Are all bike computers affected by temp?

Hi,

I recently tried a Halfords wireless cycle computer (£8.99) but when I
went for a ride this morning the screen was covered with dark
'blotches' which slowly moved about.

After exchanging it, and looking at the Halfords assistant's own
catseye computer, we came to the conclusion that the blotches were due
to the temperature (43 degrees f but 'feels like' 34 degrees f -
according to my weather forecast which I get from a station only a
coupla miles away).

Are any other makes of cycle computers affected in this way? As I say,
the catseye one was fine.

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

John Latter wrote:
Are any other makes of cycle computers affected in this way? As I say,
the catseye one was fine.

It's common for cold to make the screen go dim and slow with various
makes. Some displays can temporarily darken from sunlight.

~PB

My Cateye cordless 2 struggles with temperatures that are below 0
degrees C. I think it is a common problem to do with the fluid that is
used in the screen.



--

Pete Biggs wrote:
John Latter wrote:
Are any other makes of cycle computers affected in this way? As I
say, the catseye one was fine.

It's common for cold to make the screen go dim and slow with various
makes. Some displays can temporarily darken from sunlight.

~PB

During the heat wave in August my car was parked outside in a compound near
Stanstead Airport. The LCD wireless/clock display was permanently damaged by
the heat in the car. I have seen strong sunlight temporily damage it but now
it will not go back to normal.

John Latter wrote in message . ..
Hi,

I recently tried a Halfords wireless cycle computer (£8.99)

snippity

Is that the RRP or a sale price? I bought one a couple of years ago
and have had nothing but trouble (mainly failure of the main unit to
pick up a signal, on this basis I shun wireless on anything other than
a front-susp), but at that price I'm willing to junk it and give
H****ds another try, at least I can upgrade it if no good.

ps mine seems to be temp sensitive in its sending abilities.
MM

John Latter wrote in
:

Are any other makes of cycle computers affected in this way?

The properties of the liquid crystal in the display change at very low and
very high temperatures. At low temperatures it can appear to have a fairly
slow response (if at all) and some of the normally blank bits of the
display show the blotches you described. At high temperatures I've been
told that the liquid can partially disperse (through evaporation?)
resulting in a permanently knackered display. I can't give you a super
technical description behind why, as I read the explanation some years ago
(14?), but I've seen both of these problems occur in decives with LCD
displays.

CHeers,

Graeme

On 24 Jan 2004 14:40:39 -0800, (MartinM) wrote:

John Latter wrote in message . ..
Hi,

I recently tried a Halfords wireless cycle computer (£8.99)

snippity

Is that the RRP or a sale price? I bought one a couple of years ago
and have had nothing but trouble (mainly failure of the main unit to
pick up a signal, on this basis I shun wireless on anything other than
a front-susp), but at that price I'm willing to junk it and give
H****ds another try, at least I can upgrade it if no good.

ps mine seems to be temp sensitive in its sending abilities.
MM

It's the sale price - I think they normally retail at £14.99

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech

On Sun, 25 Jan 2004 06:00:26 GMT, Graeme
wrote:

John Latter wrote in
:

Are any other makes of cycle computers affected in this way?

The properties of the liquid crystal in the display change at very low and
very high temperatures. At low temperatures it can appear to have a fairly
slow response (if at all) and some of the normally blank bits of the
display show the blotches you described. At high temperatures I've been
told that the liquid can partially disperse (through evaporation?)
resulting in a permanently knackered display. I can't give you a super
technical description behind why, as I read the explanation some years ago
(14?), but I've seen both of these problems occur in decives with LCD
displays.

CHeers,

Graeme

Thanks Graeme - and thanks to Pete, Davebee, & MSeries.

Overall, although I appreciate that LCD displays are affected by
temperature, it was noticable that the Halfords assistant's catseye
computer (an old & knocked-about looking thing!) wasn't affected in
the same way.

Also, some of the comments made refer to temperatures below freezing
point while the temperature at the time the blotches appeared was
still one or two (or even a few) above freezing.

Halfords have some good proces on computers at the moment but I'm
going to look at another manufacturer! (going to ask 'bout raleigh
ones in another post).

Thanks for your help - I really do appreciate it!

--

John Latter

Model of an Internal Evolutionary Mechanism (based on an extension to homeostasis) linking Stationary-Phase Mutations to the Baldwin Effect.
http://members.aol.com/jorolat/TEM.html

'Where Darwin meets Lamarck?' Discussion Egroup
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/evomech