Mar
7
SatNavs Compared
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I had a journey to go on recently: Google Maps reckoned the outward leg should have taken 3 hours. The Garmin i3 (aka Psycho SatNav Bitch as ’she’ tends to taunt me with unrealistic targets, even the way I drive) reckoned around 2¼ hours. My Nokia N95-8GB with Nokia Maps, on the other hand, reckoned 4 hours. Something of a disagreement.
In the end, the combination of the time of day, the occasional spray and muck left over from gritting (even though it hadn’t been icy) and the way I drive meant it took 2½ hours.
The routes themselves were almost identical, the only difference being the route in or around Grantham.
And the other differences were:
- the Garmin had the speed camera database to warn me of “accident blackspots”;
- as the Nokia was on the cradle and connected to the car kit, every spoken direction muted the radio which is a tad annoying when the voice prompts get a little frantic; and
- the Nokia’s display also shows the current speed (good) and the time left rather than the ETA (bad).
Looks like there’s still no ideal solution for me, but the Saga-driver Nokia is closest as it’s so nicely contained within the phone.
Aug
25
Garmin Streetpilot i3
Filed Under Accessories, Garmin, Reviews | 2 Comments
I picked this unit up today. Halfords and Woolworths had the unit priced cheapest on their web sites, but neither would actually allow an order. When I rang Halfords, I was told the i3 was being discontinued, which would explain the price discounting I’d seen.
Lawks! It’s tiny: see the photo of it next to my Nokia 6230i for comparison.
It comes with the UK maps preloaded onto a teeny 128MB Transflash data card, a cigarette lighter 24V/12V power lead (it runs on 2x AA batteries otherwise), a USB cable and drivers CD, suction mount, dashboard mount (for the suction mount to fix to) and instruction booklet.
I had it working in under five minutes in my Ford Mondeo ST200 despite the heated windscreen elements (which can make things more difficult for the GPS, making it want an external antenna in some cases).
It took just a few seconds to set my home address and calculate a route home which it then reclaculated every time I deviated from it. The unit gives quite loud instructions and turn information and the volume can be altered or turned off. I used the “3D” view but there are two top-down views of the routing too and brightness, etc. can also be altered.
When I got home, I updated it for speed cameras, etc. The USB cable is used for modifying the maps and adding points of interest, such as speed camera locations which I downloaded from PocketGPSWorld and added to the unit in a few seconds using the downloadable Garmin POI Loader software.
As for on-bike use, the i3 is not marketed as a bike unit - it’s not rugged or waterproof but is claimed to be sunlight-readable which is handy. It fits in neatly-ish between and in front of the clocks using the sucker mount, but I’ll have to see if I can get a sturdier bar mount or something similar.
For an on-bike test, I wired up an accessory socket to the Kawasaki ZRX1200R and used the supplied cigarette lighter adaptor, running the cable from the accessory socket under the seat, under the tank and behind the clocks to the i3.
I then went for a ’spirited’ ride to test it properly. In Map View mode, the i3 displayed the location map (with different levels of detail dependent apparently upon speed), the next junction at the top of the unit, the direction in the small box to the bottom right and - usefully - the current speed in the bottom left hand box. Even in direct sunlight, the screen was readable: I have a black visor too. I didn’t try it with the voice prompts (although there are two web sites with instructions on how to wire up a headphone socket and headphone) but found it easy enough to see the screen and the speed camera warnings.
The unit can show the planned route on a turn-by-turn basis, but on the downside, you can’t program any stops into your route or make it route via a certain road or town.
So, would I recommend it? Yes. Where can you buy one? That depends: there are a lot on eBay although prices of new ones remain high. Comet sell them too - I got mine there thanks to a discount I get - or you can buy one through my Amazon shop.
Aug
21
RPM :: Reviews Per Month Online Store
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Just added is a new online store to promote this site, operated by us using amazon.co.uk. There’s a link over there in the sidebar or you can access it directly using this URL:
http://astore.amazon.co.uk/rpmrevipermon-21
Jul
2
Erde Trailer
Filed Under Accessories, Erde, Trackdays | Leave a Comment
So back in January 2005 a nice man from DHL arrived with my shiny new bike trailer on his lorry and I moved the boxes into the garage where they were in the way.
I decided that I would assemble that night whilst Mrs. RHM was at work, so at 6.30pm I headed outside and began unpacking the parts and assembling it like some giant Meccano set. All went remarkably well until the last pair of guard rails whose bolts and nylock nuts were a real bugger to get at and more particularly get a spanner or socket on. Remember that the trailer is basically a bunch of aluminum channels so there are quite a few sharp edges. Anyone who’s ever worked on an old Mini would recognise my hands afterwards: bruised, cut and sore. Oh and I also had some bruises and scars on my thighs and stomach from heaving it around later that evening…
I assembled it partly inside and partly in the rain outside our small, single garage which, being a “family garage” and part of a spec. built Beazer house, is rather small and is full of:
- five bicycles;
- two scooters;
- two wardrobes full of bike clothing;
- wine and beer;
- two brand new ST200 alloy wheels;
- two brand new ST200 floor mats;
- standard ZRX1200R exhaust silencer;
- standard ZRX1200R seat;
- a fridge-freezer;
- a tumble-drier;
- two music centre/separate systems;
- DIY tools, paint, etc.;
- kitchen roller blind;
- pasting table;
- Black & Decker Workmate;
- 3 piece aluminium ladder;
- large wooden garden table and four chairs;
- sledges;
- tools;
- ramps;
- wall-mounted kitchen units;
- cupboardy thing;
- data backup fireproof safe;
- paddock stand;
- carpets, lots of carpets;
- assorted fluids and oils for cars and bikes;
- general crap;
- bag of 10 footballs, pump, bibs and first aid kit;
- central heating boiler; and
- a big Kawasaki ZRX1200R.
It’s a very big trailer. 10′ long by 5′ wide by 2½’ tall. And 125kg.
I’d been lucky enough to nab my neighbour when he got in to lift the wheels on whilst I lifted the trailer up high enough - I’d found I could lift it with one hand but struggled to line up the wheel bolts with the holes with the other hand.
At this point, I stood back and admired my handiwork. Mrs. Blue came home at 9.00pm and I stayed outside to work on the trailer (and never did get anything to eat).
And then I looked at the chaos that is the garage and wondered how it would fit inside…
So I’m pondering my options: there’s no access to the back garden other than a 3½’ wide passage so that ruled that out. I could wheel the trailer into the garage and permanently stand the ZRX on the trailer, but access to everything else would be nigh-on impossible. I could eBay it. Or I could try to stand it up on its side against the wall.
Except that that was easier said than done. Did I tell you it’s a very big trailer? I tried heaving it up and over onto its side, but the internal width of the garage meant there wasn’t enough room to allow for it turning onto its side - I could get it to a 45° angle but not much further. So I did some measurements and discovered that if I took the front section off again, it might fit standing up on its back, although I’d still have to somehow lift it onto the back section and then manoeuvre it into position against the wall. So I set about it with the spanners and sockets and dismantled the work I’d already done. With the front section removed, I reckoned I could just about get it in place against the wall and resting against the wall units, so I put an old kitchen mat next to the wheel and heaved it up onto its side, bumping it outwards as I did so. Success! There was also just enough room between it and the wall to slot the heavy towbar section in to take up less space. 11.00pm and I was finished.
There’s a photo here, taken the following morning, showing the finished article in the packed little garage. Mrs. Blue asked me to take her bike out so she could go and grab a DVD for her booze and filum session at her friend’s house and I was able to show her that it wasn’t that tight and inaccessible 
Now that the trailer has been used for a few trackdays, the only criticisms I have for it are that the wheel hoops at the end of the channels are a bit high, so they almost clash with the brake discs and that the channels themselves are a bit narrow, pinching the rear tyre - mind you, that may not be a bad thing.
The trailer itself is a doddle to use and very lightweight, so the occasional bit of ‘extreme towing’ at 80mph behind the Fiesta and 100mph behind the ST200 (on closed roads, of course) has been fine. Any scratches in the channels from the sidestand have been painted over with Hammerite and the trailer now lives outside in all weathers with no apparent deterioration.
Recommended.