Citrojim's AX, Pixo, C3, Running and Cycling Tales

[Rp0thejester]

Some lovely photos of the historic house and grounds. I was more interested in the cyclists safety helmet being that long and pointy that if he tilted his back whilst cycling would puncture the saddle. Where as yours above would only scratch your shoulders.

[Skull]

In racing action at Ashridge Duathlon

And on the bike...

Great photo that Jim I can almost read your 'watch'

[CitroJim]

Great photo that Jim I can almost read your 'watch'

Thanks Skull I'm hour and 10 Minutes in there... A very good photographer there. Zoom in on the originals and amazing detail is revealed!

Some lovely photos of the historic house and grounds. I was more interested in the cyclists safety helmet being that long and pointy that if he tilted his back whilst cycling would puncture the saddle. Where as yours above would only scratch your shoulders.

They're helmets designed specifically to be as aerodynamic as possible Ryan. When I broke my neck, due to a slightly pointed helmet, I was told by my trauma surgeon those helmets were very dangerous as in they will save your head but depending on how you fall, such as falling on your back - as I did, neck damage is very likely.

Hence these days I always wear helmets that are smooth and round at the back. At my level, the aerodynamic gains from a proper pointy lid are not applicable!

[Zelandeth]

Sorry I missed the question a couple of days back.

Here is the desoldering pump I use. Link.

Welcome to borrow this one and give it a try if you'd like. Just let me know.

That style of caps can be an absolute menace on early 90s Apple Macintosh computers. My usual approach to them is to twist off the body then remove the legs afterwards. The oxidisation caused to the solder by them leaking can make it really hard to remove intact without damaging pads, and that's the technique I've found works most reliably for me. It's one of those things though that if you ask 20 different people the best way to do it you'll probably get 20 different answers.

[CitroJim]

Thanks Zel, that's appreciated

[CitroJim]

Good progress on the XM Radio very late last evening after the arrival of one of these:

A heated solder pump...

It works tolerably well too No damage to the PCB or plated-thru' holes

It's confirmed my thoughts those little SMD electrolytics are the problem. The first one I removed is very electrically leaky.

Work on this now continues. I'm still working and proving things on my test bed radio before moving to the critical 'must be fixed' unit.

I had a play with some Garmin software (VIRB) that allows metrics from bike GPS units to be overlaid on a video of a ride.

It's all working and here's a still from my recent MK Bowl ride

I've even Youtubed the whole video of my Bowl laps... It's a bit tedious after a while but it show the metrics - not quite in sync with the video as it's quite tricky to sync up the two without lots of practice and a distinct marker, neither of which I had in this case.

Here's the video:

[mickthemaverick]

I had a look at the video of the laps Jim, I see what you mean about the syncing although it does appear you covered some distance with a stationary picture!!

[Rp0thejester]

Wow, 138bp/m, 38km/h, nearly 5k riden and you stayed so calm finding a Skoda parked next to you! My hat goes off to you. I'm certainly not fit enough to do that!

[CitroJim]

I had a look at the video of the laps Jim, I see what you mean about the syncing although it does appear you covered some distance with a stationary picture!!

Definitely needs work Mick, next time I ride I'll practice again

Thanks Ryan, it was a good ride

So was yesterday... I ran a trail ultra marathon on a very hilly course at the Beacon Hill Country Park near Loughborough... There's a clue in the name about the terrain!

And you know it's hilly when there's an OS Trig. Pillar at the top of the hill

The view from up there was amazing. As you can see, it was clear and sunny, albeit cold. That was, until it rained and dumped a load of hailstones on us!

Huge fun and a most excellent wet, muddy day

[Skull]

So was yesterday... I ran a trail ultra marathon on a very hilly course at the Beacon Hill Country Park near Loughborough... There's a clue in the name about the terrain!


And you know it's hilly when there's an OS Trig. Pillar at the top of the hill


Huge fun and a most excellent wet, muddy day

Serious elevation there Jim Well Done

[CitroJim]

Thanks Skull I'm still buzzing from it even after running a 5K recovery run this morning and then timekeeping at parkrun...

It was a bit devilish at parkrun today. 666 runners

[mickthemaverick]

Does that qualify as an Australian call for help?

[CitroJim]

Does that qualify as an Australian call for help?

[CitroJim]

Loving this photo of me from yesterday's run

Credits within the image...

[Rp0thejester]

You should make that your Xmas card image this year