I recently took one of these to the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Performance was fast and flawless, with one irritating exception: the on/off switch is so sensitive that almost anything that touches the face of the keypad will turn the receiver on. If this happens in your pack, the result is dead batteries. I've called Magellan about it and had to leave a message. So far, I haven't received a reply (which is also annoying). I checked at REI, where I bought the Blazer originally and they've had several complaints about this. It also seems to be a problem with Garmin receivers.Philip Lohman

I recently took one of these to the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Performance was fast and flawless, with one irritating exception: the on/off switch is so sensitive that almost anything that touches the face of the keypad will turn the receiver on. If this happens in your pack, the result is dead batteries. I've called Magellan about it and had to leave a message. So far, I haven't received a reply (which is also annoying). I checked at REI, where I bought the Blazer originally and they've had several complaints about this. It also seems to be a problem with Garmin receivers.pPhilip Lohman

This item is useful for the novice and expert alike. It allows the user to see his/her location at all times ( in lat/long, or the UTM) and it allows the user to plot courses. What more do you need?pWhen the blazer 12 is used in conjunction with a map its performance has been flawless for me. However, it can be used without a map if all you are doing is marking and traviling to and from known locations. The accuracy seems to be as close to dead on as a gps can get.pThis is a great product for those who want just a basic navigation tool. I just don't have anything bad to say about it. I suppose if you wanted an automapping feature or external int. or pc interface capability this is not the one for you.

The Blazer 12 is a user-friendly and ergonomically efficient tool for basic tracking and location information. The altitude feature is also great if you are calibrating weather equipment. Sure, you can spend $50 more and get more bells and whistles, but this unit offers all the essential information you need for basic urban and rural expeditions. I will have to admit I am fairly good at direction anyway, but this model helps verify where I think I am. Like any other gadget used for the novice explorer, it is complimentary, but shouldn't be used as your last line of defense. If you need a GPS for IFR Flying or deep woods camping, buy one of the really expensive downloadable map GPS'. But if you just want to know where you are and where you are going, and where you have been...this does all that for you.

This thing works fairly well. I got it for free from a car dealer promotion, so really can't complain. On trips I can program lat/long into the unit and hit the waypoint within 0.01 miles consistently. The unit is tough, rugged, and will take a lot of abuse. Battery life is well over 10 hours, but starts to really drop off once the backlight is used.
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br /The only real downfall with this unit is that it takes a very, very, very, VERY long time to get an initial fix if the batteries die or are removed longer than 20 minutes. It forgets EVERYTHING and must be reset. The reset program loads the system with a default location you specify (i.e. US states, Candian provinces, etc.) and the unit then tries to figure out which satellites can be seen from a "default" lat/long preprogrammed for that state. Sounds great...Works lousy. For example I'm in the far Southwestern tip of Virginia. Only problem is that the default location for Virginia is 5 degrees East of me in longitude...meaning the unit really can't see the sats it thinks it can. And to compound the problem, I live equidistant from the preprogrammed locations for TN, KY, WV, VA, and NC.
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br /I put fresh batteries in mine today, plugged in the way points I wanted to go and took off. An hour's drive later I arrived at my destination (luckily, I didn't need the GPS..this time). Still no lock. Then came home and put the unit on my back fence. Two hours later, it locked for the first time. Now it works right off the bat.
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br /Overall, not exceptionally bad for the right price, but know what you're getting into beforehand. It's not a unit that you can slap batteries into and go on a whim.
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I too use this unit for VFR air navigation....manually entering lat/long from current AFDs, Flight Guides, airnav.com, or landings.com
br /It works perfectly.
br /When bearing and heading are identical--inevitably, when it says you are 30 miles or less from the airport, you can make it out on the nose.....amazing!
br /WAY easier to use than the Garmin Etrex.
br /I bought a second one as back-up...kind of a pilot thing. I run the primary one on the Magellan 12v lighter socket adapter.
br /(Non-aviators note that an FAA approved panel-installed GPS can easily exceed $1,500)
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br /It's very valuable for driving, too. It's not too difficult to get lat/long from a variety of sources. (If you need turn by turn prompts, you might not be much of a driver OR navigator.) If it says go 045, find some way to get east and north.
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br /A tip for GPS users:
br /Find yourself a Britannica World Atlas at a used book fair. What you are after is the 200 pp index of World cities at the back. ALL significant World Cities are given in lat/long, even US cities under 5,000 population---so you can always have the answer to "....how much further, Daddy?"

All, google the internet. "Magellan GPS" Complaint
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br /You will find this company has terrible customer service. The product may work when you get it but if you ever need assistance forget it. Also Maps never seem to get updated.
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br /Take the risk if you like.

I am disapointedt hat there is no product information on the 21 Aug 1999 - End of Week (EOW) issue or it's Y2K Complience in is Information on the Amazon Site. This is the only reason why I have bought this right now ! Cheers, BK.

I traveled to Ohio from New York. I just plotted the Lat. and Long. from a sectional, guessing the approx coord. At .19 miles from destination, I tilted a wing and the runway was straight down, WOW was I imprerssed!!