Echelon EX-4S
10-March-21 This is an exercise bike we bought today at Costco.
It has a one-year warranty on it and a one-year free trial for the Echelon service.
I have to get used to the idea of not breaking into it for a year.
I can make notes in the meantime, right?
It loads an app that takes over the screen and I'd like to use it for other things, like running an audio book from Hoopla for instance. For the next year I'll use my phone I guess. Sigh.
Anyway here are instructions on what to do,
Accessing the Android Settings 1. While you are in the Echelon app, click the bottom, right-hand corner of the screen 5-10 times. 2. If done correctly, you should see a pop-menu asking for Code. 3. Enter 1085 or 0000 4. If the Code is accepted, you should be in the Android Settings screen. Next... follow these steps in (post #27) to start setting up your access. This task involves changing the Default Home app to something like Nova/ Lawnchair .
Echelon sans subscription
Okay, a year went by. My card was automatically charged $400 for a renew!! I don't remember authorizing THAT. I got it cancelled and we've been off the subscription and using the bike only with FreeStyle for quite some time now. I am sick of seeing the same pictures of the Echelon team on the default screen! Julie hangs a scarf over them. NO NO NO. This is wrong. I am ready to hack it. I will own this bike.
Install QZ app
I paid the $6 and installed [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.cagnulen.qdomyoszwift&gl=US&pli=1 QZ] on my Android phone. This will replace the Echelon tablet and FreeStyle. It gives a simple full screen display of metrics and allows controlling resistance. After installing QZ, all I had to do was switch off (and remove!) the original Echelon tablet and powercycle the bike. It found the bike in about 2 seconds. 5 stars
Then I can use Zwift if I want to. What is Zwift? It's a virtual-world-massive-online thing. One of those. Not sure if I care. Just need distraction while "riding." There are downloads for Mac/Windows/Android/iOS, no sadly not going to run on my Raspberry Pi. Boo hoo.
Worse still is that it won't work on this ancient Android 5 tablet I have in front of me. Galaxy SM-T530NUSamsung Galaxy SM-T530NU.
Metrics
- Speed (totally fabricated)
- Cadence
- Power output (calculated from resistance and cadence)
- Resistance
There is a knob to adjust resistance but it's just an encoder apparently. It does nothing unless the CPU is in the loop, so I presume a message goes to the CPU when you turn the knob and that it sends back a command to move the magnets in and out.
Whenever an exercise video ends the bike goes back to level 1.
Bluetooth
Cadence display using ESP32: https://jmparound.blogspot.com/2021/02/building-cadence-display-for-ble.html
Speed and cadence using nRF on Adafruit Clue board: https://learn.adafruit.com/bluetooth-bicycle-speed-cadence-sensor-display-with-clue?view=all
If I cannot read the sensors built into the bike I can always just more.
