Re: GPS and Heart Rate Monitor for Training and Race

The way to open the 305 (don't do it, it invalidates your warranty) is to pull the wrist straps toward eachother thereby bending the unit. The cover then separates from the backplate at the bottom of the unit.

If you overtighten the straps you exert this same force which might allow water to leak into the unit through the gap created at the bottom. I hear that the newer units do not have this problem..

My advice is not to tighten the straps excessively and to keep the unit out the water where possible. Splashes are fine but don't swim with it.

Thanks Alain but I have the 305 edge which is the bike model as I thought the screen was slightly bigger so no straps to over tighten. It too is supposedly water proof to the same specs! Thanks, Barry

I'm thinking about getting a Forerunner 305, but have had mixed results with the old 201. I like the unit when it is working, but have had to send it back to Garmin at least three times--I can only assume the problems are generated by exposure to water.

Do you use the 305 with a drybag of some kind or just mount it on its own?

I'd hate to buy it and have to keep sending it back to be repaired or replaced. The 201 almost always seems to fail when I'm gearing up the training for a big race. It just failed again and the race I'm training for is three weeks out...

Thanks for any opinions...

I'm thinking about getting a Forerunner 305, but have had mixed results with the old 201. I like the unit when it is working, but have had to send it back to Garmin at least three times--I can only assume the problems are generated by exposure to water.

Do you use the 305 with a drybag of some kind or just mount it on its own?

I recently spoke with a Garmin technician about this issue, and he advised putting the unit in a zip-lock bag or wrapping in plastic wrap. I find that stretching plastic wrap (such as Saran wrap) over the screen and pulling it tightly around the back of the unit does the trick. Don't worry about not having a perfect seal where the wrist straps connect to the unit...the unit is vulnerable to hard splashes that might penetrate the seals in the unit, not to having moisture around the unit per se. -Hope that helps.

I'm having other difficulties at the moment...my 305 stopped receiving satellite signals, and when I tried to reinstall using Garmin's WebUpdater for Mac, it erased my GPS chipset but did not reinstall a clean version....now I have a GPS that with no GPS chipset...worthless, as one cannot even set the date manually, so software will not transfer workout data because it doesn't recognize a date with which to label the data. I tried installing the exe. chipset file using a friends PC, but that also failed. Garmin is currently doing some work on its website, so perhaps they will fix the WebUpdater interface, but if not, I'll have to return the unit for service (a two-week interruption in use).

I thought I saw that Polar recently, or will soon, release a GPS heart rate monitor...if that's true, it may be worth waiting for, as Polar makes very good HRMs.

I thought I saw that Polar recently, or will soon, release a GPS heart rate monitor...if that's true, it may be worth waiting for, as Polar makes very good HRMs.

Yep, Polar do have a unit that incorporates a GPS: the RS800G.

www.polar.fi/polar/channels/eng/segments...tisport/RS800G3.html

I know nothing about the unit however! Anyone else seen one of these?

Well, I may be trying a Polar unit soon. The functionality of the Polar for training is unmatched...Garmin isn't even in the running...but I'll have to find out how well they support the Mac OS. I'll report back if I get one.

Garmin has proved to have a customer-no-service department when it comes to the Mac OS...I have to ship the unit back to Olathe Kansas, and will be without it for about two weeks, just to correct the problem caused by their own web-based software updater....pretty lame.

Serves you right for tying yourself to Mac! - Stuart

I used a 2" (5cm) piece of 'swim noodle' and a chunk of nylon cord to secure mine. The foam gives it at least a small chance to float, especially if you are securing to a bungee.