Fixing Heart Rate Monitor Problems

The Heart Rate Monitoring of Garmin watches is not as reliable as the Polar systems. The latest soft straps are better than earlier generations, but they can still be problematic. A worthwhile upgrade is to purchase a Polar Wearlink+ Replacement Strap. The Garmin transmitter fits into the clips of the Polar strap, and you get a much better reading. There are two versions of the Polar strap, the Wearlink and the Wearlink+, though the names are not used consistently. The Wearlink is slightly more comfortable and has cloth electrodes that you can dampen, but the Wearlink+ is slightly more reliable.

• Heart Rate Monitor Straps
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  The Polar and Garmin Heart Rate Transmitters, showing the similarity in connectors.

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  The Polar and Garmin straps, along with the Garmin transmitter. The older Garmin strap has the connectors on the end, and is even worse than the latest Garmin strap.

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  The back of the various straps. You can see the Polar has absorbent electrodes that work remarkably well, where the Garmin straps use a hard plastic electrode. The Polar strap is also more comfortable than either of the Garmin straps.

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  The Wearlink+ Polar strap has plastic surrounding the attachment clip that stops the Garmin transmitter clicking in place fully. Simply trim off the extra plastic with scissors and the Garmin will connect solidly. This picture shows the excess partly removed.

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  At the top you can see the newer Wearlink+ and the older Wearlink on the bottom. The Wearlink has pads that are absorbent so you don’t have a problem with them drying out, but the Wearlink+ seems to be slightly more reliable.

Fixing other problems

There are a number of problems you can still get with the Garmin Heart Rate Monitoring

• Make sure you dampen the strap, the electrodes and the contacts between the strap and the transmitter. Just water should work fine, though you can buy electrode gel. The Polar Wearlink strap should not dry out, unlike most others. (You can always apply a little spit to wet it while on the run.)
• Unlike the Polar system, the contacts on the transmitter tend to rust, so it's important to disconnect the transmitter from the strap after each use. You can see a little of the rust in the picture above.
• If you do get rust on the transmitter connecters, then a wire brush can fix the problem. I used these small brushes that worked well for me.
• Over time the Wearlink+ strap can get stiff and cut into your chest. I’ve not found a way of re-softening the strap, so it’s time for a replacement if this happens.
• A low battery can result in bad reception, and the watch does not always report a low battery condition properly.
• The straps can be damaged by washing and require careful hand washing, not machine washing. If you damage a strap, it needs replacement.
• Interference from overhead power lines used to be a problem, but the modern systems have reduced this dramatically.
• All of the soft straps require periodic replacement, so you may need a new one.