HRM Pro Plus question

CastorKrieg said:

Do you manually disconnect the strap while not in use in the Sensors tab?

No.

CastorKrieg said:

I do it when using my headphones so the watch will not be constantly 'Searching' for them.

You disconnect the HRM-Pro strap so the watch does not search for headphones?

CastorKrieg said:

If I understand correctly I can enrich the watch data with the HRM data on the last screen with all the statistics when I have the HRM connected?

Generally, yes, although you don't need the data screens for it to work. As long as the strap is connected, the watch will collect data from it and record it into the activity.

CastorKrieg said:

So unless I set Pace/Cadence on the strap to 'Always' I need to do it manually each time?

Running dynamics and heart rate will be recorded from the strap no matter what you set here. This setting is for using the HRM-Pro strap as a pace sensor. This is independent of the rest of the data provided by the HRM-Pro.

tmk2 said:

You disconnect the HRM-Pro strap so the watch does not search for headphones?

No, I disconnect the headphones when I'm not using them so the watch will not drain the battery by constantly searching for them. I was thinking of doing the same thing with the strap, only turning it ON when I'm using it.

tmk2 said:

Running dynamics and heart rate will be recorded from the strap no matter what you set here.

I see in the strap HRM Pro+ settings on the watch both Pace/Cadence and HR are set by default to 'Indoor'. I was thinking of setting both to Always - if I don't use / forget to use the strap the data from the wrist will be used?

tmk2 said:

Generally, yes, although you don't need the data screens for it to work. As long as the strap is connected, the watch will collect data from it and record it into the activity.

Can you tell me what is then the point of manually downloading the HR data from the strap?

CastorKrieg said:

I was thinking of doing the same thing with the strap, only turning it ON when I'm using it.

There's no need to do it.

CastorKrieg said:

I see in the strap HRM Pro+ settings on the watch both Pace/Cadence and HR are set by default to 'Indoor'. I was thinking of setting both to Always - if I don't use / forget to use the strap the data from the wrist will be used?

This is how it works:

If the HRM-Pro is NOT connected to the watch during activity, then cadence comes from the watch, pace comes from GPS for outdoor runs and internal accelerometers for indoor runs, and HR comes from the built-in optical sensor.

If the HRM-Pro is connected, then:

• HR comes from the HRM-Pro,
• cadence comes from the HRM-Pro
• pace comes either from HRM-Pro or the watch, depending on the setting you choose.

So the "Indoor"/"Always" setting affects only the last bullet. It has no effect on heart rate.

CastorKrieg said:

Can you tell me what is then the point of manually downloading the HR data from the strap?

This is for scenarios where the strap is used but NOT connected to the watch during activity, like for example during swimming.

Thank you, it's much clearer now. So basically no need to change any settings, just wearing the strap will suffice.

Thank you for the extensive answer. 

May I ask one follow-up question which is bothering me.

I run with a watch and with HRM Pro+ on. When I finish the run, I look at the stats, see avg and max HR, training effect etc.

Then I noticed a number of times already that if I press "Download HR", those stats actually CHANGE for this activity. HR changes as well as - happened today - the Training Effect.

If this is working as you described, the Download HR should not change anything, right? No idea why it does?

LukaszT said:

If this is working as you described, the Download HR should not change anything, right

Right.

LukaszT said:

No idea why it does?

No idea. This phenomenon has been noticed already years ago, and I cannot recall if anybody came up with a reasonable explanation.

I always assumed this is for those cases where the watch and HRM are not close together e.g. when you put the watch in the bag at the gym.

I noticed when I do press "Download HR" it sometimes duplicates an activity.

As for the "Download HR" on its own - this only applies if you have something like Pace/Cadence set to Indoor only and run outside. The HRM will still keep that data, but the watch will display its own measurements and these will be included in the activity. So if you want to overwrite it with HRM measurements you need to download that data.

CastorKrieg said:

I always assumed this is for those cases where the watch and HRM are not close together

Yes, but this does not explain why training effect changes after you download HR data for an activity that already had complete HR data from the strap, as in the download should replace HR data with identical HR data.

It will not be the same HR data since one is the watch one, another the strap one - there will be small differences, no?

Please note, that LukaszT specifically stated that he ran with the HRM-Pro connected to the watch all the time, so HR data on the watch and on the strap should be identical. And the resulting change in TE after download is very significant, while it too should be identical.