Wireless computers vs. flashing LEDs

rodgers73

I used to use a cheapo Chinese wireless computer but found it went haywire when I switched my LED lights to flashing mode. In the end I replaced it with a wired VDO computer, which worked fine.

I'm now thinking of neatening things up a bit and going back to wireless but I'm wary of interference from the lights again. Is this a fault of the cheaper computers or is it unavoidable regardless of budget/quality?

Yes, I already have a Garmin but don't want to be using that all the time.

smidsy

rodgers73 wrote:

Yes, I already have a Garmin but don't want to be using that all the time.

:?:

paulbnix

My cateye wireless suffers from the same problem when my cateye light is on flashing mode. It's fixed by keeping them 4/5 inches apart.

rolf_f

Just use lights with metal bodies (I used Raleigh RSP Asteris) - no interference.

Incidentally, my first computer was a cheap wireless one from Lidl. Eventually I upgraded to a VDO which was, case design aside, vastly inferior (in function and build quality) to the Lidl computer!

Mind you, I can't understand anyone who owns a Garmin wanting to go back to a traditional computer. You can get Bryton 20 for less than £60 if you look around and they use the same mount as Garmin so you don't even need to swap that over.

supermurph09

smidsy wrote:

rodgers73 wrote:

Yes, I already have a Garmin but don't want to be using that all the time.

:?:

:?: :?: :?: Why woud you not want to use it all the time?

bianchimoon

Supermurph09 wrote:

smidsy wrote:

rodgers73 wrote:

Yes, I already have a Garmin but don't want to be using that all the time.

:?:

:?: :?: :?: Why woud you not want to use it all the time?

praps it's a special occasion Garmin? Come on rodgers explain please, I'm really worried now as I use mine all the time

arran77

bianchimoon wrote:

Supermurph09 wrote:

smidsy wrote:

rodgers73 wrote:

Yes, I already have a Garmin but don't want to be using that all the time.

:?:

:?: :?: :?: Why woud you not want to use it all the time?

praps it's a special occasion Garmin? Come on rodgers explain please, I'm really worried now as I use mine all the time

It is one of the more bizarre things I've read on here and that's saying something

Maybe Garmins are a bit like carbon frames and melt in the rain

rodgers73

Because -

1. It's an old Edge 705 that I bought 2nd hand for £100 and I don't want to wear the battery out (which I suspect may be a bit tired anyway) by constant use when the stats for a lot of my rides don't really mean much to me. I like to know my speed generally but I don't need the sort of detail a Garmin gives you for every ride.

AND

2. My preferred type of ride is one that would last longer than the battery in my Garmin would on a single charge, so a non-GPS device is more useful for me really, given that I'm mainly interested in distance and speed only.

3. For me the Garmin is mainly for navigation when I don't want to have to be stopping to look at my map every five mins (e.g. when making my way through a town or city rather than taking the ring road) or for uploading Strava stuff for my local loop

StillGoing

The Garmin is rechargeable and battery life lasts for hours on end. My old 705 was still going strong after 12 hours when I forgot to switch it off after a ride. I can't imagine there will be anything the Chinese device can do that the Garmin can't? You don't have to use all the features of the Garmin during a ride; just select the screen you want to view from the menu.

rodgers73

Some of my rides have lasted 25hrs. Garmin batteries are meant to last 16-17 hours.

The chinese device was just a wireless computer showing trip distance and speed.

rodgers73

Would this same problem occur with a wireless computer that used digital rather than analogue transmission? Wondering if this is the root of the problem