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Ambient Setting for I2 Barometer Possible?

NoTrux
over 1 year ago

I just received a replacement Instinct 2 from Garmin and while configuring it (the copying of the data files to the New folder didn't work and bricked the watch temporarily), I noted one thing I can't do is select ambient pressure and not sea level.  The thing is I'm nowhere near the ocean and I'm up at altitude near the mountains, so the sea level pressure means nothing.  On my old watch I used a local station at the university for my reference value and I always had significantly lower barometric pressures on my watch face and I believe in the ABC mode. We're talking my actual barometric pressure is in the high 900s while sea level is low 1000s. Is there any way to do this?

My actual barometric pressure is about 860 right now while the nN reference value is 1019 and I always had the former in my watch face.

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  • 0 over 1 year ago

    Sorry, 960 is my actual, but I can't edit due to some glitch in the Garmin forum.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to NoTrux

    The pressure value during the calibration is supposed to be MSLP (Mean Sea Level Pressure), and it always was so, as far as I remember. And that's the standard used by practically all weather stations. You may be able to enter the ambient pressure instead (if it is within the allowed limits), but it then means you will see always the pressure equivalent to the pressure at your home, even if you move to higher or lower altitudes, and not the ambient pressure at given location.

    That told, you can add the data field "ambient pressure" to the data screens of an activity. Not possible on the built-in watch face. You will probably find a CIQ watch face offering the ambient pressure, though.

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to trux

    1. I'm the one that has repeatedly asked you to no longer reply to me.
    2. "You may be able to enter the ambient pressure instead (if it is within the allowed limits), but it then means you will see always the pressure equivalent to the pressure at your home, even if you move to higher or lower altitudes, "

    Not true.  I've done this before and it works fine and displays the actual barometric pressure wherever I am in the world.  I actually found my local university's weather station which had the average sea level pressure AND the actual pressure at the station because I would calibrate my watch for ambient  There must have been a change within the last two years, but if I'm over 1000km from the ocean AND in the Alps, well above sea level, why would I need some barometric pressure elsewhere?  I've been using old, non-smart Suuntos for years and this was always the way.

    Again, I haven't seen anywhere near 1000 on my watch in years since being at the ocean in the US or in Norway, now I'm displaying 1017 when my actual pressure is 957.6 hPa.  Then what does the barometric trend arrow do?

  • 0 over 1 year ago in reply to NoTrux
    NoTrux said:
    There must have been a change within the last two years

    No, there was no change. The barometric pressure during the calibration was always supposed to be the MSLP, since the very beginning (even at Instinct 1st gen). If you do not believe me, check out the archived copy of the manual from February 10, 2022:

    https://web.archive.org/web/20220210012227/https://www8.garmin.com/manuals/webhelp/GUID-31D23DBB-57C2-4DF7-A0C9-8D1A00AB4BE7/EN-US/Instinct_2_Series_OM_EN-US.pdf 

    Calibrating the Barometer

    Your watch was already calibrated at the factory, and the watch uses automatic calibration at your GPS starting
    point by default. You can manually calibrate the barometer if you know the correct elevation or the correct sea
    level pressure.

    It does not exclude, that you entered the ambient pressure instead, with the consequences I wrote in my previous post.