Deondef
Member Since: 08 May 2007
Location: Randburg
Posts: 790
  
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Trying again to post.
Fitted 6 unit Tyre Dog monitor system - not difficult at all (although I have not yet fitted 3 way splitter and locking oring to the valves).
Have tested the system for a couple of days now - working 100% - only complaint at this stage is that alarm sound is not very loud and only gives one warning. I would've preferred volume setting and continues alarm until manualy stopped.
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 22nd Apr 2008 12:26 pm |
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heine
Member Since: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 4054
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FWIW the manual says it should beep 3 times . I will give Bud a ring
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| 22nd Apr 2008 2:11 pm |
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Baben
Member Since: 15 Feb 2006
Location: Kyalami
Posts: 2059
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fitetd mine yesterday. So far I love it.
nice and portable, but the sensors look a bit fragile. More when I get back from Savuti 
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| 25th Apr 2008 4:52 pm |
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heine
Member Since: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 4054
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When you leaving ?
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| 26th Apr 2008 8:44 am |
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Baben
Member Since: 15 Feb 2006
Location: Kyalami
Posts: 2059
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When you sent your mail we would have been at Nata already 
Arrived back yesterday, and I must say the Tyredog is a pleasure to have.
Despite the T-pieces gouging a line in my wheels because of corrugations, one great aspect is that you can take the monitor part with you outside and deflate the tyres when going into the sand/mud and the reading will change immediately on the screen. Hence you can deploy the whole family to deflate, and just shout "stop!" when they reach the right pressure. Or I guess if you have 3 kids and a wife, you can sit in the cab and bark orders 
I did have a failure of a sensor, and found that the battery clip had detached itself from the rest of the sensor. The only way I knew about this was that the sensor was reported as disconnected on the display, but there was no beeping or alarms, which is maybe an issue that needs to be addressed.
After investigation, I found that there is a small gap, maybe 1 mm between the screw-on cap and the battery clip, which would mean that the battery clip is supported only by 4 solder joints to the rest of the sensor once the cap is screwed on, and has to carry the full weight of the battery against the huge vibration forces. This is a bit of a weak point when on really poor roads, since the thing will break the solder joint eventually. Since I was in the bush and didn't want any other sensor failures, I applied a bit of thought to the problem and added a bit of toilet paper in the caps of the surviving sensors to try make the assembly a bit more solid. This seems to have worked, and I will examine the rest of the sensors once I get a chance.
A long term fix may be to add a bit of firm sponge or something similar in the end of the cap.
Also, not sure if this type of failure would be covered by the warranty, but if its not then I would conclude that the system is not quite cut out for offroad use.
I have addressed this with Bud on the email, and will let you know what the response is. He's a reasonable guy, but I think we rely on the manufacturer to back up the product in this case.
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| 5th May 2008 10:18 am |
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Deondef
Member Since: 08 May 2007
Location: Randburg
Posts: 790
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Back from Kgalagadi - no problems with D3  , althouh a couple of small problems with accessories :
Same experience with Tyredog as Baben - one sensor started giving problems early in the trip which I also fixed with tissue paper - great minds and all that. Overall it performed well and gives plenty of peace of mind. The audible signal I complained about previously is actualy 3 short beeps which draws the atention to the wheel out of the parameters set - the symbol will then continue to flash - continues alarm will drive one crazy.
Duel battery system circuit feeding the Brad Harrison on the towbar shorted when I hit it with the trailer while unhitching. The in-line fuse went, but Carl never informed me that he has put in such fancy fuses. Had to connect a normal in-line fuse to the circuit. Will carry spares with me in future.
Awesome trip - just to come back to a house which was burgled 
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| 5th May 2008 10:30 am |
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heine
Member Since: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 4054
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Deondef wrote:
Awesome trip - just to come back to a house which was burgled
f  ckers .
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| 5th May 2008 10:32 am |
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Brucehun
Member Since: 09 Oct 2006
Location: Johannesburg
Posts: 106
 
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Have you guys checked the accuracy of the readings on the tyredog? I check mine with my scgrader gauge and found the tyredog to be reading higher by at least 20psi!
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| 6th May 2008 8:49 am |
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heine
Member Since: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 4054
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Interesting - mine reads about 20kpa lower
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| 6th May 2008 9:02 am |
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Deondef
Member Since: 08 May 2007
Location: Randburg
Posts: 790
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Mine seems pretty accurate - well accurate enough for the application I guess .
Often wondered about the accuracy of pumps at service stations though
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| 6th May 2008 9:03 am |
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heine
Member Since: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 4054
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Most service station guages are really suck
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| 6th May 2008 9:06 am |
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Baben
Member Since: 15 Feb 2006
Location: Kyalami
Posts: 2059
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Initially I thought my Tyredog was .2kpa out (ie. reading 1.8 when I expected 2.0), but when I compared my guage with 2 of my friends, it was my guage that was out
I don't think .2kpa will make any difference either way anyhow
No reportback from Bud yet, so I assume he is travelling.
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| 6th May 2008 9:37 am |
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heine
Member Since: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 4054
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Yup - the main thing is that it shows excessive deflation or heat - I still use my tyre guage to measure pressures
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| 6th May 2008 9:42 am |
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