Magellan Meridian FAQ – Version 2.0
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Troubleshooting – Screen Spots
Some users have reported that the backlight on their Meridian began to develop dark discolored spots. These spots
are only visible when the backlight is turned on. Magellan has apparently fixed the problem that caused this to
happen with new units, and has promised to fix the problem under warranty for existing units (even if the unit is no
longer under warranty). Contact Magellan if this happens, and arrange for the problem to be fixed.
53)
Troubleshooting -- My Platinum’s Compass Doesn’t Calibrate
Sometimes you can calibrate your compass on the Meridian Platinum and it still point the wro ng direction – often
180 degrees the wrong direction. Also, when you try to calibrate the compass it may be very difficult to get the
bubble in the right location at the beginning of the calibration process.
A quick fix when direction is off by 180 degrees is to toggle the ‘Compass Orient’ in the setup menu to ‘GPS
Course’ and then back to ‘Magnetic North’.
These issues can also be resolved by performing the ‘additional’ calibration procedure as detailed in the
supplemental manual for the Platinum (pages 7 – 10). You can force the GPS to initiate this process by using hidden
menu 21.
“To execute the steps it is important to have the printout of these pages at sight, because while doing the 9 steps of
the procedure you cannot see the commands on the screen in all the necessary positions.” - edmaurer2002
54)
Troubleshooting - Low Battery Warning
Some users have notice an erroneous ‘Low Battery’ warning message during rough handling, even when the
batteries 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. Slightly bending
these contacts for better pressure or soldering the contacts (for those skilled with the sold ering iron). Note that a
modification such as soldering will probably void any warranty.
There is a file called MeriPlatBatComMod.jpg in the group’s files section that details the procedure, as performed
by gmcaddon.
55)
Troubleshooting – My Battery Compartment Door does not fit right.
The battery compartment door doesn’t appear to completely seal – there is a gap between the cover and the GPS. It
also seems loose. Rest assured this is the normal. If you remove the cover and look around the battery compartment
you will see a rubber seal, which is what is supposed to do the job of keeping the water out (unless dust or dirt
messes up the seal). So is your unit water tight? Well, maybe. In ideal circumstances, the unit provides a water-tight
seal, but some users have found out the seal is not always reliable. We recommend that you do NOT rely on the unit
to be water-tight – put it in a protective case/bag before you go swimming/kayaking/canoeing/tornado chasing or
taking a shower with it. Check the postings and you’ll find lots of references to waterproof cases.
56)
Troubleshooting – The contact area on my unit is missing its cover.
Actually, there is no cover. Having the contacts on the back of the unit exposed is normal.
57)
Troubleshooting -- Mapsend won’t read tracks/waypoints from SD card
The ability to save tracks and waypoints to the SD card is a great new feature provided in the latest firmware
versions. That should make it easy to download quickly from the SD card to your PC mapping software, right? Uh,
