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Upgrade from 405CX

Former Member over 5 years ago

So I'm still running on the 405CX which has been discontinued. It is about 9years old at this point. I know the new watches are smaller with better screens and sync with a phone.

However I'm curious if the GPS tracking has improved over time. Anyone have experience with this? I see the new watches work with other standards (Glonass and Galileo). Any real world experience here would be appreciated.

The heart monitor being built in is also nice, but I'm used to the chest strap.

The new watches have smart features, all day activities, etc. I'm more curious about actual running distance, speed, etc.

0 tmk2 over 5 years ago

However I'm curious if the GPS tracking has improved over time.

Getting a GPS fix is improved because in current watches it is augmented by EPO data downloaded from the internet and synced by a mobile app or Garmin Express. But whether GPS accuracy has improved in comparison to older devices is a subject of heated debate

0 peterdedecker over 5 years ago in reply to tmk2

tmk2 said:
heated debate

I'd concur to that. A lot will also depend on which kind of runner you are: a road runner might be super pleased about a certain watch, while a trail runner might not be.

I see the new watches work with other standards (Glonass and Galileo).

These are basically different Gps Positioning Systems not different standards.

On your device you will have the choice between using:

- Gps: only use (Navstar) Gps owned by Us Government (as you're only using the gps satellites this is most likely to consume the least energy)

- Gps + Galileo (europeon union gps positioning system)

- Gps + Glonass (russian)

It's not possible to only use Glonass or only use Galileo (it will always be augmented with Gps)

The idea of combining satellites from other global positioning systems can either work in your advantage or in your disadvantage and will be something you will need to try what suits you best. The general accepted assumption is that combining eg gps+glonass will deliver you a more accurate position estimation than when you would only use Gps.

The heart monitor being built in is also nice

for me wrist based heart rate works great but for other people it doesn't work so great. A chest strap works better for more people and will also deliver you more metrics such as ground contact time.