Bicycle roller racing computer
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A regular bike computer would work but you missed one small detail......He
wants to display parameters on large led displays so both riders can see what
the others speed/distance is.
I am a cyclist, and a stamp user. Your concerns are certainly valid. If I
were to approach this type of project, I would use an external counter, and I
highly recommend a MAX7219, which is one IC that will easily handle 8 seven
segmet displays.
Write back if more information/detail is needed. The data sheet for the
MAX7219 can be a little intimidating, but I have broken it down into simple
english......the device is actually easy to use.
Ken
Not sure I'm visualizing this - If the wheels are turning
would'nt a regular bike speedo/odo work?
Sounds pretty neat...
regards, Jack
leverphysics wrote:
> I am planning to build a computer that keeps track of average speed,
> instantaneous speed, and total distance travelled by each of 2
> bicycles when riding on a pair of rollers. The data for each
> cyclist would be displayed on large LED displays. This would allow
> the riders (my son and I) to have some fun competing on simulated
> road rides during long New England winters.
[noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
wants to display parameters on large led displays so both riders can see what
the others speed/distance is.
I am a cyclist, and a stamp user. Your concerns are certainly valid. If I
were to approach this type of project, I would use an external counter, and I
highly recommend a MAX7219, which is one IC that will easily handle 8 seven
segmet displays.
Write back if more information/detail is needed. The data sheet for the
MAX7219 can be a little intimidating, but I have broken it down into simple
english......the device is actually easy to use.
Ken
Not sure I'm visualizing this - If the wheels are turning
would'nt a regular bike speedo/odo work?
Sounds pretty neat...
regards, Jack
leverphysics wrote:
> I am planning to build a computer that keeps track of average speed,
> instantaneous speed, and total distance travelled by each of 2
> bicycles when riding on a pair of rollers. The data for each
> cyclist would be displayed on large LED displays. This would allow
> the riders (my son and I) to have some fun competing on simulated
> road rides during long New England winters.
[noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Comments
I am planning to build a computer that keeps track of average speed,
instantaneous speed, and total distance travelled by each of 2
bicycles when riding on a pair of rollers. The data for each
cyclist would be displayed on large LED displays. This would allow
the riders (my son and I) to have some fun competing on simulated
road rides during long New England winters.
For any of you who are not familiar with rollers, they consist of
three horizontal cylinders mounted in a frame that rests on the
floor. A bicycle can be ridden on top of the rollers, allowing a
cyclist to get a great workout using his/her own bike. Because the
bike must be steered to stay upright, it is a lot more realistic and
fun to ride than a stationary bike.
Anyway, I am thinking of mounting magnets on one end of a roller on
each set. I could then count rotations using Hall sensors. Knowing
the rotations, applying the appropriate conversions, and clocking
elapsed time would allow computation of speeds and distances. I
hope to do all of this using a BS2. I plan to use a large 3-digit 7-
element LED display and 1 decimal point for each of the two
cyclists. The displays could be toggled between metric and english
units.
I am concerned about the ability of the program to count each and
every rotation of the two independent rollers. Would it unburden
the software to use some sort of hardware counter that could then be
polled when the software was ready? Does anyone have suggestions on
what digital IC might be helpful to accomplish this?
I could also use suggestions on how to drive the displays, and
advice on the feasibility of using a single BS2 for both rollers
rather than one for each.
Thanks!
Rich
would'nt a regular bike speedo/odo work?
Sounds pretty neat...
regards, Jack
leverphysics wrote:
> I am planning to build a computer that keeps track of average speed,
> instantaneous speed, and total distance travelled by each of 2
> bicycles when riding on a pair of rollers. The data for each
> cyclist would be displayed on large LED displays. This would allow
> the riders (my son and I) to have some fun competing on simulated
> road rides during long New England winters.
>
> For any of you who are not familiar with rollers, they consist of
> three horizontal cylinders mounted in a frame that rests on the
> floor. A bicycle can be ridden on top of the rollers, allowing a
> cyclist to get a great workout using his/her own bike. Because the
> bike must be steered to stay upright, it is a lot more realistic and
> fun to ride than a stationary bike.
>
> Anyway, I am thinking of mounting magnets on one end of a roller on
> each set. I could then count rotations using Hall sensors. Knowing
> the rotations, applying the appropriate conversions, and clocking
> elapsed time would allow computation of speeds and distances. I
> hope to do all of this using a BS2. I plan to use a large 3-digit 7-
> element LED display and 1 decimal point for each of the two
> cyclists. The displays could be toggled between metric and english
> units.
>
> I am concerned about the ability of the program to count each and
> every rotation of the two independent rollers. Would it unburden
> the software to use some sort of hardware counter that could then be
> polled when the software was ready? Does anyone have suggestions on
> what digital IC might be helpful to accomplish this?
>
> I could also use suggestions on how to drive the displays, and
> advice on the feasibility of using a single BS2 for both rollers
> rather than one for each.
>
> Thanks!
> Rich
>
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>
>
>
Good point. The difference is that the system I would like to build
provides 2 heads-up displays, making it easy for two riders to race
against each others "data", so to speak. For example, two riders
could toggle to instantaneous speed display and see who has the
longest and fastest sprint, or they could have a 50 km road race -
the first to reach 50 km wins. The opponent would always know how
far ahead or behind he is placed. The standard handlbar mount
display can only be seen by the rider of that bicycle.
Rich
--- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, goflo@p... wrote:
> Not sure I'm visualizing this - If the wheels are turning
> would'nt a regular bike speedo/odo work?
>
> Sounds pretty neat...
>
> regards, Jack
>
> leverphysics wrote:
>
> > I am planning to build a computer that keeps track of average
speed,
> > instantaneous speed, and total distance travelled by each of 2
> > bicycles when riding on a pair of rollers. The data for each
> > cyclist would be displayed on large LED displays. This would
allow
> > the riders (my son and I) to have some fun competing on simulated
> > road rides during long New England winters.
> >
> > For any of you who are not familiar with rollers, they consist of
> > three horizontal cylinders mounted in a frame that rests on the
> > floor. A bicycle can be ridden on top of the rollers, allowing a
> > cyclist to get a great workout using his/her own bike. Because
the
> > bike must be steered to stay upright, it is a lot more realistic
and
> > fun to ride than a stationary bike.
> >
> > Anyway, I am thinking of mounting magnets on one end of a roller
on
> > each set. I could then count rotations using Hall sensors.
Knowing
> > the rotations, applying the appropriate conversions, and clocking
> > elapsed time would allow computation of speeds and distances. I
> > hope to do all of this using a BS2. I plan to use a large 3-
digit 7-
> > element LED display and 1 decimal point for each of the two
> > cyclists. The displays could be toggled between metric and
english
> > units.
> >
> > I am concerned about the ability of the program to count each and
> > every rotation of the two independent rollers. Would it unburden
> > the software to use some sort of hardware counter that could
then be
> > polled when the software was ready? Does anyone have
suggestions on
> > what digital IC might be helpful to accomplish this?
> >
> > I could also use suggestions on how to drive the displays, and
> > advice on the feasibility of using a single BS2 for both rollers
> > rather than one for each.
> >
> > Thanks!
> > Rich
> >
> > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
> > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the
Subject and Body of the message will be ignored.
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
>Hi Jack:
>
>Good point. The difference is that the system I would like to build
>provides 2 heads-up displays, making it easy for two riders to race
>against each others "data", so to speak. For example, two riders
>could toggle to instantaneous speed display and see who has the
>longest and fastest sprint, or they could have a 50 km road race -
>the first to reach 50 km wins. The opponent would always know how
>far ahead or behind he is placed. The standard handlbar mount
>display can only be seen by the rider of that bicycle.
>
>Rich
Rich -
I would rather doubt that one Stamp could adequately track two bicycles due to the time required to field the rotational data from the rollers. The cost of the STAMP processor(s) is probably going to be the largest part of the cost of this project. You MIGHT be able to provide yourself more time if you were tracking the rotation of the bicycle wheel rather than the speed of the rollers. Depending on the diameter of the rollers, and the diameter of the tires. you might be talking a ratio of 30:1, more or less. That would buy you a good deal more "free time" outside of the actual data acquisition.
That being said, and presuming that there will then be one Stamp for each bicycle, then two readouts (one for each cyclist) makes more sense to me. To my way of thinking, the next step is to allow either Stamp to display on either readout, at the individual cyclist's discretion. Now expand the thinking a bit beyond 7-segment displays to a large format character LCD, or a 2 line character LCD, both of which might do well to be of the serial input variety. Now a simple SPDT or DPDT switch could determine which set of data was being viewed since you're only switching the data line. There is a screen clearing issue to be worked out, but I don't see that as insurmountable.
Just some additional thoughts.
Regards,
Bruce Bates
with tossing a couple tachometers in there and just have the stamp A/D them
in and also run it with a timing unit (can't remember the number DS
something or other).
Even the computers that are already made for bikes are not real time....they
update every second or so. You could easily update 2 displays and read 2
tachs within 3 seconds.
And you could also forecast or average (depending what you really want) and
make up for that time in between actual measurements.
With a 3 second update you could do alot. put some gear sensors on there
and figure out what gear you're in....yup yup....unless I'm missing
something!
Original Message
From: "Bruce Bates" <bvbates@u...>
To: <basicstamps@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Friday, July 09, 2004 1:38 AM
Subject: Re: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Re: Bicycle roller racing computer
> At 02:18 AM 7/9/04 +0000, leverphysics wrote:
> >Hi Jack:
> >
> >Good point. The difference is that the system I would like to build
> >provides 2 heads-up displays, making it easy for two riders to race
> >against each others "data", so to speak. For example, two riders
> >could toggle to instantaneous speed display and see who has the
> >longest and fastest sprint, or they could have a 50 km road race -
> >the first to reach 50 km wins. The opponent would always know how
> >far ahead or behind he is placed. The standard handlbar mount
> >display can only be seen by the rider of that bicycle.
> >
> >Rich
>
> Rich -
>
> I would rather doubt that one Stamp could adequately track two bicycles
due to the time required to field the rotational data from the rollers. The
cost of the STAMP processor(s) is probably going to be the largest part of
the cost of this project. You MIGHT be able to provide yourself more time if
you were tracking the rotation of the bicycle wheel rather than the speed of
the rollers. Depending on the diameter of the rollers, and the diameter of
the tires. you might be talking a ratio of 30:1, more or less. That would
buy you a good deal more "free time" outside of the actual data acquisition.
>
> That being said, and presuming that there will then be one Stamp for each
bicycle, then two readouts (one for each cyclist) makes more sense to me. To
my way of thinking, the next step is to allow either Stamp to display on
either readout, at the individual cyclist's discretion. Now expand the
thinking a bit beyond 7-segment displays to a large format character LCD, or
a 2 line character LCD, both of which might do well to be of the serial
input variety. Now a simple SPDT or DPDT switch could determine which set of
data was being viewed since you're only switching the data line. There is a
screen clearing issue to be worked out, but I don't see that as
insurmountable.
>
> Just some additional thoughts.
>
> Regards,
>
> Bruce Bates
>
>
>
> To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
> basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
> from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
Body of the message will be ignored.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
Best twist yet!!!
But I have what I think is even a better idea.........
Quit your job, uproot your family and move here to sunny southern
california.....
No smog ,no crime, everybody is VERY friendly, cars don't try to run you off
the road, etc.......but we can ride all year long.....well almost. Last
winter I had to go about 5 days once between rides because of rain.
Seriously though, I like the video text overlay idea.
Ken
==============================
That sounds like an interesting project. I have a suggestion to make
it more interesting. Since you want a big display, you could use one
of the BOB video text overlay boards to display your data on a TV
screen. Before the winter hits, you could spend a fall weekend
videotaping your favorite New England bike riding roads.
... two months elapse while debugging the code etc ...
When the snow flies, you pop in a tape and have a virtual bike ride
while the data shows up on the screen.
Have fun.
Lee
[noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
That sounds like an interesting project. I have a suggestion to make
it more interesting. Since you want a big display, you could use one
of the BOB video text overlay boards to display your data on a TV
screen. Before the winter hits, you could spend a fall weekend
videotaping your favorite New England bike riding roads.
... two months elapse while debugging the code etc ...
When the snow flies, you pop in a tape and have a virtual bike ride
while the data shows up on the screen.
Have fun.
Lee
--- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, "leverphysics" <rlever@m...>
wrote:
> Hi everyone:
>
> I am planning to build a computer that keeps track of average
speed,
> instantaneous speed, and total distance travelled by each of 2
> bicycles when riding on a pair of rollers. The data for each
> cyclist would be displayed on large LED displays. This would allow
> the riders (my son and I) to have some fun competing on simulated
> road rides during long New England winters.
>
> For any of you who are not familiar with rollers, they consist of
> three horizontal cylinders mounted in a frame that rests on the
> floor. A bicycle can be ridden on top of the rollers, allowing a
> cyclist to get a great workout using his/her own bike. Because the
> bike must be steered to stay upright, it is a lot more realistic
and
> fun to ride than a stationary bike.
>
> Anyway, I am thinking of mounting magnets on one end of a roller on
> each set. I could then count rotations using Hall sensors.
Knowing
> the rotations, applying the appropriate conversions, and clocking
> elapsed time would allow computation of speeds and distances. I
> hope to do all of this using a BS2. I plan to use a large 3-digit 7-
> element LED display and 1 decimal point for each of the two
> cyclists. The displays could be toggled between metric and english
> units.
>
> I am concerned about the ability of the program to count each and
> every rotation of the two independent rollers. Would it unburden
> the software to use some sort of hardware counter that could then
be
> polled when the software was ready? Does anyone have suggestions
on
> what digital IC might be helpful to accomplish this?
>
> I could also use suggestions on how to drive the displays, and
> advice on the feasibility of using a single BS2 for both rollers
> rather than one for each.
>
> Thanks!
> Rich
> --- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, "leverphysics" <rlever@m...>
> wrote:
> > Hi everyone:
> >
> > I am planning to build a computer that keeps track of average
> speed,
> > instantaneous speed, and total distance travelled by each of 2
> > bicycles when riding on a pair of rollers. The data for each
> > cyclist would be displayed on large LED displays. This would
allow
> > the riders (my son and I) to have some fun competing on simulated
> > road rides during long New England winters.
**snip**
> > Thanks!
> > Rich
Those cycle computers use a magnetic reed switch in them, might be
simpler than "hall effect"
Have fun Gary B.