Magellan SporTrak Pro Handheld GPS
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Manufacturer: Magellan
List Price: $299.99
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Magellan SporTrak Pro Handheld GPS
The ruggedly handsome, compact, lightweight (6.1 oz/170 grams) and waterproof, Magellan SporTrak Pro GPS receiver offers an excellent value for the outdoor enthusiast. Accurate to within 3 meters, the SporTrak Pro features a 9 MB mapping database, 23 MB free memory for downloading street-level maps. Seven large navigation displays allow you to view your position and all the information you need to get to your destination and back, safely and securely, adding a new level of enjoyment to your adventure. Your SporTrak Pro GPS receiver is an indispensable navigation companion when hiking, biking, boating, hunting, fishing or on any outdoor adventure.
The Magellan SporTrak Pro is a feature-rich, fun, and easy-to-use GPS receiver designed for the serious navigator. Its rugged, waterproof, and ergonomic design is perfect for the outdoorsperson needing a compact but powerful navigator.
Included in SporTrak Pro is a 9 MB North American basemap of highways, major roads, parks, waterways, marine navaids, buoys, lighthouses, and more. An additional 23 MB of built-in memory is included for downloading detailed maps from Magellan’s MapSend line of CD-ROMs. With Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) support, the SporTrak offers readings with up to a three-meter accuracy.
The large display, along with a front facing 9-key keypad, makes it easy to use in any environment. SporTrak Pro software includes seven graphic navigation screens, storage for up to 500 waypoints and 20 routes, a best fish and game time calculator, and BackTrack for finding your way home after a long trip into the woods.
The SporTrak Pro runs on two AA batteries for up to 14 hours. It’s housed in rubber-armored, impact-resistant plastic that’s waterproof and also floats.
The WAAS difference
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WAAS is a system of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections, giving you even better position accuracy. How much better? Try an average of up to five times better. A WAAS-capable receiver can give you a position accuracy of better than three meters 95 percent of the time. And you don’t have to purchase additional receiving equipment or pay service fees to utilize WAAS.
How it Works
WAAS consists of approximately 25 ground reference stations positioned across the United States that monitor GPS satellite data. Two master stations, located on either coast, collect data from the reference stations and create a GPS correction message. This correction accounts for GPS satellite orbit and clock drift plus signal delays caused by the atmosphere and ionosphere. The corrected differential message is then broadcast through one of two geostationary satellites, or satellites with a fixed position over the equator. The information is compatible with the basic GPS signal structure, which means any WAAS-enabled GPS receiver can read the signal.
Who benefits from WAAS?
Currently, WAAS satellite coverage is only available in North America. There are no ground reference stations in South America, so even though GPS users there can receive WAAS, the signal has not been corrected and thus would not improve the accuracy of their unit. For some users in the U.S., the position of the satellites over the equator makes it difficult to receive the signals when trees or mountains obstruct the view of the horizon. WAAS signal reception is ideal for open land and marine applications. WAAS provides extended coverage both inland and offshore compared to the land-based DGPS (differential GPS) system. Another benefit of WAAS is that it does not require additional receiving equipment, while DGPS does.
Magellan SporTrak Pro Handheld GPS Features:
- 12-channel GPS receiver; WAAS enabled for up to 3 meter accuracy
- 9 MB North American basemap of roads, waterways, parks, and more
- 23 MB memory for additional map downloads
- Large, easy-to-read display; 9-key keypad for quick access to software features
- Rugged, waterproof design; Quadifiler Helix antenna for superior tracking in harsh environments
Magellan SporTrak Pro Handheld GPS Reviews
Unit Locks Up - Customer Service SUCKS!
This unit worked great for the first year or so…though it didn’t get much use.
Then it started locking up…just after the warranty expired of course. It has happen 3 times and now I have a very expensive paper weight!
The first time it locked up was becuase of an incomplete download of the MapSend software. I had been throught the process before, but for some reason while loading an update the unit locked up.
So after trying numerous times to get help from Magellan via telephone and email and finally getting a response that was no help at all, I had to sent the unit back to them for repair. It cost me $15 each way for shipping and Magellan charged me $95 to fix it.
Once it finally got sent back (about a month later) the unit worked for a few more weeks and then one day when I turned it on it went into eternal restart mode over and over again and finally locked up on the start screen. The only way to turn it off was to remove the battery pack. So, once again I had to pay for the shipping each way and the repair charge of $95 and wait.
Then, once again the unit failed the same way it did previously. So, now I have a $500 paper weight because of the initial $250 purchase price and cost of sending and repairing the unit twice.
Bottom line is: DON’T BUY IT!
Technically GREAT, but limited
I bought this in the Warrior Pack with MapSend Worldwide and MapSend Topo. It works great, has all of the capability expected. But it is not perfect.
Pros: Easy to use, accurate navigation, large screen, VERY Rugged.
Cons: Uses a DB9 parallel connector to hook to the PC. This connection is not on all PCs and not on most laptops. I had to purchase a DB9 to USB cable to hook to the PC. Parallel connections are slow. The 4-color gray scale screen is difficult to use for navigation. It is impossible to tell the difference between a topo line and a stream. Does not pick up well in forested areas or in metro downtown areas.
All in all, I would not recommend this due to the limitations of the 4-color gray scale screen. I would recommend either a 16-color gray scale system or a color system, such as the SporTrak Color.
Just an incredible deal.
I didn’t spend a lot of time researching GPS units, just an afternoon googling around the web. The Magellan looked pretty good, features and memory wise, so I bought one. They were just on the market, and I stole one cheap because it wasn’t a Garmin, and of course it couldn’t be as good, so a couple of early ones sold cheap. That was in June, 2003.
At first, I just enjoyed owning one and being able to download detailed maps from my laptop that would cover a whole state at a time. It only has 24mb of memory available for map loading, but it turns out to be plenty. I usually never used it unless I was lost in a strange city.
I bought the 12v car adapter and started using it like a car GPS, small screen but it was useful. I gradually began to notice some other funtions, like the built in speedometer that seemed to be more accurate than the one in the car. From what I understood of civilian GPS accuracy, that shouldn’t be right - then I found about WAAS, and the increased accuracy it offered, and gee whiz - the Sportrak already had it built in.
Gradually, I started looking to do more with GPS, and I had a German friend tell me about using the unit with a laptop as a really big screen in car GPS unit. Hmmm… I was given some old Microsoft map software (Mappoint) and figured I was going to have to buy a new unit to make that work.. but pushing a few buttons …. good grief this thing has the NMEA 2.0 function built in too! It can talk to Mappoint and all kinds of other aftermarket software. After looking around for an updated package, I bought Delorme Street Atlas which is an amazing talking package. It doesn’t cost much, and the detail and functions are great.
I started to get interested in Geocaching, and lo and behold on one of the GPS nutcase sites, I found a test of the Sportrak where it basically trounced a Garmin 76s for positional accuracy. http://gpsinformation.net/mgoldreview/sportrak-pro-rev.html
SO I’m still trying to figure out if I need another GPS. The Sportrak Pro is certainly a great deal, and superior especially for accuracy to any other unit in it price range, even today. Since a already own a laptop, I have a very sophisticated GPS unit that I load in the car for vacations and business trips, and that cost me far far less than the $700 to $1000 a good in car unit costs.
Accurate, durable navigation tool
I’ve had my SportTrak since May of 2004 and have enjoyed it very much. I’ve used it while hiking in both Texas and Louisiana in hot, muggy conditions and it’s never missed a beat. I’ve dropped it on the road more than once and other than a scratch or two on the body, you’d never know. The built-in North American map contains the primary highways you’d expect, but it also shows a surprising number smaller roads as well. It’s gotten me out of trouble more than once. With the MapSend software, it’s even better. I use it on road trips as well as while hiking and wouldn’t trade it for anything currently on the market.
Solid But Flimsy
This GPS does exactly what it’s supposed to do. I haven’t had the opportunity to load any maps into it yet, but the navigation aids included in the on-board memory are pretty good. My only complaints are that the clip for attaching a lanyard to is way too easy to break, and that connecting the serial cable is cumbersome. My lanyard clip broke off after only a few cache hunts, and the serial cable has to be screwed on (literally) to the unit.
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