60csx map color

[+trimguy]

When I look at many of the map page screen shots from the 60csx (internet and the manual), the color of the land is a nice bright yellow. Mine is a light brown or yellow/brown. Changing the color scheme has no effect and my brightness is set to 100%. How do I get the bright yellow? I have parts of Topo Canada loaded but that shouldn't effect anything. Thanks.

[+wkmccall]

When I look at many of the map page screen shots from the 60csx (internet and the manual), the color of the land is a nice bright yellow. Mine is a light brown or yellow/brown. Changing the color scheme has no effect and my brightness is set to 100%. How do I get the bright yellow? I have parts of Topo Canada loaded but that shouldn't effect anything. Thanks.

 

That's because the screen-shot colors will be different than what you see on the actual GPS screen. If I'm not mistaken, the GPS is 256 colors (I think).

[snowfleurys]

When I look at many of the map page screen shots from the 60csx (internet and the manual), the color of the land is a nice bright yellow. Mine is a light brown or yellow/brown. Changing the color scheme has no effect and my brightness is set to 100%. How do I get the bright yellow? I have parts of Topo Canada loaded but that shouldn't effect anything. Thanks.

I had that concern when I got my 76csx. Garmin tech support could not comprehend it. They said the color could not be changed. The Garmin GPS screen capture program produces a bright yellow background. It is somewhat hard to see features on maps in indoor artificial light, but is OK outdoors in natural daylight.

[+DavidMac]

It's a hardware limitation. The image actually "is" yellow on the GPS screen... it's just that the hardware can't actually display it as a nice rich yellow, but as more of a muted yellow-brown. Same with reds and purples... they come out being slightly more maroon than what you'd see on a computer display.

[+trimguy]

Shortly after I posted, I downloaded xImage and took a screen shot. Sure enough, it was bright yellow which made me conclude that the GPS was not capable of displaying the bright yellow. Your responses confirmed this - Thanks.

[segler999]

What I notice on mine is that the color changes when you rock the unit back and forth vertically. If my eyes are "below" perpendicular axis to the screen, the colors all wash out a little and look about the same. At that point I can see only a few contour lines (Topo map), but dark markings still show up fine.

 

If, however, I rotate the screen "down" so that my eyes are "above" the perpendicular axis to the screen, I can see a lot more details and more color contrasts.

 

I keep the screen full-bright when on the 12-v cable in the car.

 

Is this everyone else's experience as well?

[+trimguy]

Just tried your tilting the screen exercise and I get the same results.

 

Isn't it a bit ironic that we now have devices that can pinpoint our location to within a few feet (with respect to the entire world!), yet we are not quite satisfied. We want the screen to be a different color (speaking only about myself of course).

[+DavidMac]

Isn't it a bit ironic that we now have devices that can pinpoint our location to within a few feet (with respect to the entire world!), yet we are not quite satisfied. We want the screen to be a different color (speaking only about myself of course).

 

It could be frustration over the fact that while handheld electronic devices have been improving drastically over the last decade or so, display technology seems to be stagnating. Granted, the 60 series is approaching 5 years of age, and it's display is miles ahead of the "color" LCD displays of older units like the Garmin 176C, but it seems like newer units have been moving backward. While we get sharper resolution and more colors on the newer Colorado/Oregon series, it can be very difficult to read these screens with no backlight (this was never a problem with the 60).

 

It's not just GPS units, but laptop displays, too. Ever notice the color shift you get when viewing an LCD at an angle? I have some 4-5 year old displays that keep true to their color at angles even above 75 degrees, but that angle seems to be slowly shrinking on newer models. But that's a rant I'll save for a Slashdot journal, not here.