Rest in peace Steve Jobs

Automower model comparison

I've found an interesting comparison of all current Husqvarna automower models (sorry- the pdf is in german only)

Here's the link to the PDF ile

Myautomower iphone App

Husqvarna als has a nice iPhone App called "My Automower" in the Apple app store. Unfortunately it only works with models that have an integrated GPS module.

Through simple SMS messaging you can send instructions that will give you complete remote access:
- you'll be able to display the location of your automower
- use shortcuts to send instructions and take control of your automower
- tell your machine to start mowing
- tell your mower to stop and return for charging
- set timers
- check your automower status

An hour of MOW-E's busy day...

Today i gave one of the many time lapse apps for the iPhone a try. And what would be a better subject than our hard working MOW-E robotic mower ?

So here's one hour and two minutes of "MOW-E action" from 17:00 to 18:02 hours - recorded with the iMotion HD App on my iPhone 4 at one image every 2 seconds.

I stuck the iPhone on a ball of putty from my kids and you might notice that the angle of the image slowly tilts down due to the putty giving way to the weight of the iPhone. 

I guess one could also mount the iPhone directly on top of the mower, but i've not had the guts to do just that yet..... : )

Where did i get those transparent stickers ?

After creating the layout of the MOW-E stickers in Photoshop I exported it as a vector file and sent it to a company called Schriften24. I found the correct WALL-E Font (Gunship) online in TTF Format. A sticker did cost 6 swiss francs which i considered a good deal compared to other online deals.

Delivery only took a couple of days. Fortunately I ordered four copies because i messed up the first placement of the sticker, getting a ton of air bubbles so that i had to remove it again which turned it unusable.

If someone is interested i can provide the base vector file as a download on my blog.

Battery life and charging times

MOW-E has now been mowing our lawn for the last two weeks four times a day and i have noticed the following battery life and charging times:

Average battery life: 1 hour - 1 hour 10 minutes max

Average charging times: 2.5 hours

When we first started out and when the grass was a lot higher, battery times were around 45 minutes. Now that the grass is all cut at a uniform length, MOW-E usually works for about an hour. Charging times have always been at approximately 2.5 hours.

MOW-E's first day at work - Parkus Interruptus

A week ago everything was ready to go. The automower 305 arrived and spent the night charging up in his dock in our living room.

Due to the shape of our lawn i decided to place the dock outside of the perimeter cable although Husqvarna advises against it. I (and my wife) were unwilling to place the mower onto the grass and always imagined the dock to be hidden away either under a bush our somewhere on the perimeter of our lawn. 

I placed the cable as shown in red - although the manual tells you not to do it - it worked just fine anyway

Since i had about 2-3 meters of extra perimeter cable left, i decided to place it underneath the dock so that it would keep dry and protected from the elements. I did not realize that placing it under the dock would create problems later on.

Of course I had to take a short video of MOW-Es first "steps":

So I sat on the porch with a beer and watched MOW-E do his job. It's really fascinating to see him go trundle back and forth across the lawn - relentless just like WALL-E in the movie : ) I was pretty satisfied.

After about 50 minutes the mower turned off the blades and slowly turned back on his way along the search cable back to the docking station. He then tried to enter the dock but always stopped approximately 10 centimeters short of docking. He tried this about 4 or 5 times until i manually stopped the mower.

I then realized that the extra cable underneath the dock interfered with the mower. Once i had this removed, he was able to find the dock without any problems. So make sure you place any extra perimeter cable to the SIDE and BEHIND the dock.