Cycling Experiences…

Well, we are almost down to the wire. There are only 18 more days until the tour begins and 14 days until my scheduled departure. Final orders have been placed and most items received. I have a cook set to get locally and and initial supply of food to buy. Of course, I have to setup and pack the quad. Will all I have fit. That is to be determined.

Two of the last items purchased are components that I hope will allow me to blog, providing I have Internet access. They are the PowerGorilla & SolarGorilla. Together they should give me up to 5 additional hours of computer use. With daily sun, I expect they will sustain me through our camping periods. I did not use the rack discussed in the above link. Rather, I designed a mount for the top of the trailer. It is functional and looks okay also. Here is are a few pictures:

Issue

My original plan was to use my water resistant Stanley FatMax® Toolbox for storage. But, given the evolution of SCEPTER and my field workstation setups [see my WebCams, this box was doomed to be used to contain & hide what I've seen exposed on many cycles. In the past, I've used panniers, bags, & tubes. The three boxes I've configured are special and seem to increase in functionality as I go. I just do not like riding a cycle with lots of "stuff" exposed.

The question is where do I put my stuff? I am considering a Burley Flatbed with 2 more water resistant boxes. I do not think either would be doomed to be a container for something fancy. I do have trailer lighting to consider. Ashley Guy, I have a question? But, I digress…

Okay, you know I have a boom setup to use my iPhone 3GS to live stream video to the Internet. Just for reorientation on non-power features of the body. Here are a few other items.

As with all my cycles, I strive to setup a functional and uniquely different "ride." that you are not likely to see as you ride about. I believe I achieved that with my VK2, my RANS SXP, my CT700, and my RANS Citi CF. Why should my quad be any different?  I think we are on our way to one special touring machine. I certainly appreciate the input and help from the BROL family. Thanks!

The flashlight has a story. I find it quite functional. It exist because of the need to hide an error. I just cannot seem to be able to drill 4 holes on a straight horizontal line. The larger the holes are, the more they seem out of alignment. I used the top of the serrations at the bottom of the box as a guide. At least now, the DiNotte and my horn connector appear straight. Velcro was to do the hiding—industrial strength Velcro. Then, I have a seam. One of the light mounts we "all" keep to the rescue. Then, I do not like the Velcro I wrapped around the light, thus a fashioned "heel" rest. Hey, it looks okay and it works. I'm having  jalexartis etched into the flashlight. This is a special/custom quad. What do you think?

My BROL Quad [Fargo] Setup Thread

SCEPTER ~ Two items:

1. Installed a quieter fan, with a 3-wire modular connector [female] ~ I had the male component is a computer box of connectors [from my Computer Dr., Inc. business days]. Cleaned up the wiring and tidied up this tidy box.
2. Prepared a near water resistant bottom-end for my OtterBox 3600 [cable-pass-through kits are not to be found]. Dressed up the top-end to conceal exposed wiring.

The microphone; the containers; and the junction box.

details…

My plan was to give you pictures and details on my mods & more mods today. Please give me another day.  THANKS!

SCEPTER [Single-purpose, Cycling Experiences, Pan & Tilt, Event Recorder] is evolution in motion. After picking up a stereo extender cord, a grommet, solder, and other miscellaneous items and then installing the cord, the grommet, and power cord for the panohead, there was not sufficient daylight for good photographs.

In addition, I added a junction box to shield the connection from weather and make a better presentation. In my box of “stuff” I have 2 OtterBox 3600, with one cable-pass-through kit. I think my box is vintage ‘96 [no longer being sold, and I need another cable-pass-through kit]. I’ll call Monday and if they are no longer available, I will improvise.

Anyway, it gives me the modularity and protection I want. Plus, it looks good.

I owe you on what I’ve done with the parabolic microphone, the SCEPTER containers, and now the “junction box.” Trying for Sunday, 12/13. We are to have rain. Oh yes, those of you who have been checking my WebCam Page have seen much of what I have done. The cameras have been trained on my work.

Also, to do—a case exhaust fan.

Today [12/11] has been a busy day!

I modified the following:

The parabolic microphone The SCEPTER containers

I hope to get a report with pictures up Saturday, 12/12

It may not appear so, but a lot of work has been going on with the WebCam setup [SPECTER], some of it busy work. I have looked at hundreds of cameras, specs & reviews, seller sites and the manufacturer—Sony, Canon, JVC, Panasonic, and more.  I’ve looked for USB Streaming, USB 2.0 streaming, firewire [ieee 1394 streaming]. Express cards with firewire—must fit a 25mm slot-there are none. I wanted Apple’s iSight [a firewire camera].

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This is with regard to using the Sony HDR-CX100 Handycam [that I was misadvised to buy by a Sony Sales Staffer]. I was told by a sales staff supervisor on Tuesday, 12/03, that he would call with a solution on or before Thursday, 12/05. Well, today is Sunday, 12/06, and I have heard no more. I’m really disappointed with Sony and have NO plans to buy other products from them.

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Yesterday, we had moderate to heavy rain in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It was the day to see how wet SCEPTER would get in rain coming straight down. The system, as set, protects the cameras, the computer, wiring and adapters. I give the setup an A-.

Although there was no “rain” on the cameras, over time [tested for a hour] there was a collection of moisture from mist resulting from a slight wind. I’d prefer to have none–B+. I think a large canopy may stop this. I do not intend to use one. If the rain is too hard or blowing from the side, I’ll have to bring her in. Any umbrella smaller than one with a 64” diameter would not have worked.

The inside of the box [I call it “Tidy Box”  ~ explanation later] at the rear-end of the buggy holding AC adapters, plugs, sockets, etc. was bone-dry–A+, as was the box containing the laptop–A+. Where I could open this box, I would not open the one with the wiring and so forth. Overall, this part of the setup performed as desired and as expected.

The bed of the buggy got wet—as expected. To keep it dry, I need a “skirt.” That is a valid consideration.

Conclusion: If an event continues in the rain, I am set today to capture video.

Other Pics…

This was an upgrade of Windows Vista Home Premium. A Windows Anytime Upgrade to Windows 7 Professional is still in order for the SCEPTER laptop as well as the laptop that I upgraded today.

For the most part uneventful, but long [just over 3 hours]. I had a blue screen crash on getting to the desktop. I used MSConfig in the Safe Mode to help isolate the cause of the crash. Webcam 7 is the culprit. It runs fine on the SCEPTER laptop; therefore, it will here also. My conclusion is the high resolution of the Logitech Webcam Pro 9000 camera caused the crash. I’ll resolve that problem after publishing this article. It is interesting that there was no problem on the Windows Vista Desktop.

The HP upgrade package of 2 disks had all the drivers I needed. The process also included a BIOS update. I have a few tweaks to do and maybe then I can explore the new OS. I now have 3 computers running with it. There is one more to go.

Now to get Webcam 7 back online… [Unable to resolve, required a clean OS install--vids are back]

Jim

Perhaps you read of my woes in finding a a quality camera for cycling action video. As I wait for a resolution to that issue, here is a general update on the WebCam Page and my camera placement.

…the details