grade digits

The 1030 has had grade issues for years. Lag time and being inaccurate are the biggest. I compared mine to my 800. The 1030 always lagged behind the 800 and did not indicate the same level.  Two weeks ago I did a short ride down a small slope. The 1030 said I was going up at 1-2%. I ride this area a lot and know and can see that it is not true. Finally after about 1/4 mile the 1030 said I was going down hill. I immediately turned around rode back. Now it said I was going up hill as I was. So the original going up hill was dead wrong. I loaded the "Climb Gauge" IQ app. This is very fast and shows the tenths along with a color graph line. Got rid of off use of Garmin's grade. 

It looks to me like Garmin does not care to fix an ongoing issue. I also do not get aweatherall's comment about 1/10th being false precision. I ran this IQ app on the same screen as the normal grade. I could go up and down as much as +- 1% in the grade and Garmin's value did not change. I was on 4-5 % at the time so that is a huge percentage of error.

My original 1030 and the replacement 1030 due to the blue halo both have responded very quickly to grade changes. I'm wondering how a IQ app can respond quicker than Garmin's data field.

In an IQ datafield the designer can freely select the sample rate. And if he's a good programmer, he may even be able to program some dampers so that a smaller sample rate can be used.

But of course the following applies: the smaller (= shorter observation period), the faster the value reacts, but the more erratic and inaccurate it becomes.

Those who have understood how the digital calculation of the slope works will be more moderate in their judgment:
After all, you have to travel a certain distance before you can calculate the gradient! And the smaller this distance is, the more inaccurate the calculation becomes. Therefore I agree: 1/10th precision makes no sense!
Gradient % = delta elevationgain m / delta distance m * 100 

Nevertheless - I have to admit that 1030 PLUS has more lag as normal 1030 has.

I have experienced these problem to date (April 2021) since I purchased the Edge 1030 Plus last year. I have spoken with Garmin tech support and they continue to tell me that a firmware fix is coming. I still use my Edge 1000 which detects grade changes for uphills to a tenth of a percent (up to 10%) instantly and accurately. I have no clue how the replacement model for the Edge 1000 has lost this feature and, worse, how it has not been remedied by this time. The other advancements of the 1030 Plus (better display, louder beep signal from the Varia radar, stronger battery, etc) are all good but losing the real-time grade accuracy is a head scratcher. Apparently  Wrongway_51 is on the money: Garmin does not care to fix this ongoing issue.

Stewert-iden, 

I have done some thinking on this issue. Thoughts and wonderment:

1. Did Garmin fire the person who could do fractional math? Those there now may only be able to use fingers and toes to count. No partials allowed.

2: They are actually brilliant. Possible use of quantum physics to prove two values can be different and the same at once. 2.4 IS the same as 2.0. And  2.6 is equal to 3. Not sure how you can work this with a .5 value. Since 2.5 is equidistance from 2.0 and 3.0, maybe it is really neither. I suggest they blank the field in that case so as to not confuse us.

3. If the 1030 is accurate, does that mean my previous 800 and 1000 were actually defective? Have I been ripped off for years?

4. Don't try to apply this to real life. Many headaches.  I.E. Gas tanks, above 1/2 tank you are really full? So you can drive forever. Of course there is the opposite, I start to worry when I am below 1/2. Must be running of fumes. Gotta look for a gas station fast!

5. mcinner1 says 1/10th precision makes no sense. See #4. Simple on/off light would get rid of the whole gauge. 

6. Don't wait for an update on the FW. This decimal rounding issue has been around at least three years. As you say, Garmin doesn't want to fix it. 

I found another issue relating to the grade. Since I don't like the rounding to an integer Garmin uses, I have been using the Climb Gauge IQ app. One feature of the app is a graph display. You can set the min and max grade limits. I.E. -10 to +20. A little arrow shows that latest limit and it will flash the latest reading.  I have found the values will go to maximum if I stop for anything (traffic, food break, etc.). After some variable time (2-30 seconds?) the arrow will go to the limit based on the last +- grade you rode. But, I had a different case other day. It maxed out the positive value even though I did not stop on an 11 mile uphill. I turned around and went down a short distance to see what would happen. I stopped and the grade went to zero (as expected) while I sat. When I took off the negative grade went to -359 degrees. I have seen 100+ on the uphill side. I think climb gauge gets it value from Garmin versus its own calculations.