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Varia car approaching notification not appearing on Edge 1000

The Varia pairs up fine with my Edge 1000. I've enabled the device in devices and turned it on in the data screen section. Both have up to date firmwares.

The Varia is mounted just above my seatpost clamp - height wise approx. 32 inches from ground to centreline of Varia.

I went for a ride and despite being passed by many cars, the alerts (dots and flashing red bars etc..) did not appear at all on the Edge 1000 display. The connection logo appears in the top right hand corner fine.

What am I doing wrong? Is the Varia set too low or is there an issue with it I'm unaware of? Garmin haven't exactly specified the minimum height the Varia needs to be to ensure adequate detection...?

Thanks
  • Could post a picture that shows the Varia mounted on your bike?
  • Could post a picture that shows the Varia mounted on your bike?


    Agreed, that would be helpful. This is either a mounting issue (like you have in 90 degrees from correct or you have it blocked) or the unit is defective (my guess).

    Do you see the red lights in the tail light?

    Do they change with the approach of a car?

    Does the VARIA show a full charge when you first turn it on?
  • So, to be safe, I mounted the Varia as high up on the seatpost as it could go (see attached picture)

    Then took it out, sadly, nothing. No notification on the screen despite approaching cars - the lights on the unit stayed on three bars, no movement there. I charged the Varia for 4 hours once unboxed before testing, all the bars light up when the unit is turned on.

    I think it is fair to say the unit's radar detection is defective - would you agree??
  • Sorry there is no picture with your posting above. There is not really enough information to determine if the unit is faulty. The fact that the Edge pairs with it and gives you the radar overlay shows that the radar is transmitting.

    Could you confirm what software build you have on the 1000 and radar unit?
  • 141

    Sorry there is no picture with your posting above. There is not really enough information to determine if the unit is faulty. The fact that the Edge pairs with it and gives you the radar overlay shows that the radar is transmitting.

    Could you confirm what software build you have on the 1000 and radar unit?


    For some reason it is not attaching pictures from my Safari browser.

    Firmware:

    Edge 1000 - 5.10
    Varia - 2.20

    Garmin have advised I try reformatting the device but need a Windows computer which I do not have (have a Mac) and quite a convoluted process. Unless there's a solution on a Mac, I'll have to return the unit to the distributor.

    Secondly, if the Varia is communicating well with the Edge 1000 which it is, why then is the radar not detecting moving cars...? It doesn't quite add up.
  • Could you put the picture on a file sharing site such as dropbox and post a link to it.
  • Nothing wrong with the way it is mounted.

    When the radar and Edge are switched on do you get the radar icon overlay in the top right hand corner of a training page.
  • I do yes but that's as far as it goes. I've tested this in traffic - the unit just does not detect anything. I even held it up in the air as a car was approaching yet nothing.

    I been through all the settings etc.. I can't see how a simple reformat is going to fix this issue... sounds more of a hardware problem...
  • It does sound like a hardware problems.

    There are a couple of things you can try.

    One is to put the unit in to demonstration mode. This will send traffic information to the head unit as well change the LED pattern as though it had detected a vehicle.

    The other is that you could downgrade the software on the radar to 2.00. Try it. Then upgrade to 2.20 and try it.

    If you would try either of these options then let me know and I will post instructions.

    Which model of radar unit is this? RTL 500 or RTL 501.