A Snow and ski forum. SkiBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » SkiBanter forum » Skiing Newsgroups » Nordic Skiing
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

GPS for training



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #11  
Old September 19th 04, 08:45 PM
Rick Mitchell
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I purchased a Timex "Bodylink" at the beginning of the summer and have been
using it regularly. It includes a watch, chest HR transmitter, and a small
gps device that Timex refers to as a "speed/distance sensor". The gps
device is approximately 3" x 3" x 1.5" and I would guess that it weighs
about 4 ounces. The gps device can be worn with an elastic strap around the
upper arm or can be clipped on to a belt or fanny pack.



Since, shortly after I purchased the unit, I suffered an ankle/tendonitis
injury, I haven't run with the device. I do use it extensively on my bike.
I clip the gps device to the saddlebag and strap the watch on to the
handlebar where I can easily view it. I've rollerskied with it attached to
my water bottle waist belt. I've even measured some of my favorite open
water lake swims, by putting the gps device in a small waterproof pouch and
attaching it to the HR monitor strap on my back. (The gps device is
water-resistant but not waterproof.)



Here's some pro's and con's of the system



Positives



You only have to wear one watch which can display time/heart rate/speed &
distance info. Its very easy to toggle through the display options. The
watch can display three different readings at once: (i.e., elapsed
time/HR/distance or lap time/HR/pace or elapsed time/HR/speed, etc. - there'
s a ton of different options)



The watch is easy to read and to use. The various toggle buttons actually
make sense! (This hasn't always been true for Timex watches in the past.)



The heart rate monitor works really well right from the moment you put on
the chest transmitter. (I've had problems with Polar HR monitors in the
past not giving accurate readings until about 10 or 20 minutes into an
activity.)



The distance readings are dead-on accurate!



The gps device works on two small AA batteries. The watch will tell you
when the batteries are getting low.



Negatives



It only records one workout at a time. At the end of a workout, you have to
write down or enter the information somewhere (it does have a download
feature which I didn't purchase), because when you restart the stopwatch it
will erase all previous data. You can, of course, record multiple laps of
one workout.



Only the average & current heart rates are recorded. It doesn't record Max
HR. It will tell you how much time you spent in a certain HR zone, average
HR per lap, etc.



You need a relatively open sky above you. It starts to lose its signal in
heavy tree cover. The watch does have a "speed and distance smoothing"
option which, I assume, averages out the rate & distance of travel if
satellite signals are missed.



All in all, I've been really pleased with it. Can't wait to use it on the
snow!



Rick Mitchell







"J999w" wrote in message
...
I believe this has been covered before, but just a quick note saying that

I've
been using my GPS as a hiking odometer and I like it. I can go off trail,

up
and down steep hills taking whatever sized step suits the terrain and not

worry
about it throwing my distance off. Can also be used biking, skiing,

blading,
paddling, etc. I put it in a fanny pack and forget about it, works great.

Can also be used for Geocache hunting! (why I have it in the first place).

That's all.

jw
milwaukee




Ads
  #12  
Old September 24th 04, 08:37 PM
Nathan Schultz
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

All you US GPS'ers out there should check out endlesspursuit.com and
topofusion.com. Pretty incredible stuff - calculates everything you could
possibly be interested even average power output, total calories burned, and
you can get some mind-blowing maps. Endlesspursuit is focused more on
athletic accomplishments, while topofusion is a little more map-oriented
with some incredible 3-d features that I used for mapping some trails that
we built this summer.

I wore my GPS in a few races this year and posted them on the web site.
Check out the Owl Creek Chase from Snowmass to Aspen:

Go to www.endlesspursuit.com
Select "Community", then "Search for a trek".
enter Owl Creek Chase in the text field, "natrons" in the author field.
Once you get there, click on analysis and you can see all the info they
calculate.

1450 calories in 1:10. No wonder I'm hungry all the time.

-Nathan


"Terje Mathisen" wrote in message
...
Marsh Jones wrote:
I'm still curious about the update period for the barometric units. I
wonder if they can be accurate enough to handle the short, quick
transitions at somewhere like the Birkie at ski speeds. Hiking, they
certainly should. In any case, they are all cool toys. I'm still not
sure I'll take it to the BWCA next week, though.


The barometer is used together with the GPS signals to compute a new 3D
position every second, but as you note, it is possible that a very
short/quick dump might be skipped entirely.

At the same time as the barometer is used for short-term altitude
differences, the GPS altitude is used to calibrate the barometer, with a
time constant of about 3 hours.

Terje

--
-
"almost all programming can be viewed as an exercise in caching"



 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump


All times are GMT. The time now is 09:28 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 SkiBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.