Coospo TR70 Smart Radar Tail Light Review

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Coospo TR70 Smart Radar Tail Light Review

Coospo TR70 Smart Radar

I recently purchased a Coospo CS600 bicycle computer which I reviewed here. Additionally I blogged about creating custom maps and took that discussion over to Reddit. Somewhere along the line Coospo contacted me and asked me if I would review their Coospo TR70 Smart Radar Tail Light. Yes. Please.

Before I received it I did all the requisite homework such as reading the manual, reviewing the FCC ID Reports and by reading and watching tons of reviews.

While there are certainly much better bicycle reviewers than me that doesn’t necessarily mean there are riders with a better understanding of active and passive radar systems than me.

In fact I was a little bit (a lot bit) disturbed by some of the reviews which really had not much technical merit to them at all.

Some reviewers seem to think that because the Coospo TR70 is inexpensive that surely it is inferior to more expensive offerings. That’s not how you review a safety item.

I think I should first boldly state that:

“Having a bicycle radar should never stop you, not even once, from looking over your shoulder.“

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GhostBSD – A Linux Alternative

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GhostBSD – A Linux Alternative

I’ve always loved trying various operating systems. So it is with GhostBSD. Most of the time I put these OS’s on a virtual machine which is fun, but you can’t take a virtual machine with you.

I have a whole bunch of laptops around here and one that I routinely try with various Linux distributions. Once upon a time I had installed FreeBSD on something and was proud as punch when it worked. Not too long ago I tried it again and borked the Desktop GUI installation somehow or another and then bounced directly to KDE Neon. Ultimately, I decided to do another BSD variant and GhostBSD comes with a Desktop Environment. In fact just like Linux you can configure a bunch of different environments for it. I got the version with MATE Desktop.

GhostBSD describes themselves are being “Unix like”. While being based on FreeBSD, you seldom see the word Unix pop up. FreeBSD is an open source derivative of AT&T’s Unix which was not open source. A bit confusing, but let’s just call it an operating system and move on.

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CIGMAN Laser Level CM-S04 – Keeping Things Straight

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CIGMAN Laser Level CM-S04 – Keeping Things Straight

CIGMAN Laser Level

Have you ever put extra holes in the wall from hanging pictures until you got them level? Additionally, have you ever hung a crooked shelf? Have you failed miserably at trimming the bushes in an uneven manner? There is a cure for all that and more. It is the CIGMAN Laser Level CM-S04.

Hint: This is a tool. Dad loves tools. Father’s Day is coming up. You’re welcome.

Here is the Amazon link ($199 currently).

Seriously, Dad needs a tool like this for general household and yard maintenance. I can level our camper to perfection in literally seconds.

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Foxwell RT280 Thermal Camera

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Foxwell RT280 Thermal Camera

You might not know it yet, but you need a Thermal Imaging Camera. This provides you a quick and easy diagnostic tool to see if something is running above its published temperature specifications. Conversely, it can tell you if something is too cold possibly indicating it isn’t working at all. Enter the Foxwell RT280 Thermal Camera. Below is a quick promo video I made just showing its form factor.

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Onnais RV Lock Review – Guard Smart Max

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Onnais RV Lock Review – Guard Smart Max

RV Lock Onnais

I bought a camper a few years back when my daughter left the roost and I found myself alone. On my first outing I got up to use the bath house in the middle of the night. Somewhere along the line I dropped my key. It was pitch black, the key was black, and there were tons of leaves covering the ground. It became apparent very quickly that I needed a good lock for my camper.

Enter the Onnais Guard Smart Max RV Lock ($199). I don’t believe there is any better lock out there after having used this for a bit. There are so many methods of locking and unlocking that it isn’t funny.

Here is a quick list of ways this lock will work for you:

  • Keypad Entry – The Keypad is lit
  • Key Entry – Under the center seal where it says “ONNAIS” is a standard lock
  • FOB – Just like for your car. Lock and unlock
  • Bluetooth – Via an app you install on your phone
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Coospo CS600 Maps – Building A Custom Map

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Coospo CS600 Maps – Building A Custom Map

Coospo CS600 Maps

Boy this is one blog that I hope becomes irrelevant quickly. I’ve recently purchased a Coospo CS600 Bicycle Computer which I believe is breaking new ground in cycling computers. And by that, I mostly mean it is high quality hardware at a super affordable price. That being said, the Coospo CS600 Maps leave something to be desired.

Making a custom map for a Coospo CS600 really leaves something to be desired.

I should add that the steps I use here may or may not even work for you. I did this on a Mac M1 Laptop with 16GB of RAM.

Map crunching takes a lot of horsepower and if the horsepower isn’t there then you have to finesse the commands to get it to crunch.

MOSTLY I AM DOCUMENTING THIS FOR MYSELF, BUT IF IT HELPS YOU, AWESOME.

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Coospo CS600 Bicycle Computer Review

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Coospo CS600 Bicycle Computer Review

Coospo CS600 Bicycle Computer

Well, I did it. I picked up the Coospo CS600 Bicycle Computer from Amazon. Allow me to get straight to it. It is very capable in the hardware department but the eco-system just isn’t quite there yet.

If they can develop that Garmin Connect or Fitbit type experience this will be a real contender for Gear Of The Year.

This actually has better hardware specs (mostly) than any Garmin I own. But Garmin has the long established and highly polished eco-system for their GPS and Bicycle Computers. Better hardware doesn’t always mean a better experience.

And I have discovered a quirk or two with the Coospo CS600 that, while not really affecting the overall experience, makes me scratch my head a little.

Quirk 1

One example: You can’t view a map on the CS600 unless you have a course uploaded to the device. Oh it is there but you can’t see it unless your course is loaded or the map options are turned on. Go to Settings > Ride Mode > Outdoor > Fields. Scroll to the bottom to find the Map option and turn it on.

Like I said, just a head scratcher.

Quirk 2

You simply cannot delete a single course you have uploaded to the device. Oddly though, “Delete All” is an option. I uploaded my regular route to the device and it uploaded as a date:time name. I wanted it to say “Ride To Pollocksville”. I couldn’t even figure out how to delete it from the app since it wasn’t showing in the app. I had to hook the CS600 to a computer via USB and then delete it from the Courses folder.

Again, just a head scratcher.

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Can I Use A Budget Bike Computer? – Coospo CS600

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Can I Use A Budget Bike Computer? – Coospo CS600

Coospo CS600

This is a bit of an unusual blog for me. I don’t own the Coospo CS600 bicycle computer yet and I am trying to decide whether to get one or not.

I don’t need one as I already own a Garmin Edge Explore 2, a Garmin Edge 530, and an old dawg, the Garmin Edge 705. Additionally, I bet you I have some old Cats Eye computers around here somewhere.

To answer my question in the Subject Line……Yes I could use one. Heck I just said I used Cats Eye bike computers before and they are as basic as it gets.

But I like to evaluate tech products and I like to ride bicycles. And if I crash and burn on said bicycle I’d be a lot happier destroying a $100 computer than a $300 computer. So the question remains, will the Coospo CS600 work for me?

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Survey Your Property Line With GNSS RTK

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Survey Your Property Line With GNSS RTK

GNSS RTK

Let’s perform a survey on our property using GNSS RTK accuracy. Real Time Kinematics allows you to achieve 1 centimeter of accuracy in finding a location.

The absolute first thing I need to say about this is that doing your own survey does not provide official results unless you are a licensed surveyor.

All 50 states require a Surveyor to be licensed to perform such services as I’m describing here.

That being said I bought the home where I currently reside a few years ago in a private sale. I only have a rudimentary understanding of my actual property line. It is not marked as far as I can tell. If there are survey markers in the ground I’ve never seen one and I believe this area had its parcels defined in the late 1950’s.

Just from the satellite pic with my property waypoints that I obtained from official County documents and files I have a way better understanding of my boundaries.

Let me try to demonstrate how I did this.

Conversely, I have to say this again. If you are involved in some kind of property line dispute no court will accept your findings here as official. Even if your results mimic an actual survey, they probably won’t stand up. I’m confident that even with the heavy tree cover I can get within a foot or two of each point.

That will change soon as a company called RTKdata is going to allow me to install one of their RTK Base Station antennas on my property. At that point my rover will be within range of the base station at all times and I will have 1 centimeter accuracy.

I should state that RTKdata is going to send some operations folks out to my home to see if it is acceptable for their RTK network. I think it will be.

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Building A GPS Tracker – Come On Over Rover

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Building A GPS Tracker – Come On Over Rover

GPS Tracker

This is actually a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) but the term Global Positioning System or GPS is much more widely known. So “GPS” lands in the Heading of this page. Building a GPS Tracker is fun, albeit this one requires some proximity to WiFi or Bluetooth to surreptitiously track someone.

This isn’t the device you want to track your cheating spouse with, although I guess there are ways to make it work if your vehicle has onboard WiFi.

Shoving a burner phone under the dash and powering it with the 5 volts is probably the easiest way to get location data if you have access to the interior of the car. Anyway, I digress. This post is not about tracking anyone but yourself and learning how to achieve 1 centimeter accuracy.

This is a learning tool and a very cool one at that. You could throw this in the bicycle bag and track your rides, and yet again, a dedicated bicycle computer won’t necessarily track better than this. But that bike computer does lots of other things and makes your information easier to access.

So why build and use one? it really goes back to understanding the technology. We all use GNSS or GPS daily without even knowing it. But how many of us possess even rudimentary knowledge of how it works? Finally, this would be a nifty tool if the world descends into anarchy.

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