Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

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lambrettaman
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Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:02 am

Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by lambrettaman »

I have a Garmin 520 with separate speed and cadence sensors. It paired right up with the speed sensor. Am I missing out on data or PowerPod goodness without cadence data? Can I pair with both sensors? Should I?
Velocomp
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by Velocomp »

You most definitely can pair with both sensors.

If you have installed FW 621, when you pair the PP will indicate pairing to your cadence sensor with 3 flashes of the red light. Then, when pairing is complete the light will show solid green.

Be aware that the magnet less cadence sensor takes some time to wake up (I don't know why, this is not our fault!). I ride my bike down the street a few yards before pairing, to make sure the sensors are awake.
John Hamann
lambrettaman
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Joined: Tue Feb 07, 2017 11:02 am

Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by lambrettaman »

Thanks John! Your support here was one of the deciding factors for going with the PowerPod.

So, I just need to do a pairing ride to get the cadence paired? Awesome.

I noticed it took quite a while to get the speed sensor paired spinning the front wheel in my family room. :)
Velocomp
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by Velocomp »

Pairing is a somewhat lengthy process, because there are so many different sensor possibilities.

Once you see the solid green light, you're in...
John Hamann
lambrettaman
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by lambrettaman »

Velocomp wrote:Pairing is a somewhat lengthy process, because there are so many different sensor possibilities.

Once you see the solid green light, you're in...
I'm in! All paired and calibrated.
Velocomp
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by Velocomp »

Great!
John Hamann
AirBourn
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by AirBourn »

I can confirm the separate speed and cadence sensors pairing. The little LED behavior added to FW 6.21 helps a lot. I wasn't getting any PowerStroke data from my rides, although the PP appeared to pair to sensors, calibrate, record, and deliver power readings to my 520. I chatted with Tom in tech support, and he suggested that the cadence data was missing - sensor not paired or similar. I tried the pair again last night, rode today, and still no PowerStroke data.

Poking around in Isaac, I discovered the "Wireless IDs" tab in the Edit/Edit Profiles... dialog. Here I could see that the speed sensor was pairing, but not the cadence sensor - handy dialog for sure. I found this thread tonight, discovering the tidbit about FW6.21 and the three red flashes for cadence sensor pairing. Decided to try pairing again, but this time spun the wheel and crank for quite a while to make darn sure the sensors were awake, and paid careful attention to the device LED. Got the flashing green, then the three red flashes, then flashing green again, and then the solid green. After that, when I check the profile setting Wireless ID tab, I see the cadence paired! (picture enclosed).

So, looking at this dialog, is there any reason for the PowerPod to pair with my HR sensor? Or is this a Newton thing?
Attachments
Edit Profiles Wireless IDs Tab
Edit Profiles Wireless IDs Tab
WirelessIDTab.png (57.41 KiB) Viewed 7156 times
Velocomp
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by Velocomp »

Three flashing red lights means...cadence sensor paired (success!).

The problem you've had is that the magnet less cadence sensors are finicky and don't turn on instantly. When I do a pairing with one of these cadence sensors I ride my bike for about 30 seconds BEFORE attempting a pairing; that way, I know the cadence sensor is awake.

Same thing with HR strap; you have to be 100% sure the strap is awake before attempting pairing. If the HR strap is awake, PP will find it. NOTE: whenever you do a scan ALL sensors you want to pair must be awake...
John Hamann
drashkum
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by drashkum »

Velocomp wrote:You most definitely can pair with both sensors.

If you have installed FW 621, when you pair the PP will indicate pairing to your cadence sensor with 3 flashes of the red light. Then, when pairing is complete the light will show solid green.

Be aware that the magnet less cadence sensor takes some time to wake up (I don't know why, this is not our fault!). I ride my bike down the street a few yards before pairing, to make sure the sensors are awake.
Looks like things have changed a lot in FW 6.21.
As per your instructions in my query i was trying to setup my powerpod for the calride today morning. When i tried to pairup my sensors i was looking for the (the old protocols of flashing green light and )solid greenlight of pairing. This 3 red flashes put me off. I thought since the red flashes came my sensors have not paired up and quit the plan of doing a calride. I came to this forum just to post the weired behaviour of red light. Thank goodness this thread saved my time. Now i can breathe easy and go and do a cal ride tomorrow.

John Can you update about the change in light patterns for pairing in the "optional cal ride thread" for the sake of old PP owners who might be in quandary like me because of the red flashes. The PDF u had shared starts with " Make sure you have paired PP to your ANT + Sensors "
Velocomp wrote:Three flashing red lights means...cadence sensor paired (success!).

The problem you've had is that the magnet less cadence sensors are finicky and don't turn on instantly. When I do a pairing with one of these cadence sensors I ride my bike for about 30 seconds BEFORE attempting a pairing; that way, I know the cadence sensor is awake.

Same thing with HR strap; you have to be 100% sure the strap is awake before attempting pairing. If the HR strap is awake, PP will find it. NOTE: whenever you do a scan ALL sensors you want to pair must be awake...
If u are using a Garmin headunit , Easier way is to first switch on the garmin and spin the front wheel, you get a beep sound once the speed sensors are awake. Then spin the crank lifting the wheel, you will again hear the beep sound for the cadence sensor awakening. then i switch on the PP to again hear a beep to see a solid " GO" Green light.
images.jpg
images.jpg (27.25 KiB) Viewed 7147 times
For confirmation you can see the heart, cadence , speed icon on top of garmin highlighted unlike the power icon greyed out above
funkiestj
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by funkiestj »

AirBourn wrote: Fri Feb 17, 2017 9:21 pm
Poking around in Isaac, I discovered the "Wireless IDs" tab in the Edit/Edit Profiles... dialog. Here I could see that the speed sensor was pairing, but not the cadence sensor - handy dialog for sure. I found this thread tonight, discovering the tidbit about FW6.21 and the three red flashes for cadence sensor pairing. ... After that, when I check the profile setting Wireless ID tab, I see the cadence paired! (picture enclosed).
The enclosed instructions for my new powerpod are very confusing. Perhaps Velocomp should include a URL directing new users to the up to date instructions (or a list of instructions based on firmware revision).

I found the post above most helpful as I could "get from device" and confirm that I had succeeded or failed pairing the desired sensors.

I think the paper insert with my powerpod should simply direct me to the appropriate pair instructions online. Better yet, Isaac should open the appropriate instructions based on firmware version sensed. Verifying in Isaac that the desired sensors are paired should be part of the instructions.

Yeah, I realize that given the market size for powerpod, optimizing the pairing and setup experience may not be the best use of Velocomp developer time.

Now that my sensors are paired I'm off for a calibration ride!
Velocomp
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by Velocomp »

Thanks for your comments. We will see if we can improve the instructions.
John Hamann
funkiestj
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by funkiestj »

I have 2 HR chest straps (garmin ANT+). I misplaced the one I originally paired the powerpod with. To try and pair the second HR chest strap I connected the powerpod to isaac and edited the sensor ID for the HRM. I have no idea what the "type" is so I left it as it was (type 1).

Is this a reasonable procedure for changing the HR sensor PowerPod uses? How about the other sensors (hypothetically speaking). If I got a different ANT+ speed sensor, could I just edit the sensor ID in Isaac then "push to device"? My Garmin Edge 520 will tell me sensor IDs (but not device types).
Velocomp
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Re: Separate speed and cadence sensor pairing?

Post by Velocomp »

Certainly there is no harm in trying to modify the Wireless ID in Isaac. Make sure to click the "Send to Device" button!

The worst that will happen is that your HR signal is not recorded by your device.

If the profile editing does not work then do a new sensor pairing.
John Hamann
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