HR Pairing - New problem

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benlane
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HR Pairing - New problem

Post by benlane »

On Friday I noticed that my HR was reading very high e.g 235 beats per minute, it would record silly numbers then settle then post silly numbers again.
So today I cleaned all the contacts down as they were a bit grubby and thought the problem might be the battery so I put in a battery that I tested in the head unit and had a 2.90v reading.

Anyhow - I now can't find HR on the head unit. I have enterted Wireless config and set HR to find, but when it does the 'TEST' sequence it will only find speed and cadence. I have tried a different battery, tried the hard reset of both head unit and HR strap, but it can't find HR reading at all now.

My Mrs has a garmin, so I tried her ANT HR Strap and the ibike finds it immediatley.

I guess my HR strap has just died?
coachboyd
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by coachboyd »

What does the connection look like under the battery in the HR strap? Did it happen to get corroded at all?
Boyd Johnson
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benlane
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by benlane »

Boyd,
It looks perfect still, good as new, nice and shiny gold. Totally spic and span inside the battery compartment.
benlane
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by benlane »

I took the battery out again, left the strap and battery on the table for an hour, put the battery back in, put HR strap on, walked to bike, pressed centre button and it paired again immediatley.

How odd.
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klaus
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by klaus »

I had a similar issue with my HR sensor.

Initially it did happen on a ride. With sudden strange reading high and low. Then nothing changed the battery and got nothing for a long time and suddenly perfect readings and then again nothing.

Since I have tried all the steps above and the HR sensor seems to be dead.

Removing the battery an leaving it for 24/hours did allow me to find the strap once with the scan. but no readings and all other pairings did fail.

I have tried with 2 different bikes/mounts changes the batteries in the strap, mount with the same effect the strap is not coming back to life.

Should I just assume it died and I need a new one ? any recommendations on the hrm strap ibike or ant+ compatible ?
Velocomp
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by Velocomp »

When a battery is replaced in a wireless sensor, it's possible that the sensor will perform an internal "hard reset".

After the hard reset, for the first one minute afterwards the sensor will send a special signal that actually disrupts the pairing process; that is, for the first minute after a new sensor battery is installed, it is possible that your iBike won't be able to pair.

This is why we say in the instructions to wait one minute before pairing, after installing a new battery in any wireless sensor.

If you're still getting sporadic or odd HR strap readings even after a battery change then check to be sure your HR strap is fitted well to your chest. Also, make sure your jersey isn't flapping around.

If none of that works, then perhaps a replacement strap is needed. Any ANT+Sport strap will work.
John Hamann
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lorduintah
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by lorduintah »

I have found several quirky reactions that the Garmin HR straps can occasionally exhibit.

If the rubber surfaces of the HR - contact ribs - really get grimy - then the signal is either sporadic or not there at all. I simply clean the strap with an old toothbrush and hand soap.

Some clothes lead to charge build up or something similar and high HR or radically varying values appear - until there is enough sweat on the skin and jersey.

Of course there is also the battery to deal with - those contacts are a little delicate, don't pry the battery out - it should come out very easily by flipping the strap over with the cover off - at most a slight tap will do the trick.If you do a hard reset on the HR strap - you do not need to shove the battery into the compartment - it will fall into place all by itself.

Every so often, while riding, I fin d that the HR is high - all I do is grab the center of the strap in the center of my chest and rub it up and down a little - the HR settles out very quickly.

The straps are not something to fold up - that big section of rubber is meant to remain relatively flat - so caution if you throw it into an athletic bag or something similar.

Tom
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Morocco Mole
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by Morocco Mole »

I've experienced most of these issues with "Polar" HRM's as well, eg dirty contact points, flapping jerseys etc FYI, I've looked at the ANT+ straps from Garmin, Powertap and iBike and they are identical, I think John will confirm they are all made by Garmin, so changing brands won't help. I find the problems mainly occur in cold dry conditions when you aren't sweating so much, in these situations a small amount of Conductive Gel (cheap KY Jelly works fine) should help.
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klaus
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by klaus »

I have used the toothbrush trick and now the belt seems to be working just fine again.

Not sure if it was the dirt or te batter in the wireless mount but on the race bike it is back to normal. Will need to check the trike to see if it works there too

Thanks for your suggestions
swdenver
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by swdenver »

I have also just started having problems with my HR strap. I can't get the iPro to pair with it any longer. When I attach it to the mount,
it pairs with the Cadence and Speed and always fails on the HR. This was working all summer but just started not working the past couple of
weeks. I have tried all of the suggestions above (cleaning the strap, waiting over a minute after changing a battery) and none seem to work.
I am also running version 4.02 firmware.
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lorduintah
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by lorduintah »

Have you flipped the battery over in the HR monitor - reversed polarity - only a couple of seconds, then put it back in the correct way. Also - clean the leads/contactors in the battery compartment. Check to also see if the contacts still are springy - there is a small chance that they have been compressed and no longer make contact. Lastly, reset the iBike (flip the battery). Everything else may work, but sometimes whatever goes wrong - the iBike needs a its own version of defibrillation.

Tom
Velocomp
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by Velocomp »

A few weeks ago we posted FW 4.03:

http://www.ibikeforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=1250

This might help with HR pairing.
John Hamann
swdenver
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by swdenver »

I updated the firmware to 4.03 and tried all of the other suggestions but the HR still doesn't get picked up by the unit.
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racerfern
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by racerfern »

Do you have another strap you can try? Either iBike or Garmin.
Fernando
swdenver
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by swdenver »

No, I don't have another HR monitor strap
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racerfern
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by racerfern »

So if you ride with others you can try and pair one of their straps. You only have to be standing beside them to pick up their signal. At least that can narrow down the source of the problem.
Fernando
swdenver
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by swdenver »

My HR monitor strap is finally getting detected again.

Here are the details. I share my iBike computer between 2 bikes (different profiles). Both profiles had the same HR Monitor ID stored in the
profiles and I had no problems with the HR monitor for the 6 months I have owned it. Recently, the HR monitor stopped working for both
profiles/bikes on the same day (stopped working on one and I tried it on the other as a test). I tried changing batteries, resetting the HR monitor by flipping the battery and any other suggestions. I then updated the firmware as suggested above, all to no avail.

That is where my email ended, with the last suggestion being to try another HR monitor whenever I got the chance. Well, I tried one more time
this week, flipped the battery again, etc and it still didn't work. I continued to wear the HR monitor this week since I ride on bike trails during my
commute, where I listen to an iPod and the HR strap keeps the headphone cords in place. On the way home one day, the iBike unit recognized
the HR monitor. I was surprised that it started working. When I got home, I saved the ride and noticed that the HR ID number was changed
in the bike profile. It no longer matched the older number which the other profile still contained. So I kept the profile that worked on the ride
home and tried it again and it was still being recognized by the unit. I then went in and manually changed the other HR ID number in my
other profile and tested it out. That profile also allows the unit to recognized the HR monitor on my 2nd bike. I rode with that yesterday and
it worked for the entire 3 hour ride. Thus, it appears that the HR monitor is working again now.

Is it expected for the HR monitor to get assigned a different ID number during its life?
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lorduintah
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Re: HR Pairing - New problem

Post by lorduintah »

I believe changing batteries or flipping the battery in the HRM will change the ID. It is possible that the way you are wrapping the iPod cables and the HRM strap might be interfering with the signal, although many other variables may come in to play with all the changes that have transpired including weak batteries somewhere in the communication chain. A good point to remember is that the iBike detects a change and it should start communications - if you perhaps - reload the original profile, the IDs get put back as they were when you did the last update to the profile stored in the computer file. If you had dismissed any update, then you might not have ended up with a correct ID. But as I noted many other factors might have come into play. Firmware 4.03 did help and improve some of this over 4.02.

So keep the contacts in the battery compartment shiny (a Q-tip gently rubbing on them is more than enough - no abrasives). Keep the strap clean - mild soap and a tooth brush on the ribs every so often gets rid of the grime that builds up - don't forget to close the battery compartment - there should be a very small O-ring to help seal the compartment.

When you startup the iBike - one of the first signals it should detect is the HRM - so have it strapped on before you turn on the iBike. That also may help.

Just a few suggestions - Tom
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