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

pgibbo

I have a Forerunner 305. The beep for the alerts is very low of late. Not sure if I chenged a setting or what? Anyone know how to adjust the voulme for the alerts? Cheers.

Krusty_Clown

Not that sure that you can change the volume on alerts. Might be an idea to locate the speaker hole, and see if it's clogged (or get some cotton ear buds for those ears!).

pgibbo

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Not that sure that you can change the volume on alerts. Might be an idea to locate the speaker hole, and see if it's clogged (or get some cotton ear buds for those ears!).

Cheers. I'll have a look at the speaker. I'm not allowed put anything smaller than my elbow in my ears though! Could be old age alright!

HuntingDrog

pgibbo wrote: »

I'm not allowed put anything smaller than my elbow in my ears though!

thats gas - I haven't heard that one in years! the father used to always say that to us, as kids

awnow

Considering investing in a Garmin to track my running distance but seems to be so many options on the market. What can people recommend for around €200? I see some of them do not have GPS which I would like but those models seem to be up on €300. What sort of price tags and where to buy? Alternatives to Garmin. Any views appreciated.

Krusty_Clown

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

1. Sports involved in/hope to participate in, in the future: (Running/swimming/cycling):
2. Training practices/future potential (do you plan to use intervals/advanced workouts)
3. Budget (How much are you willing to spend):
4. Level of technical knowledge (happy with something that's complex or prefer to keep it very simple):
5. Need a Heart rate Monitor? (some devices will not interface with external components):
6. Needs to be fully waterproof (rather than water resistant):
7. Have concerns about the size of the 205/305/310xt:
8. Have concerns about the bezel on the 405:
9. 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):
10. Prefer to buy in a bricks and Mortar shop rather than over the internet:
11. Prefer not to have a Garmin watch (some other manufacturer):

Fill this out, and the magic genie will tell you which watch to buy.

TheRoadRunner

The water seal on my 405 is kaput and in the last month or so water has sneaked into the display. I've had it nearly 20 months now so warranty is also kaput. I'm pretty hard on watches and have a tendancy to run into walls (not head on) when running so my watch has a few lumps out of it so no wonder the seal is fecked.

The water is really messing up the watch usability. I emailed Garmin and they have offered me a brand new replacement at £76.67 (~€93). Looks like a good deal to me. The Garmin representative said the offer is still open even if I try to repair (and fail) the watch myself. Has anybody opened a 405 before? I haven't got a star shaped screw driver small enough for the screws. If anybody knows where I could buy one I'd be interested to hear.

Any opinions on the replacement option?

plodder

They seem to be the same sized screws for removing the strap. So, I guess they must provide a tool with the replacement straps. I have a set of jeweller's screwdrivers at home, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them fits it (can check at home later). I got the set in Woodies.

The replacement deal sounds pretty decent to me. I've always wondered how long the batteries last anyway as they presumably don't last forever.

TheRoadRunner

plodder wrote: »

They seem to be the same sized screws for removing the strap. So, I guess they must provide a tool with the replacement straps. I have a set of jeweller's screwdrivers at home, and I wouldn't be surprised if one of them fits it (can check at home later). I got the set in Woodies.

The replacement deal sounds pretty decent to me. I've always wondered how long the batteries last anyway as they presumably don't last forever.

For the 405 I don't think the replacement tool removes the screws just the bar. I have a set of jewellers screwdrivers myself but they are flat headed. The screws on the watch are best described as star shaped. I'll drop into a DIY place anyway to see if I can get something to fit. If I do get a replacement I'm going to remove the straps on the old unit before sending it back. Had had to fork out for new straps 6 months ago so would be handy to have some extras.

Krusty_Clown

Sounds like Torx heads



I think I have a set at home. They're usually hard enough to get your hands on. Think I got mine from Halfords. If I find them I could bring them to a 10k race on Saturday.

Actually, thinking about it, I doubt I have any that small (watch screw size).

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Sounds like Torx heads



I think I have a set at home. They're usually hard enough to get your hands on. Think I got mine from Halfords. If I find them I could bring them to a 10k race on Saturday.

Actually, thinking about it, I doubt I have any that small (watch screw size).

yep the very one. At least I can ask for them by name now

shels4ever

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Sounds like Torx heads



I think I have a set at home. They're usually hard enough to get your hands on. Think I got mine from Halfords. If I find them I could bring them to a 10k race on Saturday.

Actually, thinking about it, I doubt I have any that small (watch screw size).

Always wondered what that was for , think I've had one for years but never knew what it did....

Krusty_Clown

shels4ever wrote: »

Always wondered what that was for , think I've had one for years but never knew what it did....

If you have a bmw motorcycle, you'll need lots of these in different sizes. Bloody German.
<Mod SNIP>

plodder

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

For the 405 I don't think the replacement tool removes the screws just the bar.

Ah right.

I have a set of jewellers screwdrivers myself but they are flat headed. The screws on the watch are best described as star shaped. I'll drop into a DIY place anyway to see if I can get something to fit. If I do get a replacement I'm going to remove the straps on the old unit before sending it back. Had had to fork out for new straps 6 months ago so would be handy to have some extras.

I'll let you know if the one I have fits anyway.

TheRoadRunner

Thanks lads. If anybody has a Torx headed screwdriver that fits please let me know. I'll try to buy one myself anyway.

I'll get the Torx screwdrivers and then save up to buy the BMW bike.

Krusty_Clown

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

I'll get the Torx screwdrivers and then save up to buy the BMW bike.

With your tendency to run into walls, I wouldn't recommend it.

plodder

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

With your tendency to run into walls, I wouldn't recommend it.

I sometimes find myself clipping the sides of doorways while wearing the 405, and the paint is well chipped off the bezel as a result. Seems to happen mostly at work, so I think I'd generally be sober at the time too.

There really should be a warning in the manual, as the damn things are 1.6 cm thick :eek:

TheRoadRunner

plodder wrote: »

I sometimes find myself clipping the sides of doorways while wearing the 405, and the paint is well chipped off the bezel as a result.

Ditto see photo attached. You can also see some of the water inside the display. Once I start running the watch warms up the display steams up. Start/Stop and lap buttons are also dodgy.

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

With your tendency to run into walls, I wouldn't recommend it.

it's the reason I don't own a bike and why I will never do a triathlon !

Krusty_Clown

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Ditto see photo attached. You can also see some of the water inside the display. Once I start running the watch warms up the display steams up. Start/Stop and lap buttons are also dodgy.

Jaysus. I'd go with the Garmin replacement for €93!

shels4ever

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Thanks lads. If anybody has a Torx headed screwdriver that fits please let me know. I'll try to buy one myself anyway.

I'll get the Torx screwdrivers and then save up to buy the BMW bike.

Will check the size if the one I have , but I think its too big..

TheRoadRunner

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Jaysus. I'd go with the Garmin replacement for €93!

ha ha yeah seems like a no brainer. I want to put my MacGyver skills to the test first though.

Krusty_Clown

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

ha ha yeah seems like a no brainer. I want to put my MacGyver skills to the test first though.

Might as well give it a pop. Just collect all the pieces and put them into a plastic bag afterwards and send them back to Garmin.

plodder

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

Thanks lads. If anybody has a Torx headed screwdriver that fits please let me know. I'll try to buy one myself anyway.

I'll get the Torx screwdrivers and then save up to buy the BMW bike.

Just checked my set of small screwdrivers, and they're just the flat and philips heads, so no use I'm afraid. I'm sure you'll pick them up somewhere though (like B&Q maybe).

JosDel

Anybody know why this happened, I know I hit the start button again after I finished the race by acccident, I finished in 53:35, I have deleted all the extra laps after the 10K, but the final kilometer has a strange time 10:47 ?

http://connect.garmin.com/activity/48494581

Krusty_Clown

Hi Joe, Look like you turned it on for a bit after the race:



When you say you delete the extra laps, did you do that in Garmin Training Centre and then re-upload the activity to GC?

JosDel

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Hi Joe, Look like you turned it on for a bit after the race:



When you say you delete the extra laps, did you do that in Garmin Training Centre and then re-upload the activity to GC?

Yes KC, I deleted the extra laps about 20 or so and exported the tcx file to my desktop deleted the garmin upload and imported the new tcx file into garmin connect.

I put the watch in the small pocket in my bag and I know I moved the bag a few times..

Krusty_Clown

Well, as you can see, they're still there, so something's gone wrong!
Looking at your activity, those extra trackpoints are part of your 10th lap, so if you want to get rid of them, you'll have to edit the XML.

JosDel

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Well, as you can see, they're still there, so something's gone wrong!
Looking at your activity, those extra trackpoints are part of your 10th lap, so if you want to get rid of them, you'll have to edit the XML.

Thanks for that info KC.

Can you edit the xml file in the garmin center ?

Krusty_Clown

No, unfortunately you need to edit it in a text editor.
I've done it for you (you owe me a pint. )

I had to:
1. Export it from Garmin Connect
2. Open it in a text editor (preferably something that understands XML tags).
3. Remove all of the erroneous data. In your case, all <trackpoints> after the time: <Time>2010-09-11T11:00:08Z</Time>
4. Finally, I had to edit the overall lap time, which was showing 647 seconds, or something. So I edited it to show 321 seconds (start of your lap to the last trackpoint).

I tried it in GTC and it's showing correctly. You need to download the attached and remove the .txt part of the filename. Then try and import it into your Garmin Connect.