Conference noted::bicycle

    	Tom,
    
    	The Cateye Micro has clock, avg speed, and cadence, although
    	they're not all displayed at the same time.
    
    	You can have:
    
    	MPH: Top speed, Total distance, trip distance, avg speed, clock
    
    	Cadence: Total distance, trip distance, avg speed, clock
    
    	Scott

    The Micro doesn't have clock... just elapsed time.
    

    A minor digression, but I found that it was important to have a
    plastic cover (saran wrap or a piece of a baggie) over the Cateye
    micro, or it would screw up in the rain.  The sensors seem to be
    Ok in the wet though.

    Has anyone else wondered if the "average speed" is really accurate?

    I remember noticing the behaviour that on a ride out into the wind
    a certain (low) average speed would show.  On the way back, with
    my speed *continuously* well above the displayed average speed that the
    average speed would fluctuate both up and down!  This isn't right - they
    must have a bug somewhere.  I never did divide the distance by elapsed
    time myself as a check though.  Probably best to take such things with
    a grain of salt...

    - Jim

< Note 1079.3 by CTCADM::ROTH "If you plant ice you'll harvest wind" >

>    Has anyone else wondered if the "average speed" is really accurate?

>    I remember noticing the behaviour that on a ride out into the wind
>    a certain (low) average speed would show.  On the way back, with
>    my speed *continuously* well above the displayed average speed that the
>    average speed would fluctuate both up and down!  This isn't right - they

I think they have a timing problem with their average speed algorithm.  A 
similar problem may also affect the trip distance reading.  I've seen what 
appears to be variation in updates to the trip distance even when I'm riding a 
constant speed (constant rpm on rollers).  Also, were you aware that the
odometer continues to accumulate mileage even when the unit is off?  That also
affects the avg spd display.  I didn't think that the Micro worked that way, 
until one day I tried cooling down with it off and the display set to avg spd. 
Sure enough, it dropped .1 in a very short time.  

I regularly enter my data into a spreadsheet that calculates avg speed, and
usually the Micro is a little slow, due to cooldowns with the computer off and
forgeting to turn it back on after any off time (like stop lights, etc). 


Kevin

    RE: .-2
    
    The average speed seems dodgy sometimes - occasionally it has
    gone along reasonably over a couple hundred miles, then freaked
    out to 57 mph (which, even with the aero seatpost, is faster than
    I average, I don't know about you!).
    
    The Cateye Micro can short out (at the contacts underneath) if
    really drenched for a while... then recover later after drying out
    - but they've really done a good waterproofing job overall.  Still,
    a bit of plastic is advised, yes.
    
    -john

    Greetings fellow bikers,
    
    Hey I've been looking at the various computers and I haven't found
    any that have a time of day clock on them. Is that true or am I
    missing something? All I've seen is the elapsed time clock.

    Fred Mudgett

< Note 1079.6 by BALMER::MUDGETT "did you say FREE food?" >
                                  -< Clocks  >-

Cateye Solars have time of day, but I don't know of any current models that 
have that feature.  I'd rather wear my watch, anyway.

Kevin

    According to the chart in the Nashbar Catalog the VETTA C1 and C2
    models also have clocks.
        
>Cateye Solars have time of day, but I don't know of any current models that 
>have that feature.  I'd rather wear my watch, anyway.

    Kevin...is that the one that has the Big Hand on 12 and the Little
    Hand on 3 when the ride starts at 12 ????? :-)  Time to get a watch!
    
    						Jerry

    Kevin's has a sweep second hand and a sweep hundredths-of-a-second
    hand for techno dweebing.  He may not have started on time but he's
    got the intervals down the accuracy of a VAX.
    
    ed

< Note 1079.8 by ICBB::JSMITH "I Bike Solo II" >
                 -< Does anyone really know what time it is? >-

>    Kevin...is that the one that has the Big Hand on 12 and the Little
>    Hand on 3 when the ride starts at 12 ????? :-)  Time to get a watch!
    
I NEVER said I LOOKED at it!

8^)

    I just noticed in my new Bike Nashbar cat. that CATEYE has a new
    computer, the ATB. This system seem to be designed for offroad use
    and does have; Current speed, Ave speed, Trip OD, Total OD, Elapsed
    time, Max speed, and a CLOCK.

    re. -1
    		What's the difference between a road
    cateye and an ATB cateye.....bullet proof?
    
    					Jerry

    The ATB cateye is probably camouflage instead of black 8-)
    
    ed

    Have you seen a stop watch encased in rubber. That's what this looks
    like. It will also record distances for up to 10 segments. The blurb
    also notes that the casing waterproof and the cable is heavy duty..
    It does carry a price... $70.00

>Note 1079.14          WANTED:  Cateye Solar, dead or alive!             14 of 14
>CSC32::T_DAWSON "Leave only footprints......"         4 lines   6-APR-1989 15:12

>   like. It will also record distances for up to 10 segments. The blurb
 
    Great.  Now Kevin can record splits when he's on his ATB :-)
    
    					Jerry

< Note 1079.15 by ICBB::JSMITH "I Bike Solo II" >
                             -< Mountain Splits ? >-

>    Great.  Now Kevin can record splits when he's on his ATB :-)
    
Yeah, I've seen the ads for this and am a bit p*ssed that they haven't come 
out with splits on a road computer.  Why would anyone want that feature on an 
ATB is beyond me!  On a road bike, however...

Kevin

    Just an FYI back on an earlier comment. I have the CATEYE MICRO
    and just checked out something over the weekend. Even though the
    odometer continues to work after shutting the computer down (nice
    feature I'm sure everyone wants), but the average speed is LOCKED
    IN. It does not continue to factor in after the stop button is hit
    (e.g. during cooling down). At least mine doesn't (maybe I have
    a mutant computer).
    
    Don't fret. What you did is what you get (in that mode).
    
    Regards,
    
    Chip

< Note 1079.17 by WMOIS::C_GIROUARD >
                              -< MUTANT CATEYE? >-

>    and just checked out something over the weekend. Even though the
>    odometer continues to work after shutting the computer down (nice
>    feature I'm sure everyone wants), but the average speed is LOCKED
>    IN. It does not continue to factor in after the stop button is hit
>    (e.g. during cooling down). At least mine doesn't (maybe I have
>    a mutant computer).
    
I checked this out again over the weekend, and you're right, avg spd did not 
continue to be calculated after the stop button was hit.  Maybe what I saw 
before was aberrant behavior on the computer's part (or maybe on my part 8^))

However, if it doesn't keep calculating, then I have seen some underestimating 
of avg spd by the Micro.  It may have something to do with its sampling 
pattern (how often it updates its variables and then calculates avg spd).  I 
doubt if it is constantly doing this.  More likely it is polling the displays 
(or whatever) at set periods of time.

Kevin

I wouldn't use it to calculate distance boundries for the Berlin Wall
    or anything like that. You're right. I think it's in the ball-
    park and as long as the the minor inaccuracies are consistent
    that's all I care about. It's just a "yardstick." Yeah, the more
    accurate the better, but I live with a half mile here and there
    during a half or full century.
    
    Chip

    Yeah, the distances all get shorter in the summer after the potholes
    have been filled in.  If they'd only get short enough that I could
    could do a 5 hr C.
    
    ed

    BTW, I found someone who had just the computer, no wires, and the
    price was right!!  Thanks to all who responded!  Now, on with the
    discussion...
                              --tom

    My Cateye Solar worked just fine for a couple of years, then when I got
    back from a ride last Fall and pushed the button to change the display
    from total dist to ave sp. (or some such) it let out a loooong beeeep
    and then started flashing all the displays in rapid rotation.  I left
    it in a sunny window thinking it would cool down in a couple of
    minutes, but it continued for days (weeks?) beeping intermittently. 
    Now it is quiet and I have not touched it all winter - any ideas on
    what I should look for here to get it back in shape?
    
    I'm not an engineer, but I can follow instructions...  If you have any
    ideas, please describe in terms of color, size, shape and location. 
    Thanks for any help.  \VA

> it let out a loooong beeeep and then started flashing all the displays 
> in rapid rotation.
> - any ideas on what I should look for here to get it back in shape?

   Instructions for reseting a Cateye

	1) Take off the battery cover.
	2) Put your hand over the solar cells to block light.
	3) Stick a slip of paper or plastic between the two batteries
	   to interrupt power for several seconds.
	4) Remove the slip to reconnect the batteries.
	5) It is now safe to uncover the solar cells.
	6) Replace the battery cover.
	7) Program the Cateye according to manufacturers instructions.

    
    	I used to have a Cateye Solar that I kept on the windowsill
    a lot.    One day it really freaked out beeping at me, then
    the display did some weird stuff before it went dead entirely.
    
    	I took it apart to see what the insides looked like and
    discovered that a very tiny spider had build a little web
    inside the electronics.    After I had relocated his home,
    I found that my Cateye was once again working!
    
					Alan.

    OK, I'll look for one of Charlottes' tiny babies  in my CatEye - I also
    leave the unit on a sunny windowsill, may well be the same problem. 
    Then a reset - Thanks.  \VA

I have a cateye micro, about 3 years old.  over the winter, it's display 
stopped displaying.  I figured it to be a dead battery and got a replacement, 
followed the instructions and put in the new one.  Nothing happened, I went
back to the book to see if there was a section on troubleshooting - there 
wasn't; but there was a section on resetting the thing by pressing all three 
buttons concurrently, at which point it was supposed to flash it's display
and then prompt me for the new km/mi, radius etc..

well the display flashed very briefly and that was it...

now it won't display again, and the reset trick won't make it flash either.

Any ideas on what might be going on here?

-rob l.-

    	Well, whadaya know? I was looking for this note and Rob helped
    	mean out.
    
    	On the 3rd of June, my Micro started acting up, so I took it off
    	and replaced the battery. Acting up is defined as erratic reading
    	when at a steady speed. I'd be traveling at 18 MPH and it would
    	alternately register 18, 7, 11, etc. I also indicated that I had
    	a max speed of 58 MPH. I knew that was wrong. I used it today on
    	the trip into work. I still get the erratic readings. My max
    	speed registered something like 26, then 48, then 62. Of course,
    	all of these were incorrect.
    
    	I have half a mind (people wouldn't even accept that 8-)> )
    	to box the thing up, cables and all, and send it back to
    	cateye for a check-up.
    
    	Has anyone else had anything similar to this occur. I remember
    	a past discussion in which some said they thought the micro
    	generally had some problems.
    
    	Scott (Maybe I should buy a Vetta)

    The Cateye Micro has its quirks.  One time, I remember cruising along
    at an absolutely steady speed, and watching it subtract 6km from my
    speed every 10 revolutions or so.  I figured "the battery must be
    dead," but in the month since, it's worked perfectly.  It's probably
    moisture.  The things aren't really waterproof.
    
    Caution: a Vetta may not be any better.  I watched the guy standing
    in front of me before the start of the last race fool with his for
    five minutes, and then just give up.  "It never works," he said,
    in Italian. 

    
       If anyone is interested I have a Cateye micro unit without any
    sensors or mounting hardware that I do not plan on using. Make me
    an offer and I might consider parting with it for what amounts to
    a steal or at least a petty theft.
    
    
                                         JOhn C.
    

    
    A couple weekends ago my Cateye Micro acted just as you describe
    (and had done this a couple times before): 17mph/8mph/12mph/6mph/0mph
    and max speeds up to 65mph.  I was riding for mileage so this was
    worrisome.  
    
    This happened only when I got out of the saddle and torqued it.
    
    Anyway, I moved the wheel sensor to about 1.5mm from the spoke-mounted 
    magnet (during wheel-changing, it had moved a mm. or 2 farther out)
    and the problem disappeared.  This may not do it for you, but give
    it a try.  The Cateye seems *very* sensitive as to sensor distance.   
    
    -john

    Here's a solution in search of a problem, maybe it will work for
    someone else:
    
    The other day I was going for a ride, the forecast was for "rain
    overnight" and I did not want to get my Cateye Solar wet.  (I still
    haven't upgraded to a waterproof model.)  So I put a plastic bag on
    it (sandwich bag).  Now previously the computer had been acting up
    quite a bit, it would stop recording distance/speed and I'd have to
    twist it to get it to work again - something flaky in the contacts.
    Then I had to look for a rubber band to hold the bag on.  Rubber bands
    have been getting less and less common since we stopped using cards
    but that's another story.  So I stole the big rubber band from some
    broccoli I had just bought (to make some pasta salad for the ride, if
    you must know.)  I used that rubber band to hold the bag on.  Because
    of it's position, it turns out that the band also holds the computer
    tight so that it doesn't drop miles anymore.
    
    So, the moral of the story is, "You wanna fix your computer?  Buy
    broccoli."
    
    ed

    	Matt,
    
    	I said Vetta, and meant Avocet 20. Anyway, I believe
    	John Lee is correct. You have to place the sensor very
    	close to the wheel magnet. That's exactly what I intend
    	to do, although it looks like I won't be able to test it
    	on the road for a while (forecast of rain until Friday).
    
    	Oh, well.
    
    	Scott

    re:.-1: "although it looks like I won't be able to test it
    	on the road for a while (forecast of rain until Friday)."
    
    But I thought the cateye micro was waterproof.
    
    :-)
    
    ed

    	Yeah, right. Last time I rode in a major downpour,
    	the Micro just stopped working, period. I dried
    	it off and it seemed to work fine the next time.
    
    	This occurred last year.
    
    	Scott

    It seems that heavy rain will short out the contacts between
    the computer unit and its mounting unit.  This has happened
    several times to me, and after it dried off it worked fine.
    For heavy rains, a little plastic-bag umbrella suffices ...
    although brocolli wouldn't hurt either.  :-)
    
    -john

    Ed,
    
    	I cross-posted your note (1079.31) in the cooking notes file :-)
    Thanks for the tip.  You should send it to Cyclist...they might
    print it and award you a tee shirt.
    
    						Jerry

    	Well, I complained a few back that, even after installing
    	a new battery, the Micro was not doing well. As Ed or John
    	mentioned, I needed to move the sensor closer to the magnet.
    	It's working fine now.
    
    	Scott