Ti mex GPS spd &dst monitor

Treadmill

15/05/2003 at 22:37

A fellow runner and I have got this gizzmo which has 'lost contact' at exactly the same place on 3 occasions. I wonder if mobile phone transmitter masts might have anything to do with this.
Anyone any thoughts????
DCD

Cornish Ironman

15/05/2003 at 22:43

Quite possibly - could be corrupting the signal from the satellite.
Large buildings could have the same effect, but as the system looks at 3 satellites simultaneously,(I think) you would have to be seriously "boxed in"
Paul

Barnsley Runner

15/05/2003 at 23:14

Yeah, I think you need to run faster through this place instead of plodding around waiting for people to catch up.

ed_m

16/05/2003 at 09:17

you must have contact with 3 satellites or more.. and even then 3 satellites is the least accurate scenario.. 5 is better i think.

or this is my understanding... i could go into details if you care that much.

Livers

16/05/2003 at 17:54

Of course!

I'd be worried if one worked and the other didn't.

I lose signal on most of my runs, at some point or other, due to treecover or even lots of tall buildings, even really heavy rain!!!

The good news is once the signal comes back the distance is added in a straight line.....

Try not to worry about it.

My biggest gripe is the fact we can't get speed+distance+HRM in a single watch...

I generally measure a run with the GPS once then use my polar hrm for subsequent runs.... seems kind of daft to have 2 watches for one event!

Paul Thomas

17/05/2003 at 13:34

I'm qite interested in this device. Like most runners I'm keen to know exactly how far I've run etc. I think I read last week that the cheapest 'place' to buy one is on the net from the USA, having never done such a thing b4 I'm a little concerned about hidden problems I can't forsee in carrying out the transaction - are there any I need to consider? If not what site is recommended? And what battery charger should I go for (from Amazon?). Is a cheap one worth bothering with?
Thanks for any advice on this.

Livers

17/05/2003 at 16:52

I got mine from www.totalfitness-uk.com. They're really reliable and based in Nottingham. They are Triathlon specialists so running gear is not a problem.

Not sure what they're currently pricing at but should be ~£180 - £200 depending on which one you get.

I have the 50 lap, the 100 lap gives you a beep every mile and can set a pace with beeps if you drop out of the pace?

Highly recommend it - especially if you do lots of different runs and want to measure your performance....

RunningCommentary

17/05/2003 at 19:04

Paul - Do a search for "joetimex", and you can get the 100 lap version for less than £100. With postage it's about £107. I don't know of anyone who's had problems getting one sent from the US. It took about 4 or 5 days for me, and that was ordinary postage.

Andy

Treadmill

17/05/2003 at 20:54

Paul, you're not going to save much getting a charger etc from Amazon. I bought a charger and 6 metal/hydride rechargeables for under a tenner. They last around 7 to 8 hours. The met/hyd batts don't have a 'memory' so you don't have to wait until they are fully discharged before recharging.
DCD

Barnsley Runner

18/05/2003 at 00:04

I would go with a reputable British company. I've got hell on trying to get my money back for a crap Nike SDM, so I bought a Times GPS from Total Fitness having researched their customer service.

Buy it from America and what do you do if it breaks down??

Treadmill

18/05/2003 at 09:04

Send it back BH!! Timex said they would refund postage when I e-mailed them about this. And if you send it back within a week you don't even put stamps on it. Of course that doesn't help if it cracks up 6 months down the line.

So there's obviously two lines of thought on this one. If you have had a bad experience you're going to be wary of buying on-line, let alone from somewhere abroad like the USA. I have bought abroad many times and so far so good. But I can understand those of you who'll say "There's always a first time."
Timex itself is reputable, (we hope), and should honour it own guarantee, even if at first it refers you to the retailer,

andy townsend

19/05/2003 at 08:01

I agree, the unit has an international warranty so I don't see it as a problem ...having bought it from US.

Dubai Dave pirate

pirate

19/05/2003 at 09:20

Solution is to go to USA on holiday and buy fitsense distance / speed / Heart rate all in one unit. I have used one for about a year now, distance accuracy is within 0.5% and you get your heart rate as well. The shame is that they will only deliver to a USA or Canada address as not approved for EC use.

Alex Popplewell

19/05/2003 at 09:25

my brother in law pointed me to a solution for the 'won't deliver outside us and canada' thing,i have no experience of this,but try www.myus.com,if its just a delivery thing-not so sure about the not approved business-does that mean causing ambulances to get lost or aeroplanes to start falling out of the sky,or just that the TA can't get a line?

Mark P

19/05/2003 at 09:35

Just to let you know I purchased my watch from JoeTimex (EBay) and it suddenly died within a few months of receiving it. As per the warranty card I sent it to UK Time Ltd who duly replaced the watch with no fuss whatsoever.

'Mac'

19/05/2003 at 09:48

Hi guys, I don't know if you know but regardless of where you buy it from there are 2 options of HRM + SDM combined.
Ciclosport CP41 HRM + the ciclosport RDS SDM. This retails at about £240 for the two and uses "doppler radar" to read speed/pace & distance as well as being a good HRM. Its out now.
The other is the Timex "Bodylink" system which is the same kind of thing except it uses the same GPS system as the current model but also has a HRM and a "data link" which can download data to your pc for graphs etc. This will retail at about the same (maybee a little more) and is out in June so not long to wait. It hardly seems worth buying a GPS only unit does it ? (unless its half price and you dont want/need a HRM) Both units will I suppose have their pros & cons (i.e the Timex GPS can lose its signal and the Ciclosport RDS (Radar Distance Speed) can be affected by excess body movement and uneven terrain. Theres no such thing as a perfect system (yet) but both of these are good systems and which one you bought (if any) would I suppose depend on your personnal priorities (i.e the Timex is better for uneven terrian or people who "bounce" a lot when running and the Ciclosport would be better for people who run in heavily built up areas or areas with high rise buildings or subways etc.
Anyway hope this helps (if you already knew this sorry!!!)

Mac.

ed_m

19/05/2003 at 10:56

at swindon duathlon last weekend one of the sponsors.. oregon scientific were showing there range.. including a watches, hrm.. plus a new unit with a garmin gps arm strap.

http://www.oregonscientific.co.uk/

Shambler

19/05/2003 at 11:09

Livers - I'ms sure I've read somewhere that there is now (coming this Summer) a time/distance/hr thingy!

I'll rack my brains and post here when I remember where I've seen this...

Also - I lose contact with my Timex thingy on most of my runs - always in the same places. It's the trees!

Sorry-Not-T-Be-More-Helpful Shamber!

'Mac'

19/05/2003 at 12:05

Looked on the oregon scientific site. there is a GPS watch but no specs on it and no mention of a HRM / GPS combo ?

Mac.

ed_m

19/05/2003 at 12:55

bizarre eh mac.. must be very new.
it's in their paper catalogue i picked up.

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