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

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

How did it fail?

Hi Krusty

Thanks for the response. For some reason it decided to work perfectly when I tried it today.

average_runner wrote: »

Hi all;

I have a garmin 410 for about 3 years maybe more!!

Lately i notice when i charged the watch over night and go for a run the next day, it says low battery and turn itself off and comes back on.

For example on Sat morning i headed out for a run, after a mile the watch rebooted itself saying low battery, then came back on and lasted the next 2-3 hours. But it would say low battery. GPS was on and it was tracking my run for that 2-3 hours.

Any ideas or is it time for a new one or can i replace the battery?

Thanks

Sounds like a dodgy battery. Always a good idea to try a hard reset, on the remote chance that it might improve the situation, but I doubt it. There are instructions on how to replace the battery yourself, but it's a non-supported hack/repair job, requires soldering, and would likely kill-off any chances of getting Garmin to swap it for a refurb (which is an option).

Oswalder wrote: »

Krusty, do you know when the Forerunner 220 will be available in Ireland, please?

My 405cx has not been compliant for the last two weeks. I can't start it for a run because the lap/reset button is stuck in a bit so I can't even initialise the bezel. Only the start/stop button is responding.

I'm thinking of FR220 as an early 40th birthday present to myself as I want a watch for DCM. But when will it be available?

I wouldn't have a clue I'm afraid. I don't work in the trade; I'm just a nerd who reads the manuals! Maybe send a pm to Amphkingwest?

Colostomy Bag wrote: »

I've had my Garmin 410 for just about a year now and I still don't feel that comfortable with it or even use anything apart from the start and stop buttons. I used to think it was necessary to 'lock' the screen on every run - but ended up stopping the timer when trying to press the two buttons simultaneously - I eventually gave up on that and now just press start at the beginning and stop at the end. Am I correct in saying I don't really need to lock the screen and the timer will only stop when I press the stop/start button? Can you mess around with anything during a run without affecting the 'recording' (as long as you don't press stop?).

The biggest problem with not locking the Bezel is that rain (or moisture in the air) will cause it to switch between data screens, but could also feasibly switch to one of the other watch modes, like 'standby', 'GPS' or 'Settings'. This situation was a big problem on the 405, improved slightly for the 405cx, and improved again for the 410. If it's not a problem for you, then I wouldn't bother. Locking the bezel, the start/stop and lap buttons are still functional, so no difference there.

I would take the time to read through the manual, and start to make use of some of the other functionality, to get best use/value from the watch. There's a wealth of functionality that you're not using, from Intervals, to Advanced Workouts, to compass mapping (very handy when running in unfamiliar surroundings), to HR-based training. But if you're happy with what it does for you now, good!

On a 405, when running an Interval Workout, is there anyway to change what is shown on display. I'd like to be able to show my current pace, but at the moment it just shows distance left to complete.

Anyone see any good offers on the Garmin Forerunner 210? Im looking to get the Watch, Carry Case, Footpod and Bike Mount all together in the one order if possible. Dont need the heart rate monitor at all as I have one already. Amazon.co.uk seems to be winning out in my comparisons so far.

Amazon.co.uk = £181.47
Ebay.ie = £190.28
Handtec.co.uk = £212.75

Any other better prices would be great.

Thanks.

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

Bring it back to where you bought it from and demand a replacement or a refund. If you bought it online, I'd bring a backup stopwatch to the marathon and a pace band.

It seems to be fine now, have had no more problems with it.

I make a point of having the cable connected to the watch before plugging in the usb to the computer rather than the other way around which seemed to be causing problems as the connection mightn't have been made properly that way!

geld wrote: »

Does anyone know if it is possible to get replacement screws for a 410 chest strap? They are tiny. I replaced the battery but had a hell of a job loosening the screws. In the end two are now damaged and the cover is not fully secure.

I contacted Garmin directly but had no success other than they suggesting I buy a new strap. I'm just out of warranty!

From the Garmin forums:

...and I would not lose the screws as Garmin does not have replacement parts for them. So, if you lose a screw you are SOL.

doughef wrote: »

Hi guys

Apologise in advance! I'm sure this has been asked a million times.
I simply want a decent Garmin, not too sure if I would use the heart rate monitor so I just need GPS / Pace / splits /intervals etc..

What would be the best bet? maybe a few levels up from the basic?

Also.. Any recommendations of good sites to buy?

I do a lot of running.. member of a club etc, so I do speed and distance work but am fed up asking "what pace we at?? How long we done"??

Thanks

It really depends on your budget. Hard to beat Amazon.co.uk prices. 610 is good value at £199. Forerunner 310 is very good value at £160. Forerunner 10 is the cheapest, at £84, and is the most basic entry-level model.

doughef wrote: »

Thanks Krusty... 610 looks good

BTW.. I think you paced the 3.30 group marathon in DCM 2009?

I surely did (Ironically that's my race number for this year's race!). Were you aiming for 3:30 that year? Did you make it?!

doughef wrote: »

You were the guy whose pacer balloon blew away at the start line I think??... (kinda like my hope of a sub 3.30

Nah, I was the skinny one who held onto my balloon.
That was Village Runner.

geld wrote: »

Tks Krusty, Don't know what "SOL" means but sounds like I'm screwed:rolleyes:. The unit is working but I'm afraid that moisture will eventually creap in and cause damage.

I'm guessing you're sh1te out of luck!

SucCes09 wrote: »

My Garmin (forerunner 305) has suffered a similar fate... When I connect to the Garmin Training Center, it states "Transfer Complete. Your workouts and courses data was successfully received from your fitness device. There was a problem receiving the activities."
I've deleted data from the cycling and running more then 3 months old, but still the issue persists.
I've also tried to upload the data to strava (to rule out issues with the Garmin Training Center) but that hangs on upload.
The Garmin is also now difficult to start up - taking 3-4 turns and some fiddling with the power and reset buttons to get it started.
Sounds like it might be on it's last legs?

Definitely sounds like it might be on its last legs (with the twiddling and the power issues, but I'd imagine you should still be able to upload your activities (when it's powered on/working). Did you try a soft reset? It may be that there's a corrupt workout somewhere, so as a last resort, delete all activities, and after that, try a hard reset.

Shouldn't you be over on the triathlon forum?

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

I'd guess that either one of your workouts is corrupted, or one of the xml files residing on the device. If you can live without the activities, I'd do a hard-reset or delete all activities.

Thanks for the reply Krusty, I tried all of that but to no avail, even after a hard reset I got the error.
However when I went into the watch as a solid state drive I noticed the Garmin.fit file had been duplicated something like 10 times but with a size of 0KB, this was on the first screen and not actually in the activities folder. I deleted all of the the new ones and the original assuming that it was corrupted and causing the duplications and hoping it would be recreated when I turned the watch back on and thankfully that worked. Pure luck really on my part!