Right now for some really bad news!
On top of not getting them to function properly, I decided to tighten them up just that little bit more.... and the alloy housing on the pod sheared
So I had to contact my brothers and am now beginning the no doubt lengthy and probably costly process of sending them back to the point of sale (I've dealt with them before and they are good) and waiting for Garmin to repair or replace.
On the positive side the alloy housing does appear to be quickly and easily replaceable (a wee bit like a gear hanger - which reminds me that a mate bust his gear hanger on his brand new Specialised carbon CX bike on Sunday on the second lap).
Needless to say I am even unhappier now

If you have broken the pod you either didnt have enough washers under it to space it out or you let it rotate around into the crank arm. The pods are available to purchase individually.

I think you should show us some pics.

Gee. Such issues. Minor, but such issues. Please forgive me for delivering this entirely self serving retort:

I like my SRMs. Zero issues. Period. (I purchased power meters to tell me my power output, not provide me with mechanical or electrical diversions. SRM delivered exactly what was asked.)

is there a simple and straight forward way to post the sad pictures?

11 years it is about time you learn

for big photos I use imageshack, upload pic. to imageshack, go to folder in IS, rightclick share, copy all text where it says forums and post here

I cant be bothered going through all that Flickr, Imageshack stuff, so I'll spare you all the sad pictures

But you'll take the time to post that you're not posting...

As michael said above, the only way to break the pod when torqueing down the pedals (unless you go at them with a five foot breaker bar) is if you have insufficient spacers behind it, or did during some previous installation attempt. This would also explain the bad readings.

Likely diagnosis: user error. Go pick up some new pods and put more pedal washers behind them.

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The new pod is on its way!

The retailer; Wheelbase Cycles in Cumbria (England) were excellent.
I did not go down the road of arguing warranty - I supplied the sad photos of the broken pod and within minutes Toby called me to tell me that the new pod should be with me by Tuesday (it cost £40)
Meantime I have asked a mate who is a good engineer/gadget boffin to install them [he is reading this thread, the Garmin Forum and the Garmin YouTube channel].
We will check
Hopefully things will go smoothly second time around

WRT issues with SRM: SRM is more expensive, heavier, doesn't have L-R power, and has no prospects for future pedal stroke analysis. If none of this is important to you, then by all means go with SRM. Vector's doing something different, serving different goals.

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Fuji SL/1
Selling SPD-SL 7900 pedals: 248 grams

Best analysis of pedal stroke analysis yet.

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2013/11/your-live-is-meaningless-digital.html

The new pod arrived yesterday and I got an engineer cycling mate to help me re-fit the pedals. He is very good and really for "We" read "He"
It was quite straightforward - we just followed the instructions as per the Garmin video.
When we tried them they continued to drop out and he soon got to the bottom of it.
Basically I have fitted the Vectors to my indoor bike (I can only get out on the road on Sundays over the dark Winter months so most of my Winter training is on the turbo & rollers).
This bike is is fitted with old Campagnolo Mirage 8 speed drive-train, and the cranks are too thick and the connectors to the pod were losing contact. This problem appears to be solved by some careful filing of the cranks and torqueing of the pedals.
We also noticed that, as the cranks are so old that there is a bit of wear on the cranks at the pedal spindle/crank interface. We think that this uneven wear may means that the spindle/crank interface is not sufficiently flush and that this leads to very slight slippage of the pods - especially at higher work intensities - and this may cause fluctuations in the power readings.
I will test the whole thing tonight on the rollers (plan is a 1 hour "TT") and see how it goes
If the problems of drop out and fluctuations in readings persist we have a series of solutions lined up. These range from trying gasket paper through to latheing the cranks.
I'll report back

Just get an inexpensive but new crank for the bike. Doesn't even have to be new. Those pedals are too expensive to muck up on an old crank like that.

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