2010-03-10

SRM Wired ANT+Sport Adapter (proposal)

The last page of the SRM manual gives a brief overview of how the thing works. The older, wired SRM used a really simple PWM encoding over an analog coil to transmit the power. The frequency was proportional to the power, and the duty cycle was proportional to the cadence. (Read elsewhere on this topic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulse_width_modulation)

Seems to me like making an ANT+Sport adapter is "trivial" apart from all the licensing BS. I foresee a small sensor that mounts on the bottom bracket, near where the SRM's magnet attaches. It would read the power data in real time, demodulate the signal to get a useful speed and cadence, and re-transmit over ANT+Sport to any computer able to read it. This would let anyone with a wired SRM use their Edge 705 or whatnot.

Here's the problem. I have all the know-how to take on this project (it's a perfect 6.115 Microcontroller Lab final project, in fact), but not the hardware (at least a nice oscilloscope and bench setup), or the ANT+Sport tech data, or the time really. Does anyone out there want to help? There's always MetriGear, the friendly local power meter company. Clearly by developing the Vector they have the resources that I'd need for this project - wireless testing tools, tech data, etc.