Garmin Megathread-Ask your questions here-See post 1 on how to search thread

Krusty_Clown

oneupper wrote: »

Hi, I am looking for a GPS distance tracker that can not only give accurate distance readings while running but also capture date while playing a football match.Does anyone know if a product such as Garmin 10xt can accurately capture non linear, more erractic movements that would occour playing football?Many thanks

Hi Oneupper, not sure exactly what you were hoping to get out of tracking movements on a football pitch, but given that a Garmin watch will typically record a trackpoint every 1-4 seconds (using smart recording) and given that your typical accuracy will be no better than 5 meters, I'm not sure just how useful this data might be. As RayCun pointed out, I have worn my Garmin a few times playing astro footie (that shows what a fine sense of balance and swift turn of speed I have). Here's an example. Note: We were only playing half the length of the pitch, and I was playing left to right, and all those runs into the top right and bottom right corners usually resulted in goals, and I was having a bad day, and... and....

If you're looking for something that'll capture non-linear movements, then... you may have better luck trying to find an alternative solution. If you must pursue this direction, I think the 305 allows you to set the sampling rate to one trackpoint per second. All of the models after this use smart recording, so you can't adjust the sampling rate, and it is typically anywhere between 1-4 seconds. Hope that helps.

DogSlySmile

Hey everybody, I have a 110 and was just wondering if anyone has a problem similar to mine. I suppose on KC's list it would be:

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Right, in order to make answering these questions more straightforward in future, I propose a template:

1. Have concerns about not having 'real time pace' statistics on the 110 (110 doesn't show actual pace, it shows average pace or lap pace):
   

Ive noticed on a few runs that the pace displayed when I'm running is completely wrong or is quite slow in responding to my changing pace. For example, I finished a run earlier, took of my garmin and threw it on the bed without turning off the timer. I realised I forgot to stop the timer a few minutes later and when I picked it up the watch (which was stationary for at least 2 minutes) seemed to think we were still travelling and it was still displaying "my" pace rather than --:-- it should do when its not moving.

Is this happening to other 110 owners, or is this just the way the 110 works???

Ta!

Krusty_Clown

DogSlySmile wrote: »

Ive noticed on a few runs that the pace displayed when I'm running is completely wrong or is quite slow in responding to my changing pace. For example, I finished a run earlier, took of my garmin and threw it on the bed without turning off the timer. I realised I forgot to stop the timer a few minutes later and when I picked it up the watch (which was stationary for at least 2 minutes) seemed to think we were still travelling and it was still displaying "my" pace rather than --:-- it should do when its not moving.

Is this happening to other 110 owners, or is this just the way the 110 works???
Ta!

Hi DogSlySmile, the watch you bought doesn't display actual pace, it displays lap pace (according to whatever you have set the lap distance to, so you are seeing the average pace over the course of the entire lap. This might explain why it takes some time to adapt, particularly if you are approaching the end of a lap, rather than at the start of a lap. You could probably improve the responsiveness by shortening the lap time.

As to why it didn't stop showing your pace when indoors, it may be that it lost the satellite connection when you went indoors, so didn't know you had stopped.

Sosa

Quick question,this may have been covered here before.

Has anyone elses 405 frozen ?
What i mean is,sometimes after a run my watch lights up,starts beeping and no buttons work,it may stay like this for 5 mins,then it works again.
Saturday morning it went back to clock/time mode and got stuck for the rest of the run,when it came back to normal later the run was still being timed.
Strange...another time during a workout of 400's it froze...could not record the last few reps...very annoying.

Whats the reason for this ?

Krusty_Clown

Sosa wrote: »

Quick question,this may have been covered here before.

Has anyone elses 405 frozen ?
What i mean is,sometimes after a run my watch lights up,starts beeping and no buttons work,it may stay like this for 5 mins,then it works again.
Saturday morning it went back to clock/time mode and got stuck for the rest of the run,when it came back to normal later the run was still being timed.
Strange...another time during a workout of 400's it froze...could not record the last few reps...very annoying.

Whats the reason for this ?

Have you upgraded to the latest firmware?

JosDel

I notice the last few bhaa races my garmin time and my official seem to be out, 16 seconds of a difference the weekend, I have checked other runners times who ran the weekend against there official times and nearly all there times are correct or a second or 2 out.

oneupper

Hi KrustyThanks for that. Distance covered during a match is the main factor I would like to track. Have been out injured for a few months and had a running programme for last two to build up fitness again.Enjoyed that and have developed a strong interest in running as a result. Was looking into a distance tracking device to start off with and just thought it would be good to be able to track progress on the footie pitch as well as when out running. Had my first return to the astopitch last week and could barely cover half the ground I could before the injury so was hoping that tracking the improved distance each session would be a motivator ( those runs to the corners that you pull off seem way beyond me at the mo!!! )Had looked at the 305 and seem good value compared the rest and would prob suit my needs for the novice running aswell. Cheers for the advice.

ronanmac

And so my Garmin 205 died last night... The signs were all there, temperamental on a long run recently, not taking a charge properly, and then, yesterday, before my 13 miler, it refused to turn on despite what I thought was a fully-charged watch. When I tried to charge it last night, it stayed in its state of coma.

I think the Forerunner is the closest I've ever come to having an emotional attachment to a piece of technology. I can't remember when I purchased it, but I was an early adopter. It's been with me for every race bar one, and now we won't be together for DCM 2010... I feel like crying .

I don't know what I'll do between now and DCM, I don't think I can afford a new Garmin straightaway. I know my brother in law has a Forerunner 205 that he doesn't use much, might borrow it from him.

RIP 205, all that poor-form running had to catch up on you in the end!!!

Sosa

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Have you upgraded to the latest firmware?

I just did that Krusty,i updated the ant agent but it then told me that my watch was up to date,so its not that.

The ant agent update is from June 3rd,i have the watch since early May,but i cannot see how the ant agent would cause my problem.

Krusty_Clown

JosDel wrote: »

I notice the last few bhaa races my garmin time and my official seem to be out, 16 seconds of a difference the weekend, I have checked other runners times who ran the weekend against there official times and nearly all there times are correct or a second or 2 out.

Hmm. Do you have auto-pause switched on?

When I bought a cheapy LIDL stopwatch and wanted to know if it kept time accurately, I put it beside a reliable clock (LIDL atomic clock!) and pressed start. I checked it a few hours later. It was out by 10 seconds. If yours is out (and not on auto-pause) I'd send it back. A watch that doesn't keep time is no fricking use at all!

Krusty_Clown

oneupper wrote: »

Hi KrustyThanks for that. Distance covered during a match is the main factor I would like to track. Have been out injured for a few months and had a running programme for last two to build up fitness again.Enjoyed that and have developed a strong interest in running as a result. Was looking into a distance tracking device to start off with and just thought it would be good to be able to track progress on the footie pitch as well as when out running. Had my first return to the astopitch last week and could barely cover half the ground I could before the injury so was hoping that tracking the improved distance each session would be a motivator ( those runs to the corners that you pull off seem way beyond me at the mo!!! )Had looked at the 305 and seem good value compared the rest and would prob suit my needs for the novice running aswell. Cheers for the advice.

Ah right. Well if it's just a curiosity, rather than a scientific look at football, then any of them will be grand, as long as you take the results with a healthy pinch of salt. But yeah, the 305 is particularly good value for money.

Krusty_Clown

Sosa wrote: »

I just did that Krusty,i updated the ant agent but it then told me that my watch was up to date,so its not that.

The ant agent update is from June 3rd,i have the watch since early May,but i cannot see how the ant agent would cause my problem.

No, you're right, it wouldn't be the ANT agent. Just to be sure, check the version number on the watch. [Settings][System][About]. Should be 2.50 (GPS 2.10). If it happens regularly and it annoys you, send it back.

Krusty_Clown

ronanmac wrote: »

And so my Garmin 205 died last night... The signs were all there, temperamental on a long run recently, not taking a charge properly, and then, yesterday, before my 13 miler, it refused to turn on despite what I thought was a fully-charged watch. When I tried to charge it last night, it stayed in its state of coma.

I think the Forerunner is the closest I've ever come to having an emotional attachment to a piece of technology. I can't remember when I purchased it, but I was an early adopter. It's been with me for every race bar one, and now we won't be together for DCM 2010... I feel like crying .

I don't know what I'll do between now and DCM, I don't think I can afford a new Garmin straightaway. I know my brother in law has a Forerunner 205 that he doesn't use much, might borrow it from him.

RIP 205, all that poor-form running had to catch up on you in the end!!!

Garmin will likely repair/replace it for you, for a small fee. Of course, your brother's is cheaper. And buying a new one might be cheaper too.

ThePiedPiper

I'm thinking of investing in a Forerunner 405. The features seem fantastic on it. However, I've been reading reviews about it with a lot of people suggesting that it can develop multiple problems after a few months. For such an expensive piece of kit, I'm wary of something that might not be working properly in a year or less.

Have any of you out there with 405s encountered many problems? Are there any reliable, cheaper alternatives?

Note to mods: I've had a good read through the Garmin mega-thread here to try and find an answer to this question before posting. If there's an article elsewhere about the reliability/etc of the product, feel free to point me that direction or just move my post into the megathread.
Cheers.

RayCun

RunForestRun wrote: »

Are there any reliable, cheaper alternatives?

The 305? Is there a feature in the 405 that you particularly want?

ThePiedPiper

RayCun wrote: »

The 305? Is there a feature in the 405 that you particularly want?

Nothing particularly that I want about it, probably the fact that it looks more like a watch and is less bulky than the 305. Has the 305 got all the features of the 405? I thought I read somewhere that the 305 had to be physically plugged into your computer to transfer the data whereas the 405 did it wirelessly?

Are you implying, Ray, that the 405 is little improvement on the 305 in terms of features?

RayCun

I think Krusty posted a comparison of features elsewhere in the thread.
IIRC the 405 has a wireless connection and looks nicer, but the bezel is dodgy in the rain.
The 305 has an extra display space and better battery life.

The 305 is cheaper, and seems to be a little more reliable, which were two things you asked about. Most of the features are the same, but there are some differences around the edges - I don't know if those differences are important to you...?

Krusty_Clown

RayCun wrote: »

I think Krusty posted a comparison of features elsewhere in the thread.
IIRC the 405 has a wireless connection and looks nicer, but the bezel is dodgy in the rain.
The 305 has an extra display space and better battery life.

The 305 is cheaper, and seems to be a little more reliable, which were two things you asked about. Most of the features are the same, but there are some differences around the edges - I don't know if those differences are important to you...?

Wot Ray said. But I reckon the reliability problems may be slightly exaggerated. But if you're concerned about reliability, the 305 is definitely the way to go. There really isn't a non-Garmin alternative on the market. Hopefully there soon will be.

I would prefer if the 405 transferred data in a similar fashion to the 110 (connected via USB cable). You actually have to connect via a USB cable/power socket anyway to charge the battery.

JosDel

JosDel wrote: »

I notice the last few bhaa races my garmin time and my official seem to be out, 16 seconds of a difference the weekend, I have checked other runners times who ran the weekend against there official times and nearly all there times are correct or a second or 2 out.

I have just noticed on the BHAA results my time has been altered to the identical time on my garmin, good news, One more question, how big are the uploads from my watch to GarminConnect ?

Krusty_Clown

JosDel wrote: »

I have just noticed on the BHAA results my time has been altered to the identical time on my garmin, good news, One more question, how big are the uploads from my watch to GarminConnect ?

It really depends on the length of your run (number of trackpoints). For a marathon duration/length run, you could expect the upload to be about 1-2 megs.

JosDel

Thanks KC,

It's just my download and upload numbers have gone through the roof over the last few months and I'm trying to nip it in the bud...

Krusty_Clown

JosDel wrote: »

Thanks KC,

It's just my download and upload numbers have gone through the roof over the last few months and I'm trying to nip it in the bud...

Unless you're doing doubles every day (50+ miles), You can probably eliminate it from your line of inquiry.

JosDel

Cheers KC...next port of call is my 11 year old son on XBox live..

Mr Freeze

Is there much to setting up/linking a cadence sensor to my Garmin 305?

Mounting on the bike shouldn't be a problem! I am just wondering is there much to linking it to the watch or does it connect automatically like the HRM?

I ordered it from amazon this morning anyways: Link

TFBubendorfer

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

There really isn't a non-Garmin alternative on the market. Hopefully there soon will be.

The Timex Global Trainer GPS is a decent enough alternative. A review is Here.

TFBubendorfer

CKWPORT wrote: »

Is there much to setting up/linking a cadence sensor to my Garmin 305?

Mounting on the bike shouldn't be a problem! I am just wondering is there much to linking it to the watch or does it connect automatically like the HRM?

I ordered it from amazon this morning anyways: Link

No problem. I had mine set up in less than a minute. You have to "pair" it with the unit (just like you had to with the HRM).

tunney

I FVCKING HATE MY FVCKING GARMIN 310XT.

As soon as you put a second layer on it stops giving accurate Heart rate readings.

Krusty_Clown

tunney wrote: »

I FVCKING HATE MY FVCKING GARMIN 310XT.

As soon as you put a second layer on it stops giving accurate Heart rate readings.

You mean you hate your Garmin HRM. I hate mine too. Or at least I did until I lost it (again).

TFBubendorfer

tunney wrote: »

I FVCKING HATE MY FVCKING GARMIN 310XT.

As soon as you put a second layer on it stops giving accurate Heart rate readings.

If you don't mind shelling out a few quid to solve the problem, apparently you can use the Polar wearlink strap with the Garmin transmitter:

http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/08/solution-to-heart-rate-dropoutsspikes.html

According to that guy this solves the HR reading problems with the 310XT.

Krusty_Clown

TFBubendorfer wrote: »

The Timex Global Trainer GPS is a decent enough alternative. A review is Here.

So, how do you find it? Oh wait... You have a Garmin.
Do as I say, not as I do?