Yet Another Cycling Forum
General Category => The Knowledge => GPS => Topic started by: PaulF on 21 April, 2011, 10:32:23 am
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I have a greyscale eTRex that I'm finding difficult to read when on the bike and am thinking of changing to a Legend Hcx.
Will I notice a difference with the colour maps in terms of visibility etc.?
Or should I be thinking of a different device? I find the eTrex easy to use and have bike mounts etc.
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You might even find the colour screen worse. I haven't used a grayscale one but from what little I've seen of them, they look more contrasty to me.
One thing you do get with the colour Etrexes is much longer battery runtime.
A Legend C and a Dakota.
Bright lowish sun, facing into the sun.
(http://www.aukadia.net/gps/dak-sun1.jpg)
Same conditions but back to the sun - body shading the sun, but screens reflecting bright sky.
(http://www.aukadia.net/gps/dak-sun2.jpg)
Overcast (plus a few raindrops)
(http://www.aukadia.net/gps/dak-cloud.jpg)
One thing I have noticed with the colour Etrexes (partner and I have 4 between us) is that the screen brightness is quite variable - you could get a good one or a very bad one, it's just pot luck, nothing to do with the model. Of the 4 we have, one is much better than the one pictured above, one slightly better, and one much worse.
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Maps are just better with colour.
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The colour screen is less contrasty in daylight than the greyscale one, though is probably the best in its class.
It is however a higher resolution, and has a *much* better (and less power-consuming) backlight.
I don't find colour adds anything to the clarity of gadget-based maps (I do find it helps to reduce clutter somewhat on paper), as it tends to give designers an excuse to be half-arsed with contrast. My colour perception's distinctly non-standard, though.
I have a greyscale Legend and a Vista HCx. Can do some side-by-side photos if you like (though obviously will have to wait until tomorrow for daylight)?
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Having graduated from the original basic yellow etrex through 2 other models to the current Legend HCx I would certainly say that the colour is worth having (with the Garmin City Nav Europe, or whatever it's called ... it showed a dirt-track off a remote lane in Majorca!)
Have to confess that I also have almost all the 1-50 000 OS of the UK on my phone (from Mem Map - it's in a number of files as there's a size limit) and that really is the ultimate mapping.
Rob
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Having graduated from the original basic yellow etrex through 2 other models to the current Legend HCx I would certainly say that the colour is worth having (with the Garmin City Nav Europe, or whatever it's called ... it showed a dirt-track off a remote lane in Majorca!)
I'd also say the newer model was worth having for non-screen-based reasons. The OP doesn't say which model they have currently, but I'd say that any of the USB/SD card based ones are a massive improvement over the older serial models. Just bung the whole country's maps on the card and no more faffing about downloading tiles before each trip. The high-sensitivity GPS recievers are also significantly better.
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Having graduated from the original basic yellow etrex through 2 other models to the current Legend HCx I would certainly say that the colour is worth having (with the Garmin City Nav Europe, or whatever it's called ... it showed a dirt-track off a remote lane in Majorca!)
I'd also say the newer model was worth having for non-screen-based reasons. The OP doesn't say which model they have currently, but I'd say that any of the USB/SD card based ones are a massive improvement over the older serial models. Just bung the whole country's maps on the card and no more faffing about downloading tiles before each trip. The high-sensitivity GPS recievers are also significantly better.
Exactly - the serial connected ones were very flaky with the transfer - that's why I traded up a couple of times (the best bit being that for reasons only know to ebay, I got more for the ones that I sold than I had paid for them!)
[Admittedly the first one was bought in Walmart in the US .... at the "outdoor pursuits" section ... "Shells for your gun? - sure they're on that shelf just load your cart. "Shotgun?" ... sure, which one do you want. but I'll need to see some ID. ONLY in America!]
Rob
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SCIENCE!
Photography's a bit naff I'm afraid, but should give you a reasonable idea. This is an eTrex legend and an eTrex Vista HCx. Both have screen protectors fitted, and have been about a bit.
Direct sunlight, viewed from an angle to avoid camera reflection:
(http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery_albums/garmins/IMG_2651.sized.jpg) (http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=garmins&id=IMG_2651)
Indoors with flash (taken accidentally, maybe useful for reference):
(http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery_albums/garmins/IMG_2655.sized.jpg) (http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=garmins&id=IMG_2655)
Indoors, no direct light:
(http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery_albums/garmins/IMG_2659.sized.jpg) (http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=garmins&id=IMG_2659)
Dark room with backlight (Vista HCx backlight at ~15% for correct exposure, it'll go *much* brighter):
(http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery_albums/garmins/IMG_2663.sized.jpg) (http://www.ductilebiscuit.net/gallery/view_photo.php?full=1&set_albumName=garmins&id=IMG_2663)