PowerPod freezing

[andrewneal]

I've had my PowerPod for 2-3 weeks, so far with mixed results. My main problem is that on long rides the unit has completely stopped functioning several times. Sometimes it can be woken by pressing the button once, but other times only way to get it working again is with a hard reset (12 seconds holding down the button). This results in a ride file saved up to the point of the malfunction, saved with 0 miles in the title. It will then start a new ride file when it gets going again, with an incorrect date.

I've posted my two ride files from a 2.5 hour ride yesterday, and also a .csv file showing what was recorded on my cycle computer app so you can see the power drop outs. There was definitely one and possibly two PowerPod drop outs on this ride, which you can see from the .csv power chart (although some of the flat lines are coasting down hill).

It is probably the case that my windscaling is not correctly calibrated, since the files show a constant strong tailwind which wasn't the case, but that is not my main concern right now.

[Velocomp]

I've looked at all three files.

I don't see any obvious reason your PP stopped sending data at the 50 km mark. It looks like, at the 50 km mark, you stopped (speed went to zero). If you stop for more than 20 minutes, PP will go to sleep. A single click of its button will reawaken it.

It looks like you're using a combined speed/cadence sensor. That's OK, too; just make sure that it isn't going to sleep when you stop riding.

One final thing: make sure your PP is fully charged before starting riding.

[andrewneal]

Thanks for your quick reply. I'm aware of the unit sleep time of 20 minutes, and I've noted the wake up routine you mention. However, we didn't have any long stops on the ride, and when the unit dropped out I was actually moving. If you look at 50km-53.5km in the .CSV file you'll see from the speed and cadence charts that I'm still moving here (downhill quite fast while trying to get the PowerPod working again). This it when it froze and needed a hard reset.

[Velocomp]

Yes, I see that.

I cannot find any obvious reason why your unit is "freezing". Has this happened before? Are you sure your PP is fully charged before the ride? Are you sure your speed/cadence sensor has a fresh battery? Low batteries could be the culprit...

[andrewneal]

Yes it happened before on my previous long ride. That time it was after 11 miles of 55, but I didn't know how to reset it at the time. I've attached the ride file for that ride until the drop out.

The speed/cadence sensor is new from the same time as the PowerPod, so just over two weeks old with a new battery. I've not had problems with that dropping out.

And I've had the PowerPod fully charged on every ride.

My experience seems similar to this thread:
http://ibikeforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=9 ... old#p19017

I'm also riding in cold weather, just above freezing.

[Velocomp]

What causes you to conclude that the PP has stopped not working? Zero watts on the Garmin display? For how long does this problem persist before you reset the unit? Does the problem cease after you reset the unit? Are you stopping just prior to the problem occurring? Please provide as much detail as possible.

We will look into this.

[andrewneal]

Thanks again for your attentiveness.

I use my phone as the head unit, as I've done for a long time. It's a Sony Z5 Compact and very stable. It has ANT+ built in. The speed/cadence unit is a new Bontrager dual ANt+/BTLE machine, and I connect the phone to the ANT+ signal not the BTLE.

For the first ride where the drop out happened, on 20 November, I was using the Strava app as a cycle computer. The power section of the display just stopped showing a reading after about 10 miles/16km. I tried restarting the app, reconnecting the sensors, short-pressing the PowerPod button, to no effect. All the other readings continued, including speed/cadence via ANT+ and HR via BLTE. (To be honest, the Strava app wasn't much use with power, because the reading just jumped about all over the place.)

On the second ride, from 27 November, I was using the IpBike app. This seems much better with the power readings, showing a fairly stable number, with no smoothing in the app, but dynamic smoothing from the PowerPod. Again, when the PowerPod drop out happened, the power section just started reading zero, while the other sections for HR, cadence etc. continued.

The first drop out happened while riding just after 11km, not after a stop (and up to that point we'd only stopped for a few seconds here and there to wait for people, at junctions etc.). After noticing the zero reading and waiting a bit, I pressed the PowerPod button once, the green light came on, and nothing happened. So I reconnected the sensors from the IpBike app, and I got the readings back.

The second drop out at 50km was the same: it happened while riding, not after a stop, and just showed a zero reading. The PowerPod did not respond to a button press, then several button presses, and it was sending no signal, so I did a hard restart on the move, and my phone picked up the PowerPod signal again just after 53km.

Also it seems a bit odd that my wind scale calibration for 27 November seems so out (showing constant strong tailwinds on a calm day and circular route, which of course is impossible), while my other rides look more realistic, with a mix of light winds changing direction with the route. I haven't changed the profile since 17 November, when I did an out and back calibration ride (which led me to make a small 'check calibration' tweak from my original settings that were based on weight, riding position etc.). I haven't changed the PowerPod position on the bike either, although I have taken it off a couple of times.

When I'm not riding, I store the PowerPod on the bike indoors, which is hung up vertically. But I wait until the unit has definitely gone to sleep before hanging the bike up, so as not to affect the tilt calibration.

That's every detail I can think of.

[Velocomp]

Please email technicalsupport@velocomp.com

We will send a replacement unit and please return your unit to us for analysis.

[andrewneal]

Thank you, I'm very impressed with the level of support you give your customers.