Customer Reviews

Magellan 330M 2.2 x 1.33-Inch Water Resistant Marine GPS

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'll start with the caveat that this is my first hand-held GPS receiver. However, I can't imagine a better tool for the $$. I used the handy "quick start" card right out of the box and within 30 secs the Map 330M located where I was. Very user friendly. I primarily use this for boating, and have created routes to go back to the spots I want.

Easily downloaded and installed upgraded firmware from the magellan website to make the unit WAAS compatable (accuracy now down to about 3 meters!) You can set up whether you are using this on land or water and the map will show you more street names (on land) and more buoys, lighthouses, etc (on sea). Tou can also set up how detailed (or sparse) you want your map to be.

Will track you in either miles, nautical miles or kilometers. It can give you distance to a waypoint, your speed, what compass course to travel to get to a waypoint, arrival alarms, plus much more.

You can easily connect the GPS to a laptop and with the free included map software upload more detailed street information in up to 4 regions (7 or 8 MB of memory). (I got most of eastern PA, southern NJ, and Delaware into mine). Even without the uploaded street data major roads and byways are easily found. You can download created routhes/waypoints from the GPS to the computer to save them and see them on a bigger computer screen, or create the routes on the computer and upload to the hand-held.

Another nice feature is sunset/moonrise info.

Downside is battery life. They say 10 hours with backlight off, but I get 1/2 that with my rechargable alkaline batteries.

Overall 5 Stars!

I tried both the Garmin eTrex and the Map 330M. The Magellan has it hands down. First, the unit comes with the CD-ROM map software and a PC cable. Second, it is incredibly accurate and even pulled in sattelite signals from inside my house. Third, it links with the sattelites in seconds. Fourth, the display is great. Fifth, and most importantly for me, it has easy to use buttons on the front panel rather than obscure buttons on the side. The button configuration is important because when you are navigating in the car or boat you can one-finger the display to change screens, zoom in or out on the map and move the cursor around on the nav screen. I found that my hand covered the screen on the Etrex which rendered hitting the buttons a pain and I felt it would only be possible to use the Etrex by taking it off its bracket and holding it in the palm of my hand (great for hiking, lousy for cars and boating).

Everything is nicely laid out, the menus are easy to understand and the entire unit is very intuitive. There is a lot of information already loaded on the Map 330 and even more detail is available from the CD-ROM.

I think everyone is a little too impressed with the Garmin product line (I have an older unit). After only a few days I am convinced that this is the best unit for land AND sea.

The 330M is an absolute piece of work. Durable, floatable and easy to use make this little GPS a must for outdoor or travel activity. Accuracy is excellent. I have been able to lock down by coordinates, measure speed, distance between way points, and track my course with 98-99% accuracy. The interface software and cable between the PC and the GPS is fun and easy as well. Storing information, uploading or downloading is very easy. The software is stable on Win 98 and Win 2000. The GPS is small but a very powerful tool and I would recommend this to anyone.

There are many things I like about this unit -- it's very light and compact, and I find it easy to use. I found the base map surprisingly detailed (for my area), and uploading the detailed map from MapSend filled in all the tiny roads. Now the downers: - MapSend needs some lovin'. I can't just pick the ...baud rate I want; it must "discover" it. Interestingly, certain mismatches between what it was trying and what the 330 was expecting made MapSend crash. Just let me pick a number, .... - MapSend doesn't try anything past 19,200BPS. The thing (supposedly) works at 115,200. - Still waiting for street maps of Europe. - It won't plot a (street) course for you. Not a big deal for me, but if your primary usage is in a car in places you don't know, you'll probably want one that draws the "right turn here" arrow and talks to you, etc... Since I use it on the water and for hiking the 330's behaviour is just fine (it can draw a straight line from your present position to any desired locale).

It works very well, it is easy to use and for the price there is no better! The battery life is not very long, so I recommend to purchase the cigarette lighter power adapter to go with it! I have some problems downloading routes, which I have not resolved yet, but I also did not spend a lot of time resoloving it, so hopefully it is an easy fix. I also wish they had a nice portable mount for it since I use it in the baot and on land!

At [$$$] it was a nice little unit for the money. Had many of the critical marine aids to Puget Sound navigation built-in. Over all, performance was as represented...EXCEPT for waterproofing. Mine bit the dust after one use in the rain. Not what I'd expect from an "M" for "Marine" Magellan nautical navigation device. Never even submerged the unit (which Magellan claims it can withstand for short durations in up to three feet of water). Simply, "waterproof" is a severe stretch. "Water resistant" is even a stretch. Buy the 330M because it accomplishes the electronic wizardry you expect in a GPS unit, but also bear in mind that in the rain it will need to be operated in a plastic Ziploc bag.

I've used my 300M receiver for at least 3 years while boating in various areas of coastal Georgia. I use the backtrack feature when I leave the dock and feel secure that I'll be able to return - with our tide fluctuations and ever-changing marsh land- and seascapes, it is not difficult to lose sight of familiar places and sights. With backtrack enabled, I know where I am at all times.

I have the 12v adapter, so simply plug the receiver in and I'm on my way. I use the batteries as backup and have had no problems or malfunctions at all.

compared to today's gps this is a very limited product. hard to view small screen, not in color, slow to find satellites. pretty much obsolete

I originally purchased the 330M for navigating in my sailboat. I have had 2 Garmin units prior to that. This was my first map GPS. I liked it and found it excellent for loading waypoints and setting up routes. The Mapsend CD is not really intended for water nav, but it has proven adequate provided you also carry paper charts. The screen is a bit small, but adequate. This unit is not compatible with the Magellan water navigation CD. Yet, bouys and other nav aids are in the map in the GPS. I also found this unit compatible with my Topo! program and my DeLorme topo program. I recently switched to using the UTM for land nav and NAD 27 Datum. This unit made that easy. There is even a secondary coordinate system on the unit so you can use both lon-lat and UTM at the same time. Like someone else said here, it even picks up enough satellites inside the house and from inside the boat. Speedy location of satellites, less than a minute, I would say. I get 6.5 ounces on my scale for wt. Battery life, although I haven't measured it, seems shorter than the 10 hours advertised with alkaline batteries. The instruction book is very good and the controls seem intuitive after only a little practice. there is also a "cheat sheet" quick reference guide. Interface with the CD (MapSend streets)is smooth and provides lots of options.

I'll start with the caveat that this is my first hand-held GPS receiver. However, I can't imagine a better tool for the $$. I used the handy "quick start" card right out of the box and within 30 secs the Map 330M located where I was. Very user friendly. I primarily use this for boating, and have created routes to go back to the spots I want.

Easily downloaded and installed upgraded firmware from the magellan website to make the unit WAAS compatable (accuracy now down to about 3 meters!) You can set up whether you are using this on land or water and the map will show you more street names (on land) and more buoys, lighthouses, etc (on sea). Tou can also set up how detailed (or sparse) you want your map to be.

Will track you in either miles, nautical miles or kilometers. It can give you distance to a waypoint, your speed, what compass course to travel to get to a waypoint, arrival alarms, plus much more.

You can easily connect the GPS to a laptop and with the free included map software upload more detailed street information in up to 4 regions (7 or 8 MB of memory). (I got most of eastern PA, southern NJ, and Delaware into mine). Even without the uploaded street data major roads and byways are easily found. You can download created routhes/waypoints from the GPS to the computer to save them and see them on a bigger computer screen, or create the routes on the computer and upload to the hand-held.

Another nice feature is sunset/moonrise info.

Downside is battery life. They say 10 hours with backlight off, but I get 1/2 that with my rechargable alkaline batteries.

Overall ***** !