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To be released by early July 2009, the improved Coxmate SRT+ plus has the features of the SRT Coxmate and improved the screen size and added new functions.

A few facts about it:

• It has larger backlit display; shows rate, stroke count and time.
• Like predecessor it has digital amplifier – gives ~60% more run time than other designs
• Has real time clock and alarm function – can be set to remind crews the start is imminent!
• Comes with adaptor for NK ‘cup’ and articulated bracket.
• Has mute feature on audio
• Has recall of time intervals (virtually unlimited number) and rate for one hour – can be recalled in 15 or 30 second increments
• Has metronome function
• Has connector for radio input
• The battery can be replaced in less than 2 minutes – once the unit is open, there is no tape or screws to be removed  in order to replace battery

The Rowperfect shop will start selling the SRT+ Plus on 1 July 2009.

There will be two options for the mounting into the boat - an articlated bracket with a NK cup adapter with manual plug-in for the speaker wiring loom OR a magnetic connection on the articulated bracket.

SRT+ Plus brochure

The pricing will be released on 1 July but we expect them to remain around £270 - £300 including VAT for a full kit including microphone, carry case and charger.

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We got an enquiry from Simon Janes at Oxford about trying out the Coxmate HC.  He wanted to test it on his NK wiring loom that is already in his boat.

I've tried the HC unit with my NK speedcoach mount- it fits fine but
the readings don't seem towork, the rate says "99" during the drive
& a more accurate number during the recovery, also the speed
reading says I'm doing 5 or 6 minutes per 500 (I hope it is the machine
and not me!)
I noticed on the back of the HC there are 6 pins but the NK holder only
has receptors for 4 pins- my NK unit works with speed coah.gold.XL
series, so have i done something wrong with the set up?
Cheers
Simon

This is a really iimportant question for us to answer in full.  The Coxmate HC is designed to work on the NK wiring loom. Interchangeability is really important and so we thought we'd publish the full answer we gave Simon.

About the speed measurement. 

The HC is designed to be used with the Coxmate micro-impeller.  This spins much faster than your NK impeller and so when used with the NK impeller it gives very far out readings.  You need to calibrate the HC against the NK impeller - you can set the HC unit up for "NK impeller" and use your Speedcoach K value.  Do you have a marked distance you can scull and get a reading off?  Then adjust the calibration as indicated in the manual.

About the number of connection pins.

The number of pins (6) on the HC is for the HC wiring loom which has a start / stop switch.  This is in addition to the four on your NK loom.  These four record and measure the same things on Coxmate as HC.  Nothing wrong with your set-up.

About the rating. It suggests you are not getting a connection on seat sensor. Make sure HC is fully seated in mount. The seat sensor is the first and second pins from right - as you look down on mount.

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Just read an interesting message on Twitter from Adrian (he works for Coxmate in Australia).

Since we get enquiries from traditional boats (Seine boats, Cornish Gig boats, canoes, Ocean Racing boats) about rating and speed measurement this will be great.

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Hiya
 I thought I'd write a review, send it to you and you could pass it on if it's helpful?

Coxmate SRT:

The crew all commented on the excellent sound quality - it was really clear sound, with little distortion at volume, and no fuzz or noise being sent down the speakers. The crew only usually give me volume feedback, so for them to have noticed and commented meant the clarity made a real difference for them. The volume was also easily loud enough without maxing out the volume control, which meant it had a good amplification - often with cox amplifiers, I have to turn them right up, and that leads to feedback and lots of distortion, along with annoying noises like the wind blowing across the microphone etc.

The coxmate was easy to use once I got past the small differences in operation from other amplifiers. The display was very clear, though I would have preferred to have been able to see time and rate and stroke-count all at once. I understand that newer models do have a multi-reading display, rather than relying on toggling during operation, which means the problem has already been fixed.

I thought the separation of charger socket and boat socket, and the different type of boat socket were great from a durability point of view.

The most common fault I have encountered in other units has been crossed wires in the charger/boat socket common in other amplifiers, caused by the beating such sockets usually take. Such sockets are often twisted on in charging stations and boats, are often dangled in the river when the boat is being lifted in or out, and are so frequently used that they suffer a lot of wear. Crossed wires lead to either complete malfunction, or a really annoying state where if you speak, the stroke count signal is noised out, and the count goes dead, which means you can never call the rate in a start because calling the start blanks the rate. The charger socket on a coxmate is not used in the boat, reducing wear there, and the boat socket has a longer 'guide' on it, meaning you don't twist the plug by mistake when you're trying to locate it on the socket.

Also, there is a nice space between the microphone socket and the boat socket. I have often had troubles, particularly in winter when wearing gloves, attaching a co-ax headset because my fingers are blocked by the charger/boat socket, particularly if it's plugged into a charger / boat.
I liked the headset. The mouthpiece stayed in the right place, and the elastic fitted well, was comfortable and looked smart.

Only problem - it's square and all our sockets are round. Square pegs, round holes - it's probably time to make new holes.

Thanks

Esther

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HORR over done and dusted in March - but it takes until May for the race reports to come though in print (RV ).

We couldn't resist printing more great quotes from Bill Barry the Tideway Scullers coach as recorded by Matthew Brown of Rowing and Regatta Magazine.

"Mission accomplished"

"I think we've shown that scullers are not only better scullers, but better rowers too"

"We always thought we could take 10 seconds out of anyone."

"[despite hitting a buoy at Putney]…But we won anyway, and that's what mattered."

"This is the end of a mission for me, a mission to get the best together and see what we could do."

"It's been enormous fun."

"My job was to retain their egos and divert their attention into the rhythm needed to row together."

"We've improved every day and this morning they were perfect."

Plus some lovely photos and interviews with Dulwich College coaches and visiting Italians from Canottieri Gavirate.

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A nice short film of the Great8 racing Cambridge Unviersity filmed a week before the Boat Race - includes interviews with Alan Campbell and Olaf Tufte and coach, Bill Barry.

BBC film of Great8

Notice when the crews are side by side how cleanly the Drehers come out of the water compared to the more 'splashy' oars used by the other crew.

Peter Spurrier photographed the crew on each outing during the week leading up to the Head of the River Race.  Here are a couple of his photo galleries and some fabulous images

Great8 Training week gallery

Great8 versus CUBC gallery

Head of the River gallery

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The Rowing Voice Magazine has featured the Great8 in a hugely flattering article run on their front page.

Thanks for the prominence, Rachel and Chris!

BTW the magazine has a seriously punchy approach to reporting news [unlike other publications] and isn't afraid to court controversy.  Last month it ran an expose on the Caversham rowing lake contravening its planning consent and its Lottery funding by not allowing more public access and this month Mike Haggerty rants about how the Scottish, Welsh and Irish rowing associations have had to come under the common banner of "British Rowing". He claims that this was not a consultative decision…. buy your own copy here 

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Rowperfect has long tried to deliver three things to its customers:

• High quality products
• Value for money
• Excellent customer service

Like many firms the slowdown in the economy is expected to affect our business.  In addition, we buy some of our products from Australia and America and so there are changes in the currency exchange rates to consider as well.

The Economist magazine says

The downturn will accelerate the use of social media, such as blogs and social networking sites, by consumers looking for intelligence on firms and their products.  As trust in brands is eroded, people will place more value on recommendations from friends.  Social media make it harder for brands to pull the wool over consumers' eyes, but they also offer canny companies a powerful new channel through which to promote their wares and test new products and pricing strategies.

Marketers ignore the messages that emanate from these groups at their peril.  For one thing is clear: this recession has triggered a wholesale reapppraisal by shoppers of the value that their habitual brands deliver.  The winners will be those that adapt intellligently to the new reality.  The losers will be those who think they can win simply by telling consumers to "Want it!"

We are trying to offer you products across the range of athlete and coach needs from beginners to Olympians and so we want to tell you a bit about how we've adjusted our prices and our products to try and enable you, our customers, to get good quality rowing and sculling equipment at a fair price that will suit your needs.

Dreher

We have worked with Dreher to build a new type of sculling oar that fits between the fixed length scull (£270) and the carbon adjustable (£399).  This is called the "Club Scull" (£350) and is both adjustable and will suit most athletes after they have learnt to scull and are training in club crew boats. The range of spoon / handle options is limited. The blade design is the same as the carbon adjustables.  The club sculls are made in 100% carbon with no fibreglass.  The price is also very competitive at £349.  And at the top of the range the Aero scull is a new aerofoil shaft design for elite and veteran athletes seeking incremental boat speed from an aerodynamic design.

Coxmate

Taking advantage of the Australian dollar exchange rate not having changed much against the Pound, we are trying to keep the price of all Coxmates unchanged.  The range now includes coxless boat speed / rate / time measurement with Coxmate HC (£167) as well as the coxed boat range of AA (voice) £196, SRT (time / rate) £270 and SCT (speed ) £588.  We are shortly going to reveal an improved SRT with a larger display screen - at the same price as the old model.

Additionally we've added the rate-only Cadence watch (£59.99) which is a lower price product for rowers and scullers who want to know ratings in an easy-to-use model that isn't tied to use in a boat with wires.

Please take time to read the customer reviews that are on our shop.  Each product has at the bottom of the page a button "Write Review" and if you want to add your views to the ones already there, please do.  

We are already getting increased enquiries from clubs who've never bought our products before.  They have used internet search to research prices for rowing and sculling equipment.  We offer a demonstration trial to those who want to check how these brands work in practice and we find that around 90% of people who try Dreher and Coxmate buy the trial unit.

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Thanks to everyone who entered the Great8 Trivia Quiz… apart from a shockingly knowledgable man called "Monkey TSS" from Tideway Scullers, the best results had 7 correct answers. 

The tie break question did get used and Chris Dodsworth of Nottingham University Boat Club guessed a time of 17:30 which was closer to the crew's actual time of 17:25.21 than the runner up, Rory Copus of Abingdon School Boat Club.  Rory wins a Cadence stroke rate watch and Chris wins the Coxmate HC.  Congratulations to both of you!

The correct answers to the questions were 

After who / what was Alexander Mahe Owens Drysdale named?
Mahe the island in the Seychelles

Tim Maeyens' single he used in Athens 2004 was called “Plons”.  Why did he choose this name?

It reminds him of his first row in the boat.
The boat I raced with in Athens was called “Plons” (The sound of something falling in the water). This is the story:
 
In March 2004 I got a brand new Empacher single scull. I went for my first training on a Canal in Brugge, my hometown. I was doing a long session and I enjoyed it a lot. It was very cold but sunny and no wind so I was really focused on my technique. The last 300 m of the session hit a working pontoon on the canal. The top of the boat cracked  and I fell (The sound of me falling in the water). It was really cold but luckily there was a pair on the water that helped me. After the boat was repaired, I baptised it Plons.  And I had good races in it in Athens and in 2005.

Which two of these statements about Olaf Tufte are correct? [give two answers]
He trained with the Royal Ballet to help his technique
He chops wood by hand instead of a chain saw because it's quicker

What was Alan Campbell's first racing single called?
Sunnymount

Which members of the crew have spent time in the army?
Iztok Čop
Ondřej Synek
Olaf Tufte
Alan Campbell

Which two sports did Marcel Hacker do before he started rowing?
Judo
Swimming

What is Ali Williams' favourite bit of kit?
JL leggings from Imperial College

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The international exchange rate of the US dollar and the Pound, and the Euro have changed a lot since the end of 2008.  The British pound has suffered and buys 'less' from both America and Europe.  By comparison, the Australian dollar has stayed broadly comparable in exchange rates.

Rowperfect UK buys Coxmates from Australia.  And so the prices have not changed.  Take a look at how we compared in 2008 .  and then look at the table below showing 2009 price comparisons.

Dreher oars and sculls do come from US.  In order to maintain our competitiveness, we have introduced the new "Club" sculls which are adjustable and come with Big Blade or Little Big Blade spoons as a high quality and competitively priced product for UK and Irish clubs.  The carbon adjustable sculls remain good value compared to the competitors equivalent products.  

But don't take our word for it - try some for yourself.

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