Garmin Edge 500 HR Monitor issue

[peterngit]

i guys not sure where general equipment questions goes

i got the product a few weeks as week i only started using it yesterday, the speed and cadence seems to work fine for now, there seems to be an issue with the Heart rate transmitter, the strap doesn't seem to be the issue since i have tried my polar strap with the transmitter, after pairing the device with the edge 500, bpm still shows blank _ _ if i move it around a static number around 70 -80 pops up and disappear in a few seconds without changing the number.

I was thinking this might be low battery on the transmitter end, but it a new unit so i am assuming the battery is pretty new. can you please help me resolve this issue

thanks!

[nickobec]

premium or standard heart rate strap?

the premium has a bad rep (justified IMHO) and needs maintenance (regularly washing).

odds are it is just poor contact with the skin, happens to me regularly with my premium strap and occasionally with the standard strap at the beginning of a ride.

Just dampen the contacts on the strap, a little water does the trick and try again.

[peterngit]

thanks ill try that i have premium strap, the thing is right before i tired the polar strap i tired it with the polar transmitter and ft4 watch which works, that i swap out for the garmin transmitter then connect/pair it to the garmin, so i was thinking that ruled out the strap/connectivity issues

[im_no_pro]

premium or standard heart rate strap?

the premium has a bad rep (justified IMHO) and needs maintenance (regularly washing).

odds are it is just poor contact with the skin, happens to me regularly with my premium strap and occasionally with the standard strap at the beginning of a ride.

Just dampen the contacts on the strap, a little water does the trick and try again.

+1 to all that. Dampening the contacts solves most problems (dampen, not drench.) IME and the standard strap is more reliable than the premium.

[george-bob]

Lick the contacts before you put it on.

Bonus: free electrolytes!

I wash mine (in the shower) a couple of times a week too, seems to help prevent spikes.

[im_no_pro]

Lick the contacts before you put it on.

Bonus: free electrolytes!

I wash mine (in the shower) a couple of times a week too, seems to help prevent spikes.

Yup, thats how I do it. Well, close enough anyway.

[peterngit]

thanks for tips guys but a part of the question was, the polar strap + polar transmitter + watch got a reading but polar strap + garmin transmitter + edge 500 doesn't really get a reading at all, is there a reason for this?

[Tank1252]

Yup, i'm a licker too.

[im_no_pro]

thanks for tips guys but a part of the question was, the polar strap + polar transmitter + watch got a reading but polar strap + garmin transmitter + edge 500 doesn't really get a reading at all, is there a reason for this?

Im guessing you are trying to do this?

[biker jk]

I use the Garmin transmitter with a Polar strap and have not had the problem you mention. It does sound like the Garmin transmitter battery may need replacing or the contacts have corroded (on the Garmin not the Polar strap).

[peterngit]

heys thanks guys i wet it properly and all seems to be working fine now =)

[boss]

On this topic, my old premium HR strap gave up the ghost a little while back (just stopped working intermittently, replaced battery several times) so I bought a new one.

The new one is noticably different in appearance - in a word, it just looks... more... premium.

Old one looked like this:



New one looks like this:



Since getting the new HR strap (about 2 months ago) I haven't seen one flappy jersey reading. All different kinds of kit, and my commute has big descents both ways that are great for inducing FJS.

I do wet the electrodes with saliva or water as a matter of course - but I did this previously and still got issues. I.e. I haven't change anything... the new one just works better.

Do you guys with FJS issues have the more basic looking premium strap or the nicer looking one?

[biker jk]

On this topic, my old premium HR strap gave up the ghost a little while back (just stopped working intermittently, replaced battery several times) so I bought a new one.

The new one is noticably different in appearance - in a word, it just looks... more... premium.

Old one looked like this:



New one looks like this:



Since getting the new HR strap (about 2 months ago) I haven't seen one flappy jersey reading. All different kinds of kit, and my commute has big descents both ways that are great for inducing FJS.

I do wet the electrodes with saliva or water as a matter of course - but I did this previously and still got issues. I.e. I haven't change anything... the new one just works better.

Do you guys with FJS issues have the more basic looking premium strap or the nicer looking one?

I was getting spikes to 254bpm with the Garmin Premium HRM. Switched to the Polar strap and while less frequent I was still getting the spikes. I conducted an experiment by flapping the jersey myself and sure enough there was a spike each time I did this. So my conclusion was that the spikes were caused by static electricity, which was worse in some jerseys versus others. So I purchased an anti-static fabric spray and this has pretty much stopped the spokes. I also use electrode gel. Note that some people are still getting spikes with the new design of Garmin HRM.

[cancan64]

Mine works fine for 20 min or so and then it drops the HR (sometimes I get nothing other times a very low reading)...If I pull it away from my skin it mostly starts working again....I do lick it before I start and sweat a lot although have been wondering if the wind is drying the contact to my skin
I have a Polar strap in the mail so hoping that fixes it

[nescius]

I gave up on my premium heart rate strap a while ago (same as the old style from boss' post), it was wildly inaccurate all the time. I tried changing the batteries, tried cleaning it, made sure it had good contact with the skin etc. but nothing worked. I've just been training without it, going by RPE which has been fine but in the interests of having more data to look at I might investigate one of the new style premium straps and see if it makes a difference.

[boss]

I gave up on my premium heart rate strap a while ago (same as the old style from boss' post), it was wildly inaccurate all the time. I tried changing the batteries, tried cleaning it, made sure it had good contact with the skin etc. but nothing worked. I've just been training without it, going by RPE which has been fine but in the interests of having more data to look at I might investigate one of the new style premium straps and see if it makes a difference.

The new premium strap is much better than RPE... save up the same money ten times over and you're in Stages PM territory, which I can confirm is much better for monitoring exertion than HR

FWIW I did get a solid 12 months / 13,000km through the hills with the first strap, it always exhibited the FJS thing... I must admit I cringed a little bit when I laid down seventy clams for the new strap... unfair powermeter comparisons aside, it does seem worth it. HR gives you insight into your bodies response that you can't get from a PM. Full picture of whats going on is nice for later analysis.