The Smell of Molten Projects in the Morning

Ed Nisley's Blog: Shop notes, electronics, firmware, machinery, 3D printing, laser cuttery, and curiosities. Contents: 100% human thinking, 0% AI slop.

Category: Recumbent Bicycling

Cruisin’ the streets

Bafang Battery Labeling

Based on Tee’s unfortunate experience, I finally got around to labeling the Bafang batteries on our Tour Easy ‘bents:

Bafang battery labeling – charge jack

On the other side, each lock is now color-coded to its key:

Bafang battery labeling – lock and keys

It’s laser-safe polyurethane vinyl applied to the battery after vigorously wiping crud off the surface with denatured alcohol. Think of it as an outdoor testcase for PSA vinyl.

I’m sure there’s a master key out there for all e-bike locks, but we remove them so rarely the color coding should suffice.

Worst case, pick the lock with a piece of wire and a hex key.

2023-08-17
Schwalbe Marathon Plus vs. Glass Chip

My pre-ride thumb check showed a flat rear tire on Mary’s Tour Easy:

Glass chip – end view in tread

So we fetched groceries with the car.

As usual, no tire armor can withstand a glass blade:

Glass Chip – side view

It’s a bit over 5 mm from the knife edge to the ground-flat end, just long enough to punch through a rather well-worn Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire and poke a slow leak in the tube.

The tire has covered enough miles to wear the tread down to maybe half a millimeter over the blue armor layer:

Glass chip – tire damage

Time for a new tire!

For the record, the odometer is just shy of 35 k miles and she rides about 1500 miles a year; somewhat less over the last year for reasons not relevant here. As best I can tell, the tire has been on there for about five years and 7000 miles.

2023-07-27
Honest, It Fell Off the Truck

A white pickup from a local landscaping company pulled onto Raymond Avenue well ahead of me:

Pickup Truck Drill Drop – A

Although it’s not obvious to you, something seemed wrong as it pulled away:

Pickup Truck Drill Drop – B

A closer look:

Pickup Truck Drill Drop – B – detail

The dark blob turned out to be a carrying case for an industrial-strength drill:

Pickup Truck Drill Drop – C

Fortunately, there was no oncoming traffic and the drivers could all swerve around the debris:

Pickup Truck Drill Drop – D

I was hauling a trailer of groceries and didn’t want to stop, but hailed the driver where he pulled over just past the Hooker Avenue intersection. Unfortunately, he didn’t notice the drill was missing and proceeded on his way.

When I got home, I called the company to tell them what happened. I hope they got someone there before the circling vultures landed …

2023-06-16

Copying Action Camera Video Files: Now With Arrays

Using Bash arrays is an exercise in masochism, but I got to recycle most of the oddities from the previous script, so it wasn’t a dead loss.

The cameras use individually unique / screwy / different filesystem layouts, so the script must have individual code to both copy the file and decapitalize the file extensions. This prevents using a single tidy function, although laying out the code in case statements keyed by the camera name helps identify what’s going on.

My previous approach identified the MicroSD cards by their UUIDs, which worked perfectly right up until the camera reformats the card while recovering from a filesystem crash and installs a randomly generated UUID. Because there’s no practical way to modify an existing UUID on a VFAT drive, I’m switching to the volume label as needed:

#-- action cameras and USB video storage
UUID=B40C6DD40C6D9262	/mnt/video	ntfs	user,noauto,uid=ed	0	0
UUID=B257-AE02		/mnt/Fly6	vfat	user,noauto,uid=ed	0	0
#UUID=0000-0001		/mnt/M20	vfat	user,noauto,uid=ed	0	0
UUID=3339-3338		/mnt/M20	vfat	user,noauto,uid=ed	0	0
LABEL=AS30V		/mnt/AS30V	exfat	user,noauto,uid=ed	0	0
LABEL=C100-0001		/mnt/C100_1	vfat	user,noauto,uid=ed	0	0
LABEL=C100-0002		/mnt/C100_2	vfat	user,noauto,uid=ed	0	0
UUID=0050-0001		/mnt/M50	vfat	user,noauto,uid=ed	0	0

In particular, note the two UUIDs for the M20 camera: there’s a crash and reformat in between those two lines. The two C100 cameras started out with labels because the M20 taught me the error of my ways.

The script simply iterates through a ~~list~~ array of the cameras and tries to mount the corresponding MicroSD card for each one: the mount points are cleverly chosen to match the camera names in the array. Should the mount succeeds, an asynchronous rsync then slurps the files onto the bulk video drive.

With all the rsync operations running, the script waits for all of them to complete before continuing. I don’t see much point in trying to identify which rsync just finished and fix up its files while the others continue to run, so the script simply stalls in a loop until everything is finished.

All in all, the script scratches my itch and, if naught else, can serve as a Bad Example™ of how to get the job done.

A picture to keep WordPress from reminding me that readers respond positively to illustrated posts:

A pleasant day for a ride - 2023-06-01 — A pleasant day for a ride – 2023-06-01

Ride on!

The Bash script as a GitHub Gist:

	#!/bin/bash
	# This uses too many bashisms for dash

	source /etc/os-release
	echo 'Running on' $PRETTY_NAME

	if [[ "$PRETTY_NAME" == Manjaro ]] ; then
	ren='perl-rename'
	dm='sudo dmesg'
	elif [[ "$PRETTY_NAME" == Ubuntu ]] ; then
	ren='rename'
	dm='dmesg'
	else
	echo 'New distro to me:' $PRETTY_NAME
	echo ' … which rename command is valid?'
	exit
	fi

	echo Check for good SD card spin-up
	$dm \| tail -50
	echo … Ctrl-C to bail out and fix / Enter to proceed

	read junk

	thisdate=$(date –rfc-3339=date)
	echo Date: $thisdate

	# MicroSD / readers / USB drive defined in fstab
	# … with UUID or PARTID as appropriate

	echo Mounting bulk video drive
	sudo mount /mnt/video
	if [ $? -ne 0 ]; then
	echo '** Cannot mount video storage drive'
	exit
	fi

	# Show starting space available
	df -h /mnt/video

	# list the cameras

	declare -a cams=( AS30V Fly6 M20 M50 C100_1 C100_2 )

	declare -A targets=( \
	[AS30V]=/mnt/video/AS30V/$thisdate \
	[Fly6]=/mnt/video/Fly6/DCIM \
	[M20]=/mnt/video/M20/$thisdate \
	[M50]=/mnt/video/M50/$thisdate \
	[C100_1]=/mnt/video/C100_1/$thisdate \
	[C100_2]=/mnt/video/C100_2/$thisdate \
	)

	declare -A PIDs
	declare -A Copied

	echo Iterating through cameras: ${cams[*]}

	Running=0

	for cam in ${cams[*]} ; do
	printf "\nProcessing: $cam\n"
	mpt="/mnt/$cam"
	target=${targets[$cam]}

	sudo mount $mpt

	if [ $? -eq 0 ]; then
	echo " Start $cam transfer from $mpt"

	echo " Make target directory: $target"
	mkdir $target

	case $cam in
	( AS30V )
	rsync -ahu –progress –exclude "*THM" $mpt/MP_ROOT/100ANV01/ $target &
	;;
	( Fly6 )
	rsync -ahu –progress $mpt /mnt/video &
	;;
	( M20 )
	n=$( ls $mpt/DCIM/Photo/* 2> /dev/null \| wc -l )
	if [ $n -gt 0 ] ; then
	echo " copy M20 photos first"
	rsync -ahu –progress $mpt/DCIM/Photo/ $target
	fi
	echo " cmd: rsync -ahu –progress $mpt/DCIM/Movie/ $target"
	rsync -ahu –progress $mpt/DCIM/Movie/ $target &
	;;
	( M50 )
	n=$( ls $mpt/DCIM/PHOTO/* 2> /dev/null \| wc -l )
	if [ $n -gt 0 ] ; then
	echo " copy M50 photos first"
	rsync -ahu –progress $mpt/DCIM/PHOTO/ $target
	fi
	rsync -ahu –progress $mpt/DCIM/MOVIE/ $target &
	;;
	( C100_1 \| C100_2 )
	n=$( ls $mpt/DCIM/Photo/* 2> /dev/null \| wc -l )
	if [ $n -gt 0 ] ; then
	echo " copy $cam photos first"
	rsync -ahu –progress $mpt/DCIM/Photo/ $target
	fi
	rsync -ahu –progress $mpt/DCIM/Movie/ $target &
	;;
	( * )
	printf "\n**** Did not find $cam in list!\n"
	;;
	esac

	PIDs[$cam]=$!
	echo " PID for $cam: " "${PIDs[$cam]}"
	Copied[$cam]=1
	(( Running++ ))

	else
	echo " skipping $cam"
	Copied[$cam]=0
	fi

	done


	printf "\n—– Waiting for all rsync terminations\n"
	echo PIDs: "${PIDs[*]}"
	if [ $Running -eq 0 ] ; then
	echo No rsyncs started, force error
	rcsum=9999
	else
	rcsum=0
	while [ $Running -gt 0 ] ; do
	echo " waiting: $Running"
	wait -n -p PID
	rc=$?
	rcsum=$(( rcsum+$rc ))
	echo RC for $PID: $rc
	(( Running– ))
	done
	echo All rsyncs finished
	fi

	if [ $rcsum -eq 0 ] ; then
	echo '—– Final cleanups'

	for cam in ${cams[*]} ; do
	if [ "${Copied[$cam]}" -eq 1 ] ; then
	echo Cleanup for: $cam

	mpt=/mnt/$cam
	target=${targets[$cam]}
	echo Target dir: $target

	case $cam in
	( Fly6 )
	find $target -name \*AVI -print0 \| xargs -0 $ren -v -f 's/AVI/avi/'
	rm -rf $mpt/DCIM/*
	;;
	( AS30V )
	find $target -name \*MP4 -print0 \| xargs -0 $ren -v -f 's/MP4/mp4/'
	rm $mpt/MP_ROOT/100ANV01/*
	;;
	( M50 )
	find $target -name \*MP4 -print0 \| xargs -0 $ren -v -f 's/MP4/mp4/'
	rm $mpt/DCIM/MOVIE/*
	n=$( ls $mpt/DCIM/PHOTO/* 2> /dev/null \| wc -l )
	if [ $n -gt 0 ] ; then
	echo placeholder $cam
	rm $mpt/DCIM/PHOTO/*
	fi
	;;
	( * )
	find $target -name \*MP4 -print0 \| xargs -0 $ren -v -f 's/MP4/mp4/'
	find $target -name \*JPG -print0 \| xargs -0 $ren -v -f 's/JPG/jpg/'
	rm $mpt/DCIM/Movie/*
	n=$( ls $mpt/DCIM/Photo/* 2> /dev/null \| wc -l )
	if [ $n -gt 0 ] ; then
	echo placeholder $cam
	rm $mpt/DCIM/Photo/*
	fi
	;;
	esac

	sudo umount $mpt
	else
	echo No cleanup for: $cam
	fi
	done

	echo '—– Space remaining on video drive'
	df -h /mnt/video
	sudo umount /mnt/video
	date
	echo Done!
	else
	echo Whoopsie! Total RC: $rcsum
	fi

view raw savevideo-array.sh hosted with ❤ by GitHub

2023-06-02

Tour Easy: Another SJCAM C100+ Mount
Eight years of progress in the action camera world gets you from a rather expensive Cycliq Fly6:

Tour Easy – Fly6 image

To an SJCAM C100+ camera costing the better part of fifty bucks on closeout:

Tour Easy – C100 image

The camera is mounted on the side of the seat frame on Mary’s Tour Easy:

Tour Easy C100 mount – side rail

The slightly tilted picture comes from the frame rail’s incline. My C100+ camera mounts on the horizontal part of the rail:

Tour Easy C100 mount – rear rail

As expected, the internal battery does not last for our usual hour-long rides, so the cameras now operate in “car mode”: recording starts when we plug in the USB battery pack and stops shortly after unplugging.

I started with the waterproof case on my bike:

Tour Easy – SJCAM C100 mount – installed

Which (obviously) does not allow for an external battery, so they’re now in the “frame” mount. The hatch covering the MicroSD card and USB Micro-B connector (and a Reset button!) is on the bottom of the camera, but (fortunately) the whole affair mounts up-side-down and the settings include an image flip mode.

Putting the camera on the side required changing the mount angle from -20° to +35°:

SJCAM C100 Mount – 35 degree solid model

The ergonomics / user interface of this whole setup is terrible:
- The camera’s flexible hatch is recessed inside the frame far enough that it cannot be opened without using a small & sharp screwdriver
- The USB jack is slightly off-center, so lining the plug up with the camera body doesn’t align it with the jack
- The MicroSD card is in a push-to-release socket, but its raised ridge faces the hatch flap and cannot be reached by a fingernail. I added a small tab that helps, but it’s difficult to grasp.
Extracting the video files from the camera through the app is an exercise in frustration. Having already figured out how to do this for the other cameras in the fleet, it’s easier to fumble with the MicroSD card.

I devoutly hope we never really need any of the videos.
2023-05-23
New Jeep, Reckless Driver

Some drivers give us absurd amounts of clearance, which is what we thought the driver of the white Jeep was doing:

New Jeep Reckless Driving – Jeep passing

Some drivers give us very little clearance, either deliberately or though negligence, which is what I thought the driver of the silver Subaru was doing:

New Jeep Reckless Driving – Subaru close pass

Reviewing the videos revealed a different story that could have ended very badly for everyone involved.

Moving back in time, we crossed the bridge over the Wappingers creek, which has two southbound lanes. The left lane is dedicated to left turns onto Red Oaks Mill Road and the right lane is for through traffic southbound on Rt 376:

New Jeep Reckless Driving – Red Oaks Mill bridge

I had noticed oncoming drivers in the northbound lane were moving far over to the fog line, but (unseen by me) they were definitely swerving off the road:

New Jeep Reckless Driving – swerve 1

It seems the Jeep driver crossed the bridge in the left lane and continued straight through, passing the solid line of vehicles in the right lane behind us. You can see the top of the Jeep’s windshield peeking out behind the Subaru, with minimal clearance to the black car swerving out of the way:

New Jeep Reckless Driving – swerve 1 clearance

There’s not much shoulder on that side of the road, but the driver of the white Honda is using it all:

New Jeep Reckless Driving – swerve 2

With all the oncoming traffic out of the way, the Jeep driver now accelerates in the wrong lane:

New Jeep Reckless Driving – passing 1

And passes the Subaru just behind us:

New Jeep Reckless Driving – passing 2

The license plate looks like JAE-7751, early in the “J” plate series, so that’s a shiny new Jeep.

Being passed at close range in an obviously no-passing zone caused the Subaru driver to flinch in our direction:

New Jeep Reckless Driving – Subaru clearance

Unsurprisingly, the Jeep driver ran the red light at the top of the hill, presumably to avoid being stopped directly in front of us.

Never a dull moment out there on the road …

2023-05-16

Bafang vs. Tour Easy: Chain Guide

After adding the Bafang motor to my Tour Easy, the chain has fallen off the chainring a few times, prompting the gap filler between the motor and the chainring spider. That this has never happened to Mary’s essentially identical Tour Easy suggests I have a different shift technique, but adding a chain catcher seemed easier than re-learning shifting:

Chain Catcher - top view — Chain Catcher – top view

It’s more properly called a “chain guide” and is basically a shifter cage minus the mechanism:

Chain Catcher - side view — Chain Catcher – side view

Because the Tour Easy frame has a 25 mm tube where the guide’s clamp expects a minimum 31.8 mm tube, a 3D printed adapter fills the gap:

Chain Catcher adapter ring - solid model — Chain Catcher adapter ring – solid model

The hole is off-center because it seemed like a good idea, although it’s not strictly necessary. The flange helps align the pieces while tightening the clamp screw.

The guide cage clears the chain on all sides while up on the work stand, but there’s nothing like getting out on the road to find out why something doesn’t work as you expect.

The OpenSCAD source code as a GitHub Gist:

	// Chain catcher adapter ring
	// Ed Nisley – KE4ZNU – 2023-05

	/* [Hidden] */

	ThreadThick = 0.25;
	ThreadWidth = 0.40;

	HoleWindage = 0.2;

	Protrusion = 0.1; // make holes end cleanly

	function IntegerMultiple(Size,Unit) = Unit * ceil(Size / Unit);

	ID = 0;
	OD = 1;
	LENGTH = 2;

	inch = 25.4;

	//———————-
	// Dimensions


	TubeOD = 26.0; // frame tube with silicone tape

	Clamp = [35.0,39.0,12.0]; // Chain catcher clamp ring

	Flange = [Clamp[ID],Clamp[OD],3*ThreadThick];

	Kerf = 1.0;

	Offset = (Clamp[ID] – TubeOD)/2 – 3*ThreadWidth;

	NumSides = 234;

	//———————–

	$fn=NumSides;

	difference() {
	union() {
	cylinder(d=Flange[OD],h=Flange[LENGTH]);
	cylinder(d=Clamp[ID],h=Clamp[LENGTH]+Flange[LENGTH]);
	}

	cube([2Flange[OD],Kerf,3Clamp[LENGTH]],center=true);

	translate([0,Offset,0])
	cylinder(d=TubeOD,h=3*Clamp[LENGTH],center=true);
	}

view raw Chain Catcher adapter ring.scad hosted with ❤ by GitHub

2023-05-05

Category: Recumbent Bicycling

Bafang Battery Labeling

Schwalbe Marathon Plus vs. Glass Chip

Honest, It Fell Off the Truck

Copying Action Camera Video Files: Now With Arrays

Tour Easy: Another SJCAM C100+ Mount

New Jeep, Reckless Driver

Bafang vs. Tour Easy: Chain Guide