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Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question

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raymondrcruz

May 5, 11 19:28

Post #26 of 34 (2442 views)

Re: Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question [jmickle11] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

yes, it's a footpod issue tied to the FR305, on the link I sent above, one of the comment is:

Regarding Question 5

Reviewed by: Donovan Watts, Dec 29 2010 6:03AM
Just a quick comment regarding question # 5 with respect to the cadence being cut in half. I spent about fourth months trying to resolve this with Garmin tehcnical support. We tried changing batteries, new foot pods, and a new garmin. In the end it was found that the latest software revision on the Garmin 305 did not work correctly with the foot pod.

I will try to load an older firmware(2.8) and see if it will fix it. I hope Garmin releases a new firmware to fix the problem.

raymondrcruz

May 6, 11 6:13

Post #27 of 34 (2405 views)

Re: Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question [raymondrcruz] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

switched to v.2.8 and the problem fixed.

Here's the graph on v.2.9 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83166144 (cadence range 40 to 100)
and the graph on v.2.8 http://connect.garmin.com/activity/83787271 (cadence range 90 to 94)

will be staying on v.2.8 until Garmin releases a new firmware to fix the problem. I hope they release a new one coz their last release was April 22, 2009 as indicated in this site http://www8.garmin.com/..._details.jsp?id=1422

jpbari

May 6, 11 6:57

Post #28 of 34 (2394 views)

Re: Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question [raymondrcruz] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

I had the same issue (I am JP - my email was in the DCRainmaker post), and was forced to regress to firmware 2.8 as well. Seems as if this is not something they are likely to address anytime soon, either (which is unfortunate.)

Here is the download link I was provided to get the appropriate firmware:

http://www.gawisp.com/perry/forerunner/Forerunner305_280.exe

Still have issues with it not keeping a steady cadence number, but no-where near the problems I had before.

JP

(This post was edited by jpbari on May 6, 11 6:58)

raymondrcruz

May 6, 11 13:52

Post #29 of 34 (2360 views)

Re: Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question [jpbari] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Thanks for reply and the link JP. Who provided you with the link? Garmin Support?

This is where I got mine:

http://www.tramsoft.ch/...are-upgrades_en.html

jpbari

May 6, 11 18:12

Post #30 of 34 (2340 views)

Re: Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question [raymondrcruz] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

It took me a while, but I got Garmin Support to let me try it. They must have buggered up the footpod support with some of the other "fixes" they put in ver 2.9

I borrowed a 310XT during my troubleshooting and it gave me a beautiful, flawless cadence track.

My guess is that most 305 users are budget conscious and not the typical footpod purchasers.

That combined with the age of the FR 305 must put it at the the bottom of the heap for manpower time at the Garmin tech center. I hope I am wrong and we see a real fix sometime soon.

2wheels

May 7, 11 7:50

Post #31 of 34 (2321 views)

Re: Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question [jpbari] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Thanks for the report, I had fought this issue for quite some time and finally gave up. At one point I even got a different foot pod. Good to know what the actual problem really was.

Ohio Triple T Trainer videos
http://www.biomobility.com

jpbari

May 7, 11 17:41

Post #32 of 34 (2300 views)

Re: Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question [2wheels] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

This was the sequence I had to follow before they provided the older firmware:

1. new battery in footpod - no help
2. footpod on borrowed FR305 - no help
3. Garmin sent replacement footpod - no help
4. new battery in replacement footpod - no help
5. gave footpod to another runner who used it with his FR 310XT - worked fine
6. gave my FR 305 to same runner who used it with my footpod - experienced same issue as I had
7. borrowed 310XT - worked fine
8. Garmin sent warranty FR305 - no help
9. Garmin suggested turning "auto-pause" on and see if it made a difference - no help (but I think it is associated with the firmware change they made)
10. Downloaded firmware update and problem is mostly solved. I still see weird drops now and then during a run, but not even close to the problem I had before.

Throughout I was trying it indoors on a track, outdoors, slow pace, fast pace, either foot. At one point, they asked me if I should consider changing my running form to try and get the footpod to work better. I would upload them to Garmin's site and have them review them when I was on the phone.

Burnt Toast

Jul 19, 11 14:49

Post #33 of 34 (2165 views)

Re: Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question [jmickle11] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

jmickle11 wrote:

It seems like most of the footpod issues are tied to the 305...I've got the fr60 and it's dead on. I've run 5K, 10K, and 15K races as well as runs ranging from 6 to 20 miles training at various paces and it's rarely been off.

I have an FR60 with foot pod and it seemed really accurate after I calibrated it a couple times. I have raced a 7k and two 5k's with it that were several months apart. The 7k seemed to calculate the distance and pace pretty well and the unit was only about two months old, but the 5k's were recording long. One was 3.21 miles and the other was 3.35 miles. Both were certified courses.

Shortly after the second 5k, I started to get a "low battery in foot pod" warning screen so I changed it. I am thinking that a weak battery may have had something to do with the inaccuracy while running fast (for me anyway) with a much quicker cadence then my normal easy runs.

runneraaron

Feb 4, 12 7:40

Post #34 of 34 (1439 views)

Re: Garmin Foot Pod Accuracy Question [Burnt Toast] [In reply to]	Quote \| Reply

Thanks so much for posting information about this issue. I upgraded to the FR305 from the 205 because I wanted to use the foot pod but ended up returning it because of the erroneous foot pod data. I am thinking that I will give it another shot using firmware version 2.8.

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