Hi all, I'm new to the Garmin sphere, and have several questions since I bought my new 7s Solar Sapphire. I have a few observances and questions, some of which probably stem from unfamiliarity.
First, I've had a couple issues that I've seen reported on these forums already.
- My 7sSS did not come preloaded with all the world maps, only my region (Europe). Not a big deal since I can download what I need, just more of a minor annoyance. Though I noticed that there is a "CourseView Europe", a "TopoActive Europe" and a "TopoActive RDA Europe". What are the differences, both in internal information and use?
- Been having some major issues with swimming. Most of the time it works flawlessly, but every now and then it doesn't work at all. No distance, no HR. On those days, it's just a glorified timer. I hope they're working on getting that fixed.
Some other questions I haven't been able to find answers on:
- I noticed that between the time I originally set up the device and now, some cycling activity types have been added. Instead of just "Ride", there is now "Road Bike", "Bike Commute", and "eBike". This is great, but I wonder what the differences are between the profiles? I ride an e-cargo bike around town, so either ebike or bike commute could work for that, but without having more info, I don't know which is appropriate.
- With regards to the previous question, is there a way to set a default gear (bike) for the different activities? In GC, under "Gear", I only see the option to Automatically Add To... Cycling. There 10 different cycling activities, not to mention Triathlon, Other, or custom profiles too.. There's no way anyone would use their road bike for mountain biking, so why limit our ability to set default gear?
- I made a Course in GC, then added it to the watch. Worked great. A few days later, I decided to do the same route, but I did it in reverse. When I did that, instead of loading as the reverse of the route, it loaded as straight lines between the course points. This meant I had no turn by turn navigation and the map was almost useless. The route just cut straight through the towns I was riding through with no help on how to navigate. I really hope they're working on this, otherwise it's a useless, maybe even dangerous, feature.
- With regards to the maps while in an event, is there a way to adjust the default zoom of the map? I've found the both the run and bike are zoomed in one click too far for my comfort, and it's a pain to zoom out (or maybe I just haven't found the best way to do it).
- Suggested Workouts: How are those configured? I'm training for an Ironman, and I find that the Garmin is telling me to do things that are just not realistic with that goal in mind (like resting on my long run day). It seems they are set for a generalized person trying to be healthy rather than any specific goals. Is there a way to change that?
- Heart rates limits: There are settings for alarms at both high and low heart rates. But the low rate alarm bottoms out at 40. My resting heart rate is about 42, and some days is in the high 30's. Setting the lowest value would result in multiple alarms every few days. We should really be able to set our own custom value for this number, no?
- Live Track: I'd like to set up Auto Start on live track only for specific activities (runs, road biking, and triathlon). My wife got one the other day for a pool swim (even though there's no GPS). Obviously she doesn't need that. If I turn it on for all GPS activities, she gets like 12 LiveTrack emails a day. How do I do that?
I'm sure I'll come up with other questions, but those are the ones I've come across in the first few weeks. Thanks for any help you can offer!
