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

Long-Term Report - Magellan SporTrak Color GPS

Report Outline

Tester Information <back to top>

I began backpacking in the early 1990s. I hike in every season including winter, and I also enjoy other outdoor activities like hunting, canoeing and riding horses. My beginning pack weights were monstrously heavy, but now my average three-season load for a multi-day trip, including food and water, is usually less than 25 lb (11.3 kg). Gear that I carry tends to be the lightest I can go without sacrificing comfort or convenience.

Basic Product Information <back to top>

Field Information <back to top>

During the long-term test period I have continued to use the SporTrack Color GPS receiver on a regular basis both around Michigan and when traveling to Florida. This report concludes in the "dog days" of summer in Michigan but you would not know it looking at the thermometer. This has been a record cold summer to this point - several degrees below the average high that is supposed to be around 90 F (32 C) as well as record low temperatures at night sometimes around 40 F (4 C). The GPS has seen mostly fair weather during use but was exposed to some rain. I mainly used the GPS in the Magellan carrying case design for the SporTrak series - it was easy to use while backpacking because it could be handily attached to my shoulder straps for easy access. The bulk of my use of the GPS revolved around a continued mapping project of a local trail system. This project allowed me to test a broad range of functions on the unit along with compatibility to a range of third party mapping and GPS software products.

Third Party Software <back to top>

Although this review is not about third party software, the use of the SporTrak Color is greatly enhanced by it. Managing the GPS was much easier using free software readily available on the internet like G7toWin and EasyGPS. I found that doing a lot of "data entry" on the GPS was very time consuming and quite a hassle due to the buttons and inherent problems of entering a lot of text on any GPS. The local trail system that a fellow tester and I mapped is only 36 miles (58 kilometers), but I estimate it needed nearly 150 waypoints to denote all the confusing junctions, loops, water sources, points of interest, road junctions, and parking areas. I would bring a waterproof notepad and just let the GPS sequentially number the waypoints while I took corresponding notes for later transcribing. At the computer, I never had trouble with software recognizing and communicating with the GPS, and I could download my ever-important tracks and waypoints, edit them, and easily move them back to the GPS when needed.

Unfortunately, the GPS is also made much more useful by software that is not free. The SporTrak color comes out of the package with a basemap of most of North America preinstalled. The basemap is pretty general and contains major roads and features. Getting off the main track leaves vast, empty spaces on the mapping page. To get the detail, additional maps must be purchased from Magellan and only Magellan (they are not included with this GPS). The MapSend line of products allow one to specify specific regions (within size limits) to upload into the additional 22 megabytes of memory available for such purpose. Uploading both peninsulas of the Michigan topographic maps (using three regions of the four available) took about 85% of the available memory. For my mapping project, even further products make a huge difference. Products like National Geographic Topo! or the Delorme product series bring synergy between the paper topographic maps and atlases I am used to using and the GPS unit. The maps from the products cannot be uploaded into the GPS, but routes, waypoints and tracks can be plotted on them and the data moved into the GPS, and more important, data acquired on the GPS can be moved and plotted onto these maps. In addition, a program like OziExplorer allows complete GPS data management with any digital map that you can obtain. Having the GPS alone allows me to do a number of things, but to take complete advantage of the possibilities of GPS use, third party software is almost a requirement. This needs to be factored in when thinking about the cost of these units.

The Outsides (Ergonomics) <back to top>

The "outer" features of this unit were its Achilles' heel for me as a tester. I thought the minuses outweighed the plusses as far as the GPS design of the SporTrak Color went. The selling point of the unit, which separates it from other units in the SporTrak line, is the color screen. I found the color screen to looked washed out, have low contrast, and show image distortion at the edges. It was very difficult to tell in daylight when the backlight was on - the unit had to be held at a severe angle to see if the light was on. Contrast is important because it allows me to easily read the screen data on the GPS and lessens the need for battery consuming backlighting. Depending on the viewing angle, the data and the screen can appear to be a fair distance "deep" in the GPS as opposed to "on" the screen - this effect often caused doubling of the data displayed on the screen. When I compared this screen to the SporTrack Topo grayscale unit that BackpackGearTest also tested, there was no comparison that the grayscale unit was clearer and more contrasty. I never saw a need for vibrant color while testing. The maps do not really show sufficient detail that it is necessary like shading between different terrain types on the map page (except for water), and in the subscreens it feels like color is used just because they can like using red on the graphic thermometer in the Weather subscreen.

The other big disappointment to me continued to be the buttons. I found the buttons frustrating to use. They are too close together and too small for how close they are to each other. The buttons are quite flush with the unit and depress with a soft click (there is also an option to beep each time a button is pressed - I quickly turned that off as it was annoying). It was too easy to mash the buttons or accidentally press two or more of them simultaneously. I found myself constantly using the edge of my thumbnail to navigate around the menus in an effort to make sure the correct buttons were pressed. I often had to escape out of menus and areas I did not want to be in and start over again due to an errant button press. This was especially irritating in button-intensive areas like searching for GOTO locations in the database. Many of my comments entered as I took waypoints are littered with misplaced characters and extraneous letters. This is one of the reasons I found it easier to use free waypoint management computer software.

The positives of the design include the clean lines and sleek look. I appreciate the fact I can operate the unit in either hand after using other GPS units. The functions and placements of the buttons are very intuitive. There is not a lot of extra finger travel and unnecessary movement needed maneuver through the menus. The rubber-like grip sits well in my palm and the ridges and O-ring bumper on the sides make a good catch for my fingers and thumb.

The Insides (Features) <back to top>

Lest I give the impression I really do not like the GPS, the stuff on the inside really makes up for the failings on the outside. The features and options on this GPS are outstanding and it functions far above any other GPS I have used. I am positively giddy over the antenna on this unit and its ability to find and lock on to satellites. The time from turning on the unit to navigation under normal conditions is lighting fast, and under really trying circumstances (like heavy tree cover or inside a house), it still locks on but can take a few minutes. This is heads and tails better than other units I have used where I got sick of looking at "signal lost" and "are there overhead obstructions?" types of messages and often was NEVER able to lock on to satellites until I came to a wide open clearing. I am still amazed at the ability of this GPS to grab often over six or seven satellites AND a WAAS satellite all in about 15 seconds when I am outside. There is almost no delay if the GPS is turned on in the same location as it was turned off (like when I was mapping trail segments and wanted to start where I left off in the morning). The SporTrak Color is really feature-rich. What is nice about the unit is that it is simple to operate and use for very basic things (geocaching, creating waypoints, creating GOTO routes), but when I dive into it there are layers of more options available. The unit feels completely customizable, and it can display just what you want to see. Each of the nine main screens can be shown on or turned off from display, and data cells in all fields are customizable with plenty of data options available. The GPS very accurately tells me where I am (although that does not necessarily correspond to the map that is displayed), and it has a fantastic electronic compass.

The maps that are available for the unit are not perfect and sometimes not very accurate. This is not a problem with the GPS - it can tell me exactly where I am - it is a problem with the maps. To be honest, it does not bother me greatly although it would be much appreciative if they were much improved, of course. Just recently, I climbed a local high point near the trail system we are mapping. Now Michigan is a pretty flat state, but this hill was even denoted on the map and the "summit" was marked. The area was rather brushy and tree filled, and I was navigating using the GPS to point me to where I needed to go as I was unfamiliar with the surrounding area. As I got close, I saw where the terrain went up, but the GPS told be I still had several hundred feet/meters to go to the west. I ignored the GPS and climbed the hill and stood atop the highest peak for miles/kilometers around, but the GPS map still told me I was a few hundred feet/meters away from the top of the hill. This kind of thing is pretty important in that I realized that I cannot rely solely on the GPS maps to navigate me. When I have followed other people's published coordinates, I have entered them into the GPS and it has lead me absolute spot-on to where I needed to go, but the GPS map still said I was standing in the middle of a river or some distance away from the named location. This problem is overcome in two ways - the first is that if I use the GPS maps to plan a trip, I also plan on not having any great accuracy to whatever it is I am marking. The second way to avoid this problem is to use other, more accurate options like directly finding latitude/longitude locations from trusted sources (like USGS topographic maps or third party software) and plugging the waypoints in that way, or otherwise I can use published waypoints and data that others have gathered and provided.

The map-inaccuracy problem only seems to be a problem at the higher resolutions. When hiking, I really only used scales from 12 miles (19.32 kilometers) and higher where the problem is compounded. At the lower scale resolutions, the error seems "covered" and I am shown where I am in general with high accuracy. When I took a trip down to Florida for a work conference, the GPS was the absolute coolest thing in the world to have on a plane. I used the GPS on the jet and it was just fantastically cool to see our general elevation (really high), a seemingly quite accurate speed (really fast), and, the best of all, a map of what was out the window. If anyone wants to see the clearest and strongest satellite reception, take a GPS up in a jet liner at cruising altitude. I am not a terribly frequent flyer, but when I have flown in the past, I have always wondered what exactly I am seeing out the window and often the pilot is not talking; with the GPS, I knew exactly what I was seeing and it made the trip much more interesting. According to the pilot, we were cruising around 35,000 feet (890 meters) - the GPS showed us around 38,000 feet (960 meters) with sustained speeds around 530 mph (850 kph). I have no way of verifying which party was correct (I'll assume the pilot was as he was doing the flying), but I can state that the GPS does measure elevations that high and speeds that fast. The GPS was also a huge hit for other very interested passengers in the row, most of whom were not familiar with GPS technology. When I reached my destination, I was in an unfamiliar area, so I set waypoints for the important locations I needed to be and used GOTOs, routes, and backtracking until I became familiar with the area. I did not have detailed maps of Florida, but it did not matter to me either - the basemap was sufficient for my traveling needs.

Main Screens <back to top>

The nine main screens are easily accessed/scrolled through by pressing the Navigate button for forward scrolling and the Escape button for reverse scrolling. Other subscreens are only available by pressing the Menu button. Pressing the Menu button on any main screen also puts options available for those screens at the top of the menu that pops up in addition to the options available on every screen. For instance, there are normal options that are available on every screen (in order): Mark, Database, Routes, Setup, Vertical Profile, Weather, Tide, Sun/Moon, Fish/Hunt, Contrast, Alarms/Msg, Map Utilities, Help, and About. Each of those options will take me to further subscreens and sometime additional subscreens from those screens depending on feature. To list the map of all of the subscreens and options for every feature would be an absolutely huge table. Here are the additional main menu options for each screen:

These additional options are important because different things are done from the different screen submenus and it was sometimes difficult to remember where things were located. For instance, one of the common things I had to do while mapping trails was to turn tracking (the breadcrumbs that are left behind while moving) off and on. This can only be done from the Map screen under the Map Setup menu from there. I will go through each of the nine screens again and talk about the subscreens, features, and settings I used.

Satellite Status

I often stared at this screen during initial start ups - watching which satellites were being picked up and seeing how much battery was left according the meter. Nothing is available to customize on this page. I like this screen simply as a holdover from staring at other GPS units and it satisfies a slight geek-factor in me.

Map Screen

This is the main screen to me on the GPS. This is the first mapping GPS I have used and will not buy a GPS in the future without this feature (even if the maps are not perfect). The two data cells at the bottom of the screen can be customized, and I changed them every so often depending on my whim. There are quite important submenus from here that are essential in day-to-day GPS operation. The map information displayed on the screen can be cycled off or on by selecting Show/Hide Map Info. Map Setup allows selection of the Orientation of the map, the amount of Detail visible, the Track Mode, and selection of Primary Usage (land or water). Orientation will change how the map is displayed on the Map Screen - options available are Magnetic HDG Up, North Up, Course Up, or Track Up. I cycled between North Up and Track Up as the two I found most useful. North Up always displays the map with north at the top of the screen; the triangular cursor that depicts my positions stays in the center of the map and rotates around the point to the direction I am moving while the map moves underneath it. I probably used this orientation for the majority of testing. Track Up mode rotates the map around the cursor position (vice versa of North Up in a way) and the map displays what I see straight ahead of me. A second cursor appears in the upper right to point which way is north. I found the map slow to turn and lag behind my actual movement - it could be annoying to look at and it freaked me out as I am used to looking at maps from orienteering training where north is always up to me. I always left the Detail mode on highest (high, medium, low and lowest are the other options) as the map was never overly cluttered that I needed to display less data in the areas I frequented. Track Mode is where I turned tracking off and on as mentioned above. When tracking was on, it was always in Auto Detailed collection mode as I wanted the most information I could collect in the most efficient way. Primary Usage was always land - I was not able to use the GPS while boating during the test period.

Compass Screen

I loved the electronic compass and the Compass Screen. If I was navigating in the woods and was not looking at the map, I was usually looking at this screen and following a bearing. Speed and Distance are what was displayed in the two data cells available on this screen - they were probably the default settings. The annoyance of this screen is switching between the mode the compass uses - Magnetic North (electronic compass on) or GPS Course (electronic compass off). This is done through the Setup submenu that can be accessed from any of the screens. It seems like there are a boatload of button presses to get to Compass Orientation under Setup and then to choose there between the two options. I did not do any in-depth testing on the electronic compass. Every time I compared bearings from the electronic compass to my trusty Silva orienteering compass (which was pretty much continually as the compass was usually around my neck when hiking), the readings were identical. The electronic compass worked pretty much no matter how I held it (it was not particular about a certain hand position), and it was always pretty quick to respond. Kudos to Magellan on this electronic compass. This is another feature in a GPS I will not do without in the future.

Large Data Screen

I ended up turning this data screen off. I did not use the GPS while driving in a manner frequent enough to need this data screen. If I chose to use it, all the data cells are adjustable in what they display. This feature cannot be underestimated. The ability to turn unused screens off so they are not displayed when cycling through is very nice. The ability to adjust the data cell displays ranks even higher as well.

Position Screens

I only really used these screens when I was pairing the GPS with topographic maps or atlases that were not in the same datum as the GPS default (WGS84). This screen is also immensely useful when using the coordinates to find my position on a paper topographic map or atlas (when not using the map in the GPS). I was not able to figure out the problem that plagued me in earlier reports. The GPS can specify various datums as primary and secondary from this screen (and coordinate systems as well - I always used latitude/longitude as I am not used to UTM yet). Theoretically, if I was working with OziExplorer mapping software and scans of my own topographic maps, I could change the datum the GPS collects in to match the datum used on the map (say NAD27-CONUS), and then the track that would be plotted onto the map in OziExplorer would match up with ease. I found this not to be the case in my frustrating trials. It seemed no matter what I set the datums to display, the GPS always dumped WGS84 data and the result was often me literally walking on water when I tried to plot my tracks. I will have to figure this out if possible unless I want to waste the money I spent on OziExplorer. This kind of problem is far, far beyond the scope of any help manuals available that came with the GPS. Consulting outside resources and mapping groups available on the internet will be a necessity. What I described above describes two of the options available from the Position Screen submenus (Coordinate System, Map Datum). I never changed Elevation Mode (2D and 3D are the options) - I would always take 3D if I could get it, but then again I never really trusted the elevation data I received from the GPS. Projection is an option I did not really use - I did not need to project bearings or distances from my current position to a point in the database. This is a more technical way of doing GOTO routes in my mind. The odometer can also be reset from this submenu along with customizing the two data cells available on this screen.

Road Screen

I turned this screen off shortly after my Field Review was turned in. My frustrations were outlined in my earlier reports and they are still the same without further explanation. I found other screens much more useful to give me the data I needed instead of trying to figure the Road Screen. I used the GPS probably 80% hiking and 20% driving, and the Road Screen was not helpful to me either walking or driving.

Data Screen

I like the Data Screen. In fact, I wish there was an additional data screen that removed the strip compass and filled the screen with data cells - probably 10 would fit at the current screen size. This screen is simply the spot were I can put all the available options for the cells for whatever the interest is. I customized this screen often to play with the various options available.

Speedometer Screen

I ended up not really using the Speedometer Screen yet not turning it off either. The speedometer on my vehicle works just fine, and the speedometer at walking speeds was just too variable to be accurate - it fluctuated between 0 to 5 mph (0 to 8 kph) while walking a steady pace. There is also an odometer on the Position Screen so moving from the Position Screen to the Data Screen and back made this an easy screen to ignore. There are four data cells that I did customize and semi-regularly changed their display. The Trip Odometer I found not to be accurate and that was proven when tracks were uploaded into mapping software. I only used the odometer as an estimate of travel but did not rely on by any means in the test period.

Additional Screens <back to top>

Outside of the nine main screens, there are additional screens that are just as important as far as features go. These screens are available off the main menu from all main screens as described above.

Weather Screen

Along with the electronic compass, the Weather screen is uniquely available to this GPS unit. I am not much of a weather geek (unlike my wife) so I was not religious about monitoring this screen. It turns out I never had to calibrate it which I found quite remarkable. Each time I checked the temperature to forecasted weather or temperatures from other sources (like digital bank signs), the temperature was mostly spot on. The barometer also was quite accurate compared when compared with my local forecasts. The temperature gauge was easily influenced by direct sunshine which can be somewhat difficult to avoid while backpacking during the day. The barometer records trends over a 48 hour period, but there were usually large gaps in the data because I tended not leave the GPS turned on for long periods of time or overnight. But, for the test period, the barometer tracked well with the weather I was experiencing or about to experience. This screen does not do any prediction as to the weather nor does it tell me if it is sunshiny or rainy - it just gives raw data in degrees and inches of mercury and I need to know what those numbers mean when I look at it. All in all, a pretty neat feature to be included.

Sun/Moon Display

This is a very helpful screen but I did not delve into it to verify its accuracy. When I was hiking, I often checked this screen to see when the sun was going down, the moon was coming up, or what phase we are in. I am not the type of person to create moon charts and my awareness of these things is usually in the moment. The Hunt/Fish screen is also available from here (and vice versa) by pressing the right or left cursor key.

Hunt/Fish Times

I did not really use this screen even though I both hunt and fish. I was not surprised by the times that it gave, and I hunt and fish when I am able to and did not schedule it around when the GPS thought I might be successful. My local hunting laws very, very often varied from the times the SporTrak recommended which would get me in a lot of trouble with my state Department of Natural Resources officers.

Tide Screen

I never had the opportunity to use the tide function. I understand this feature is removed from newer firmware upgrades which is a real shame. This is surely a feature I would use when or if I travel to a coastal area.

Vertical Profile

I found the elevations the SporTrak Color recorded were not very accurate at all. This is perhaps compounded by Michigan being a relatively flat state where small errors make a big difference, but I did not get into any mountains to verify this. When I flew on the airline jet, the elevation was off quite a ways from the reported cruising altitude as well. My paper topographic maps offer much more accurate representations of ridges, terrain and valleys in the areas I hike. I gave up on the elevation when I was checking the accuracy of the elevation in the areas of greatest relief when I hiked. I recall standing at the top of one of the largest ridges on a southern Michigan hiking trail and estimating there were a couple hundred feet (50 to 100 meters) of elevation change (oooh!), and the GPS said I was looking at about a 20 feet (6 meter) drop. Sometimes I would be climbing ridges and my elevation was going down. It was really odd and I could seem to find no rhyme or reason for it. When I was on a ridge that was denoted on the map in the GPS, the elevation was pretty dead on though. My track histories often reported elevations I never attained as there was not a point that high in the areas I hiked. Because of all of these reasons, I did not really explore the Vertical Profile option. However, I could definitely see this being useful in areas of greater relief and trying to pick a path between two points while bushwhacking.

Help Screen

I found the Help Screen not at all useful and never referred to it outside of exploring the GPS features at the beginning of the test series. This was a real disappointment as it would make it handy for those that tend to not read the manual (like me). It would allow learning on the fly pretty easily if you get to a point of difficulty click up the help section and you could page through the help options for the screen you are in. Alas, no. I recommend this section include an actual help manual like what is included in book form with the unit or it be renamed Tips & Tricks or something similar.

Summary <back to top>

After plowing through about 20 sets of AA batteries through the unit, I think I have a pretty good feel for it, but it did take a while. I was disappointed with the outer features of the unit including the screen and the buttons. The layout of the buttons, however, was very intuitive and well designed. The features of the GPS really make up for the lackings on the outside - options, options, options. The maps are not the greatest, but then I did not really expect them to be. The MapSend maps and basemap are suitable for general navigation but they in no way replace my paper maps when I need more detailed navigation. The electronic compass and antenna absolutely rock on this unit - I love it. I also really appreciate the ability to completely customize the display of information by being able to turn screens off and on and swap out data cells. I would really like it if the GPS had an alarm and displayed date and time like a watch - I would even would not mind a watch battery in addition to the AA batteries to support this feature being "on" all the time when the GPS is off (there are data and time data cell fields available when the GPS is on). I should clarify an earlier nit where I had problem with the tracking - the tracking can be turned off and on as I mentioned, but it does not matter when the data is outputted - all of "dots" are connected regardless if data was collected or not. These types of things are relatively easy to fix post-data download though.

As of this report, our trail map is nearing completion. I do not have regular access to the additional software needed to finalize the maps and thus no pretty pictures for this report. Suffice to say, the SporTrak Color did an excellent and efficient job in general trail mapping. The results of project will be published and all data made available to area hikers interested in the trail. Thank you to Magellan and BackpackGearTest for the opportunity to test this unit and provide my opinion.

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