Bike Computer Problems

I have a very old and functional Cateye Solar II bike computer. It has been my trusted friend since 1986. I got caught in an awful rain today and I think it did my computer in :( - the screen can't be read - numbers are a mess. The screen is fogging up as well. I've put it in a bag with some of those silicon packets that come in medicine bottles in hopes of pulling the moisture out but I'm thinking it may be a lost cause. Does anyone have any suggestions for restoring my trusted friend? I can't image riding without my computer.

Hi Marcie,
Try taking the battery out, leaving the back off and just letting it sit in the open and dry. Or if it is soo humid that nothing is drying...leave it in the bag. Give it a couple of days then see.

Have you tried drying it out with a blow dryer? My husband dropped his cell phone in the water once and picked it out real quick took the battery off and used the blow dryer on it and the next day, believe it or not it worked great the next day and was still working when we traded them in for new ones to upgrade.

What coyote said

when I've had this happen it has taken a few days sometimes to come right.

careful with that dryer! you don't want to melt anything :D :D

My daughter washed her cell phone in the washing machine once. Dh took it apart to lay out and dry. In about 2 days it came back to life.

However, this did not happen when I washed my Blackberry, the first time I went by myself on a bike ride and stuck it in my jersey. I came home, emptied the two pockets I was used to emptying and threw everything in the machine. OOPS!!! I'm pretty sure I'll never do THAT again!

Sad to say, my poor Blackberry did not come back to life. Dh tried the silicone packet thing, too. I think he dried it with the blow dryer first, too.

Anyways, there IS hope. Give it a couple of days. If not, I highly recommend the Garmin Edge 305. Dh found the best deal on them when he bought me one for my birthday. He could have paid over $400 at a bike shop, but found it on-line for around $225 or so. (Somewhere in the $200's). If you want, I can find out the website he ordered it from. He had heard from many people that Costco.com was the cheapest place to get it, but he found it even cheaper elsewhere.

It was BuyeRetail.com. Here's the link if anyone is interested. It's $214 without the heartrate monitor, which we already had. He did a search at
nexttag.com to find it, so you could do a search there to find the cheapest price for the Garmin Edge 305 with heartrate monitor (or something else, of course!)

http://buyeretail.com/product.aspfil...u=010-00447-00

This GPS bike computer tells you time, speed, distance, elevation, cadence, incline percentage, heartrate, and what color your underwear is!Oh wait. You're probably not wearing any if your'e wearing cycling shorts! :eek: You can connect it to your computer and see all kinds of additional information about your ride. There are less expensive versions by Garmin as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jiffer

My daughter washed her cell phone in the washing machine once. Dh took it apart to lay out and dry. In about 2 days it came back to life.

However, this did not happen when I washed my Blackberry, the first time I went by myself on a bike ride and stuck it in my jersey. I came home, emptied the two pockets I was used to emptying and threw everything in the machine. OOPS!!! I'm pretty sure I'll never do THAT again!

Sad to say, my poor Blackberry did not come back to life. Dh tried the silicone packet thing, too. I think he dried it with the blow dryer first, too.

Anyways, there IS hope. Give it a couple of days. If not, I highly recommend the Garmin Edge 305. Dh found the best deal on them when he bought me one for my birthday. He could have paid over $400 at a bike shop, but found it on-line for around $225 or so. (Somewhere in the $200's). If you want, I can find out the website he ordered it from. He had heard from many people that Costco.com was the cheapest place to get it, but he found it even cheaper elsewhere.

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That's kind of steep.
My Cateye cost $35 and tells me everything I need to know.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zencentury

That's kind of steep.
My Cateye cost $35 and tells me everything I need to know.

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Til you get lost 50 miles from nowhere and can't even tell anybody by phone where you are.

I dried out a watch once by taking the back off, the battery out, and leaving it open-side-up on the dash of my car on a hot day. Worked a treat!

The battery voltage of the cateye is low enough that it wil not be enough to damage the elctronics. The LCD display is sensitive to heat and can be damaged so if you use a hairdryer, keep the dryer away from the display. If the display gets too hot to touch, you may damage th display.

Also remove the battery ASAP while it is drying out.

smilingcat

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jiffer

I washed my Blackberry

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:eek: That was an expensive mistake:eek:

I'm amazed by folks who carry heavy things in their pockets. I can't even stand to have a piece of paper in my pocket when I ride

I talked to my dad, what a wise man, the other night. He suggested I warm the oven and place my computer in the oven for short periods of time. That scared me a bit and when I would take it out the condensation on the screen was amazing. He also suggested that during the day I place it in a window, no direct sunlight, and simply let it sit. By late yesterday afternoon all the moisture appeared to be gone but my friend still would not work:( I mounted my other computer (sigma 1606L) on my "little blue bike" last night just so I would have a computer to track mileage on today's ride. The first thing I did this morning was put the batteries back in my old friend and it came to life! It appears it is going to be okay. How silly to get so excited about this discovery but I can't wait to put my friend back on my bike (it will have to wait until after the club ride this morning - no time). Thanks for all the suggestions and help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zencentury

That's kind of steep.
My Cateye cost $35 and tells me everything I need to know.

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Or when you endo while vacationing and your husband needs to tell the 911 operator where you are.

V.

Marcie, I wish I could make things last as long as you do! That's awesome

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Veronica

Or when you endo while vacationing and your husband needs to tell the 911 operator where you are.

V.

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what did you people do before these things were invented? You're lucky to have cell phones and be in a place that has a signal.
Once upon a time the other rider (if there is one) would pedal on to a house and ask for help

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zencentury

what did you people do before these things were invented? You're lucky to have cell phones and be in a place that has a signal.
Once upon a time the other rider (if there is one) would pedal on to a house and ask for help

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Of course you're right. It was absolutely wrong of us to use technology to get me help when after five minutes I was still on the ground. Thom should have pedaled off and left me there nausous, dizzy and with blurry vision.

V.

Thanks, Mr. Silver - my parents both grew up during the depression and taught us to take care of our "stuff." I'm just so happy my trusted friend has come back to life. Now, the dilemma; I've ordered a back wheel sensor/cadence kit for the 1606L do I continue to use it or do I put my trusted friend back in it place of honor? I'm thinking of putting the new kit in the drawer and saving it until I really need it. I really like my old computer and it typically always draws a question or two through the week. What to do, what to do?