B1.) How do I tell what version of software my Garmin Colorado is running?
Select Shortcut->System->Options->Software Version. You'll see two numbers 1) the Software Version and the 2) GPS Software Version. See the Versions page for more detail.
B2.) How do I change the first screen I see after I turn the Colorado on?
Select Shortcuts->Setup->Shortcuts. From the list select the page you want as your startup page and select "Move Up" until this is at the top of the Shortcuts list. When you power up with this profile set, this will be the first screen you see. Since this is dependent on profile, the screen you will see will be the first one in the Shortcut List for the profile you had selected when you turned the CO off.
B3.) I don't like the new Shortcuts way of navigating through pages, can I use the "page loop" found on some of the older Garmin GPSs?
Yes (sort of). Select Shortcuts->Setup->Shortcuts->Options->Use Page Loop. The right soft key becomes "Page" (vs. Shortcut) which will move you forward one page. However the loop is one way (there's no back button, only forward).
B4.) What's the deal, I had my backlight turned on full time now it is turned off (or very dim)?
The Colorado's power management turns the backlight down when the battery drops to 2 bars and it is turned off when it drops to one (red) bar. Audio tones are also turned off at low battery levels.
The setting Shortcuts->Setup->Display->Backlight Limiting->Off will partially disable this feature. Backlighting will be maintained at the set level until the battery meter drops to one red bar. With one red bar the backlight will be turned off and audio will be turned off.
B5.) Last night when I pressed the power button the backlight came on to a low level. Today when I do the same thing the backlight doesn't come on at all. What is going on?
When you press the power button the backlight with be turned on only if it is between sunset and sunrise (night). During the rest of the day the backlight needs to be turned on manually. The Issues List contains a "bug" requesting that this feature be turned off or at least have the ability to disable it.
B6.) How do I get the Colorado to remember my backlight setting so that I don't have to set it every time I turn the unit on?
You can't. This is a limitation (bug?) in the Colorado, the backlight must be set every time you turn the unit on.
B7.) Sometimes when I turn on my Colorado the time is off and/or I can't get satellite lock. What's going on?
This appears to be a hardware issue with some of the early Colorados. Some owners have reported that Garmin has acknowledged the problem and is replacing Colorados with this issue. I would suggest contacting Garmin customer support if you have this problem.
B8.) Can I add a custom startup message on my Garmin Colorado?
Yes, starting in Beta Software 2.92. Connect your Colorado to a computer in USB mass storage mode and edit file [CO drive]:\Garmin\startup.txt in a text editor like notepad. You can add several lines of text (at least 5) at the end of this file which will be displayed just before the first screen is displayed at power on. This feature is useful for adding contact information in case the unit is lost.
Modifying the line <display=0> in the same file will change the the number of seconds that custom startup message is displayed (i.e. <display=5> will display the messge for 5 seconds). Note your boot time will increase by the same number of seconds, so a value between 5-10 seconds is a reasonable setting.
B9.) Some foreign characters are not showing up in my Garmin Colorado custom startup message. How do I fix this?
The \Garmin\startup.txt file needs to be saved as UTF-8 encoding format to display all character sets properly. If you are using notepad to edit this file, select File>Save As and under "Encoding" select UTF-8 before saving the file.
