(Un)Reliability of the magnetless sensors

There are two possibilities. The speed sensor detects the earth's magnetic field and that can be a problem when using magnetic trainers. Interference with the ANT+ signal can be a problem when indoors. WIFI and microwave ovens are two sources of interference.

Hi,

Magnetic field - possible, but, I think not probable.
Mag trainer - mine is fluid, my wife uses a mag. The magnet from her trainer is about 6 feet away. I was riding alone, hers wasn't in use when I was on. Would that make a difference? I call this one possible.
WIFI - hmmmm. This one is the most probable IMO. Our WIFI in the house is downstairs (where my trainer is) and I would think that is where the strongest signal is. The broadcaster is about 7 or 8 feet away.
Micorwave - upstairs in the kitchen far enough away, not in use when I was riding. Possible, but not probable.

I'll move my wifes bike away and (ugh) turn off the wifi (rats can't stream the show I'm catching up on). Keep you posted.

Thanks.

I do have another question. Is there an "up and down" on the sensors? Is there a right and wrong way to install?

Thanks. I apologize for the "Mythbusters" type reply :-) .

Moose.

PS: I was thinking more about this and interference. My phone (which I'm using to stream the program I mentioned), is right next to the 500 (actually touching). Would the proximity of my phone (in use) cause interference?

I don't know much more that my post but I don't think the phone would be a problem. Most likely it is the WiFi and it would be easy to see if turning that off fixes it.

Could very well be the phone. I assume you're streaming via WiFi? Does the phone have Bluetooth on? If the phone and your WiFi router has both 2.4 and 5 GHz WiFi you might want to switch it to 5 GHz and turn Bluetooth off. I believe ANT+ (and Bluetooth) uses 2.4 GHz.

Hi,

AH HA! Bluetooth. I have it on for my Vivosmart and my key finder. The more tech and fun stuff we have the more it can gum up the works.

Here's the plan. Turn 1 thing off at a time to see if I can find the culprit.

1) Bluetooth
2) My wife's mag trainer
3) WIFI (sigh)

Thanks for you responses, I'll keep you posted.

Moose.

Hi,

Okay here is the last workout with Bluetooth off. IMO better, but, I think it should be even better than the improvement I got. I still had the phone on to watch my show(s). Am I expecting too much? The sensors picked up immediately, but, the speed registering still appears to be a problem.

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/#activity/719573239

Plan for tonight ... keep bluetooth off and move the phone a couple feet away. If there isn't improvement, I'll move my wife's mag trainer further away.

Keep you posted.

Moose.

PS: It seems bluetooth may have contributed to the problem. I have a follow on question with that ... should ask here or start a new thread? :confused:

I would keep the question here.

When I have problems (for example https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/701141491), I tend to have dropouts on all of my sensors, and with multiple head units. Your problem seems to be pretty much exclusively with the speed sensor, although the cadence sensor shows some dropouts. My activity is using a GSC-10 rather than the magnetless sensors (I have my magnetless sensors on my MTB). This particular activity was during a below zero F windy day where I decided to stay indoors rather than go out skiing. It's possible the problem was caused by the cold, since I've had similar problems before and I've always suspected that my garage door opener or something else outside is spewing radio interference when it's cold, since nothing else is different from all of the times I successfully ride rollers during the year except for the temperature. Yesterday I rode rollers (rain/wind, T around 40 F) and had no problems.

Hi,

Again thanks everyone for your input.

My wife did some research (that's her thing), and found some interesting information on Bluetooth and ANT+. It seems there is a problem with packets dropping and the software isn't "extrapolating" the difference in the dropped packet(s) (both bluetooth and ant+). Since they use the same frequency (2.4ghz) I'm sure there is interference between bluetooth and the ant+ (based on whats happening to me & the research that I've seen). The temperature is an interesting thought. I think there is an operating range for them, but, that info escapes me at the moment. In any event, the coldest my basement gets is in the 50's, so I believe it's well within the operating range.

My NEW question would be involving the 510. If the 510 uses bluetooth to communicate to the phone DURING a workout/ride would there not then (based on my experiences with the 500) be a problem with getting ant+ information from whatever sensor is being used? If NOT, what is better on the 510 software, and could that be applied to the 500? Am I off-base; is the difference in the hardware?

Moose

PS: I'll be riding tonight so I'll have a new post about this tonight or more likely tomorrow morning.

Have you tried turning off the WiFi? There are Edge models that have bluetooth and there seems to be no problem interfering with ANT+. Both ANT+ and bluetooth are low power and have technology to avoid interference. WiFi is more powerful and is known to be an issued with the ANT+ signal.