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Magellan Meridian FAQ – Version 2.0 

Page 22 of 30

 

Repeat step 3 to add this new trail segment onto your map. 

Have fun with this and be sure to let the rest of us know if you figure out any improvements/enhancements to this 
technique. 

36) 

Change the Meridian icons. 

Do you wish you had geocaching icons? Maybe you don’t have a use for wineries and would like to make a symbol 
for your favorite brew pub? There is a utility to change the icons stored in the Meridian. In the files section of the 
Meridian group is a utility called Meridicon. This utility will display and allow you to edit the icons in the Meridian 
firmware files. Note that you must use the tool with the appropriate CSV file for your firmware version. 

Your firmware version does n’t have a CSV file? The author has also provided a tool that allows you to search a new 
firmware file and locate the correct addresses for the icons. This tool is called iconfinder. 

More detail can be found by downloading these programs from the files section of the Magellan Meridian user’s 
group. 

37) 

How do I measure the distance between two points? 

This method was offered by Wyatt: 

1. On the map screen hit menu and scroll down to vertical profile. Hit enter. 

2. Scroll down to "path check" and hit enter. This  will take you back to the map screen. 

3. Move to where you want it to start measuring and hit the goto button once (for less than 2 seconds). 

4. When you move the cursor you can see the distance to where you just hit the goto button. 

38) 

Can I use rechargeable batteries? 

Not only will Meridians operate from rechargeable batteries, but it is highly recommended. Rechargeable batteries 
(Nimh or NiCad) will save lots of money, as you’ll not burn thru boxes of disposable alkalines. Look for charge 
ratings in the 1800 mah or higher  for best results. One side effect will be a very short ‘low battery warning’. The 
time between the unit signaling the alarm for low battery and the unit shutting itself down will be very short.  So 
when that alarm goes off, you have less t ime to replace the batteries than you will with alkalines. This is due to 
rechargeable batteries maintaining a relative constant charge until depleted. Another is the charge meter will never 
show a full charge. This is due to the lower operating voltage of rechargeables (1.25v vs. 1.5v). 

Jacek M. Holeczek offered up these links for some tests and opinions on rechargeables: 

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACCS/BATTS/BATTS.HTM

 

 

http://www.imaging-resource.com/ACC1.HTM

 

 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/nimh_batteries.html

 

 

http://www.steves-digicams.com/digi_accessories.html

 

39) 

What is the ‘Simulate’ function for? 

The simulate feature is used for demonstration purposes and to help in checking software communication. When 
activated, your GPS acts as if it is receiving satellite signals and moving. When connected to software, you can 
verify the GPS functionality with the software without having to get an actual satellite lock. This is very helpful 
when inside buildings. 

There is a process to create your own routes for the simulator. Jelf_gps provided these instructions: 

This post will show you how to use the simulate feature together with your own route. Here  are some simple steps 
you can perform to experiment with this feature: 

Step 1 
Create a waypoint at the location cursor or hourglass.  
Create a few other nearby waypoints for use in your route. 
Tip - To quickly create these waypoints use the arrow keys to steer the crosshair somewhere and then hold GOTO 

Summary of Contents for Meridian Series

Page 1: ...AQ Version 2 0 10 31 2003 Version 1 by Kevin Harrelson kevin harrelson com Version 2 by Dan Surratt skramblr hotmail com Updated info provided by the Meridian group members http groups yahoo com group...

Page 2: ...What if I don t use Windows 14 26 WAAS What it is do I need it and can I turn it off 14 27 What are all of these secret menus 15 28 Secret Key Combinations 16 29 Upgrading the Lawyer screen 16 30 Upgr...

Page 3: ...ver 27 57 Troubleshooting Mapsend won t read tracks waypoints from SD card 27 58 Troubleshooting SanDisk SD Card Incompatibility 28 59 Troubleshooting COM Port is Busy 28 60 Troubleshooting Mapsend is...

Page 4: ...ish white and blue case Except for the case colors this unit is internally identical to the Meridian Gold The only difference is the base map Meridian GPS This unit features a green or yellow case an...

Page 5: ...izon then the compass in the other units will simply fail to work Furthermore the other GPS units have a threshold speed Anything below this speed and the heading is obtained from the compass If you a...

Page 6: ...An Australian base map is also available with good city and major street detail There are also marine versions of all of the base maps These add details about marine navigational aids such as buoys a...

Page 7: ...lems have been reported with SanDisk cards of 256 512 MB Certain of these cards do not work in the Meridian although they work with other devices Magellan is reported to be working on a fix which may...

Page 8: ...ly problems have been reported in these cases When the map is zoomed out you don t see any detail because the base map doesn t contain it In order to see any roads at all the map must be zoomed in whi...

Page 9: ...t 12 feet and is often 30 feet or more This means that an error of 50 feet is not only common but even to be expected There are few sources for map data One popular source the TIGER database is comple...

Page 10: ...he Garmin topographical data is fixed as how it is presented Magellan on the other hand overlays a grid over the whole country The height is known at every point on the grid Because of the way that th...

Page 11: ...le 4 Open the Data fips txt file of the prime installation and enter lines in the form as follows depending upon which maps are being imported copy from the fips txt file for each of the imported Maps...

Page 12: ...you can send your trip file in gpx format to others who can see where you ve been and check out your photos Cool 22 Serial Communications with other software There are several things that you should...

Page 13: ...ed to 30 waypoints So if you have a long route you must break it down into 30 waypoint sections or space your waypoints far apart Editor s note the Meridian s firmware has been limited to 30 waypoints...

Page 14: ...ts you get Team play is also offered Check it out at http geodashing org MinuteWar is a strategic game where the earth is the playing field There are four teams and teams attempt to go to random locat...

Page 15: ...s you know exactly what you are doing Thanks to ClayJar luis_scsc Daniel de Wildt Ed Maurer for information in the following table Secret Menus Description Exit Keys 00 Firmware Version Display ESC 01...

Page 16: ...t to say The program is called MyMeridian and available from the files section and http www navicache com freeware ERROR FIX Current version 05b does not work with v4 xx firmware A fix has been identi...

Page 17: ...by holding down MARK GOTO and the ESC keys and press ENTER This will power down the unit 2 Power it up in Software upload mode by holding down MARK GOTO and the ESC keys and press POWER Unit should po...

Page 18: ...and select the basemap file that you want to upload 4 Expert Expert Upload On You may also want to choose one of the non standard baud rates here equal to Meridian setting Click OK 5 Upload OK choose...

Page 19: ...can be reduced but then it takes much more time to download with 115200 bps it takes about 15 minutes Setup of the PC 1 Start Hyperterminal Start Programs Accessories Communications Hyperterminal 2 M...

Page 20: ...ine checksum 11 Go to Transfer Receive File and select the 1K Xmodem protocol After that name the basemap file that you will be receiving I recommend using the same suffix as Magellan uses img 12 The...

Page 21: ...he lat long to anything Editor s note This is done to prevent the drawing of a line between the last trackpoint of the previous track and the first trackpoint of the next track Recalculate the checksu...

Page 22: ...Nimh or NiCad will save lots of money as you ll not burn thru boxes of disposable alkalines Look for charge ratings in the 1800 mah or higher for best results One side effect will be a very short low...

Page 23: ...Charts Sportfishingshop offers this solution Many international users especially those that want to use the BlueNav marine charts are facing the problem of the internal basemap not having any or very...

Page 24: ...few minutes we have found a logical explanation for this occurrence At the time there was intermittent testing being done on the EGNOS satellite EGNOS is the European equivalent of the U S WAAS error...

Page 25: ...avigation as it shows the desired course Starting with firmware 4 XX there is now an option to have the goto line constantly update so it always redraws the line from your current position to the dest...

Page 26: ...pen the MAPSEND INI file using your favorite text editor Inside this file there is a parameter called Conv_Memory_Size which is the maximum region size in bytes Multiply this number by four and you sh...

Page 27: ...are new One cause of this problem has been reported to be the pressure sensitive contacts used for the batteries These battery contacts are not actually soldered down to the Meridian s circuit board...

Page 28: ...he only thing that you can do is to use a different card At the time of publication of this FAQ there is a new release of the firmware Version 5 12 Early users of this firmware report that they are no...

Page 29: ...by selecting Cancel 4 Using Windows Explorer go to Program Files Magellan MapSend Export and locate the file called maps img 5 Copy this file to the SD card using USB card reader Do not create any fo...

Page 30: ...can be found at the Magellan Meridian Yahoo Group bradleymsuter ClayJar Daniel de Wildt edmaurer2002 Fred Merchant geo_alexm georockers gmcaddon hedoor hedorr Jacek M Holeczek Jack Yaezel jelf_gps jv...

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