Run Run Away

Question:

I bought a close out, discontinued heart rate monitor with great features at an unbelievable price. It has worked for the last year almost flawless. However every now and then it would track my heart rate incorrectly. It jumps from 160 to 117 and stays there, espesially when I’m killing myself (sorry, I’m just not that fit yet!). And it tends to say that my total time out is 55:02 minutes, but my time in zone and out of zone do not add up to 55… they add up to 68. (that could be warmup time.. while the stop watch feature isn’t runing,, but that is bad programing.) I know when the mis-reading of the HR happens, I am in the middle of my run, sweating like a pig, and the transmitter is very tight to my chest. I shaved my chest and my clothing isn’t static. Also the battery has exactly 22hrs of use on it. And my volt meter says its fully charged and capable… if voltmeters work with these little lithium batteries. QUESTION:_______  All of you with HRM,, do you have similiar problems or did I get what I paid for???     Please tell me…… 1.) what is the battery life you get?  2.) Does the transmitter signal ever seem to "drop to halve a signal" ie.- go from 160 to 117. 3. ) Have you noticed any special effects of things I am not seeing, like polartec interfereing with the signal?? or Signal interference from wrist pulse??  Or maybe a badly erratic heart rate.. Fibrillation?? Anyone who can answer these question… a lifetime supple of running apparel to you…. if you also win the lottery!! Thanks for any input.. I love this newsgroup!! Rick

Response:

I have a Polar Coach and have been using it for about 6 months now.  I saw an article in Trathlete Magazine about conductivity gel.  This was in the gift section and had a company marketing it in  small tubes.  I went to my local pharmacy and asked for Conductivity Gel and bought a 3 oz. tube for $4.00.  This will be enough to last a long time!  This gives a more positive reading than using spit or sweet.  I had previously had a few occasions of the dreaded 225 false heartrate, but none since. PdxRunner * Sent from RemarQ http://www.remarq.com The Internet’s Discussion Network * The fastest and easiest way to search and participate in Usenet – Free!

Response:

If you’re still using the factory supplied battery, Go purchase a new one, they are not expensive. Reading a battery voltage can be misleading, because you aren’t reading active voltage you’re reading a "resting" voltage                                         Tom " Had similar trouble but lightened my wallet"  

Response:

I had similar problems when I first started using a HRM. I contributed mine to external interference and sweat, making for a poor conduction for the chest strap. Mine did it so infrequently that I did not think much of it. I know a couple of times I got the chest strap moistened again with some pool water on a run and it corrected it immed.   When I looked down and my HRM said "CALL 911" I knew I had a heck of a gadget I also remember the very first time I looked at my pulse monitor and there was none. I went straight for the carotid to check.:) Ahhh the good ol days!! Good luck! Laurie" I owe my life to my HRM"

Response:

schrijft: [...]. However every now and then it would track my heart rate incorrectly. It jumps from 160 to 117 and stays there[...]

Are you sure you’ve eliminated all possible sources of interference (like cellular phones, wrist watch, etc)? Also, you could try to use the HRM of a fellow runner for once or a couple of times. If the results are the same, you’re sure the HRM is OK (although you might not be of course). Good luck Fedor

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