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Month: August 2011

Replacement EPDM Bands for Garmin Quarter Turn Bike Mount

Published August 3, 2011

New Garmin cycling GPSs (such as the Edge 500 and Edge 800) use a new style of mount that can only be affixed to bikes with an elastic band mounting system. This Quarter Turn Bike Mount (Part Number: 010-11430-00) comes with EPDM bands for this mounting, and documentation (seen above) strongly suggests that the same sort of replacement band be used. This is a valid recommendation as EPDM is a very good material for long-term exposure to the elements, but it’s not always that easy to find a specialized material like this.

While Garmin sells the Bike Mount Elastic Bands (Part Number: 010-11430-01) set (six bands, three of each size) themselves for US$5.99, it’s possible to buy them from an industrial supply shop like McMaster-Carr for quite a bit less. Specifically, these rings appear to be as follows:

Small Garmin Elastic Band
AS568A Dash No.: -125
Width: 3/32″ (.103″ Actual)
Inner Diameter: 1 5/16″ (1.299″ Actual)
Outer Diameter: 1 1/2″ (1.505″ Actual)
McMaster-Carr Part Number: 9557K158
Price (as of 2011-Aug-03): US$9.12 for 50 Pieces

Large Garmin Elastic Band
AS568A Dash No.: -131
Width: 3/32″ (.103″ Actual)
Inner Diameter: 1 11/16″ (1.674″ Actual)
Outer Diameter: 1 7/8″ (1.880″ Actual)
McMaster-Carr Part Number: 9557K165
Price (as of 2011-Aug-03): US$9.62 for 50 Pieces

While a pack of 50 bands is overkill for most people’s needs, the price of ~20¢/ea is considerably better than Garmin’s ~$1/ea. At that price a group of friends, a team, or a shop could go in on a box of replacements and just keep them sitting around for use as needed. It also would be trivial to order smaller or larger bands if one needs the mount to fit larger or smaller surfaces; just be sure to get the 3/32″ (.103″ actual) bands and order whatever diameter desired.

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Black & Decker Pivot Driver (Model 9078) Power Supply

Published August 2, 2011

Today’s public service announcement is to inform you that the Black & Decker Pivot Driver (Model 9078) uses a 5VAC ~200mA power supply with a typical 2.5mm barrel connector for charging. The 3.6VDC marking on the driver itself is the power requirements for the motor, the charging connector is unlabeled, and a decal on the unit simply directs that only power supply 90500898 be used. Now you know that 905 That is all.

(This sort of information is often terribly hard to find when needed, such as when the device needs a charge, the power supply is missing, and a suitable replacement can’t be found. Hopefully stuff like this will one day help someone.)

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Fennel, Propolis, and Myrrh Toothpaste

Published August 2, 2011

For the last few months I’ve been using a tube of Trader Joe’s-brand Fennel, Propolis, and Myrrh toothpaste when brushing my teeth. I rather like this toothpaste, as it tastes strongly of fennel (one of my favorite flavors) while brushing, yet doesn’t leave a lingering, cloying, fake-mint taste in one’s mouth like most big-name toothpaste. Also, unlike mint, the slight leftover fennel taste also doesn’t clash with whatever breakfast food I happen to eat later in the morning, be it coffee, orange juice, cream cheese, or just about anything else.

I’d prefer it if I could get this flavor toothpaste with fluoride, but neither the Trader Joe’s labeled product nor the natural toothpaste heavyweight Tom’s of Maine (now partially owned by Colgate-Palmolive) offer this flavor with the tooth-friendly additive. Unlike some It’s a good thing that I’m a regular drinker of tap water; I’ll just get my fluoride that way.

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SDrive NUXXs Ready To Ship

Published August 1, 2011

There we go, twenty nine (29) assembled SDrive NUXXs packed in bubble wrap and ready to ship. The thirtieth unit is waiting on some parts (small plastic key caps)that Digi-Key mis-shipped. Or, if a buyer so chooses, I’ll fit their unit with yellow key caps. Here is the USPS Priority Mail packaging sent complimentary upon request. It, of course, requires that I use them for all shipping, but I was planning that anyway.

Now, time to sleep. I’m very overtired. This is a bit more work than I planned on.

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