The Flying Flea (and what Journalists get wrong)

Long term readers of my blog will know I've had a lengthy interest in two wheeled machines and even 2 wheeled EV type machines. So it should come as no surprise that I'm quite interested in the Flying Flea by Royal Enfield.

I don't want to get into the comparison with the original (read a bit about that here).

but you'll also know (dear reader) that I have an interest in motorcycles, including classice old style ones like my SR500

... which is of course an internal combustion engine type not an EV.

Also I've written more than a few articles where I dive into the energy consumption per distance travelled and found interestnig things with ranges in various conditions from

• 2.8kWh per 100km (see test)
• 1.2kWh/100km (see test)
• and 2.8kWh/100km (see test)

so you can see that a stand up scooter with little wheels the idea of getting 2kWh/100 is not absurd, so when these articles seem skeptical about the Fleas claims; for instance NewAtlas writes

Which given the 3.9kWh battery  suggests that over the100km range is entirely possible >> if you consider the reality of city driving in India << and drive according to the commuting reality there ...

where you won't be doing 60kmh that much.

Personally I'm keen to see one, but the reality of my location and the pernicious Queensland registration costs are that I'm unlikely to buy one because I can't really use it much here. If I lived in a more sizable town (like Warwick, or back where I came from on The Gold Coast) it would be perfect, but here in my town I prefer my electric scooter or my bicycle.

A pity really; but who knows I might try to justify it.

INR testing - getting enough blood

Getting enough blood is somethhing that confounds beginners and experienced INR self testers alike; and while the manual shows a few things like this:

This is an important topic because if you don't get enough blood the machine will give an error and you've just wasted a strip. This can be more than a nusiance if

• you are on a low income (and $6 makes a difference in your part of the world)
• you were on your last strip and are waiting for the next delivery (never wait till you run out my freend, that's what preparation is all about)

I've noticed that people still seem to struggle. To help address this, I've done a previous video on the topic of "getting enough blood" over on this post. There you'll find this video:

This video is pretty quick and was intended to show some of the basic techniques (and inadvertently nicely show a source of mild panic as I forgot to cock the lance).

Later in discussion with someone I was assisting I did this more extensive video:

which goes into a lot more depth. 

That was about six months back and so I thought that (since I recently referred someone else to it yesterday) I thought I'd add it to my INR series here on my blog.

Remember; its important to use the right lance too.

The problem with AI as we get it

I think the best way to understand AI is that it wasn't created for absolute honesty nor the premise of accuracy.

If I may quote TARS from Interstellar : Absolute honesty isn't always the most diplomatic nor the safest form of communication with emotional beings.

Also most people don't ask questions seeking honesty (looks over at the Eww Ass Ay and the stark and widening gulf between Democrat and Republican), they're seeking validation. However for the sake of argument lets pretend someone is asking a technical question (from a positoin of ignorance) and is seeking the truth. My experience is that you'll get that 90% honesty that TARS cited.

So I asked a very specific question about EV charging (a subject I happen to know a bit about)

Claude went on to say how it doesn't cause any harm ... however I know differently (from decades of working with batteries), and I knew this was partially wrong

you see it only works in the case where you have not avoided the most critcal balance window listed in point 1. above.

If you go on charging at 80% (which all the EV makers seem to suggest in their advertising you should do) you'll hit problems.

So after I was assured by Claude that it was all OK, I pushed back with the quesion below. The answer is worth understanding and is why Claude should have said "it can't prevent balancing issues" when it first answered my question.

But it didn't and if I didn't know enough to push back it would have misled me. Aside from the "acceptance rate cliff" he mentions there's also the very likely outcome of "inaccurate range estimation because that only comes to light as you discharge (on the highway or taking off from the lights) and one "cell" in the pack buckles down more and you go from having enough range to "we need to charge".

As to how we'll get around this constraint I'm not sure, because all models seem to focus on making you happy (not informing you).

 

Fly Over Darkness

I'm a fan of the Venus 190x movements and before I say anythig more I think any fan of that movement should go check out Kaminski's blog on that.

There are a few unique features in the presentation of the Venus (1901) on this watch, those who know it will know that its a bi-compax dial (running seconds on the 9 O'Clock and Chrono minute accumulation on the 3).

Dimensions

• weight = 66.9g
• bezel diameter is 39.5mm
• case diameter 39mm
• lug to Lug is 47.5mm
• thickness - 13.5mm (very slight dome to the crystal)

So probably the most wearable chrono I have.

Myself I find the ST1901 almost functionally useless (meanwhile, all the "watch tools" squeal "tool watch" while excitedly tingling  their bell) because it only times 30min, I often want to time more, however here its saved by the inclusion of a divers bezel. 

Saved you say? Yes, saved I say, because you can turn that red triangle to align with hour hand and know with ease how many hours have elapsed and if its between hours how many minutes have elapsed as well as seconds.

This simple case addition turns the 1901 into a tool that can record 12 hours (and if you can remember when in the day did you start it, perhaps even 24 hours).

Fantastic improvement. My only lament is that the bezel is only rotatable anti-clockwise; which is irritating but not a show stopper. Dive Watch Wankers can check their ego at the entrance because its not a dive watch (you slavish unthinking watch tool).

The watch comes from AliExpress and while I wanted the Black Dial it was all gone...

but as it happens I've had a fondness for green dials.

Noteworthy on the face is the additional clarity markers around the 5 min (at 3 and 7min) making it really easy to clearly distinguish the smaller amounts of time (where the signficance of a minute makes a bigger difference.

and of course (if you know the ST901) its a quick change of the minute at the minute; not a simple gear system like say a VK63. This style of graduation marking was once common when actual legibility was paramount (not watch wanking); as seen on these (one vintage) aviators ...

While some people will perhaps prefer the Speedmaster style bezel (with a tachymeter {and frankly I find almost nobody knows how to use that}), I'm quite happy to trade that for the very functional divers bezel as an adjunct to timing. I mean as tools go, a Chronometer is actually intended as a timing device (AKA a tool).

The watch comes in a nice (and uncharacteristically useful) "watch storeage" more suited for putting into your draw (if you aren't using it every day as I seem to be).

which nicely pops off the sides with press studs just like opening it has.

The back is (as is common) the display back, which is good because the watch movement is beautiful on the ST1901 series

The watch comes with a nice (very nicely made) suede leather strap (which I think will look scruffy quckly, so I took it off immedately and will reserve it for nice occasions)

However in fitting my usual strap style I find that the holes in the lugs for spring bars are a bit close in and makes fitting anything of any thickness difficult.

Happily thin leather straps and NATOs (that have been surgically normalised are fine). Worth noting here is the (yet again) different case back opening suited to a large jawed shifting spanner.

This angle also shows off the work on both case finishing and on the bezel knurling.

Nowhere was sharp (except the edges of the bezel) and the combination of finish and polish was of a much higher standard than anything from China (not branded as say, Seiko) I've yet handled.

Lastly the tuning of the movement in the watch for accuracy has been exemplary

and my daily useage has suggested that over the last few days its been about that 12seconds  per day. FWIW my TimeGrapher tives a much better beat error figure of 0.2ms

Lume (always a weak point here) is "basic" but on the poor side of "sufficient" for going inside from being out in the light ...

So there you have it ... a round up of the F.O.D.

The watch is easy to wear and I like that its easy to read (although perhaps I'd prefer the bezel was etched and filled, not "rear printed glass") ... which is cheaper. The crystal has no AR coatings but is crystal, so should resist scratching ...

Lets hope it lasts.