gear | Nick Taylors blog

May 9, 2009 Comments

Good Job Garmin! StreetPilot 7500 registration problem fixed.

24 hours after posting about my problems re-registering and updating maps on my Garmin StreetPilot 7500, they have fixed my problem, I confess I dug my heels in a bit, sending them an email reminding them how I use their products, how long I’ve used them for (since 1995), how much I’ve spend and how many times I’ve recommend people buy Garmin for their good quality products and great customer support.

Anyway, I got an email from them saying that they’ve registered the device for me and they also threw in a free upgrade to City Navigator North America NT 2010, which is great, and that’s what started this thing in the first place.

So, while a little slower than usual, Garmin support came through again. Thank-you Garmin, I shall continue to recommend your products!

May 7, 2009 Comments

Problems with Garmin support and my StreetPilot 7500

I’m trying to spend some money with Garmin, but they won’t let me.

I’m a fan of Garmin GPS receivers, particularly devices like the GPSMap 478, a wonderful chart-plotting GPS. I also have a StreetPilot 7500, a nice large-screen GPS that I use in the truck. I’ve spend thousands on Garmin hardware and maps since my first Garmin device, a GPS 12, back in 1995. If you count the devices I’ve bought for others and my referrals that total is well north of $10,000.

A while ago, maybe in mid-late 2007, Garmin updated their internal systems at my.garmin.com. I had multiple GPSes registered with them, including the StreetPilot 7500. The old system was never brilliant, I blame the DRM they have around the mapping data, but that’s another subject…

Anyway, I want to upgrade the 7500 to the latest version of City Navigator North America NT, the 2009 update. To unlock the maps, you have to have a registered device. During Garmins update to my.garmin.com my previously registered 7500 disappeared. Now, when I try to register it again my.garmin.com rejects my serial number.

I’ve been extremely happy with Garmin support through the years, in fact they managed to next day me a replacement mapping CDROM when I was out of the country, starting trans-Sahara trip, to replace a damaged disk. They have been pretty responsive so far with my registration problem, until I received this today (the issue had been passed to their IT department)

We have contacted our IT department and requested another update. To answer your questions:



It has been sent to IT and they are working on it.
We can't escalate it.
I cannot guarantee that it will be fixed by then

We have stressed the importance of getting this matter resolved and I am hopeful that we can get this matter resolved quickly. Thank you for your patience in this matter.

As this issue has been outstanding for 3 weeks, I’d love to know what the “IT Department” are doing. The very phrase makes my blood run cold, and I’m in IT guy! Some transparency would be greatly appreciated.

Ideally, I’d like to know what IT have done in the 2 weeks since they received this ticket from their support guys, what they are planning to do and why they can’t escalate it.

Remember, all I want to do is give them about $100 for new maps. All I need is a valid serial number.

I hope I don’t have to start buying and recommending other brands if they can’t resolve this. If anyone from Garmin feels like helping, the case number is KMM12787676I15977L0KM. Thanks!

Mar 24, 2009 Comments

GoPro Hero Camera

I recently bought a 5MP GoPro Hero Helmet Camera – Amazon had the best price at around $190. Loaded with a cheap 2Gb SD card, I was hoping to get some fun shots when I’m snowboarding, mountain biking or driving one of the Land Rovers somewhere interesting (unless anyone wants shots of I-25 every morning).

Specs:

Model Number: GHHW5170
Resolution: 5 megapixel (2592×1944) photo, 512×384 video
Sensor: CMOS
Video Format: MJPEG, 30 fps, saved as .AVI file
Optics: glass lens, f/2.8 aperture, with ultra-wide 170º angle of view
Modes: video, standard photo, photo every 2 or 5 secs, 3x photo burst sequence, self timer, upside down photo/video flip
Exposure Control: auto
White Balance: auto
Self Timer: 10 seconds
Microphone: built-in with adjustable recording/input level
Audio Format: 8kHz, mono
Memory: 16 MB internal, expandable to 2GB with SD card (not included), expandable to 4GB with SDHC card (not included) via free software download from GoPro website—available soon
Capacity: 56 minutes video (incl. audio) or 1,945 photos with optional 2GB SD card. 1hr 52min video (incl. audio) with optional 4GB SDHC card—available soon
Power: 2x AAA batteries (not included), lithium batteries highly recommended. 3hrs. video recording with lithium, 2hrs. with NiMH
TV Out (with RCA cable): NTSC or PAL
PC Connection: USB + RCA combo cable
PC Compatibility: Windows ME, 2000, XP, and Vista; Mac OS X 10.2 and later
Waterproof: rated to 100 feet/30 meters
Dimensions: 1.75″ x 2.30″ x 1.25″/4.45cm x 5.84cm x 3.18cm (H x W x D)
Weight: 4.9 oz/139 g

I took it our for a test run today, I was snowboarding in Breckenridge. In summary, it’s an acceptable camera as long as you’re just after snapshots, or need a camera to go somewhere hazardous where you wouldn’t take your D-SLR, for example. I had to explain what it was and how it worked to about ten people today. GoPro should hang-out at the resorts, I think they’d sell a boatload.

Pros:

It’s cheap
It’s small and lightweight
It seems robust
It takes a lot of images
Once started, you can forget about it
The images are acceptable for web use

Cons:

The images are only acceptable for web use
The sharpness of the lens isn’t great
There’s no way to compensate for exposure (or, at least, I’ve not found a way)
In video mode, the camera is hunting for the correct exposure continuously, which is very distracting to watch
I find the interface a little non-intuitive, and it’s a pain to remember if it’s on or off

Here’s an example video I shot. Checkout the exposure which is all over the place. To be fair, most cameras have a problem exposing correctly for snow, but I though the hunting was a bit too much.

GoPro Hero Helmet Camera Test from Nick Taylor on Vimeo.

I also uploaded some test images to flickr. Here are some of them (click on the image through to flickr).

This image shows the detail around the clouds but also shows the underexposure because of the bright snow.

Here’s the same image, tweaked in Aperture to correct the exposure.

This next image shows the color definition (unretouched). It’s also a good example of how the lens falls off in sharpness at the edges, best viewed on the original image.

Another example of the falloff in image clarity at the edges (best seen on the original image).

Finally, here’s another unretouched image showing how wide the 170 degreee lens is – the bar is the edge of the chairlift.

Jul 19, 2008 Comments

BMW MOA National Rally 2008

This was my first trip to the BMW MOA National Rally, an event this year held in Gillette, WY. As I didn’t have time to sort the new hitch for the truck, I had to leave the bike and trailer back in Denver. Still, as I only had the Friday evening and Saturday at the rally, it wasn’t a big loss.

I think the total number of people here was around 5,000. Most seemed to be camping and have their bikes with them, so it’s a good thing that the Cam-Plex site is so large. The overwhelming impression was of 60-70% GSs, which I suppose is down to the expolits of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman. Still, an interest in motorcycle touring has spurred the market – there are a lot more travel companies specializing in motorcycle travel and goodies out there than ever before.

But there’s a lot of tat too. Any trip of vehicle-based/dependent travel takes a lot out of you and your machine, and more particularly so if you’re traveling outside of the developed world. So any gear you take needs to be

1. Justified – the less stuff, the better
2. Well engineered – it has to perform its function well
3. Well made – it has to last the trip

Walking the vendor halls today, I’d bet your could eliminate 75% of the stuff by applying #1 above. While I’m sure someone, somewhere needs a “portable walrus polishing kit“, you probably don’t need it in the Rub ‘al Khali.

#2 catches you out too. I suppose experience is the guide here, I’ve bought equipment that looks good in the garage at home, but lets you down in the field due to some under-specified material or component, or just a poor design. #3 is of course related to this – I’ve chucked stuff on the road because it ends up being crap. You get what you pay for…

So here are my takeaways – first impressions of what seem to be decent goods and services on display.

Globeriders

Helge Pedersens global tour company. They offer a limited number of tours per year, longer than the average tour (50+ days), decent (screened) group sizes and trips to some great places. I particularly like the sound of the Indo-China trip. Helge seems like a top-bloke, but he’s come in for some criticism over his handling of image copyright on Adventure Rider.

Moto Discovery

I don’t know much about these guys, but they run some interesting trips, including one to Iran.

Rawhyde Adventures

Looks like this California-based company does some good training. It also offers some off-road trips in the Western US and Mexico.

ROK Straps

I liked these so much I bought some! Basically, an adjustable elastic strap. Aerostich stocks them.

Stop N Go Tire Repair Kit

After seeing a quick demo, I bought the Pocket Tire Plugger with CO2 inflation. It’s a super quick way to plug and re-inflate your tire after picking up a puncture. Hopefully, I won’t have the opportunity to review it!