Dash sensors

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DennyS
Posts: 23
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2008 12:19 am

Dash sensors

Post by DennyS »

I posted few questions about the iBike App, but have few more questions/comments about something that could be Dash sensors related. Not sure if anyone else experienced it, or is it just on my Dash.

- The temperature reading (in degF only) seems to be always higher by 10 to 15 degrees that what is outside. This is the case on both sunny and cloudy days. Is the sensor on my Dash bad, or would it be a good idea to calibrate it or set it to "reference temperature"? I know it does not affect any power related readings, but 10-15 degrees seems to be off by a lot.

- The Elevation (in ft) takes a long time (10 to 15 min) to settle when the ride just begins. I set the reference height, and see it drift by 50ft or more on a very stable day without any storms approaching, then it settles within a 10 minutes or so. If I reset he reference height after 10 min, it will also reset my ride, and I will have to append files in iBike software. Could it be related to higher temperature readings, or is the barometric pressure sensor required to stabilize for certain amount of time?


If the iPhone and Li-Ion battery are left at the room temperature overnight, and Dash stays in a cold garage (almost the same as outside temperature), and the start of the ride is in a cold morning temperature, do you have to leave the iPhone, battery and Dash to equalize to the outside temperature or can you start the ride right away? Based on my elevation changes, it looks like there is still some equalization going on.


Thanks,
Denny
Velocomp
Velocomp CEO
Posts: 7824
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:43 am

Re: Dash sensors

Post by Velocomp »

The iPhone is quite the heat generator, and inside the phone booth case it warms up everything. The temperature increase you're seeing is the result of the iPhone's heat. This is normal and does not affect results.

The barometric pressure does take a bit of time to stabilize. To measure a 50' change in elevation requires only an extremely small amount of change in barometric pressure. That these sensors work at all remains amazing to me, but there is no need to worry. Once again, your elevation readings will be correct after a few minutes and all will be well.

Because of the heat generating properties of the iPhone, there is no need to leave everything out overnight. Once you start going the case will become warmer naturally and, after a few minutes, the temperature will stabilize.
John Hamann
JPCH
Posts: 21
Joined: Fri Oct 22, 2010 3:35 pm

Re: Dash sensors

Post by JPCH »

What about the calibration ride ?
Is it required to do it when the temperature is already stable => after some time ON and outside ?
Velocomp
Velocomp CEO
Posts: 7824
Joined: Fri Jan 11, 2008 8:43 am

Re: Dash sensors

Post by Velocomp »

As is the case with ANY measurement instrument, when doing a calibration it's always best to have the device "warmed up".

That said, the sensors we are using are temperature stabilized, so I don't think it is absolutely mandatory to worry about temperature prior to a cal ride.

If I were pulling my iDash out of a refrigerator and going in to the Florida heat, or leaving my friend's home in Montana and doing a cal ride in the middle of the winter, I would let things adjust somewhat.
John Hamann
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