I have an IronMan Triathlon Timex watch. Basic model. No GPS etc.

Hard to find a model, but it _may_ be a T5F001 F5.

My problem is that when I put on the HRM sensor, it often fails to make contact properly. Sometimes it simply times out the watch's searching for it, and sometimes it shows the little heart but no rate. Or it will come saying 30 BPM, then 35, then 30 again.

This can take up to 5 minutes to do. My wife also has the same watch and it gives similar trouble. There seems to be no pattern to their behaviour.

On each ride it usually does get going, but a couple of times I have nearly finished! <G>

I have moistened the sensor, and adjusted the strap position, but as I say there seems to be no "secret"

Has anyone any ideas about how to improve this?

Thanks for any help

Nick

battery in the strap perhaps? as long as it's positioned correctly and the contact points are moistened I can't see why there would be a problem? 30-35bpm as I'm sure you're aware, is an obscenely low HR, so either it's wrong or you're some kind of elite athlete?

__________________
RF Winter Social @ Castle Combe - Only 2 days to go!!!
www.richardsimkiss.co.uk - 'Lady Godiva Half Marathon' Race Report Added 27/10/08

Thanks for coming back.

Yeah like I wish 30 BPM. We did have an Australian Rules football player here who had a resting HR of 40 BPM. But it was not me.

The strange thing is that once it's online, I cam move in and out of range (I was doing some work and had the watch on a bench), and it will pick up and restart almost instantly.

It seems ot be a "boot up" problem.

I will try a new battery. They come shipped with the battery in, so it could be flattish.\

Nick

Plonked in a new battery, and all is well (except my real heart rates )

Nick

Nope!

Next day and all days since, except one. IT has played aourld and taken 5-10 minutes to get going.

Not happy

Nick

Would it still be within warranty?

I remember years ago my old man ran with an ironman triathlon watch, he had it for a few years and then it packed in. Not being able to find anything he felt was as good he got in touch with ironman, explaining the situation and how much he loved the watch and how it suited his needs, low and behold they sent him a brand spanking new one!

I guess it's unlikely they'd do the same, but contacting the manufacturer certainly wouldn't be a bad idea.

__________________
RF Winter Social @ Castle Combe - Only 2 days to go!!!
www.richardsimkiss.co.uk - 'Lady Godiva Half Marathon' Race Report Added 27/10/08

Thanks for coming back.

It's well within warranty....one month?

I have two problems, though. I bought from the US, and most online stores will not sell overseas. I found one that did but that may be a trap. I emailed Times US and they offered to check the straps out. But of course they may get a bit antsy if I tell them what I did :-<....then there's the freight. it may be "you win some you lose some" for me. Overall I am ahead.

The other thing is that this seems so common that I am worried that even if I get them to agree, all that posting and waiting will be wasted.

I have heard of a guy in Australia who did what I did and Times Aust responded anyway. I have emailed them and am waiting for a reply.

It has occurred to me that the watch is as old as the strap; the watch battery may be low as well. These are not just a simple receiver, because they have to digitally link. It could weel be the linking that is the trouble, and not just transmission strength.

I will get a battery put in one watch and see what happens.

And this time (if I am lucky) I will wait a couple of days before reporting success! <G>

Nick

Hope it works for you this time Nick.

Thanks Dave.

I have read of so many guys unhappy about exactly this. But always the focus has been on the strap. I would like to think that Timex can do better than this, so if a watch battery solves it, it would be good for a lot of people.

We shall see.

Nick

Ok. An update. I had a new battery put in.

It's...better. I have now reliably "booted up" 4 times. It's still slow (2-3 minutes_, but it does not muck about stopping and starting and losing signals. Well it did once but that was my fault because I misplaced the sensor.

The watchmaker refused to pressure test the watch! He said that too many of the Polar and Timex HRM watches pop their glass when pressure tested! He actually rang his head office and they said that if they got a Timex, they would send it straight to Timex Australia, who would take 4-6 weeks and charge me maybe $60-70 (30 quid?).

The guy knew his watches and was willing to talk about them and to be honest. So I decided to trust him.

Nick