As the Hub Motor turns and the LiPo Fire Burns. On the road again soon. Hopefully with GPS navigation.
Since I have been in Ohio I must have got lost more than a dozen times. Probably several dozen. I am not one of those people with a natural sense of direction.
It is one of the reasons I have not rode my e bike in awhile. The other is the flat tire and broken thumb throttle. Also the heavy traffic.
For awhile I had a cheap android Obama phone which had a google navigation app but was extremely difficult to work especially when snowing and blowing , wind and rain as I went to Belden village close to a dozen times in the last few months and to doctors appointments in the North Canton area.
I used the google app. when walking to find the doctors and bus station and also when on the bus to know where to get off. As far as a phone goes it was a really cheap and annoying device. You could hardly hear it ring and took about 2 minutes just to turn on and the battery was cheap Chinese garbage. It also beeped and made all kinds of annoying noises all the time for no reason. It acted like it was having a seizure or something.
I wont go into details but about a week ago I called home to my spouse as I have a landline phone and wanted to know what she needed at the store. The call cut off and could not call back as was stuck on airplane mode. I tried for about 5 minutes to get it out of airplane mode and failed.
I am sure you can all guess what happened next. :lol:
Since then I got a flip track phone for 13 bucks and a 15 dollar card with 500 minutes talk and text. It rings loud and the buttons light and is so much easier to use as a phone and does voice mail. As far as a phone goes is way better than android or smart phones. It turns on much faster and way better for talking. If I had to call 911 I would be dead by the time the android phone turned on.
Needless to say I no longer own the phone and tried several times to get a replacement upgrade but am still waiting for my name to get out of the system as they wont mail replacement to a PO. box and I don't get mail here because of the neighborhood. I have to get one at the booth where I signed up.
Yesterday was the last straw. Due to my shoulder , back , toe and right knee pain which got progressively worse due to Osteo arthritis I got a doctors recommendation for medical cannabis here in Ohio. I received my state issued card and was on my way to the dispensary and even printed out a google map at the library. The bus driver had no idea where it was and got lost in a terrible scary neighborhood with 200 bucks on me.
I know myself , and if someone pulled a gun on me I would have probably blasted them in the face and got myself shot dead before I would hand them my cash. For me a GPS portable navigator is something I just cant live without. I went and bought one at best buy for 89 bucks. It came to 95 with tax.
I figured I could mount it to my handlebars as soon as I get the e bike going. It could save my life as when lost with low battery I get anxiety attacks. I had bad anxiety when I hit that hole in the grass last July and seriously injured my right shoulder and surgery was highly recommended. I have not rode much at all since then.
I need this GPS navigator whether I am walking , e biking or driving a vehicle but especially driving a vehicle or an e bike so I don't get high stress and anxiety. When I opened the box It has a cord and adapter for a cigarette lighter. I did not even realize vehicles still had those. It has a mini to regular USB but the device was completely dead. It says it needs a special USB block.
10V is minimum for a power block but 12V is what I need. It is a Garmin Drive 52. marked down from 120 to 89 bucks. It says that the charging will be very slow without the correct charging block which is separate.
My two questions here are e bike related as will be using the GPS every time I ride my bike especially any distance. I am thinking about a 12V lithium ion battery or 3 - 18650 cells in series with a 3S charger. It should not be difficult to do and can cut the wires off the cigarette lighter plug for a vehicle and plug it in to the 3S Lithium ion pack.
The second question is how to mount the GPS to my e bike handle bars but not permanent as will be needing it on foot , bus or motor vehicle also. I plan on fixing my tire and ordering a new thumb throttle as it broke off when I hurt myself last summer.
Please let me know what you all think and thanks.
LC out.