Garmin Forerunner 305 battery replacement

The battery in my Garmin Forerunner 305 got to the point where it wouldn't hold a charge long enough for a 6 mile run.  A Google search at first didn't result in much, but finally I came across a couple pages that looked promising.  One guy used a phone battery with success, but I don't have any phone batteries lying around.  Another site I came across indicated that a replacement battery for an iPod Mini is the same voltage (3.7V), about twice the capacity (1300mAh instead of 750mAh), and very similar in size.  I bought an iPod Mini battery on eBay for $4.21 including shipping.  A couple days later it arrived and I went to open my Garmin.  I had read that sometimes the watch pops open of its own accord because the battery swelled, but even if it doesn't you should be able to open it by prying with your fingernails.

I went to pry mine open and realized it was already swelled open, so I just opened it the rest of the way with my fingers.

There were no wires to be careful with...the top just came completely off.

I clipped the black and white wires connecting the battery as close to the battery as I could to leave as much wire to work with as possible.

I cut the connector off the end of the new battery's wires, stripped the black and white wires at the ends, twisted the wires together, and soldered them.  I just left the white wire alone.

After wrapping the exposed wires with electrical tape, I put the battery into the watch and pushed the wires out of the way of the button on the left.

I glued it back together with epoxy since that's what I had on hand.  I hope I don't have to open it again!  I pressed on the watch to keep it snug while the epoxy hardened.  The connectors won't make good contact unless the pieces are snugly together.

When I plugged it into the charger, it started charging normally.  An hour or two later it said battery charging was complete.

It got satellite reception and appeared to be working properly.

I went to the menu to see the battery symbol which indicated it is fully charged.










And Kim tried it out on her run this morning.  It's working well!

Color of the Day

More javascript, since that's my new interest.  Drag the slider to choose the blinking speed.  The color of the non-white square should change every day.
UPDATE: Okay, it's not just a firefox problem.  I'm using the new HTML5 slider, and it works best in chrome.  You might see a text box or nothing at all otherwise.

Trinity Lake by Robyn

On Saturday we went hiking at Trinity Lake.

We hiked to Fiddle Lake.

  When we got there we went fishing.   There was a fish following dad's hook but it never bit the hook.














 Before we went back to Trinity Lake we climbed on rocks. They were very tall. 

Javascript

And now, for the coolest thing I've ever done here... Javascript!

Where'd the button go?

More to come!

Watermelon Slice Cookies

This recipe came from p. 92 in the Taste of Home Cookie magazine that was to be displayed until June 11, 2012.  It says it's from Sue Ann Benham from Valpraraiso, Indiana.

It makes about 3 dozen sliced cookies. 

3/4 C butter, softened

3/4 C sugar

1 egg

1/2 teaspoon almond extract (you could probably use vanilla if you don't have almond)

2 C all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

red and green GEL food coloring

1/3 cup raisins

1 teaspoon sesame seeds

1.  In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg and extract.  Combine the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.  Set aside 1 cup of dough.

2. Tint remaining dough red; shape into a 3 1/2 inch long log.  Wrap in plastic wrap.  Tint 1/3 cup of the remaining dough green; wrap in plastic wrap.  Wrap the remaining plain dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm.

3. On a lightly floured surface, roll plain dough into a 8 1/2 inch X 3 1/2 inch rectangle.  Place red dough log on the end of a short side of the rectangle; roll up.

4. Roll green dough into a 10 inch X 3 1/2 inch rectangle.  Place red and white log on the end of a short side on green dough; roll up.  Wrap in plastic wrap; refrigerate overnight.

5. Unwrap and cut into 3/16 inch slices (just less that 1/4 inch).  Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.  Cut raisins into small pieces.  Lightly press raisin bits and sesame seeds into red dough to resemble watermelon seeds.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes or until firm.  Immediately cut cookies in half.  Remove to wire racks to cool.  

Remember by Robyn

Here a poem I wrote:

Remember me?

       

I am the girl                              I am the woman

who does what she's asked      who wherever she goes

who tries to be nice                  she will bring joy

whatever the task.                    to all that are low.

Ode to Music by Robyn

Here is my ode that I wrote for cabin writers:

Ode to music that clears the mind

that makes us brave through all time.

Ode to music its soft sweet song

that brings us together as one.