mrfreezesdefy3

Wife bought me the varia RDU +RTL 500 rear view radar Taillight combo ,every thing seems ok it's paired and battery Is full but it won't talk to the head unit when cars pass ,from behind like it's supposed to .of course can't call tech support till mon any ideas??

JohnJ80

Any car or just some cars? If there is no speed differential between you (bike) and the car, it won't show the car there unless the speed differential is significant.

J.

mrfreezesdefy3

Any physical substance behind me as long as it's not going the same pace as my bike
BUT!!! AFTER AN INAUGURAL RUN its on its way back to garmin to be reimbursed, it's wouldn't pick up squat rolled 17 miles 900 plus ft of gain 37 vehicles n 2 big rigs waited until mon n called garmin and they said it had come out with new software update since the wife purchased it on Dec 10th , I said **********
They said that it's like a new phone or app continual updates ,
As a maint\electrical tech , it oughta work outa the box n for 299.00 I wasn't impressed with that answer so I bought me a new 150 lumen surfas light n that joker is BRIGHT .. , no joke ....will use the left over to buy some new seat covers for my new Ford f150 4x4 I'm happy , just a little disappointed , they told me it's made to tie in with the new garmin 1000 n not that little head unit , just don't think that there there yet with that item , I found myself looking at it more than the rd ..I just want a bright!!! Light to catch the drivers eye other than their phone while driving . N enjoy the ride

JohnJ80

Mine is awesome and works super well. Sorry to hear yours didn't work.

J.

RcktMan77

This thread on Garmin's forums is somewhat relevant. The question was originally raised in conjunction with operating the Varia radar with an Edge 1000; however, the culprit ended up being the radar itself requiring a firmware update. The symptoms you describe are very similar.

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.7508...7i13312!8i6656

Jarrett2

I've been really enjoying mine as well.

Only two false positives so far when people have sprinted up from behind on bikes, but otherwise its been working great.

Seattle Forrest

Can the 520 be used as a display?

I'd like the radar system, but I have an 800. Works great for me, but I have $200 in store credit from Performance Bike and I'm toying with the idea of upgrading. I could get the radar bundle with the display unit, but it's an extra thing I need to keep on the front of my bike and I'd prefer not to.

JohnJ80

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/into...rod518151.html

Seattle Forrest

Thanks. The last time I checked it only said "compatible Edge devices" but did not list which ones were compatible.

JohnJ80

Yep. New product, documentation a work in progress.

j.

Seattle Forrest

How does an Edge work as a display? Is what the radar sees always visible when you ride, or do you have to go to a particular screen for it? How easy is it to see at a glance? Has anybody compared this against the display unit bundle?

JohnJ80

When there is nothing behind you, there is no difference in the display. When a vehicle approaches, the sides of the screen turn red or orange with a tiny LED sized dot that moves up the side of the display. When the vehicle is past you then the side bars turn green and disappear. There is a dot for each vehicle behind you that the radar can see. It cannot see a vehicle that is hidden behind another vehicle, for instance.

When the display transitions from no threat to a vehicle approaching, the Edge unit will beep.

Think of the display as an overlay over whatever screen is below it.

It is very easy to see at a glance and you are cued to look by the beep.

As long as the threat is behind you, it is visible on the screen.

If there is no speed differential between you and the vehicle, there is no display shown.

I'd say the display is very intuitive.

J.

Seattle Forrest

Thanks for sharing your experiences, John.

Do you or does anyone else have any thoughts between the display unit bundle for Varia and an Edge 520 as a display device? I have a couple of gift cards at two different stores that both sell this stuff, and in the end it will either cost $100 out of pocket to get the Varia bundle, or $120 out of pocket to upgrade from my 800 to a 520. I don't actually care about any of the new features in the 520 and it would be a step back in terms of maps, but it would be one less device to charge and one less to hang off my bike. Is there anything about the display itself I should take into account when I decide?

JohnJ80

I bought it explicitly to use with my Edge 1000. I don't want yet another device on the bike. I've been happy with the display and I think it works well. THe only nits that I have agains it are that I would like the transparency of the Varia overlay to be adjustable and that I would like the cheesy beeper that Garmin uses to be better. I don't think any of that is better in the external display and it's yet another device to fool with.

I haven't used a 520, but I think it would be just fine as a Varia display.

My final nit with the Varia is the mount. The right angle mount is the mount I would prefer but I found that it brings the display too close in and it tends to slightly conflict (touch) my thigh. I used the aero mount that pushes the varia farther aft and that worked well. In v2.0, I'd like to see the display be more vertical (I don't find the horizontal bar to be necessary) or the mounts to be with more aft displacement.

Overall, I like it a lot and think it adds a lot to my situational awareness especially when on high speed roads.

J.

Jhandmm

Is that the rear light that shows approaching cars from the back

Jhandmm

I have a Varia, but I think you need the Garman 1000 to get the display on your computer. You can buy another unit to display the approaching traffic, but there is only so much space on the handle bars. It works well to signal cars approaching from the rear. It doesn't usually indicate other bikers approaching from the rear

Jhandmm

yes it has radar. The light flashes to warn approaching cars a biker is ahead. You see a dot appear at the bottom right of your computer screen. It doesn't matter what screen your computer is on it appears on the right edge and moves toward the top as the car approaches. Someone said the computer also beeps when a car approaches, but I have never heard mine beep

JohnJ80

Read the manual. Page 3.

https://static.garmin.com/pumac/Varia...M_EN.pdf#page7