Reviews > Navigation and Map Gear > GPS > Magellan SporTrak Color 2003 > Dennis Shubitowski > Field Report

Field Report - Magellan SporTrak Color GPS

Report Outline

Tester Information <back to top>

I was born, raised, and currently live in Michigan. I have been camping with family since I was a young tot. I have been backpacking for the last 11 years along with other outdoor activities like hunting, geocaching, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, horseback riding and canoeing. I backpack in every season - rain, snow, or shine. My hiking philosophy has moved toward lightweight backpacking (or lighter) from my heavyweight days, but I have an eclectic mix of equipment that I carry that mainly depends on what I am testing for BackpackGearTest! Shelters range from hammocks to tarps to four-season tents and stoves are homemade alcohol, Esbit, white gas or canister with a titanium pot. My packs, however, are always the lightest I can go without sacrificing comfort. My average three season load for a multi-day trip, including food and water, is usually less than 25 lbs (11.3 kg).

Basic Product Information <back to top>

Field Information <back to top>

I have used the GPS on daily basis for most of the field test period around mid and southern Michigan. Temperature and weather during this time has been unseasonably warm with all the fantastic snow we had this winter dying an untimely death. Temperatures have ranged from around freezing to a record 93 F (34 C). Weather has been mostly cloudy and overcast with the sun starting to make more regular appearances as of late. For this first leg of testing, I have not made many changes to the default layout and preferences that came preset from the factory on the unit. I have used the GPS both in the car and while hiking - mostly on my back and forth commute to work and also to help in a large trail mapping project. I have used the time in the car to learn about routes (mainly from converted tracks), use of the backtrack, checking the accuracy of the permanent basemap in my area, and to just familiarize myself with the unit in general with the various screens and features. Use while hiking has mostly involved waypoints, using the electronic compass, weather, and tracking. I have been through about six battery changes on the GPS using both alkaline and lithium batteries. The GPS has also spent a good chunk of time hooked up to a computer and communicating with third party software.

Overall Summary (so far...) <back to top>

A GPS like the SporTrak Color is a complicated piece of equipment to write about. There are many features and functions to discuss for something that does a relatively simple task. There are many things I like and many things I dislike about the SporTrak Color after two months of use, and it is tough to balance their offsetting contributions. For instance, although I like the layout of the GPS, I don't like the buttons. The color screen is what sets this unit apart from other units in the SporTrak line, but I find the color screen to look washed out and not have much contrast at times - it is very dependant on light and angle. However, there are huge plusses that include the fantastic antenna, excellent 3-axis electronic compass, and the adjustability and customization options for displaying data. I will outline each of these points below in the general report.

Ergonomics and Accessories <back to top>

The SporTrak Color is a sleek looking unit. It fits well in either of my hands and all the buttons are easy to access - there is no right- or left-handedness to the unit. I have been using the Magellan carrying case with clip (purchased separately) when using the GPS while hiking, and I must say that the case rocks! It makes using the GPS while hiking so much easier. I just leave it clipped to my shoulder strap and I can easily glance over, check position, time, make waypoints, or do whatever else I need in easy, simple reach. When I have used the GPS without the case, the lanyard is too short (and doesn't fit over gloves) from where it attaches to be much good. I can't comfortably loop it around my wrist and still use the GPS - it is really just a dangling carrying strap, and carrying like that also makes it hard to use with trekking poles. This is a minor thing, though, and I will end up taking a lanyard off another device I have to replace it. I do not own any of the car mounting devices, so the GPS is usually just loose with me in the vehicle either on the seat or dashboard. The other attachment to the GPS is the 4-point data cable used to connect the GPS to a serial port on a computer. Since serial ports seem to be getting phased out (my brand new system has 10 standard USB ports and a single, special ordered serial port), I would recommend USB cables ship in place of the serial cables so the GPS is ready to use out of the box in most cases. The 4-point end of the cable that attaches to the GPS has a pretty small screw which attaches to a recessed nut mounted in the GPS. I have a hard time getting the screw started and catching inside the nut, and it is difficult to turn as well due to the folding bail wire; the GPS has to be held upside down so the wire hangs down when trying to insert the screw. I do not know if the 4-point end is designed that way so it may fit in another receiver (perhaps in a vehicle?), but it would benefit from a more prominent and easier to use screw just so it is easier to operate. I have taken to using a US penny (which fits nicely into the flat-headed screw slot) to tighten and loosen the cable on the GPS. I just leave the coin by the computer so I don't have to look for loose change when I want to hook up the GPS.

Other ergonomic issues to mention are the color screen and the buttons. I am less than impressed with the screen on this unit. The color screen is the selling point for this GPS, but I find the display of the screen to be pretty particular about light and angle. I have to move and position or shield the screen in order to get the best picture all the time. I also see doubling of the image and lettering toward the edges of the screen depending on the angle it is held. I have significantly played with the contrast to try and adjust it - the contrast is the only method that I am aware of to make a difference in screen display, but it seemed to make little difference in that regard outside of brightness. Compared to grayscale units, the screen often looks washed out and does not have much contrast. The problem is compounded when the GPS is used in the SporTrak carrying case which has clear plastic that covers the screen and buttons. But, when everything is just right, the colors are deep and vibrant and the resolution is excellent. The other downside of this unit continues to be the buttons. I by far do not have "fat fingers," but these buttons are nearly flush with the case and pretty small. I have to press them with the nail of my thumb and I often still "mash" the buttons and press the wrong one - it is quite frustrating to me. On the plus side, I have no problem with the actual function and placement of the buttons; they are very intuitive, quick to learn, and easy to reach. I love the Waypoint/Mark and GOTO buttons which are new ones for me - makes things very easy and intuitive. Also, because of the button design, I find that the buttons do not accidentally get pressed or activated (unlike my cell phone, for instance) so the GPS is always where I last left it and not off on some odd subscreen.

Antenna <back to top>

The antenna on this GPS is absolutely awesome! I am continually impressed with the reception on this GPS - it acquires and locks onto satellites very fast and in all kinds of conditions. For instance, at the start of a hike at the trailhead, I have turned the GPS on and had about eight satellites plus WAAS with estimated position error around 30 ft (9 m) and dropping fast in about 20 seconds. If the GPS is turned off and later turned back on at the same point, it took less than 10 seconds to get a full fix as described and be ready to navigate. There seems to be no delay in acquisition time whatsoever for a battery change. The antenna is by far the stand out feature of this unit. It just grabs satellites and does not let them go - inside my house or in the woods, it doesn't seem to matter. I am sold on Magellan units simply because of the positive experiences with this antenna. I needed to lend my old Garmin Etrex GPS with a patch antenna to a friend a few weeks ago and the unit had not been turned on in quite a while. I put new batteries in it, reinitialized it, and started the two units up side by side out in the country on a horse farm on a clear blue sun shiny day. The Magellan was on and locked onto six satellites plus WAAS signaling in about 40 seconds. The Garmin took over 5 minutes and never acquired as many satellites. Simply put, if a GPS is spotty on satellites, the unit is useless, heavy, and dead weight for me. I use these data points for trail mapping and track creation to overlay onto maps in third party software, and gaps, dropped signals, and missing sections just don't work well in this application. I do not anticipate having a problem with the antenna for the rest of the test period with the SporTrak based on my experience so far.

Screens <back to top>

There are nine total display screens and several sub-screens like the Weather, Sun/Moon times and other features. I have found myself using some of the screens more than others. The screens are easy to cycle through - the Navigate button scrolls through the screens in the forward direction and the Escape/Cancel button scrolls through the screens in the reverse direction. At any screen, the Menu button can be pressed to bring up a menu. The Menu button is like a right mouse click for PC users - it brings up a list of things that can be done when it is pressed. Some of the menu items can be specific for the screen you are on, but many of them are common to all the screens. Sometimes I have not been able to remember where the item is that I want to do, I end up have to scroll/Navigate through all the screens and menus to find the one I am looking for. For instance, if I want to clear the track history from the menus, I need to select the Menu button from the Map Screen. This lessens with familiarity on the unit, and it is generally a very good way to organize all of the many features. Here are the nine main screens and my impressions on their use and function so far.

Satellite Status

The screen provides a graphical display of the overhead satellites and shows which satellites are being used to calculate your position. There is also a graphical indicator of battery life at the bottom of the screen. As satellites are "seen," an open bar with the signal strength is shown. When the satellite is "locked," the bar fills in and turns black. I actually find this a useful page in general as a quick check of how strong the signal is, the status of battery life, and if I have acquired WAAS satellites. All of this information (except battery life) is also available in other forms on other data pages as well. I suppose I like the Satellite page simply as a hold over from staring at non-Magellan units for all my GPS time previous to this test. If I am at the Satellite Screen while satellites are being acquired, the GPS automatically moves to the Map Screen once the position is fixed.

Map Screen

The Map Screen is the screen where I spend most of the time while both driving and hiking. There is a permanent basemap pre-installed on the GPS. Since I live in the USA, the North American version is installed; there is also a European version available that can be installed, but only one of the maps can be installed at any one time. The basemap takes up around 10 MB of memory leaving 22 MB for the upload of other maps and storage memory. This is my first GPS with mapping capability and I would not buy one without this feature in the future. It adds another visual dimension to an already pretty cool technology. The basemap has major roads and highways but is lacking in detail like surface streets and topographic detail. The permanent basemap can be augmented with additional maps only from Magellan. For instance, I cannot use the maps I see in third party software and upload them to the unit. If I want to add extra detail, I must purchase the maps from Magellan, and this is always something to keep in mind with mapping GPS units. The Map Screen displays the map and your position on it which is marked with a triangle. The position cursor can be moved to scroll the map and also to identify features shown on the display. To return to present position after scrolling around, the Escape button is pressed. The map has many "zoom" levels from 100 ft to 1700 miles (30.5 m to 2737 km). I tend to use the highest resolution and up to around 0.5 miles (0.8 km) for most of my usage so far. I find the permanent basemap is useful for driving but marginally useful for hiking. I have come to view the map strictly for informational purposes but I do not trust it. My position on some of the major roads, such as Interstate-69, is off by hundreds of yards/meters in some spots but dead on in others. As far as I know, the position of I-69 has not changed since the concrete was originally poured. For major surface streets, the norm is to be off to either side by a good number of feet/couple meters as well when the map is at its highest resolution of 100 ft (30.5 m) The general information in the map seems to be quite solid - streets and features are accurately named and in the correct order and place - it is just the interface between the GPS position and the map location that is not so good at times. The absolute best feature improvement would be if I could upload my own calibrated maps into the GPS, but this is in its infancy in implementation and surely not endorsed by Thales at the present. The basemap could only be improved by upgrading the present map with a new one. Also, I will likely now augment the basemap in the GPS with additional maps from Magellan for the remainder of the test period just because I want the detail!

Compass Screen

The other main screen that I spend a lot of my time on is the Compass Screen. This unit has a 3-axis electronic compass that can be turned on and off between using the compass or using GPS coursing. I absolutely love the electronic compass and would not purchase a GPS unit without one in the future based in my experiences so far. The electronic compass does require additional battery power, but I have not really noticed an excessive drain on the batteries when using it (unlike the backlight). What I like about the electronic compass is that it acts as a very accurate, regular compass and I don't have to be moving for it to work (unlike GPS course), and the GPS can be held at many angles and the compass still functions just fine. Bearings are taken from the electronic compass and that information used to calculate the information for many of the data screens. Every time the batteries need to be changed, the electronic compass needs to be recalibrated. This procedure takes about 2 minutes to do for the simplest calibration, but finding a clean, level surface can sometimes be challenging while hiking. Sometimes it is not desirable to use the electronic compass, like when I am surrounded by metal in my truck. This involves quite a few button pushes to change - Menu button from any screen, scroll down five spots or more (depending on which screen I started from) to Setup, hit Enter, move either down twelve or up eight positions to Compass Orientation, hit Enter, and then choose GPS Course or Magnetic North. Do all of this and hope you don't finger mash somewhere in there and have to start all over again. For something that I seem to be doing on a pretty frequent basis, it seems like it could be a little easier to do. In addition there are two customizable data screens that show Speed and Distance by default. I have not customized the displays yet for the most part, but these will be on the list for changing.

Large Data Screen

I find the Large Data Screen useful when driving. There are four fields displayed in large format for this screen which by default are Bearing, Heading, Speed and Distance. This screen works well for driving because it can be read from several feet/about a meter or more away. I find I usually use the map instead while driving so I can get a survey of the area I am in. Using the GPS while driving is not recommended as it is distracting. I tend to set the GPS at the screen and resolution (when using the map) that I want and leave it there to use for reference while driving in familiar territory.

Position Screens

I find I am currently not using the position screens that frequently. There are two position screens that are flipped between by using the left and right Cursor button. The default display shows Position in latitude/longitude and Elevation in feet along with Date, Time, Satellite Status, Heading, Speed, and Trip Odometer. The second position screen shows all the above information through Satellite Status, but then displays the Secondary Coordinate information which is UTM by default. The Position screen is interesting but drives me nuts and will definitely need further exploration. To summarize what is bugging me, this GPS has both primary and secondary coordinate and data system capabilities. This is interesting information but it does not seem to translate out of the GPS. For my mapping project, I am using USGS maps drawn in the NAD27 CONUS datum as my primary maps. The GPS is defaulted to WGS84 datum which is also the datum of the permanent basemap. I can change the coordinate system to match the paper map, but the coordinates that the GPS dumps out on export from saved waypoints or tracks still seem to be in WGS84. This may be operator error on my part, but my tracks are ending up with me literally walking on water because the coordinate systems are not aligning. I still have a lot to learn in this regard so I am not faulting anything here as of yet. I am by far no professional cartographer, but this is well defined in the capabilities of the GPS but is the type of thing that is not covered in the manual. So as it stands now, the position screens are useful when trying to find my position from GPS coordinates and translate them on a paper map. The displayed position can be changed to one of over 100 different datums that are stock in the GPS firmware. That is something I haven't really found necessary to do as the GPS has a built in basemap, but it certainly was done pretty easily when I tried it.

Road Screen

Data Screen

The Data Screen is extremely helpful and I refer to it often. The default display includes Speed, Distance, VMG (Velocity Made Good), XTE (Cross Track Error), Heading, Bearing, and a Strip Compass. The Data Screen is not so useful when I am "just using" the GPS. Much of my time has been spent using the GPS for mapping trails and just keeping track of where I am in particular in the woods either hunting or hiking. In these cases, only a handful of the data fields are actually active and that information can be easily found on other screens. When I "do something" with the GPS, like setting a GOTO, route, or backtrack, the Data Screen becomes much more interesting as all of the information about the leg of the journey that the GPS is capable of displaying can be found right here - distance to the point, estimated time of arrival, amount of the effort/speed that is actually moving toward the point, etc... The other thing to emphasize again here is that all of these data fields are customizable - I can swap them out to display any of the fields that the GPS is capable of showing. Thumbs up on the Data Screen - it definitely needs to be a part of the GPS.

Speedometer Screen

This is an interesting screen that I have been using off and on. There are four data fields (Heading, Distance, ETE (estimated time enroute), ETA (estimated time of arrival)) along with an auto-adjusting Speedometer and a Trip Odometer. When "just using" the GPS, the speedometer automatically adjusts to your speed whether walking or driving. At high speeds like when driving, I find the speedometer to be very accurate and matching the speedometer in my vehicle (nice to know!). When walking, the speedometer does not seem very accurate and jumps around quite a bit. The overall/average speed seems about right for any given walk, but it is not reflected while using the unit in the speedometer. The data fields here also become more interesting when a GOTO, route, or backtrack is activated in the same way as the Data Screen. There is also a Trip Odometer here which I am having a hard time figuring out. The Trip Odometer can be reset back to zero for any new trip (as the name implies), but the actual distances that it displays do not seem right. When a track has been uploaded to mapping software and graphed out, the distance walked according to the Trip Odometer and the track distance are not the same - the Trip Odometer is far short. When I have graphed out driven tracks, the Trip Odometer is closer but still short. I have quit using the Trip Odometer except as a rough estimate of travel.

Additional Screens <back to top>

There are some additional screens available from the Menu button that are stand-alone type screens as well. Some of these screens are quite useful and others are just for reference checking.

Weather Screen

I check this screen often when hiking. I have not calibrated the thermometer or barometer yet, but plan to do so during the remainder of the test period. The thermometer seems quite accurate when the GPS is shaded from direct contact with the sun. If the unit is in direct contact with the sun, the temperature reported is higher than expected. The barometer is interesting but not especially useful for me. The unit records over a 48 hour history and calculates barometric trends based on that data. I do not leave the GPS on for 48 hours at a time and in fact it is sometimes off and on during the day and always off at night. The barometric pressure shown seems to reflect the weather, but that is not too hard to guess when hiking outside - you can tell when the pressure is lowering or rising just based on observations of the weather. If it is bright and sunny out, the barometer is steady or rising, when it starts to look threatening the barometer is falling, and when it is raining the barometric pressure is low. I still find the information here helpful and interesting regardless and like the inclusion of it on the GPS.

Sun/Moon Display

I find this screen helpful and check it when I am hiking. It is nice to know when the sun will rise and set or what the phase of the moon is for people like me who work in a basement and are not attuned to these things. It is helpful to know how much daylight is left for hiking or setting up camp if the agenda is left open or for what time the sun will wake me up in the morning. It has been accurate when I have checked it so far, and I will continue to use and monitor this screen.

Hunt/Fish Times

I both hunt and fish. People that hunt and fish already know what times they can legally hunt and fish (usually denoted by their Natural Resources divisions in most US states). I already know that most game animals are more active at dusk and dawn, but during a rutting season anything can happen. I took the GPS with me turkey hunting last week and it surprisingly told me hunting would be best at dawn and dusk. I don't anticipate using this feature because I fish and hunt when I am able and by my local state regulations. The sun and moon display screen is available from this subscreen by pressing the left or right cursor button.

Tide Screen

I live in Michigan and haven't had an opportunity to travel lately. I have not used this screen but I think I could envision it being very helpful in tidal areas and am glad it is included.

Vertical Profile

I have tended not to use this screen very much but it deserves further exploration. Michigan is quite flat and I have tended to discard most of the elevation data coming from the GPS as I have not found it very accurate. I will be hitting Michigan's high point (Mt. Arvon at a whopping 1979 feet/603 m) this summer, and I will check elevation when I am in the more hilly terrain of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The feature is quite neat as you can get the vertical profile information for your track history, the path (what is left in the route), or your complete route. The profile can be zoomed in and out and scrolled along left and right by elevation at date and time. My vast range of elevation over the recent complete track history over lower Michigan covered around 0 to 1300 feet (0 to 400 meters). I know I was not at sea level in Michigan and I know I did not get up to 1300 feet (400 meters) during the recent track history. I will keep an eye on this and check elevation against USGS topographic maps.

Help Screen

The SporTrak Color has a built in Help Screen. I thought this would be extremely useful but instead found it pretty worthless. The information is not help as in manual-type help, but instead of full of tips and tricks. The tips can be most helpful: Remember to reset the trip odometer at the start of every trip; To zoom into the map, press the IN key; To zoom out of a map, press the OUT key, etc... Each tip can be scrolled through by pressing the Enter button or moving the field to "Previous" and pressing the Enter button. I find the majority of this information very non-helpful even at a basic GPS knowledge level and instead wished the Help section contained an actual help database for trying to solve questions.

Data Displays <back to top>

As previously mentioned, all of the data fields are customizable with an array of things to choose from for display. Although I have not changed much of the default settings, I do have comments for the data field information from my use so far.

Miscellaneous/Wrapup <back to top>

There are a few other miscellaneous things to mention so far in testing. I have been through around eight sets of batteries so far using both regular alkaline and lithium batteries. By my estimation using backlighting quite conservatively, I get about 15 hours out of a set of lithiums and around 12 to 14 hours out of alkalines. This use includes the electronic compass being turned on and the backlight set to off with the minimal on time of 30 seconds. When the backlight is used consistently, I only get a few hours of use out of the GPS that I would estimate around 5 hours or so - the backlight is a severe drain on the batteries. I wish I could easily just shut the backlight off instead of having to hold the power button down once and then again to shut it down. The brightest backlight setting is helpful while the intermediate setting is only useful in some indoor situations so far. When outside in the sun, it is nearly impossible for me to tell if the backlight is off or on and I have difficulty trying to turn it off because of that. On a recent hike, I forgot to turn the backlight off. I took over 70 waypoints and had to press the Waypoint (or any button) to bring the GPS "live" and bring the backlight on, then press the Waypoint button, and then Enter. The backlight would stay lit for 30 seconds (the minimal time I could set) from the last button press. This was obviously operator error, but if I actually needed the backlight I still would find it annoying - the light should come on and the action pressed should be performed too.

Other items would be me wondering why the GPS doesn't have basic watch features, especially an alarm. A GPS is in some ways a glorified, extremely accurate watch. The GPS does display time and date, and if I could set an alarm to go off at 6am in the morning, I could leave my watch at home (especially if it functioned with the GPS "off"). I would also like a feature that tells the unit to stop navigating. As far as I can tell, as soon as the GPS is turned on and acquiring satellites, it is recording data (especially track data). This is a minor pain when using the GPS for mapping something like a trail. The track will have to be heavily edited in a third party program to include only the information wanted in the data dump. Not a huge problem, but a menu option would be nice to turn off navigation, especially when using the GPS with the computer.

Finally, I have been having problems as mentioned with datums and coordinate systems and all those fun cartographic things, so my mapping data, which has been the main thrust of my GPS usage, is large on the numbers end and minimal on the pretty map pictures end (see right). I plan on rectifying this during the remainder of the test period using both Magellan and other additional third party software. The continued test plan is to get these problems worked out (and get out trail guide published!) and to continue to explore and use the many features on the SporTrak Color as originally outlined. I will make all the customizations and changes to the screens and data fields to "make it my own" which will aid in comfort and usability on my end. There are both plusses and minuses to this GPS, but overall this has been a very interesting and challenging test.

Reviews > Navigation and Map Gear > GPS > Magellan SporTrak Color 2003 > Dennis Shubitowski > Field Report