I have the old Garmin hard strap and the newer premium soft strap. If you wet the strap before you put it on, then it starts transmitting right away. Make sure to change the batteries every year. I also have the Viiiva strap and the comfort was great, but the battery didn't last long. Just found out you need to dry the strap after use or it will keep transmitting. I did find that if try to adjust the strap in the front while using it, it sometimes unclips.

I have found the Scosche to be rock solid in terms of dependability. There is a bit of time lag though. It seems to be doing 5 second averaging (approximately). I would imagine that this has to do with the nature of the measuring technology. Not an issue though. You don't get spikes or drop outs and it works well. I wear it on the wrist, next to my Suunto. Comfortable.

I used Polar wear link straps in the lab for hundreds of VO2 max tests. Never had a single issue with them. No drop outs, HR spikes or strange readings at all. Solid.

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Simplify, Train, Live

+1. Run the electrode side of the strap under some water and it should start to transmit right away.

Also, not sure if this relates to the OP's problem of just getting it to start transmitting, but on my Garmin soft strap HRM, it would seem to constantly drop out. To fix this, I used a solution found on DCRainmaker's page: Buy just the Polar HR soft strap, not the actual unit, and clip the Garmin unit onto the Polar strap. I haven't had a single drop-out since making this change. The problem just seemed to be with the actual Garmin strap.

+1

I've gone through several straps, but the head unit is fine (replace batteries yearly, as someone else pointed out).

Later!

Brian

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Swim. Bike. Run. Repeat as necessary.
Welcome to the Church of Briantriology!

Wash / scrub it in soap and water. The strap will get layers of grime that includes sodium and everything else that your body releases....... this for sure will interfere with the conductivity of the strap.

there's a good chance the little snaps on your strap (assuming you have the soft version) are corroded after a year or two. Home Depot/Lowes... ...etc. usually sell conductive grease that may help

something like this (I don't recall the exact brand I have)

http://www.amazon.com/Permatex-22058-Dielectric-Tune-Up-Grease/dp/B000AL8VD2/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1425402502&sr=8-3&keywords=conductive+grease


has kept my dedicated trainer strap going for a looooooooooooooooooong time

please note that in the original post I indicated this is not the soft strap that I am having issues with. To add to that I have had the strap for a few years and am aware to check the battery when not functioning 100% so on this front that is not the issue since I have replaced the battery to no avail, I always wet the back of the "hard" strap and it might pick up for a few seconds but in the low humidity situation of the northern winter it is not going to start transmitting until I actually start to sweat it seems. I am curious if the Viiiiva is better to get initial HR pick up or if the optical unit is the solution to this sort of problem. I like the idea that they transmit in both Ant+ and bluetooth seems a good thing going forward.
thx

I use polar wear link strap with the garmin pod on it..

Better reliability and comfort than the garmin softstrap..

After a year or more they loose a little elasticity, which means you run them tighter, which means the expand less in unison with your chest and can then rub..

So chuck em out and get a new strap but keep the pod.. they go for 20 bucks a go or so these days.. so cheap really.. (750hrs a year.. )