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« October 2005 | Main | December 2005 » November 21, 2005Motorcycle head-mounted cameras
From weekend speed runs through the twisties to preparing for a documentary of an around-the-world motorcycle voyage, camera mounts for motorcycles are a versatile and entertaining tool. Most typical camera mount systems mount directly to the tank of the motorcycle via a bag with connecting hooks, magnets or an adhesive. While others still have a sort of "Road Rash" camera that skates near the undercarriage of the bike to capture the speed of the road passing by. Head mounted camera systems are one of the more entertaining, though expensive, options for the sheer freedom that they offer the rider. Besides documenting a trip or taping a speed run, you can also use the video to help show the significant others exactly why it is you ride. The Jones Cam The Jones Cam, though pricey, is a pretty good quality head mounted camera. It uses a 1/3" Sony CCD recording at 480 lines of resolution and comes with a lapel microphone. Receiving power through a pretty good sized remote power box containing 8 AA batteries. It's fed the juice via an included power cable to the camera. It mounts with the included clear two sided tape or velcro. Did we mention it's also waterproof, up to 10 inches? The quality of the video is high and looks great on replay. A big concern of on-board photography is vibration, especially at high-revs. CCD cameras like this are more susceptible to vibration, and unfortunately this camera is no exception. For most street users, it would probably be a non-issue. Still, if you're looking at a bike camera for mountain biking or motocross, you may want to skip the Jones Cam. Check out the website to view the sample media. The Twenty20 Helmet Cam Similar to the Jones Cam, the Twenty20 Cam is a very comparable offering. Depending on the user, some would say it's all about image quality, while others want the longest battery life with a bomb proof sensor. The Twenty20 is more of the former. It still has great image quality and features a full 30 FPS recording capability as well as being waterproof like the Jones Cam. Both systems come with a noise cancelling high-gain microphone for capturing the commentary of the rider, or the screaming schrill of 16,000 RPM's. The Twenty20 is designed using a CMOS sensor rather than the CCD of the Jones Cam. The CMOS sensor is much more vibration resistant, as well as providing a huge decrease in power consumption. This unit doesn't suffer from the draw back of a large 8 AA battery pack; it runs off of a single 9-volt battery for over 20 hours! This is by far the lightest battery pack of the models researched here. Throw in the lowest price of all cameras, and then Twenty20 is very hard to beat. The Viosport Adventure Cam 3 This is by far the most "professional" version of the bunch. It has the highest quality video, and the most versatility. It has the ability to swap through 5 optional lenses as well has 5 optional nuetral, or sun, filters. This is perfect for extremely bright situations such as snow mobiling or skiing. At 520 TV lines of resolution, you'll never worry about the people at home not being able to clearly see your adventures. The Viosport is the same display used in professional production work for programs such as Real World / Road Rules Challange and the X-Games. If you've seen either of these programs you know the quality of video is amazing, and they take a significant beating as well. One of the only main drawbacks for riders where higher speeds are attained is that the included 5-ft coiled cable is heavy. Not only is it heavy, but as wind speeds increase many people report that the cable can move around enough to start slapping the back of the helmet. A few of our more handy readers would probably choose to ditch the heavy coiled cable and go with a thinner custom straight cable. Verdict: Most riders will appreciate the low price and long battery life of the Twenty20. However if image quality is king, the Viosport Adventure Cam is almost the same price as the Jones Cam, and offers superior quality. Posted by Beau Gunderson at 9:33 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack November 18, 2005Friday HeadlinesHere are this weeks headlines from the travel blog network at Blogads: Dawn at the Shaolin Temple (Travel Blogger.net) Posted by Beau Gunderson at 8:06 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack November 17, 2005Super glue for medical emergencies
Many people have super glue around the house or on the work bench, but not many people carry it around when traveling and that needs to change. Super glue comes in an extremely small, lightweight package, stores very well, and doesn't need its own container. A single tube can take you around the globe and back. It's almost indestructible when it comes to repairing broken items on one's journey, or even fixing automotive problems in the field until a real repair can be made. I suggest you carry it for another reason: medical emergencies. Super glue has been around forever in the medical community in various forms. It was used in Vietnam to suture wounds on the field. I was also used to suture a wounded liver together, as it was almost impossible to sew due to the fragility. Not only suturing deep open wounds or replacing stitches, it forms a synthetic barrier between the wound and potential germs, almost like a second skin. Those that have constant open wounds on their hands due to the drying affects of salt water immersion have used super glue for years to keep from feeling the sharp pain of salt water in these wounds. It's also invaluable for hikers and trekkers for covering wounds on the feet and preventing further moisture injuries. It's very simple to use; simply cover the affected area with a small amount of glue and wait for it to dry. For open wounds such as cuts or lacerations, pinch the cleansed, dry skin together and apply glue at the seam. The "bandage" will fall off in 3-5 days, and the wound will have started self-sealing. There are several over the counter choices made specifically for medical uses, however most are not as strong as super glue itself. A good choice made for medicinal purposes that does retain much of the strength (with additional flexibility) is VetBond Standard super glue can be bought at most any local store. If you don't have some already, put it in your next travel or survival pack. Posted by Beau Gunderson at 1:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack November 8, 2005SportVue MC2 Head-mounted Display
Anyone planning a motorcycle adventure down a California coastal highway or a high speed cross-country trip needs a SportVue MC2 head-mounted display. This wireless display mounts just outside of your direct vision on a standard motorcycle helmet and displays speed, RPM, programmable shift indicators, current gear, and visual radar alerts in realtime. The display has three brightness settings for use in broad daylight or on dark roads far from the city. Installation can be done at home in less than two hours and mainly consists of wiring up the motorcycle sending unit and the wheel speed sensor to transmit to the head-mounted display. The unit was track tested at over 160 MPH and has been designed for durability and rock solid performance. The usefulness of this product goes without saying. It takes the average rider 3 to 5 seconds to adjust to their instrumentation from the road when attempting to gather information. A lot can happen in that time, especially on a motorcycle. These should be standard gear for any rider. Also in development is a version for cyclists and sky divers. The SportVue MC1 Retails for $329 and the MC2 with radar support Retails for $389 at SportVue. You can also check out the PDF brochure for more information. Posted by Beau Gunderson at 10:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack November 4, 2005Travel Network Week in ReviewTreknologies is now a member of the travel blog network at Blogads, a group of independent travel blogs. Fridays we'll be bringing you headlines from some of the other blogs in the group. Here are this week's batch: Rockefeller roof decks reopen (NewYorkology) Posted by Beau Gunderson at 1:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack November 2, 2005Google Maps PedometerI've been using the Gmaps Pedometer for quite some time. It was designed as an after-the-fact pedometer using the Google Maps API. Operation is simple--just select your starting point on the map and choose waypoints along your desired path. The site will compute the exact distance between each leg of your route as well as the total length in Metric or US units. The display even includes mile markers along the route. I've used it to setup running routes around my house, cycling routes and one or many-day hiking routes. Now you can even export to the GPX format once you've created a route so that you can use it again later without having to set it up each time. GPX export also gives you the ability to plan routes with the site and export them to your GPS unit. I suggest you stop hauling a GPS around with you on your hikes or runs to record distance and use the Gmaps Pedometer instead. Posted by Beau Gunderson at 8:41 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack November 1, 2005Portable ignition source roundup
Whether you're camping, hiking, adventuring, trekking, or just plain lost in the woods you're going to need a fire at some point. Fire is a wonderful, life-saving tool with many uses--cooking, sterilization--and, if you're in a Hollywood movie, scaring off man-eating wolves and bears late at night. That's why I've taken the time to highlight some of the better tools on the market. I'll emphasize small, lightweight, and durable (or indestructable) options. Solid Magnesium Survival Striker A magnesium striker is a great survival tool to have with you. I use one in my survival pack because it's simple, doesn't break, is reliable, and is small and light. You use it by shaving pieces of magnesium off of the solid bar with your knife onto the materials to burn and then striking your knife on the opposite side to ignite the magnesium shavings. It burns very hot, and as most of you know from chemistry water doesn't put out magnesium fires. Wind/Waterproof Strike Anywhere Matches Survival matches appear in dozens of forms. I recommend avoiding any paper matches and sticking only with those that come in their own waterproof sealed container (and their own striking surface). These are great for an economical backup, though I just don't feel safe carrying these. Additionally if the striking surface gets wet, or worse, you don't have a surface to strike on and must use a wet rock or other material, they are very unreliable. If you've had better luck with these we'd like to hear about it. GSI Survival Blast Match Fire Starter Great matchless ignition system. Uses a spring-loaded, high performance flint with a tungsten carbide striker and a flint bar that rotates 360 degrees to prevent uneven wear. It comes with a manufacturer's lifetime warranty and they'll replace it if you ever wear it out. The shower of sparks is three times hotter than a typical match; however the thing to remember is that it is after all, just a shower of sparks. While it's hot and easy to use, it won't be as troublefree to use in wet, cold environments compared to something like magnesium shavings. Butane Torch / Lighter system There are some decent butane ignition systems out there, though most of them suffer from all of above problems. It's best to have a backup if you carry one of these as your primary source of ignition. The hot flame a butane lighter/torch puts out is a good tool to have in general. Many are capable of reaching a temperature high enough to do welding or other small repairs in the field. A good tool to have with you but carry a backup ignition source to be safe. Fire Paste Fire Paste isn't an ignition source itself but using any ignition methods in conjunction with the paste will start a fire on wet ground/material, snow or ice. It burns for a couple of minutes and burns very hot. If you can spare the room in your pack or survival bag it may be worth it to throw a tube in. It's cheap and makes starting fires with frozen fingers much less painful. Conclusion Posted by Beau Gunderson at 4:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack |
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. It has a handy blue dye embedded in the glue, aiding in application and allowing you to see the status of the bandage. 
