receiving mode, to do so follow these steps :
- To set the GPS ColorTRAK to receive new software press MENU,
then right
arrow, left arrow, right arrow on your keypad.
00 will be displayed on the
screen.
- Using the arrow keys, enter the number 99, Press ENTER.
- Press any key on the PC, as instructed by the PC.
- The program will then upload your new GPS ColorTRAK software.
- When software upload is complete, the GPS ColorTRAK receiver
will
automatically power off.
- Power on you GPS ColorTRAK receiver, press any key on the PC.
Through trial and error I have discovered that if you follow the same
sequence as above but you hit ENTER after the 00, you will see the
GPS firmware revision
level. To run diagnostics key in 10 then hit ENTER.
This will test; the display,
keyboard, data interface etc.
For those who would like to build their own POWER / DATA cable here
is the
pin out.
*** Use at your own RISK...Verify your connection to make sure you do
not
blow up your machine.
ColorTRAK/Tracker Cable :
------------------------------------
Power: Red ( 9-35 vdc )
Black ( ground )
DBR: Yellow ( Data + )
Black ( Data - )
ALARM: White ( Alarm trigger )
Note : Alarm must have its own power input.
Serial interface:
Orange ( pin 2 )
DB9 connector
Yellow ( pin 3 )
Black ( pin 5 )
In the back of your GPS the 5 pin connector should look like this :
W
W=
White
Y O
Y=Yellow
O=Orange
R B
R=Red
B=Black
I have tried this GPS with different waypoints transfer program and
I found
OziExplorer to be the best. Compare to Garmin the selection of
software is
limited and
most of the one I have tried failed to be able to consistently transfer
data
between
the GPS and the PC. OziExplorer worked every time I used it.
I just came back from 2 fishing trips and really tested my ColorTRAK,
the
30 hres battery life they claim is really true. If you are in
trouble, you can even run on
two batteries instead of four. I had enough supply and I did
not have to worry about
that.
The color is nice but not a must, only on some instances
did I have problems reading the display. I found the unit to
be a bit bulky
and heavy compared to some other machines that I have worked with.
Where I was in the Northern part of Quebec the reception was excellent
and
the locking time was fast. I think that Magellan still needs
to work on the keyboard, it
does not give a good positive feedback when you hit a key.
The other issue I whish they could address in the next firmware revision
is
the managing of the waypoints, there is no find function and when you
have a lot of them
it takes a while to page through all the panels. I guess that
meanwhile waypoints should be
kept to a minimum.
I have compare my ColorTRAK with a Garmin 12XL and functionally the
units
are quite similar it is as if Magellan picked some of the good points
from Garmin and added
some of their own. Overall I do not regret my purchase,
when I picked, price and functions were
an issue and I think that Magellan delivered both. They still
have to work on their
after sale support and their marketing. It is as if they have
a good thing going but they are NOT
telling anyone. Will we have another BETA vs VHS fight,
I hope not because right now I have
a BETA !
If you have found any errors or would like to add
comments or additional information please feel free to let me know.
Many thanks,
I haven't seen a response to your request so I'll take a stab at it.
I
don't own a Tracker but I have seen one in the store. Last night
I
attempted to check one out in a Fry's store but they were out of the
tracker so you'll have to settle for a quick look at the ColorTrak.
I
believe these two units are very similar. There are actually 5 differences.
The colortrack has a color display, external alarm support, a pressure
sensor to improve altitude readings, a back-lit keypad and a carrying
case.
First of all you may want to get my comparison article on the G12 vs
the
Magellan 4000XL. This discussion assumes that level of knowledge.
The
article is available on deja news or http://gpsinformation.net/main.
The article focuses on the user interface and the differences between
Garmin and Magellan in that respect.
The Tracker and the ColorTrak have a new keyboard layout and keys.
They
look like:
CLR ENT
Clear and Enter keys
NAV ^ GO
Navigation, up arrow, goto
MRK < > MNU
Mark, left arrow, right arrow, Menu
LGT v PWR
Light, down arrow, power on/off
The general impression of the keyboard, from the floor model, is the
keys
are not as solid (positive) as they used to be or as reliable.
I found
that the PWR key was depressed a bit (to prevent hitting it by accident
I
presume) and the keycap would catch on the underside of the case and
remain
depressed. I had to use a finger nail to work with it to get
it to
release. The clr/ent key is a rocker switch that wouldn't always
take
unless it depressed it crisply.
The unit itself looks very rugged. The battery compartment is
actually two
independent halves that you must unscrew to remove the batteries.
They seem
to be two parallel sets so the unit must run on 3 volts and in a pinch
it
could be operated with only two batteries. The interface looks
like a
Garmin connector except that it has 5 pins.
Someone prior to me had messed with the contrast and I had a hard time
getting the display back on the unit. This should not be a problem
for
a normal user but I was beginning to think I wasn't going to get it
to
work.
There is a simulator mode on the system menu. It has two settings,
one
automatic for training and one user mode that you can specify the speed
and bearing. You can only change these be returning to this menu
which
is deep in the menu system. But this is still better than the
old
2000XL/3000XL/4000XL that has only a training simulation mode.
The
Garmin simulator is more useful here. From the time in the store
I
wasn't able to determine exactly what you can do in the user simulation
mode. Now on to the screens.
All screens are now in the NAV rotation and many of them look a lot
more
like the Garmin screens. The Status screen and compass screens
are
very similar to Garmin with a whole circle for the compass. There
is
a speed screen with a half circle speedometer showing average speed
with
text speed and odometer data. Many screens now have additional
data and
match their Garmin counterparts instead of the older single function
screens. The plot screen still looks and works like the older units
except that it now has icons, a long track log and the ability to show
a single distance circle similar to the 3 Garmin circles. There
doesn't
seem
to be an active route screen in the rotation and I wasn't able to determine
how to review route data very well from my brief encounter. The
screen
is definitely taller than a Garmin screen.
Both the local and main menu appear when you depress the menu button.
There
is a line separating the two on the menu screen. Enter is used
to select
an item from the menu but will no longer bring up a menu. The
main
menus have been restructured somewhat and units is now set universally
instead of separately for speed, distance, altitude, etc. as was done
in the
older machines. The Mark key is a nice enhancement that follows the
Garmin lead. Otherwise it seems to work pretty much like the
Magellan
4000XL and I had no trouble figuring out how to do most things.
I would expect that its performance is about the same as other 12 channel
units and in particular other Magellan 12 channel units. The
antenna
on the ColorTrak looks like an integrated patch antenna but it is not.
It
can be rotated to a vertical position and even removed revealing a
connector that can be used for an external antenna.
Other notable features are a graphic indication of the position of the
sun
and moon so that you can use the unit as a crude compass while standing
still, automatic position averaging (as compared to Garmin's manually
initiated pinning feature), and a battery gauge that seems to do
something more than just measure voltage. One feature that the
4000XL had
that seems to be missing from the new units is the ability to set a
waypoint by measuring inches or centimeters on a map.
Hope this helps, daled@cadence.com