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aperry
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Joined: Jul 20, 2005
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 Posted: Wed Jul 20, 2005 7:23 pm Post subject: Backlight Intensity defaults to 0% when powering up |
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Question for the experts:
Everytime I power up the Quest I have no backlight. I can use the buttons and operate the device, but the backlight will not come on.
In order to get it to work I need to either press the power button (battery/backlight indicator) or go into Display Settings and adjust the Backlight level (which is always at 0% after powering up).
The interesting thing is that although the Backlight Intensity shows 0% within the Display Settings, it always shows "maximum" (slider all the way to the right) when I access the battery/backlight settings through the power button.
I have the Backlight Timeout set to 30 seconds, so I don't think this is the problem.
I can't imagine this is how it's designed to work, any suggestions?
I'm running with firmware version 3.50.
Thanks!
Aaron |
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elsinga
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| Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 6:43 am Post subject: |
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Only when operating on external power the Quest reverts to the previous used setting and stays on. On battery power it uses the timeout from the settings, but is off after powering the Quest on.
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Robert Elsinga =8- )
GPS V FAQ Quest FAQ
Home @ N 52"55.812', E 05"51.509' |
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aperry
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| Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 2:59 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the response.
That's good and bad news. The good news is that I don't have to return this thing under the suspicion that it's defective.
The bad news is that this appears to be a design flaw (IMO). This device does a nice job in minimizing the number of "clicks" (as we would say in the software world) that need to happen in order to perform most functions. Not remembering the backlight setting is just adding one more click everytime I turn the thing on (outside the cradle). It's an annoyance.
Also, the Quest has 20 hours of battery life. Enabling the backlight on power-up isn't going to drain the battery. At the very least this should be user-configurable.
Anyway, I'm done ranting. Don't get me wrong, I love this little thing. Just a little disappointed.
Aaron |
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scoobyweb
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| Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 4:59 pm Post subject: |
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It will remember the backlight setting, once you've switched it on and you've gone past the splash screen, press the power button once and the backlight screen will come up with the setting you last left it at.
Keith |
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aperry
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| Posted: Thu Jul 21, 2005 5:22 pm Post subject: |
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Yes, maybe I'm not describing the problem correctly.
It does indeed remember my last setting, it just forgets to enable it (until I hit the power button and then the "ok" or "back" button, two clicks which I'd rather not deal with in the first place).
Frankly I'm surprised it acts this way. The screen is so bright and clear when the backlight is on (indoors). I'd think that Garmin would want to take every chance to show this off.
PDA's don't work this way (all the ones I've used anyway), why should the Quest? |
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elsinga
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| Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 7:23 am Post subject: |
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This isn't a design flaw, it's intentional. All Garmin's up to now have done it this way: backlight auto on (if enabled) on external power and off (but remembers last setting) on battery.
BTW, without backlight the Quest lasts 20hrs on battery, with backlight on 100% it only lasts 4 to 5 hours...
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Robert Elsinga =8- )
GPS V FAQ Quest FAQ
Home @ N 52"55.812', E 05"51.509' |
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aperry
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| Posted: Fri Jul 22, 2005 3:02 pm Post subject: |
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| elsinga wrote: | This isn't a design flaw, it's intentional. All Garmin's up to now have done it this way: backlight auto on (if enabled) on external power and off (but remembers last setting) on battery.
BTW, without backlight the Quest lasts 20hrs on battery, with backlight on 100% it only lasts 4 to 5 hours... |
I realize it's intentional, but this does not prove that it's not a design flaw. I believe it's a design flaw that this isn't user-configurable. Garmin does not know how these will be used, and therefor it should allow users to configure whether or not the backlight is enabled by default on power-up.
That being said, I think I can understand Garmin's reasoning here. This whole issue only applies to people who are using it as a handheld (does not apply to car navigation). And unlike normal handhelds (phones, PDAs, etc), this thing is really designed to be used outdoors. We all know that the backlight is useless outdoors (you can see the screen just fine without it). So Garmin assumes that in handheld mode the user is likely outdoors and therefore the backlight should be disabled by default.
However, Garmin failed to realize that people like to do things at night too! And we like to play with the thing indoors (where the backlight is necessary)! Therefor I still think that a setting would be very useful and it's somewhat annoying as it is.
As a side note: I've been playing with this thing a lot at work (indoors). I've also been "showing it off" to friends. The power button thing is not intuitive. Nonetheless, I still love this little gadget. |
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elsinga
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| Posted: Sat Jul 23, 2005 7:34 am Post subject: |
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So, mail this request to Garmin. They have implemented suggestions I made in the past... ;)
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Robert Elsinga =8- )
GPS V FAQ Quest FAQ
Home @ N 52"55.812', E 05"51.509' |
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