When I received my new G-Tech Pro Competition there was a little note in it that said that I should not calibrate the accelerometers because they have been programmed at the factory. However I went on to read the entire manual and then forgot about the little note and I went ahead and calibrated the accelerometers. Does that mean that the accelerometers are all messed up now? Please advise on what I should do now.

Thank you.

 

How much u pay?

 

Well, it's a weird story. I bought it off ebay for $200, used. But when I received it, the unit was not working. It would power on but only come on with a blue backlight and no menu. The problem is a known issue with GTECH. So I sent it back to GTECH and they sent me a brand new unit as a replacement - new software, new firmware, factory calibrated accelerometers.

The seller on ebay refunded me the cost of shipping and customs, which I had to pay.

 

Well, I ended up erasing all calibration and recalibrated, first at
68 degrees and then at 103 degrees. I called GTECH tech support and
spoke to Peter and he said that should be good enough. There is no
need for me to send it in or anything like that. However I did ask
about how they 'factory calibrated' the accelerometers and he said
that they hook it upto a robotic aparatus that makes sure that the
GTECH is perfectly upright in every position for the calibration.

I am yet to do a run since I erased the calibration. I will let you
know how I make out once I do so.

So in conclusion, a hand calibration at home can be precise enough
but will probably not be as precise as it was when the
accelerometers were pre-calibrated at the factory. I think they are
starting to do this with the brand new ones that are coming out.

 

Oh yeah, I also sent an e-mail to GTECH tech support the day before
saying the following:
************************************************** *******************
Hi,

I just received a new GTECH Pro competition this week and it says
version 3.1 on it. Along with it, came a sheet saying that I should
not calibrate the accelerometer since it was done at the factory.
However I read the whole manual first and by the time I finished, I
forgot about the little note, and I went ahead and did an
accelerometer calibration. Is my gtech inaccurate now? Please
advise as to what I should do.
************************************************** *******************


They replied back to me with the following:
************************************************** *******************
Hi Anish,

Sorry about that.... we have just begun the new factory calibration
procedure, and many people accidentally re-calibrate the Gtech.

The factory calibration uses a robot at 2 very different
temperatures and is extremely precise. This will give you the very
best results.

Most people do a very good job of calibrating as well, in fact every
customer before August of 2003 had to calibrate the unit for
him/herself.

Your unit will probably not quite be as accurate as a factory-
calibrated unit, but it should still be very good.

The best way to check your calibration results is to keep the unit
powered off for 8 hours while indoors, then turn it on (still
indoors), go to the XYZ G's screen, and keep the unit resting on a
table. As the unit warms up over an hour or two, you will notice
the temperature slowly rising as the electronics heat up.

If your calibration was good, the "Mag" value will always be between
0.995 and 1.005, or thereabouts, over the whole temperature range.

If you feel that your calibration is not as good as what is
described above, you can send the unit back to us and we will re-
calibrate it for you.

IF YOU WANT TO DO THIS, PLEASE EMAIL US FIRST SO THAT WE CAN ARRANGE
THIS. PLEASE DO NOT SEND A UNIT BACK TO US WITHOUT FIRST OBTAINING
AUTHORIZATION... OTHERWISE IT MIGHT NOT BE ACCEPTED AT THE RECEIVING
DOCK.


Best Regards,
Gtech Tech Support
************************************************** *******************


I am going to plug it into the wall tonight and see how the "Mag"
value acts and let you guys know.