TRISTUPE.COM: Do It Like A Man

Showing posts with label Do It Like A Man. Show all posts

Friday, October 02, 2026

Headphone Paracord Hack

My Bose Q35 headphone has travelled the world with me. It was a gift from my wife and it has sentimental value. Often it's easy to replace material things, but as I am all for circular economy (aka cheap), I tend to use my gears until it expire. If luck has it can be fixed, I will fix them. While the earpad is easily replaced with aftermarket units often available for less than RM20 (good quality), the headband is more expensive, and require some risk in removing a few screws and sometimes getting a band that doesn't fit as well as it should.

The best way, is to use paracords and wrap it. Not only it changes the look of the headphone, it adds some individualism into it. I have done it with a dessert pattern paracord and it has served me well for 4 years. Time to change it again, this time with a blue-red cord, as it gives a little more subtlety into who it look overall.

It's easy to do, and it will cost you less than RM10 (for a total paracord length of 100feet) and you only need maybe 10 feet of the cords, model of headband depending.

Pictorial of how to do it, below. Comments to lend some description and guidances.

Here we go.

Dessert cord has seen better times and changing it is a hygiene decision

Removed the old cord, and this time around, i use a cloth tape to wrap it around as the sponge/original headband has greatly disentrigrated and sticky due to the faux leather

The first step is to leave sufficient length of rope at this end that starts the wrap. This is important as you will be pulling this end at completion.

As important, ensure the leading cord overlap the tail at this part. You will need to wrap or start wrapping from here. Pull firmly as you go around the headphone band, ensuring a tight and close cord position.

On the other end, its a loop that you will thread the end of the wrap into. Try to keep this length of loop on the side of the headband as much as possible so you don't have an uneven surface once you are done wrapping.

As you finish off and reached the end of the other loop, thread the end through and continue to hold it tight here while you pull the other end (the start) firmly

Pull the starting end and it will close the loop on the other end!

Tightly wrapped on the starting end

Tightly secured on the loop end

Trim off the excess an use a lighter to terminate the endand press it against the paracord

Do the same for the other end

Looked better than the dessert paracord colorway yes?

Happy trying and leave a message below if you need additional instructions!

Garmin Battery Drain Solution : Fenix7 Epix and Marq

Update:

As of today September 7, 2023, the fix has been rolled out for 14.36. Update it to sort your battery issues. If you aren't able to do it (if you are on 13.22 or 14.31), wait for a day or two, or link it on your Garmin Express for a sync. I did mine Over The Air

13.22 to 14.36

A recent update from Garmin to firmware 14.31 has caused a lot of issue for many users of Fenix 7 series, Marq Gen 2 and Epix Gen 2 users. Some users (friends) reported battery drain between one day (F7s) to 3 days (F7X). The solution from Garmin were "Wait as we sort this out" to paraphrase to say the least

As a user (and owner) of Fenix7, this is hardly a solution if you really need your devices for your training or fitness tracking. So, the only way to fix this is actually a rollback to the last working firmware. And the process is pretty straightforward and easy - as long as you can locate the right firmware which is the main challenge.

If you have recently upgraded to 14.31 (whether you force update or has the update pushed to you), here is how you can fix it until the next solution/firmware is available.

Be aware that this solution is at your own risk, and I shall not be held accountable if you brick your device. I had a few friends tried them out and it help them sort out the current issue. So, if you feel confident and comfortable, here is how.

1. Download the firmware here if your unit is Fenix7 series, Marq Gen 2 (scroll to the bottom for the 13.22. This is from the Beta Forum that rolled out the 14.31/34 2 months ago). If you are on Epix Gen 2, the firmware is here

2. You may want to backup your Garmin data in the My PC->Fenix 7XXX->Internal Storage - > Garmin. Backing up allow you to quickly reinstate your profiles so you do not need to set the device back as new. How to Back Up

3. Download the file you need based on the model you need

4. Unzip them. There will be three files in there. The ReadMe file sort of tell you what to do.

5. Plug your device using cable to your laptop or PC.

6. Open the device root folder at "This PC"

7. Open Device Model - > Internal Storage - > Garmin

8. Copy and paste the two files (the force.temp and gupdate.gsp) into the Garmin folder.

9. Unplug and the device will restart

10. Let the unit restart, It be fresh install. All your data is loss and you need to set it up as new again.

11. Try to sync with your Garmin Connect (GC) and Garmin IQ to see if all settings can be returned

12. If can't link on BT, I suggest to unpair and pair again on both GC and Bluetooth

13. Assuming 11 is ok, and your setting is back, check your 3rd Party app (like Stryd or any other 3rd party data page you use), and do what is needed to get back to where you want

14. Good luck.

Car Windscreen Cracked - How To Claim Insurance

The hit point o the lower right causing the crack to start across the screen

I had an unfortunate incident where a stone hit my windscreen right at the corner and has caused a crack that "grew" past the middle of the windscreen. Telling myself I do have an armor (6.5mil thickness) tinting and it would not cause the windscreen to shatter while driving. I gave a call to the insurance company that I subscribed to to understand the next step.

the crack line "grew" in matter of hours due to heat exposure

This guidance while specific to Kurnia Insurance, it can be a generic guidance for you to claim against your windscreen coverage.

To begin with, do check if you indeed has windscreen coverage when you renew your car insurance. It is a separate premium to be paid on top of your car insurance. It is wise to check with your car service center the price/rate for your car windscreen replacement so you can appropriately insure them. For me, a message to my regular service champion tells me that RM6k premium to include tinting is sufficient. That work out to RM900 of insurance cover.

Pricing higher due to manufacturer's standard windscreen and not OEM is important as you can only claim this one time per coverage. Pricing for replacement outside is circa RM2K.

Checked... and my coverage expire on June 7th

With that sorted (phew) here is how you can start the process to claim your windscreen insurance.

1. Decide if you want to change the windscreen at the Specialist/authorized panel of your insurance company, or you want to do it at a non-panel (like myself, I am sending it to my car service centre). This is important as the next few steps determine what needed to be done.

2. You decide on:

a. Specialist Windscreen Repairer (SWR) per your insurance panel

you will only need:

i. Copy of policyholder's IC or driving licence

ii. Copy of driver's IC & driving licence required if policyholder was not the driver at the time of accident.

b. Authorised Workshop per your insurance panel

You will need:

i. Copy of policyholder’s IC

ii. Copy of policyholder’s driving licence

iii.Copy of updated vehicle's registration card / vehicle ownership certificate (VOC)

iv. Copy of insurance policy

v. Copy of business form (if registered under company name)

vi. Copy of driver’s IC (if policyholder is not the driver)

vii. Copy of driver’s driving licence (if policyholder is not the driver)

viii. Copy of NRIC of the person who is dropping off the vehicle

ix. Payment authorisation letter & undertaking letter

x. Tinted warranty card

c. Non-Panel repairer including your car manufacturer service centre of your preferred workshop. This is the section that requires more effort as the very important Police Report need to be available. Depending on where the incident happen, the type of report and sign off determine the legitimacy of the claim. In my case, as I was driving when this happen, I will need to lodge a TRAFFIC POLICE report where the incident happen. If it is caused by vandalism or while parking (static), a normal Police report (at a police station nearest to where the incident happen) will suffice.

So you will need:

i. Copy of police report required

ii. Copy of policyholder’s IC

iii. Copy of policyholder’s driving licence

iv.Copy of updated vehicle's registration card / vehicle ownership certificate (VOC)

v. Copy of insurance policy

vi. Copy of business form (if registered under company name)

vii. Copy of driver’s IC (if policyholder is not the driver)

viii. Copy of driver’s driving licence (if policyholder is not the driver)

ix. Copy of NRIC of the person who is dropping off the vehicle

x. Payment authorisation letter & undertaking letter

xi. Tinted warranty card

xii. Reason why you went to a non-panel (usually the workshop will be able to justify)

Depending on your non-panel repairer, you may have to pay upfront and claim it back from your insurance later. However, with my Car Service location, i need not do anything.

My tinting warranty card

One last thing - please make sure you have your tinting invoice as that is evidence that you can claim back from your insurance to replace the tinting. I kept all documents, and thus will get back the equivalent quality and value of the tinting - I've checked with my Service Centre, I will get the equivalent of my existing 6.5mil security tint from Hypergard. Come back later when i complete the process!

Triathlete On Budget - Servicing Your ZIPP Hubs

I've gained confidence to do this process after an event last year during a ride when my ZIPP wheels refused to freewheel due to sticky ratchet and it was 1 month to my Ironman Malaysia 2019 race. Out of desperation and thinking what could be the worse case scenario (hub replacement), I thought there may not be anything to lose to try to fix it. The first attempt back then was a clear success - I've managed to strip it off, cleaned, greased it, and reassembled it back - and lost the chance to document it for future reference. Fast forward to last weekend, i had this chance again as the wheels appears to be rough, and has a bit more freeplay that it usually does. I decided to spend the day documenting it, and shared it on my Twitter account. If you are interested, and wants to know how I did it, click on this Threadroll at the bottom of today's sharing and hope it is helpful for you.