Support is the Name of the Game

In most ventures in life, the amount of support you receive is directly proportional to the success you enjoy.

Today, I called Saris because one of my Powertap CPUs went T/U.  Here's how it went down...

"Ring... Ring... Ring..."

"Saris Cycling Group, Jarod speaking.  How may I help you?"

"Hi, my name is Jeff Blau.  I have a Powertap CPU that's giving me fits."

"No problem, Jeff.  I can get you fixed up."


First, someone actually answered the phone without me hitting a phone jail!  That's huge.  Second, after explaining my issues, Jarod gave me a few tips to try before resorting to sending the unit in for service.  He made me feel secure in knowing that he was there to help.  He wasn't short or quick to get off the phone.  A+!

Now on to the problems.  My Powertap CPU Wired 2.4 is displaying 'APLDR'.  It is an error message that does not go away, regardless of what you do.  The cure for this is to update the unit's firmware.  Unfortunately, with a Mac and PowerAgent, you can not FORCE a firmware update on a CPU that is in this state.  Here in lies my problem.  I have to find a PC that I can load the firmware updater on.  I will post up if this actually fixes the problem.

ed. note:Using the firmware updater for PC (in Parallels) fixed the APLDR problem on the Powertap computer.


OK - Problem number 2.  The battery access to the CPU lacks durability.  Over the course of a few seasons, I've tried many different tools, from screwdrivers to coins of varying denomination, to open the little black door without chewing up the plastic.  After some age, the plastic gets so soft it makes it impossible to open.  Jarod to the rescue again!  He suggested I try the back of a cone wrench.  He said the curve on the cone wrench is the same as the battery door slot.  WINNER!  ... and in the vein of great support, he put a few replacements in the mail to me.

I can't wait to get my hands on a Joule.  I'm eager to review it in real conditions.  In Vegas it looked like a huge improvement over what we have today.  It's only on the road where we see if is truly more usable.  I really want to see power, hr and cadence on one screen.  Let's see if the custom report screen can actually show me this.