Just got a Garmin 945LTE, but I guess this question applies to any Garmin product capable of both.
Which one are you using for having your friends/family track you during an event? Or do you use both?
Does anyone know if its possible to load up a bike course map and run course map, all while doing both in a Triathlon activity profile?
I personally don’t take my phone with me in races at all (with exception a small ultra triathlon race that I’ve done - where I carry my phone on the bike so they can track me via find my friends (iPhone). It does look like the Garmin 945 CAN allow use of this feature without your phone - but only if you have an active subscription for LTE and a signal.
The Garmin support manual also states that Live Event Sharing is only on Android.
If it’s a big enough event with chip timing - most have athlete tracking for that purpose.
FYI - during training if I’m going solo and going to be out a while - I will often use the RoadID app. It lets you input a time of a ride, and if it detects you haven’t moved for a certain amount of time it sends a text to designated emergency contacts. I think some of the newest watches will detect any incidents and do the same if you set them up.
Just got a Garmin 945LTE, but I guess this question applies to any Garmin product capable of both.
Which one are you using for having your friends/family track you during an event? Or do you use both?
Does anyone know if its possible to load up a bike course map and run course map, all while doing both in a Triathlon activity profile?
As long as you have the LTE subscription from Garmin the Live Track option would be the easiest to use for family to track you. Live Track now includes the ability to show a course to viewers. I haven’t tried the feature and I could see it being a PITA for a tri course. I would say try loading a course and see what happens in multisport mode.
Yes I have the LTE sub and have been playing around with it. Was just messing with courses right now actually. If you start a Triathlon, you can quickly add a course by holding the up button and then selecting the course just like normal though navigation. then once you are on the run, or t2, you can stop the course, and add a new one for the run. It looks like it took 1-3 mins for the courses to pop up on the livetrack/ event tracking websites that are linked. then about the same when changing courses. maybe slightly longer when changing. i guess its a tiny bit of an inconvenience on race day but not really and way more convenient for any spectators who are in person trying to figure out where you are at based on the maps. i thought it was pretty slick really. and i figure i can handle the minor hassle if it makes it easier for my support crew on race day. figure we owe them that much!
Now the only issue will be the battery burn rate with LTE and courses going…
You mostly figured it out… LiveTrack is the tool. In fact, if you set it to automatic, you never have to think about it. Any time you start an outdoor activity with the 945 LTE, it can automatically start the LiveTrack and notify your contacts.
I have not experimented with courses on a tri. But it works great for a single event. Again, basically automatic on the LiveTrack side.
Unless you are doing back-to-back 140.6 races, the battery should be fine. The LTE drain is a hit, but not catastrophic.
Thanks. Think the battery would be fine even with a map going and LTE?
Yes I have the LTE sub and have been playing around with it. Was just messing with courses right now actually. If you start a Triathlon, you can quickly add a course by holding the up button and then selecting the course just like normal though navigation. then once you are on the run, or t2, you can stop the course, and add a new one for the run. It looks like it took 1-3 mins for the courses to pop up on the livetrack/ event tracking websites that are linked. then about the same when changing courses. maybe slightly longer when changing. i guess its a tiny bit of an inconvenience on race day but not really and way more convenient for any spectators who are in person trying to figure out where you are at based on the maps. i thought it was pretty slick really. and i figure i can handle the minor hassle if it makes it easier for my support crew on race day. figure we owe them that much!
Now the only issue will be the battery burn rate with LTE and courses going…
I’d try using a combined bike/run course and see what happens in MS mode. Much easier if you didn’t have to mess with it in transition. Might even be able to start course before swim and deal with a nag screen or two - or turn off if possible.
did not know that a combined course was an option. ill have to look into that. thanks!
Thanks. Think the battery would be fine even with a map going and LTE?
You won’t have a map going. Just the watch and the LTE updates. I believe there is a power saving LTE option where it can be set to update every 5 minutes vs. 1 minute. The major drain on these units is anything involving transmission/reception like BTLE in the past and probably even more so for LTE.
dont you have to have the map going so the ‘course’ shows up when the recipient clicks on the link? otherwise they will just see where you are at on a map with no reference to the actual course right?
did not know that a combined course was an option. ill have to look into that. thanks!
You should be able to load any course you want. I would guess the LT info is based on what the device sends out for activity type. The question is would that update when flipping MS activities? I’ve never played with it as racing with a phone wasn’t an option. Now with LTE there may be a lot of new options to try out!
dont you have to have the map going so the ‘course’ shows up when the recipient clicks on the link? otherwise they will just see where you are at on a map with no reference to the actual course right?
You could be right. Maybe the map shows up no matter what when navigating the course. I was thinking just turn off that data screen, but maybe that isn’t an option when navigating. I was also assuming that Garmin was handling the mapping/course info on the web end rather than trying to transmit this data as this would add a lot of LTE overhead.
ya i have a lot of those questions too. ill do some experimenting this week and report back with any findings.
I have not tested it with everything all-in, but my guesstimate is around 15 - 20 hours with mapping, all the Ant+ features, and LiveTrack.
What distance are you doing? half no problem, full no chance. At best you’re going to get 10 hours with Livetrack running over LTE. I throw by watch on a charger in storage during the bike and keep recording and broadcasting my Livetrack. I use my head unit for data visibility. Then pop it back on my wrist during the run.