Re: gEDA-user: OT: Bike Alarms (was: Re: Copper-free area in footprint)

["David C. Kerber" <dkerber@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Remember what the original suggestion was:  have the device wake up for a few seconds once a day and send a message as to where it is (or maybe only send that message if it's not where it's supposed to be).  

Considering that a typical bike-mounted gps (Garmin Edge 305, for example) can run for several hours on 3xAA batteries, including gps, cadence, heartrate and speed sensors, along with a continuous display, I think a couple of AA batteries would power this thing for several months or even years, at a few seconds per day.

And if you can tie it in to Shimano's DI-2 power pack, it will have its power routinely recharged by the user every few weeks for other purposes any way.  IOW, I think it sounds quite practical.  Now if we can just figure out a way of getting the signal out of a metal frame like mine...  Maybe sneak a wire through a tiny hole in the seat post and attach it to the bottom of the saddle?


> -----Original Message-----
> From: geda-user-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx 
> [mailto:geda-user-bounces@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David SMITH
> Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 8:59 AM
> To: gEDA user mailing list
> Subject: gEDA-user: OT: Bike Alarms (was: Re: Copper-free 
> area in footprint)
> 
> John Griessen wrote:
> > David C. Kerber wrote:
> > > If you've got a carbon frame, you could drop it into the 
> seat tube, 
> > > where it would never be seen, and therefore never removed by a 
> > > thief...
> >
> > This really does sound like a product since bikes can cost 
> these days.
> 
> Not to put too much of a spanner in the works, but...
> 
> Where does the power come from? How long would it last 
> between recharges?
> 
> I can't see much of a market if you have to remove the saddle 
> and turn the bike upside down to extract the device every 
> week to recharge the battery, especially if it's sitting 
> unused in the garage.  People will forget to do it, and then 
> the device is rendered impotent.
> 
> Remember that Li-Ion batteries have a nasty habit of 
> self-discharging, and if you've gone to the expense of 
> getting a super-light carbon fibre bike frame, you're 
> unlikely to want to add lots of weight with a large battery.
> 
> 
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