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Created page with " ==Garmin Heart Rate Monitoring== The Heart Rate Monitoring of Garmin watches is not as reliable as the Polar systems. The latest soft straps are better..."
==Garmin Heart Rate Monitoring==
The [[Heart Rate Monitor|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 [http://go.fellrnr.com?id=35454X937677&xs=1&xcust=BestWatchPolarStrap&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FPolar-WearLink-Replacement-Strap-XXX-Large%2Fdp%2FB000Q4RD3M Polar Replacement Strap]. The Garmin transmitter fits into the clips of the Polar strap, and you get a much better reading.
{| class="wikitable"
|- valign="top"
|[[File:Garmin and Polar HRM Tx.jpg|none|thumb|x300px|The Polar and Garmin Heart Rate Transmitters, showing the similarity in connectors.]]
|[[File:Garmin and Polar Straps.jpg|none|thumb|x300px|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.]]
|[[File:Garmin and Polar Straps Back.jpg|none|thumb|x300px|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.]
|}
=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 [http://go.fellrnr.com?id=35454X937677&xs=1&xcust=BestWatch&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FBuh-Bump-2-5-Ounce-Heart-Monitor-Electrode%2Fdp%2FB000HZD2NU electrode gel]. The Polar strap should not dry out, unlike the original Garmin strap. If you have the Garmin strap, 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, then a wire brush can fix the problem.
* A low battery can result in bad reception, and the watch does not always report a low battery condition properly.
* Interference from overhead power lines used to be a problem, but the modern systems have reduced this dramatically.