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Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Testing GPS Watch TomTom Runner Cardio


I bought a new TomTom Runner Cardio GPS watch about few months a go. I've found it very helpful especially as it can detect heart rate without strap, or strapless heart rate monitor (HRM).

Advantages:
easy to read when running, even without glasses
strapless integrated HRM, using light sensor
running zone: Heart Rate, Pace, Speed,
simple functional
race against previous run
good looking, fashionable
can be used as everyday watch
audible alert, vibration alert

Disadvantage:
no ambient temperature
no barometric / atmospheric pressure

Temperature and air mass or air pressure can affect runner performance. As air temperature rise, runner will sweat more and reducing water volume in blood, and the heart will work harder to pump more blood, so your heart rate will be higher. Lower atmospheric pressure will reduce oxygen, thus heart rate will be higher. Higher heart rate means higher effort to run, more tired, and more risk for heart disease.

I've found that running route with less air pollutant (such as vehicle smoke) and plenty plants, will lower hear rate as easier to get oxygen. Drink water also help to lower heart rate. It is about 1 (one) up to 2 (two) table spoon of water at about every 500 meters. Or it is about 500 ml (medium bottle) for one hour running. Hotter ambient temperature means more drink. That is why I like to run when cloudy and a bit raining.

Below photo shows TomTom Runner Cardio with docking, ready to connect with computer to recharge and   upload data. It can be recharged also with any charger that has USB connection.



Below is a display from TomTom My Sport webpage, showing hear rate and speed. Elevation also can be shown, but the chart can have only 2 graphs shown at once. It shows also a map of running route I've taken and has detail where was maximum speed and where was maximum heart rate.



Before I purchase this TomTom Runner Cardio, I have already compared it to Garmin 220, both has about same price. Jakarta price for TomTom Runner Cardio is about US$ 308, while Garmin price is about US$ 292 including heart rate chest strap. 

Another option is Garmin Fenix, Jakarta price is about US$ 404 including heart rate chest strap. Garmin Fenix has temperature and barometric measurement, but the price is way too high relative too TomTom and still using chest strap technology.

The last option is Garmin Forerunner 620, it has VO2 max calculator. VO2 max is maximum oxygen consumption and it reflects your aerobic physical fitness. Jakarta price of this Garmin Forerunner is about US$ 375. But it still using strap technology for heart rate sensor. And there are many internet sites available to calculate your VO2 max based on your running distance, time, heart rate, body weight, and of course your sex. Hopefully in the future TomTom Mysport website has VO2 max calculation based on running result uploaded from the watch, and suggest the runner what to do for the next training based on VO2 max calculation result.  

As I don't like using chest strap to monitor my heart rate while running, so then I have decided to buy TomTom Runner Cardio.

Some people comment that chest strap heart rate monitor is better then optical LED like the one used by TomTom. But so far I have found no problem with my optical heart rate sensor, possibly as I fit my watch tight enough on my wrist like TomTom manual describes. But in case that optical system failed, this TomTom Cardio watch can use an external heart rate chest strap also, and compatible with many chest straps that available in the market.

Below is my record of fun run at Ragunan Zoo. Thick vegetation doesn't distract GPS satelite reception. Fun run at Ragunan zoo while watching animals and enjoy rich oxygen and cool air produced by thick plantation. More oxygen means lower heart rate (beats per minute), less risk for heart disease. This is a long distance run (10.49 km) with less effort and entertaining, with total time 1:37:55.



Thick vegetation at Ragunan was helping me to reduce my heart rate as plenty oxygen available in the atmosphere. And Ragunan zoo ticket price is very cheap, only about US$ 0.4/person plus US$ 0.6 flat rate for car park.

As we can see on chart, correlation between elevation to my heart rate. My heart rate was lower when I descending, and heart rate higher when climbing hill. I was using endure zone heart rate setting menu, and TomTom vibration alert and audible alert remained me to limit my heart rate within this zone by adjusting my pace. Minimum elevation is about 39 meters, and maximum elevation is 57 meters above sea level.

Endure heart rate zone is about 70 - 80% of maximum heart rate. This is the aerobic zone, it will improve your cardiovascular and respiratory system and increase the size and strength of your heart. TomTom Runner Cardio has capability to calculate your specific heart rate zone with input data such as: gender, age, weight, height.

There are five heart rate zones for training intensity:
1. Easy zone, 40-60% of your maximum heart rate: usually for warm-up and cool down, 85% of calories burned in this zone are fats, 10% carbohydrates, and 5 % protein. You can achieve it by walking fast, do it every day for at least 1 hour.

2. Fat Burn zone, 60-70% maximum: moderate tempo training, great for weight loss, fat calories is still 85%, same as above.

3. Endure or aerobic zone, 70-80% maximum: moderate to high tempo training to improve your lung and heart capacity, More calories are burned with 50% from fat, 50% from carbohydrates, and less then 1% from protein. This zone is suitable for long distance run training, this zone is the most preferable for training. Can be done almost everyday with about 30 - 60 minutes per session.

4. Speed  zone, 80-90% maximum: high tempo training to improve your speed and fitness, This is a high intensity zone burning more calories, 15 % from fat, 85% carbohydrates, less than 1% protein.

5. Sprint zone, 90-100% maximum: mostly used as part of interval training, only for short period, only do it if you are in very good shape and have been cleared by a physician to do so. Calories are from: 90% carbohydrates, 10% fat, less than 1% protein. Interval training is an exercise with maximum speed run in short distance, combined with jogging for warming up and cooling down, that combination is done repeatedly.

Read also: repair start button not responding.



TomTom data can also be viewed by mapmyfitness.com, but only 7 features for free subscription, while there are 21 features available for monthly or annual subscription. The above picture is a screen shot of mapmyfitness.com of my run at Kota Baru Parahiyangan, Padalarang, Jawa Barat. 



Uji Coba Arloji GPS TomTom Runner Cardio

Saya membeli TomTom Runner Cardio baru sekitar beberapa bulan lalu. Dan ternyata arloji GPS ini sangat membantu terutama karena dapat mendeteksi denyut jantung tanpa sabuk di dada, atau Strapless Heart Rate Monitor (HRM).

Kelebihan:
mudah dibaca ketika sedang berlari, bahkan tanpa kacamata
strapless HRM terintegrasi, menggunakan sensor cahaya
setelan zona berlari: Heart Rate, Kelajuan (Pace = menit/kilometer), Kecepatan (Speed = kilometer/jam),
sederhana dan fungsional
berpacu dengan catatan lari sebelumnya
bagus desainnya, fashionable
dapat digunakan sebagai jam tangan sehari-hari
suara peringatan dan getaran

Kekurangan:
tidak ada pengukur suhu lingkungan
tidak ada pengukur tekanan atmosfer / barometer


Suhu dan massa udara atau tekanan udara dapat mempengaruhi kinerja pelari. Saat terjadi kenaikan suhu udara, pelari akan berkeringat lebih banyak dan mengurangi volume air dalam darah, dan jantung akan bekerja lebih keras untuk memompa lebih banyak darah, sehingga denyut jantung Anda akan lebih tinggi. Tekanan atmosfer yang rendah akan mengurangi oksigen, sehingga denyut jantung akan lebih tinggi. Denyut jantung yang lebih tinggi berarti Anda berusaha yang lebih keras untuk berlari, lebih lelah, dan lebih tinggi risiko terkena penyakit jantung.

Saya menemukan bahwa berlari di tempat yang sedikit polusi udara (seperti asap kendaraan) dan banyak tanaman, akan menurunkan frekuensi denyut jantung karena mudah mendapatkan oksigen. Minum air juga membantu menurunkan frekuensi denyut jantung. Saat berlari perlu meminum sekitar 1 (satu) sampai 2 (dua) sendok makan air di setiap 500 meter. Atau sekitar 500 ml (botol ukuran medium) untuk 1 (satu) jam berlari. Suhu lingkungan lebih panas berarti harus lebih banyak minum. Itulah sebabnya saya suka berlari di saat mendung dan sedikit hujan gerimis.

Pada foto paling atas tampa TomTom Runner Cardio dengan docking, siap untuk terhubung dengan komputer untuk mengisi ulang dan meng-upload data. Jam tangan ini dapat diisi-ulang juga dengan pengisi daya yang memiliki koneksi USB.

Gambar kedua adalah tampilan dari halaman website TomTom Mysport, menunjukkan tingkat denyut jantung dan kecepatan. Elevasi tanah atau naik turun bukit juga dapat ditampilkan, tetapi tampilan hanya dapat menampilkan 2 grafik sekaligus. Website juga menampilkan peta rute lari saya dan menunjukkan detil dimana kecepatan maksimum dan dimana detak jantung maksimum.

Sebelum saya membeli TomTom Runner Cardio ini, saya sudah membandingkannya dengan Garmin 220, keduanya memiliki harga yang hampir sama. Harga Jakarta untuk TomTom Runner Cardio adalah sekitar 3,7 juta rupiah, sedangkan harga Garmin adalah sekitar 3,5 juta rupiah sudah termasuk sabuk dada sensor denyut jantung (HRM strap).

Pilihan lain adalah Garmin Fenix, harga Jakarta adalah sekitar 4.85 juta rupiah termasuk sabuk dada sensor denyut jantung. Garmin Fenix memiliki pengukur suhu dan barometer, tapi harganya relatif terlalu tinggi dibanding TomTom dan masih menggunakan teknologi sabuk dada.

Opsi terakhir adalah Garmin Forerunner 620, memiliki VO2 max kalkulator. VO2 max adalah konsumsi oksigen maksimal dan mencerminkan kebugaran aerobik tubuh Anda. Harga Jakarta Garmin Forerunner ini adalah sekitar 4,5 juta rupiah. Tapi itu masih menggunakan teknologi sabuk dada untuk sensor denyut jantung. Ada banyak situs internet yang dapat menghitung VO2 max Anda berdasarkan jarak lari Anda, waktu tempuh, denyut jantung, berat badan, dan tentu saja jenis kelamin Anda. Mudah-mudahan dalam situs TomTom Mysport nantinya memiliki kalkulator VO2 max berdasarkan menjalankan hasil upload dari jam tangan, dan memberi saran kepada pelari apa yang harus dilakukan untuk latihan berikutnya berdasarkan hasil perhitungan VO2 max tersebut.

Baca juga menyesuaikan arloji dengan gaya Anda.


Karena saya tidak suka menggunakan sabuk dada untuk memantau detak jantung sambil berlari, jadi saya memutuskan untuk membeli TomTom Runner Cardio.

Beberapa orang di internet berkomentar bahwa sensor sabuk dada lebih baik daripada sensor optik LED seperti yang digunakan oleh TomTom. Tapi sejauh ini belum ada masalah dengan sensor detak jantung optik saya, mungkin karena saya memasang arloji dengan cukup ketat di pergelangan tangan mengikuti panduan TomTom. Jikapun sistem optik gagal berfungsi, arloji TomTom Cardio ini dapat juga menggunakan sabuk dada sebagai sensor external untuk memonitor denyut jantung, dan kompatibel dengan banyak sabuk dada yang tersedia di pasaran.

Gambar ketiga adalah catatan lari santai saya di Kebun Binatang Ragunan. Vegetasi tebal tidak berpengaruh terhadap penerimaan satelit GPS. Lari santai di Kebun Binatang Ragunan sambil menonton hewan dan menikmati udara sejuk yang kaya oksigen yang dihasilkan oleh tanaman lebat. Banyak oksigen berarti denyut jantung yang lebih rendah, mengurangi risiko penyakit jantung. Lari ini berjarak cukup jauh (10,49 km) dengan sedikit usaha dan menghibur, dengan total waktu tempuh 1:37:55.

Vegetasi tebal di Ragunan membantu saya untuk mengurangi denyut jantung karena banyak oksigen yang di udara. Dan harga tiket Kebun Binatang Ragunan cukup murah hanya sekitar 4500 rupiah / orang ditambah 6500 rupiah untuk parkir mobil sekali masuk tanpa hitungan jam (flat rate).

Seperti yang bisa kita lihat pada grafik, korelasi antara elevasi dengan detak jantung saya. Denyut jantung saya terlihat lebih rendah ketika saya menuruni bukit, dan detak jantung yang lebih tinggi saat mendaki bukit. Saya menggunakan zona denyut jantung endure (ketahanan), dan arloji TomTom akan bergetar dan berbunyi jika saya berlari diluar zona tersebut. Jadi saya mengatur kecepatan berlari agar denyut jantung selalu dalam zona endure. Elevasi minimum adalah sekitar 39 meter, dan ketinggian maksimum adalah 57 meter di atas permukaan laut.

Zona denyut jantung endure adalah sekitar 70 - 80% dari detak jantung maksimum. Ini adalah zona aerobik, akan meningkatkan sistem kardiovaskular dan pernapasan Anda dan meningkatkan ukuran dan kekuatan jantung Anda. TomTom Runner Cardio memiliki kemampuan untuk menghitung zona detak jantung dengan input data: jenis kelamin, usia, berat badan, tinggi badan.

Ada lima zona detak jantung untuk intensitas pelatihan:

1. zona Ringan, 40-60% dari detak jantung maksimum Anda: biasanya untuk pemanasan dan pendinginan, 85% dari kalori yang terbakar di zona ini adalah lemak, 10% karbohidrat, dan 5% protein. Anda dapat mencapainya dengan berjalan cepat, lakukan setiap hari selama setidaknya 1 jam.

2. zona Membakar Lemak, 60-70% maksimum: pelatihan tempo sedang, baik untuk menurunkan berat badan, kalori dari lemak masih 85%, sama seperti di atas.

3. zona Ketahanan (endure) atau zona aerobik, 70-80% maksimum: untuk pelatihan tempo moderat untuk meningkatkan kapasitas paru-paru dan jantung Anda. Kalori terbakar dengan 50% dari lemak, 50% dari karbohidrat, dan kurang dari 1% dari protein. Zona ini cocok untuk jangka pelatihan jarak jauh, zona ini adalah yang paling disukai untuk pelatihan. Bisa dilakukan hampir setiap hari dengan sekitar 30 - 60 menit per sesi.

4. zona Kecepatan, 80-90% maksimum: pelatihan tempo tinggi untuk meningkatkan kecepatan Anda dan kebugaran, ini adalah zona intensitas tinggi membakar lebih banyak kalori, 15% dari lemak, 85% karbohidrat, kurang dari 1% protein.

5. zona Sprint, 90-100% maksimum: banyak digunakan sebagai bagian dari latihan dengan interval (lari kecepatan maximal dipadu dengan lari santai atau jogging), hanya untuk jarak pendek, hanya dilakukan jika Anda berada dalam kondisi yang sangat baik dan telah diizinkan oleh dokter untuk melakukannya. Kalori berasal dari: 90% karbohidrat, 10% lemak, kurang dari 1% protein. Latihan dengan interval (interval training) adalah lari kecepatan maximal dengan jarak pendek, dipadu dengan lari santai atau jogging untuk pemanasan dan pendinginan, paduan tersebut dilakukan berulang-ulang.

Baca juga: perbaikan tombol start tidak berfungsi.

Data TomTom juga dapat dilihat dengan mapmyfitness.com, tetapi hanya 7 fitur untuk berlangganan gratis, sementara ada 21 fitur yang tersedia untuk langganan bulanan atau tahunan. Gambar di atas adalah cuplikan layar mapmyfitness.com saat saya berlari di Kota Baru Parahyangan, Padalarang, Jawa Barat.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Removing Seized Ball Joint With Jack And Screwdriver





On a vehicle, ball joint is a spherical bearing which can be rotated to almost all directions. Ball joints are installed on front wheel suspension to allow wheel to turn left and right, and allow suspension to move up and down.

Ball joint is replaced if it has been worn and causing too much end play. It can be felt as too much free movement on the steering wheel, and it could be more than 1 cm free play, when the steering wheel is rotated.  The occurrence of too much free play on the wheel can also be caused by the worn tie rod joint, in addition to the worn of ball joint, and can be also by wheel bearing worn.

To ensure which part is worn, we need to jack the front wheel, and then shake the wheel by hands to the left-right direction of the vehicle. Check which component has too much end play: ball joint, tie rod, or wheel bearing. Some vehicle specification only allow a maximum end play of 3.18 mm (0.125 inches) as the wheel moved about. In the extreme condition, too much end play will cause wheel loose while driving. Measurements can be done by attaching end play micrometer on the outer lip / largest radius of the wheel.

Worn tie rod usually can be detected as too much end play when wheel is shaken left and right, same direction when vehicle turns left and right

Worn ball joint usually can be seen as too much end play when the wheel is moved inward and outward of the vehicle.

Bad wheel bearing usually looks like worn ball joint, which has end play to all directions : left-right and up-down. Worn bearing will produce a buzzing sound. For sedan with MacPherson strut independent suspension, a worn bearing noise can be heard clearly because the sound waves of bad bearing propagate easily toward cabin. While jeep with leaf spring suspension, usually bearing noise is not too loud even though the wheel bearing has already worn out badly.

Ball joint replacement often faces difficulty in removing seized ball joint stud. Although the nut has been removed, stud oiled, and even beaten with a hammer, but ball joint stud still stuck. The stud could even be damaged because pounded by hammer.

This procedure to remove seized ball joint with the jack, can be applied to MacPherson strut independent suspension that is popularly used on front wheels of sedan like: Toyota, Mitsubishi, Honda, Ford, Daihatsu, and many others.

Jack vehicle on body frame, not on the suspension arm (swing arm), undo the tire. Put a jack stand under vehicle body so that car will be safely hanging without tire, lower the jack from car body. Later that jack will be used to release ball joint stud. If you do not have any jack stand, you can use a spare tire with wooden block on the top. Do not just rely only with jack, because jack is less stable.

In my opinion, a tire with wooden block on the top is safer than a jack stand, especially when applying this technique of releasing ball joint stud as explained in this article. Because tire has wide surface that become the foundation, wooden block has also wide and soft surface to contact with vehicle lower body, making it more stable and less risk damaging the vehicle body. While jack stand has narrower foot and the upper part is also smaller and harder, making it less stable and can damage vehicle body. And of course a tire with wooden block is more economical than a jack stand.



Some wheel design has convex face that is higher (protrude) than tire wall, that wheel convex face will be scratched if it is is touching the floor. As in the photograph, the wheel is facing up to avoid scratched face by the floor.

Undo tie rod pin, loosen the nut, and remove tie rod. Tie rod relatively easier to remove than ball joint. Seized tie rod  can be removed by tracker or by hitting it with a hammer on it's mounting. When hitting tie rod with hammer, make sure blow direction is not the same way of wheel movement when turning right or left, in order to avoid damage to the steering system. The photo shows a tie rod still attached, and we can see there is an extended part of tie rod mounting frame. You can hit that extended frame by hammer in the direction of the red arrow if tie rod stud seized.



On some vehicles ball joint can be removed without removing the tie rod. But considering safety, and because removing the ball joint requires a lot of effort and often have to be hit hard with a hammer. So to avoid steering system damage, tie rod should be removed before removing ball joint. In the video we can see ball joint is still attached, but the pin has been removed. Tie rod in the video had already been removed and repositioned back for safety, but not tightened.

Remove ball joint pin from the nut. Loosen ball joint nut, but do not take it off. Turn the nut to move it to a distance of about 2-5 mm from the locked position. It is for safety when ball joint released, swing arm still can safely hanging. Ball joint nut in the video is still attached, but has been loosened.

When the suspension arm (swing arm) is hanging freely without jack, we can see a narrow gap between swing arm and ball joint stud mounting.

If the swing arm is lifted with a jack, then the gap between the swing arm and ball joint stud mounting will be widened. The higher it is lifted by jack, the greater the gap. When swing arm jack is lowered, then the gap will be narrowed back.

When swing arm is being raised by jack, insert an iron bar in the gap, make sure that iron bar fits perfectly in the gap size. If needed hit that iron rod slowly by hammer in order to squeeze it into the gap. In the video I put a screwdriver in the gap between swing arm and ball joint stud mounting.

I usually use a jack crocodile, appears red on the video. Other hydraulic type jack can do, as long as it is easy to raise and lower.

When raising swing arm by jack, make sure the vehicle body is not floating. Add wooden block under the body, so the body does not slam down when swing arm jack suddenly lowered. Especially if using a hydraulic jack that can quickly lowered.

If ball joint will be reused, such as: when replacing the wheel bearings, repair and replacement clutch and axle on the front wheel drive. Make sure ball joint rubber booth will not damage when inserting the iron rod / screwdriver.

When screwdriver is already tucked steady, lower swing arm jack. The gap between swing arm and ball joint mounting will be narrowed, but because there is a screwdriver tucked in between, then the mounting will be pushed off the ball joint.

If the ball joint has not been released, repeat the above procedure. Carefully hammer stud mounting, when swing arm jack is already lowered and screwdriver is pinched. Ball joint nut may also be hammered on its side. But hammering ball joint nut too hard would bent the stud, and if this happens it will be very difficult to remove the ball joint.


In case ball joint nut is needed to be hammered hardly, then make sure nut position is close to maximum fit but not be tightened, or at least as low as 1 mm from tight position. As the principle of a lever, low positioned nut will be stronger to prevent stud bent when hammered from its side.

On the video, we can hear crackling sound when the jack is lowering, it is the sound of ball joint stud released from its mounting.