Itärastit, Nuuksio

2014-10-04_ITR_holma_qr_splits

+3min loop when just inside the control-circle at #3. I blame other runners that distracted me.

+4min loop east of #5, also from within the control-circle, because I thought I had crossed the swamp west of the control and needed to look for it more to the east.

+2min at #7 because after the big swamp it was difficult to know where exactly through the green thick area one approached the control, and I mistook the westerly big stone for the more easterly one directly on the #6-#7 control-line.

Without the mistakes that cost +9min a top-10 placing would have been possible - well maybe next time...

Itärastit, Paloheinä

2014-09-27_ITR_paloheina_qr_splits

A great big loop around #2 that cost at least +3 minutes 🙁

Then I ran past #5, just didn't look in the right direction at the right moment. Maybe +1 minutes here.

Out of #8, should have avoided the green dashed slow area by rounding it clearly north or south - very slow going until I reached the road. Another minute lost there probably.

Overall an easy course with emphasis on running - as long as clear and good route choices could be made...

TEC-Drive v2

Sadly TEC-Drive v1 died an untimely death when it overheated due to being powered from +/-15 V instead of the designed +/-5 V.

TEC-Drive v2 is a simplified design using TO-220 packaged LM317/LM337 adjustable regulators and the OPA569 high-current op-amp.

tecdrive_v2_schematic

Constant-current drive is achieved using the OPA569 (U2) I_monitor output. I_monitor sources/sinks a fraction I_out/475 of the actual output current. By using another op-amp (U1) in a transimpedance configuration we get a feedback-voltage proportional to the output current.

PCB layout on a 100 mm x 160 mm eurocard:

tecdrive_v2_pcb

 

Built and assembled as a plug-in card for a 3U rack. Note big heatsinks on the +/-2.5 V regulators.

tecdrive_v2_assembled

The DC-response is I_out = 105 mA/V * V_in, with an offset at zero-input of -4 mA.

tecdrive_v2_dc-response

With no low-pass capacitors (C1 at the input, and C11 over the transimpedance-resistor) added and a purely resistive load the frequency response extends beyond 1 MHz with some ringing.

tecdrive_v2_ac-response

Iltarastit, Luukki

2014-09-21_IR_Luukki_qr_splits

Good going on the four first controls, after which I was 6th overall (at best I was 3rd at #3). Quite an uneven performance after that.

A slow north rounding of the hill to #4 - south via the road might have been better.

The short and innocent looking leg to #6 proved fatal. I've run probably within 10-20m of the correct stone but failed to find the control. Worst split and ten placings lost here 🙁

A good long leg to #10 is then followed by overconfidence and a U-loop to #12.

#13-#14-F at the end were fairly straightforward.

Itärastit, Salmenkallio

2014-09-20_itr_salmenkallio_qr_splits

Worst split (45th) and at least +1min of error right at the start on #1. The first control always deserves a bit of respect - steady and safe is better on #1 than too much speed&risk and a mistake.

#2 OK. Some kind of U-bend on #3 but not too much time lost. Towards #4 I slow down midway for some reason, maybe a bit north and around the blue swamp would have been better.

I almost run past #5 but stop and look around for the flag at the last possible moment.

#6 is the best split (5th) although it did not feel that special. Safely along the path first and then via the bigger cliff that indicates a direction into the control circle. #7 again OK.

#8 and #9 were clearly in the toughest part of the map and I had decided to take them extra carefully.
#8 went well first on the bigger path, then up towards the control on a smaller path, and the last bit through the blue swamp.

#9 did not go well. I take a straight and direct route but that means climbing and descending a lot of cliffs and hills. Over 3 minutes lost to the best runner. It would probably have been much better to go directly northeast out of #8 to the path (yellow arrows), follow the path as far as possible, and then find the control from above (yellow arrow).

#10-#11-F are all along the big path running parallel to the road. When I arrive at the path before #10 I'm unsure if I am left or right of the control? Probably +1min lost reading the map and looking around.
#11 and F require no orienteering, just trail-running.

Espoorastit, Suna

2014-09-16_ER_suna_qr_splits

+1min very close to #3 just on the wrong hill before the control.

Not sure why #8 is such a bad split, there must have been a faster direction to approach than the one I took through fallen trees etc. from the path.

+4:30min on #10, more than 6min lost to the best runner, and the worst split by far 🙁 Ran past the northward path and ended up on the big hill close to #11 instead. Not good.

+1min on the last control (#13) where the map wasn't very clear because of a construction site just north of the big road.

Overall about +6:30min of estimated error - mostly OK running otherwise.

KU-rastit, Linnanpelto

2014-09-11_KU_linnanpelto_qr_splits

En route to #2 about half-way there was an open cut-down area not marked on the map (??) and then just before the control I turned a bit much to the east.

#3 and #4 went well, and #5 OK but slower. Towards #6 I ran along the grey cliff and after the road failed to directly find the smaller path towards the control.

#7 was surprisingly high up on top of a hill, while the quite long legs to #8 and #9 I managed to complete fairly straight along the control-line. To #9 a route along the road north would have been worth considering.

A route more westward out of #9 to avoid the slow area close to the backyard and lake would probably have been better towards #10.

Itärastit, Spjutsund

2014-09-06_itr_spjutsund_qr_splits

Mostly OK but three mistakes, highlighted in red in the splits and marked with yellow on the map, are worth mentioning:

  • Towards #2 the flag at #13 is visible from far away and lures me in the wrong direction. The wrong control-code is a bit of a surprise but I notice I've arrived at #13 quickly. Worst split and 1:30 or so lost.
  • Towards #5 I drift too much east when a direct line north through the thick vegetation would have been better. Slow walking along the edge of the open (yellow) swamp before climbing the slope to the control.
  • #14 is hard work directly through the open swamp/cut-down yellow area where I stay on course OK. But when crossing the cliff before the control I turn almost 90-degrees left (why??) towards the finish instead of directly over the hill to #14.