Bluetooth and Gen 1s

[Eric Payne]

Has anyone else noticed, when using their bluetooth headsets on their Gen 1, anything strange?

When I use mine, the headset fades in and out and, I swear, the indicator of battery level drops, fast.

[dionysus]

I often glide with my bluetooth headset on, and I do have a Gen 1 machine. I haven't noticed what you describe - at least for sure on the headset. As far as the battery dropping (I assume you mean on the seg?), I will watch that the next time and see if I notice a difference.

[hellphish]

Has anyone else noticed, when using their bluetooth headsets on their Gen 1, anything strange?

When I use mine, the headset fades in and out and, I swear, the indicator of battery level drops, fast.

Yeah, do you mean the battery drops on the segway? Your segway doesn't use any radio-sensitive parts, but it might be emitting EMF which could be causing interference in the bluetooth connection, which is usually compensated for by the bluetooth radio by increasing the gain on the radio, which will run down the battery faster. A lot of "may causes" in there but that's the best I can give you.

[KSagal]

I use a bluetooth headset on my cell phone, and have not noticed any impact like you described...

I do either have to glide backwards or cup my hand over the microphone like Gary Owen used to, or my wife complains about the quality of the sound... I always blamed it on the wind noise, but maybe there is some sort of RF noise that is making the transmission from the headset to the phone a problem...

When some of this snow melts, I'll do some experimenting...

[BillPaxton]

I get RF feedback too with my Jabra. Not always, I always attributed to cell microwave towers or something. I'll have to test further. What's snow?

[KSagal]

I get RF feedback too with my Jabra. Not always, I always attributed to cell microwave towers or something. I'll have to test further. What's snow?


It's the OTHER white powder... LOL

[segsurfer]

the eighties are over man:D
-segsurfer

[Eric Payne]

Okay, let me be more specific.

I put on my Bluetooth stereo headphones, start my music, everything's fine.

I start Gilligan put the key ring with the red and black key in my pocket, put Gilligan in balance mode, and step on. As soon as I do, the music coming out through headphones starts to get choppy, as if I was listening to an old vinyl record and the needle was skipping. As soon as I start moving, the first bar in Blinky starts to flash.

Within just a few miles, I'll be down to two bars, and within five miles, the last bar on Blinky is flashing.

I'm not losing any power on the Segway (in fact, today, I glode about 4 miles back home, on the red key, after the last bar had started flashing).

I was thinking there must be an EMF field created by the batteries in Gilligan, and just wanted to know if anyone else had experience the same sort of phenomenon.

[polo_pro]

This is Gilligan's way of saying he wants to go to the polo field. It'll only get worse (and the ranges even shorter) until you do this. Don't fight your segway...

[sami]

Okay, let me be more specific.

I put on my Bluetooth stereo headphones, start my music, everything's fine.

I start Gilligan put the key ring .

I think Gilligan doesn't like your music. I had the same problem with my wife, i.e., she started whining etc., Did you try Tchaykowsky - Swan Lake..?

http://www.concertseries.org/images/04-05_shows/Swan%20Lake.jpg

[just kidding man...]

[KSagal]

I can only imagine that Wagner would be better... What I was talking about was a cell phone and it only has one ear piece. I do not glide with headsets on, because I like to hear the road around me...

If I do listen to music, or the radio, I use only one ear bud.

[Eric Payne]

I guess I should explain further...

My cellphone is also my PDA - an AT&T Tilt (http://www.wireless.att.com/cell-phone-service/cell-phone-details/?device=AT%26T+Tilt(TM)&q_sku=sku1060009), it's the Windows Mobile equivalent of the Apple iPhone. The headset is a stereo bluetooth. I play music through it when gliding; if phone rings, it cuts off music, answers call. The headphones are small, over-the-ear, but do not cover the ear, so still get all traffic sounds, etc.

I'm not trying to make any of this confusing. I swear!

[wwhopper]

This is Gilligan's way of saying he wants to go to the polo field.

Becoming an obsessive complusive Segway Polo Player!

Don't fight your segway....

I totally agree, the Segway knows how to win, or break your heart by giving you the wrench and red ring of death! Never fight with your Segway!

[Desert_Seg]

It's the OTHER white powder... LOL

.... all I see is sand blowing by, and it is white!

First of the many Shamal's (aka Scirocco's, aka Sand Storms) we will face over the next month or so.

Other than not having the brave the cold it does remind many of the snow blowing across the roads in the north.

Steven

[Desert_Seg]

Since my previous post had nothing to do with the topic I thought I'd try to swing things back on topic.

Eric, the batteries on a Segway cannot be putting out enough EMF to cause that interference for multiple reasons, two of which are:

1. Everybody else would be complaining of same problem

2. You would get the interference as soon as you turned on the Segway, not just when you "mounted"

So, what is the common factor when you get the interference. Is the phone in any particular location? Do you drape the ear-bud leads over the HB? Does this happen every time? Have you tried gliding without the music to see what happens to Blinky?

Answers to those questions will help us troubleshoot further.

Steven

[Eric Payne]

Since my previous post had nothing to do with the topic I thought I'd try to swing things back on topic.

Eric, the batteries on a Segway cannot be putting out enough EMF to cause that interference for multiple reasons, two of which are:

1. Everybody else would be complaining of same problem

2. You would get the interference as soon as you turned on the Segway, not just when you "mounted"

So, what is the common factor when you get the interference....

Sorry, didn't see this response until Today; I've been offline pretty much the last couple of days due to health.

I put on my headphones, start an album playing on phone. Put phone in the "web" pocket of my 10.0 front bag. Pull Gilligan away from wall, put kickstand in "up" position, use red key to power on, level Gilligan out, push blue button to get Smiley, check number of bars of power, step up on platform... and music starts getting "scratchy", I'll do a 180, go the three feet to the interior garage door, glide through it, close it, open the outside garage door with wall button, glide into driveway, close the garage door with the pocket remote on my key ring (which consists of the black and the red key), put key ring in my pocket, check battery bars, and the first one will be blinking. I then reposition my head (pulling it back from/or side-to-side from), changing the distance and position in relation to the webbed pocket on the bag; music will generally change for beter; first bar will be gone.

Like I said, it's just the display of the bars that seems to be an issue - the power is still there, and the last bar doesn't blink out, it'll just stay flashing and flashing...

[Desert_Seg]

What you are describing is what I thought it might be.

1. The sound difference is likely electrical interference caused when the earbud leads cross over or in the vic of the reader for the key and / or over the top of Blinky.

2. The battery bar issue is a little puzzling as the leads should not be putting out enough signal to case any problems with the display. It would help if you could go for a glide without the ear buds once to see what happens to the bars (that is, if this anomaly presents itself again).

Steven

[Eric Payne]

...

2. The battery bar issue is a little puzzling as the leads should not be putting out enough signal to case any problems with the display. It would help if you could go for a glide without the ear buds once to see what happens to the bars (that is, if this anomaly presents itself again).

I have, many times. When not using bluetooth, the bars vanish in relation to distance travelled, just as they're supposed to.

[segsurfer]

This certainly has turned out to be an interesting perdicament. I wonder if this happens with gen 2's?
-segsurfer

[KSagal]

This does sound interesting. I would have only imagined that this not happen, but I do have an experiment for you...

Instead of placing the phone in the handlebar bag, where it is in close proximity to the handlebar, and is clearly near Blinky... put it in your back pocket, so that your body is between the phone and the display...

I am wondering if the problem is not in the bluetooth transmission, but in the wifi or some other frequency that your particular phone is using...

At worst, nothing notable will happen. At best, you will find that the problem is not in the bluetooth issue, but the phone itself.

Lastly, I have some tiny self powered speakers that are designed to be plugged into an ipod, and have an amp built in... Try that, and you will be able to hear the music at the phone, and you can move the phone relative to Blinky, and hear the results without the consideration of the re-trasmission of the signal from the phone to the bluetooth headset...

[Eric Payne]

This does sound interesting. I would have only imagined that this not happen, but I do have an experiment for you...

Instead of placing the phone in the handlebar bag, where it is in close proximity to the handlebar, and is clearly near Blinky... put it in your back pocket, so that your body is between the phone and the display...Lastly, I have some tiny self powered speakers that are designed to be plugged into an ipod, and have an amp built in... Try that...

That's why I asked the original question, Karl, through trial and elimination, I've discovered it's an anomaly that occurs only when the phone is in the webbed or velcro pocket on the front bag, and only when bluetooth is transmitting.

If phone is in zip close pockets on cargo bag, and transmitting, everything is fine.

I was going to use just a plug-in headset/mike combo... only to discover the Tilt (beautiful device that it is), doesn't have headphone/mike jacks... it's bluetooth or built in speaker, period.

BTW: Tomorrow, I get to experiment with something new to see if it still happens... at 5:30 this evening, I was delivered a brand spanking new pair of lithium batteries... The dealer ordered them last Friday, they shouldn't have been here until "10 business days" later... and they were on a FedEx truck, on their way, on Monday.

I'm pumped... tomorrow... I'm going on my longest glide to date on Gilligan.