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Heart Rate Graph too Linear

I recently bought my wife an FR35 to run with. Initially, the optical heart rate was pretty good with just a couple of obvious mis-readings.

However, on the last 4 runs, the HR graph in GC (and Strava) is just too "perfect" - it shows a lovely curve at the start of the run and then a perfectly straight line increase from 161bpm to 178 bpm throughout the rest of the run, with no variation whatsoever. Either my wife has been replaced by some sort of cyborg, or something's wrong. Has anyone else experienced similar?

Here's what's showing for her HR on her latest run, the previous few are the same:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7nuhattlxw5ocb4/TJ%20HR.png?dl=0

P.S. I know oHR can sometimes be temperamental, but this doesn't look like a traditional drop-out problem that I'd normally expect to see with oHR issues, so I don't think it's down to a too hot/too cold/too loose/too tight/wrong skin colour type thing

0 CzarekG over 8 years ago

Hi.
From 6.04.2017 my FR35 is wiser than my heart, same as Your is.

Garmin's People - please, do something with Yours software. I thought that I've buyed SPORTwatch, not a TOYwatch!
And yes, I know that this is NOT a medical equipment.

Regards
Czarek

0 Mirko_Italy over 8 years ago

Can you test your watch in comparison with another watch synced with a chest strap?

0 Mirko_Italy over 8 years ago

Hi Neilonline, yesterday I got a graph very similar to the graph of your wife. Before starting running, the heart rate icon was blinking and I waited that it became solid. I waited 5 minutes, but the heart rate icon was continuing blinking. I didn't want to wait any longer so I started the activity, thinking that while running the Forerunner35 would find the correct heart rate.
But the heart rate icon was always blinking for the entire run and it never found the correct heart rate. In the other arm I had another watch synced with the Scosche optical heart rate monitor, and the Forerunner35 was always circa 20 beats higher than the correct value.
I think that your wife had the same problem: the FR35 wasn't able to lock the correct heart rate at the beginning and reported for the entire run wrong values.
Today I gave a complete charge to the Forerunner35, I conscientiously waited till the heart rate icon became solid, and the Forerruner 35 was correct for the entire run (same beats of the Scosche).
I think that is super important that the heart rate icon stops blinking, and eventually wait another two or three minutes before starting the activity. If the watch doesn't have a good lock at the beginning, it will give probably wrong values for the entire activity.
I will suggest that you try before the activity to have a read of the heart rate (button right down).If the heart rate icon becomes solid in 20 or 30 seconds, it is a good sign. If it continues blinking and you can't get a good lock, it's better to try something:
1- clean the lens with cotton and water and then dry it
2- recharge the battery (maybe a full battery gives a better performance of the optical heart rate monitor?)
3- if it's a cold day try to warm up a bit before starting the activity or put in the warm up some clothes on.
3- if every other thing fails, eventually try to do a reset of the watch

0 Mirko_Italy over 8 years ago

In these days I continued having problems with the heart rate monitoring. When I tried to take a read of the heart rate (button right down) the icon continued blinking and it didn't become solid. Sometimes I even had two horizontal lines (meaning that it couldn't read the heart rate at all). Even in running I noticed a worse behaviour than before.
Yesterday I did a hard reset, and after that the heart rate icon stops blinking after just few seconds and the heart rate monitoring returned to be accurate.
I would suggest that whenever there are problems with heart rate monitor, the first thing to do is to perform a hard reset.