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Polar s625x
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About 4km into my 9km run, I looked at the watch and noticed 00% heart rate reading. If I brought the watch really close to the chest transmitter, suddenly the heart rate would pick up again, but as soon as I moved more than about 1 foot from the transmitter, no heart rate.
I was thinking dead battery, but then when I got to the end of the run, I stopped the exercise set and went back into the measurement mode, and sure enough, heart rate was fine, regardless of how far from transmitter.
Anyone have any ideas?
Is anybody else seeing this effect? I wonder if this is where some of the missing distance goes.
DT I have never had any problem with the time beign different - I would have thought this was the one thing that should always be right?
Just cracked open a new pair of trainers and resighted my footpod, hoping that it won't b*gger up the calibration too much. Have been much happier with it over the last couple of weeks - especially since I reset the callibration to 1000!!
anybody notice any other exciting changes in the software? I notice that it now tells you your calories per hour rate! Which is nice.
Agenda - I sometimes have trouble with the HRM if I haven't wet it enough, but if it was fine for the first 4km, that probably isn't what your trouble was.
Having a little email with my finnish chap - he's back off holiday - anyone got any comments to pass along?
I tried lifting the chest strap away from me, bringing the monitor close to me, all that stuff - and it seemed to perk up temporarily, then go back to being weird. Also (as you noted) it was fine when uploaded to the software, so must have been picking it up ok.
Will see how it is tomorrow.
Were you getting 00% on the heart reading unless you brought it close to the chest strap?
Also, as for uploading to the software, it appears as though the software actually "interpolates" between whatever valid HR readings it received with a straight line, so it may "appear" that it was getting valid values, but it's actually the software guessing. It was obvious because it drew a straight line between HR readings (when I brought it close to the chest). Definitely the watch was not receiving readings in my case.
Went out this morning and didn't get the problem. I can't believe the battery is low on the chest strap, since they claim it has an average life of 2 hours/day, 365 days/year for 2 years.
Im 55 (41 years/172cms/75kg/high activity/male)
guys in work tried it and got 37 & 39 (after setting user stuff)
Does the watch create averages from various tests ie will their try affect my calibration of Own Index?
i use 1 mile autolap and the laps are always .956 or similar - always around about the mile mark but only out by very small amounts.
i always yse 5 second intervals
i have an own index of 69 (33years/5'9"/70kg/high acvitity/male)
i've also got the Nokia 5140 but have had a few problems getting the java app downloaded. As I moved tariffs and from O2 to vodaphone, things have got a bit silly. First of all the GPRS wasn't set up right and they couldn't send me the settings correctly as the phone was too new. Then Nokia tried to resend the SMS link and it still failed. I will have to get back on the phone to Nokia on this one.
Has anyone got the Nokia software working? I'm off on holiday in October and would really like to see the graphs after my sessions on the phone by then.
As for footpod battery life, the battery supplied lasted for about 15 hours. The second battery was a duracell and lasted about 25 hours. After this next one dies, I'm going to try a rechargeable, just to see how that performs.
I've also just bought a camelbak so my girlfriend thinks its mad that I now kit up with an mp3 player, camelbak, hrm, mobile etc etc. All this gear just to go for a run.
Re Nokia 5140 I'm set up now but had the same mallarkey getting the right GPRS settings and SMS settings. My local operator MAnx Telecom sorted it for me in the end. HAve you tried downloading the on-air settings from the Nokia website, this is by far the easiest way if you are on a UK network? Not sure if your network is supported though.
PS. Anyone doing the Great North? I'm over for it and it would be interesting to compare graphs/distances etc. over the same course.
THe first time I took it for a run The results where horrible. the speed was indicating 0 or about 5Km/h while running (I know i run faster than that:-) I tried it on different shoes, even on muy other foot and found out that on one pair of shoes it does work when I land on my heel but thats not the way I usualy land.
The graphs look verry spikey and irregular compared to graphs I've seen from fellow runners and their s625x
The distances associated with my runs don't make any sence either. I've got a streight bikepath to calibrate the footpod of a known length of 740m... the measured distance measured during running was between 333m and 680.... both during the same run... I sent the unit back to the store where they tested it and couldn't find anything wrong on the track where they calibrated it.....They called me with the suggestion to return it to me again but I urged them to send it to polar as I haven't got any use for the unit if it doesn't work with my running style.
Has anyone else had problems witht the speed and distance meaurement with forefoot landing? Are there any other suggestions what might have gone wrong.
The thing that wories me most is that the store claims the unit is ok.
Maarten
Not being funny, but you did have the footpod turned on didn't you? I know that when my battery has run out I get the spikey graph/unusual speed readings.
You have to hold the button on the S1 down until the green light goes out - and then you should be able to hear it making a noise, and see the green light flashing intermittently.
Apologies if this offends!!!!
I did have the S1 turned on all the time so that shouldn't have been the problem. I wasn't offended in any way though I was hoping for a simple solution an this would have been one:-)... I didn't hear any noise though but I did see the green light flash.
The funny thing is that it did work propperly when I landed on my heel but didn't when I landed on my forefoot.
Maarten
The noise I am referring to is the strange insectlike noise you can hear when you hold the S1 to your ear when it is turned on.
Don't tell me you've never done that????
Ok.
Just me then
Maarten
Can't see how you would position it wrong other than that - unless you had it on upside down or something.
It does sound strange, especially if 'they' have tested it and found it fine.
Best thing to do is email the helpdesk at Polar - they are very helpful and might be able to help you out - and if they can't, maybe you really have found a fatal flaw with the gadget?
Just a quick thought. Sometimes the way the S625X works differs depending on when you switch the footpod on. Basically there are 3 options;
1. Footpod on first, then wrist unit to measuring mode, then wrist unit to recording mode.(pod, red button, red button again)
2. Wrist unit to measuring mode first, then footpod on, then wrist unit to recording mode.(red button,pod, red button again)
3. Wrist unit to measuring, then to recording, then footpod on.(red button, red button again, pod)
The only way that gives consistently accutrate readings for me is #2 of the above. The other thing that sometimes freaks it out is going into recording or turning on the footpod before the heart rate has been located.
One final thing is that one of my runs crosses some railway lines for an electric railway with the lines overhead, if a train has just been past this freaks out my unit sometimes.
I'm definitely with Tallbird on the forefoot running front, though, I've done a bit of dabbling with this and have also just swopped my unit onto a different pair of trainers have run on grass, sand, roads, glens, trails and none of the above have made any difference to the speed and distance measurements.
If none of the above apply then it sounds as if your footpod is knacked. Not sure how the technology works but perhaps if something is slightly of kilter in the device it seems possible to me that when it is travelling through a predominantly horizontal plane as in heel strike running it is fine but when moving through more of a vertical plane as in forefoot running it spits the dummy. If this is possible then it would explain the shop testing it and finding it ok if they tested it using a conventional running style.
Hope this is of use and apologies if I've been a bit anoracky!
Has anyone had the chance to do a calibration on both a gravel and an indoor track? Did you get the same results.
Also, I recently received a response from Polar about the issue I had found where the timer beep was going off 1 second past the actual time. Polar has indicated that they have replicated the problem and are fixing the bug. I guess at some point there will be a firmware upgrade available... not sure how we'll get this though.
I've already contacted POlar in the netherlands... they couldn't help me and pointed me to Polar finland. They thought it was also quite odd that the speed/distance measurement was so spikey when landing on my forefoot. They thought it was the S1 that was wrong and thought the shop should replace the pod (else they would ask Polar Norway to send a new one)
I think I'll just wait until I get the S625 back with a new footpod. I hope it will work then else I'll have to trade it in for a Timex and I'll be draging around a GPS and a datarecorder......
Thanks again for your help it realy reassured me it couldn't be my running style.
Maarten
btw The support from polar was very friendly and they realy seem to appreciate any comments that could improve their products (such as running cadence)
Nice work though.
Your graph must have looked good when you downloaded it!
On the subject of my footpod going completely flat at the first sign of a red light:
"During the run when the battery was running low, was it a long duration
run? We know that there is from 1-3 hours of power left in the foot pod
battery when the red light start to burn. Should the S1 foot pod not
perform like it is supposed to, then the Official Polar Distributor of THE
UK could take a look at the unit. Our aims are very high, and we do not
accept if some of our products are not performing according to what they
should.
In average the batteries which we have tested have lasted between 1-3.5 hours after the red light has occured. Are you using a rechargeable battery? They are also working, but the power level is a bit more unsure."
The answer is no - I don't use a rechargeable, which implies maybe there is something wrong with my S1??
In reply to me asking about my HR reading being somewhat erratic (to say the least):
"Your next question concerning the hr dropping. That is either due to bad
contact, bad battery (LSI will check that), or a running route which has a
lot of electromagnetic interference. The last reason can also interfer with
the running sensor." Actually, I must admit that since tightening the chest strap a bit - I haven't had the same trouble with the HR being a bit 'crazy' - so maybe that was a simple solution.
And in response to a question about the difficulty of the red button pressing:
"If the red button seems difficult to press, then there might be some dirt
under the button. You can try to clean it very carefully with a tooth
brush, but please be careful."
Finally:
"I look forward to hear your reading from the 1o mile race. We just had a
customer today who ran 30 k, and the S625x showed 30 k. Another guy ran
26,8, and the S625x showed 26,7 km. So it is possible to get very accurate
results. They had both calibrated over a 7000 meter distance." and "We tested the S625x in the Helsinki marathon, and it was 300 meters off
during the 42 k. Not a bad result. It was naturally after calibrating."