Magellan RoadMate 1700
It looks like Magellan has a super-sized GPS coming soon. The Magellan RoadMate 1700 is starting to appear in stock reports (though out of stock currently) at a few retailers including Best Buy. We expect this GPS to be similar to other recent RoadMate models with one large exception, a seven inch display!
While there have been a few devices released in the five inch range and a few others in the six and seven inch range, we expect to see more XL sized GPS devices to come out this fall. Many will be marketed towards truckers and RV drivers (the really big displays) while the 5″ models will likely try to convince regular drivers that the 3.5 inch displays of the past are GPS history. (And more likely try to convince people that their smartphone screen is too small for GPS.)
As for specs, the Magellan RoadMate 1700 will come with maps of North America, text-to-speech, AAA Tour Book, lane assistance, and route planning. Initial prices should be around $299 and we’ll expect it will become available soon.
| Store | Rating | Best Prices |
|---|---|---|
Compare all prices on the Magellan RoadMate 1700 Auto / Road GPS ranging from $249.99 to $299.99. | ||
 |  In stock at Dell.com | $259.99 |
 | In stock at CompUSA.com | $279.99 |
 |  In stock at Crutchfield | $249.99 |
 | In stock at TigerDirect.com | $279.99 |
 | In stock at Sears.com | $299.99 |
 | In stock at Kmart | $299.99 |
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OK, I bought one of these units. Previously, I had read that the A/V input would accept the signal from a back-up camera. I tried to confirm this with the store and Magellan, but did not get a firm response. Does anyone have experience with other Magellan models that have an A/V input and using a back-up camera? This is for a large SUV and it would be great if it worked. I have about 25 days to decide or return the GPS.
…an A/V in that lets you use the RoadMate 1700 as a WVGA (800-by-480-pixel) 7-inch LCD display for another device, though Magellan doesn’t include the necessary cable.
i need a 3.5mm a/v cord to my ipod classic from my magellen 1700 gps
We have a TomTom one now and the thing that we hate the most about it is that it can take anywhere from a minute to 15 minutes to “locate a signal.” Does anyone who has this unit (or any Magellan unit for that matter) as to how long it typically takes to “locate a signal?”
I have a TomTom ONE and it gets a signal within seconds most of the time. See Acquiring Satellites for tips.
Interesting information although I can’t say it’s all that accurate. We’ve had a signal, went to a location, turned our
TomTom off, went to (sic the museum) returned to the car, turned the GPS on and still had to wait 15 minutes for a signal.
Thanks though, we’ll try some of the things they suggest and see if that helps.
Providing there is a clear line of site (ie: not indoors, inside a metal bldg, etc.) the 1700 takes anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds to aquire signal. In my area, it’s typically quick, 5 to 10 seconds max. On a recent trip from NYC to NH, it also kept good aquisition during bad weather, never lost signal. It’s an excellent unit.
Unlike other satellite based communication systems, the frequencies used by GPS were picked because weather has virtually no detectable impact on reception.
I purchased the Roadmate 1700 for my own personal use & I love it!
It receives signal quicker than my Garmin, even in the garage. Basic GPS functions just as they should be.
The display is huge but the color contrast (in day mode) is lacking (the only adjustment is brightness & it ships turned all the way up), especially when compared to my Garmin nuvi. Simple solution was to leave the 1700 in “night mode”.
My only other complaint is the mount. It is very compact which places the unit just out of reach when attached to the windshield in both of my vehicles. The mount is also not quite up to the task of keeping the unit steady – unless the GPS is physically touching the dash it wobbles like a bobble head. I’ve since modified a Garmin mount to use with the Magellan & solved this problem.
I have the 1700 partly because of the video input feature. After trying several things that did not work and a couple of emails I called Magellan and at firat they gave me the company line that just connect a video cable from your device to the 3.5 plug. I told them I did this with my ipod and nothing happened and I then asked for the exact cable needed. They put me on hold…grrrrrr. When they returned they told me they are currently writing firmware to allow the unit to accept video from outside sources. She asked if I would be patient. She did not know when this would become functional. False advertising for sure. If anyone has a better ending story to using the video input please share.
Barry:
Im thinking about purchasing a 1700 due to the screen size and the video input jack. One other thing you help me with, Is there an antenna jack to connect an external antenna? Thanks for your time..
brucear@gmail.com
Bruce…….No there is not an antenna jack. I have not even found a cable to connect my ipod to the video.
Good Luck
i need to know where to get the cord to connect my ipod to my magellen 1700 a/v input
I got my magellan and I love it. One problem for me is that I would love to track my family trips. There is always a shorter way found from point A to point B and I would like to store these roads as we travel them. If you know something I don’t please share the news, OK.
I have a Magellan 1700 GPS with 7 inch screen. I’m trying to find a backup camera that will plug into it. If anyone can give me information on this, I would appreciate it.
I was lead to believe the 1700 can be used as a backup camera display. I can’t find any information on this. Does anyone know what camera will work with the 1700 and how to operator it?
Don, I don’t have much info, but checkout this post in our forums (Need list of units that have AV inputs for backup cam) where the 1700 and backup cameras are briefly discussed.
Hello All……I have the 1700….I want to run video on it from my Ipod. Can anyone tell me the EXACT cable to buy? I have had no success.
Thanks
Barry:
Like many that have commented on the web, I have had trouble getting the AV input to work. I found a review on Amazon.com that recommends the purchase of a cable from Apple. I have not tried that yet. If you find any success let us know.
Magellan doesn’t seem to be providing any useful solutions. The standard answer to support calls is to \just plug in the 3.5 mm cable\.
John
John…..I have been to an Apple store with the Magellan in hand…..they had nothing that would work. the 3.5 plug obviously has to be video and audio and I have found nothing other than some plugs for Ipod that work with some car in dash components. I need to look again but I think Crutchfield has a potential solution…they sell alot of good stuff and are super helpful on the phone…unlike Magellan who has only idiots. I don’t have the time at the moment but if you do a chat with them online they can probably hook you up with something that ‘might’ work…let me know if you have success. =)
Barry
Someone wrote that to connect it to iPod to watch video you need to use the red plug for video and yellow+white for audio. Most people would use the standard yellow cable for video signal. Below is the relevant part of the post:
“But most importantly, if you have an iPod without (or even with) a screen, you might love this AV input feature. I use my GPS in the car for, you guessed it, gps, but then, when I leave the car? I use my GPS to watch video or listen to music on the unit! (Need to buy a car lighter to AC cable). If you work in film/video, this is an amazing little monitor!!!
NOTE: For those with problem getting video to show, use the RED adapter for video instead of Yellow, and YELLOW, WHITE for audio. (Your ipod has YELLOW for Video, connect it with an adapter to the RED of your gps cable) and it works.”
Barry and Boris:
Thank you. I tried switching the red and yellow connections as Boris suggested. It worked! What a simple solution.
John
I’m a realtor and really need a trip planner. I previously used the 1412, and loved that feature. Since I have been using the 1700 I have had tons of trouble getting it to work with multiple destinations. I load them in after I set my initial address, then i get a voice prompt to confirm, but no button to confirm. When I hit the orange go button, it leads me to the first destination and rest have vanished and I have to enter the addresses after each stop. A real pain!! If anyone can help me with this feature please advise.
What do I have to do to get marine nav. on the Magellan 1700
Boris/John:
I am so happy someone has come up with a way to play video on this 1700. Unfortunately I have no idea what you mean. I must not be very bright but when you talk about red and yellow and white….what are you speaking of? The 1700 has a single 3.5 mini plug. No cable came with the unit so what cable are you speaking of? I need you to back up and point me to a store with what to buy =). Let me know what you know….take care.
Barry:
It is confusing.
Hopefully this will help you and others. The Ipod is designed to export A/V signal to TV. To do this you need to purchase an adapter cable ( called #1 for the purpose of this explanation) that Apple or other companies sell ( mine is a Scosche brand that I purchased at BestBuy). This cable runs from the port on the bottom of the Ipod and splits the A/V signal into three RCA cables. Normally, a yellow coloured cable is used for video and the red and white cables are for right and left audio channels. This is the same type of cable that you would use to go from a VCR or DVD player to your TV but it has one end that fits into the Ipod. Most TV’s or DVD’s have these coloured input jacks. Once you purchase this cable you can test that the Ipod video signal is working by pugging into your TV system. You will need to select “TV OUT: on” under the video settings menu of the Ipod to watch video from the Ipod on your TV.
Now things get interesting.
Since the Magellan unit uses an A/V Mini plug for input, you need to purchase an adapter #2 that takes three separate cables (red white and yellow) and combines them into one ending in an A/V mini plug with THREE black bands ( not two, which is used for stereo headphones). I purchaed mine from Radio Shack. To connect the cables from adapter #1 into the cables on #2 , electronics stores will have a $5 connector with 6 female receptors for RCA cables.
Normally you would connect the yellow cable on # 1 to the yellow cable on # 2, red to red and white to white. For some unknown reason, that someone figured out, to get the Magellan to receive the video signal you need to connect the yellow cable from adapter #1 to the RED cable of adapter #2, white for #1 to white on #2 and red from #1 to YELLOW on #2.
With this set-up, when you plug the mini- plug into the Magellan unit with a video running on the Ipod the Magellan screen automatically switches to the video. Originally the sound on my Magellan unit was muted but there is a touch- screen control for the sound.
I have not experimented to see if the unit will receive other forms of video signal, like a back- up camera, but I suspect it would.
Simple, huh….. Strange that Magellan would not explain any of this either in the instructions provided, or to the people providing technical support.
Good Luck
John
John:
Thanks so much for that thoughtful explanation. I will be running out to buy the appropriate cables. Why there is not a simple ipod plug that has a av mini plug on the other end available is beyond me.
Its getting close to a year since I first asked these questions and so I want to thank you again for taking the time to figure this out as I am sure there are so many people wanting this info.
Barry
Boris/John:
It worked just as you mentioned…..horrible setup of cables….. a simple ipod connector with a mini plus that has its yellow and red connectors internally switched would do just fine =)……I might invent it just for Magellan.
Barry:
If you do, charge them a bundle. They are ducking this.
John
John,
I will split it with you…..I think they may have discountinued the 1700……not sure so yes, we will need to charge through the nose =)
I bought model 1700 about year ago and the audio stopped working since 5 months ago. How can I restore the sound?
I have a magelan roadmate 1700 and it is great. I’m can’t seem to find a a/c adapter for it anywhere. Can anyone help me.
Gary, I have not bought this but I saw one on ebay for $4.99 under the search heading…….AC Power Adapter Charger Cable Magellan ROADMATE 1700…….we tried watching video off it in our hotel room a couple weeks ago and it lasted maybe 10 minutes and had been charged up so this would be handy to have.