Heart rate monitor
 

I have an OMRON heart monitor that was purchased about a year ago but never used. I got it out today and it does not work. So far I have tried changing the battery and cleaning the contacts with an eraser. Any suggestions? Has anyone had problems with this unit? Does anyone have a heart monitor that works that they can recommend? Thanks, Jerry

have you put a bit of water on the contact patches on the chest belt?

What battery did you change?

My cheap HRM has two batteries ... one in the "watch" which can be changed fairly easily, and one in the strap which cannot be changed. When the strap battery wore out, that was that. The HRM is useless.

Apparently more expensive, better quality HRMs allow a person to change the battery in the strap too.

I have a Sports Instruments Pro 7 and the battery in the chest strap is a breeze to change. The battery in the wrist unit is a pain in the butt to change. The company recommends you send the unit to them to change the battery. I've actually changed it once myself but it isn't easy. I won't buy one of these again.

I've got the Omhron working. I was doing two things wrong. First, I was using moisture (saliva) as a contact medium. Just a tiny dab of aloe vera did a much better job. Second, the thing won't work at all until the contact medium has time to dry which make the contact very solid, cementing it in place. It takes about 15 to 20 minutes before the unit finally kicks it. However, once it is going it works fine the entire day. I changed the transmitter battery. It was no problem. Training with the heart monitor is a revelation. Right now I am able to peddle on the trainer for 20 minutes at 75% max heart rate. It is one hell of a workout. Much harder than the open road. Jerry

Just finished changing the batteries and what a hassle. I could barely see the damned screws they're so small. And, because they are so small I could barely pick them up. As I said, just a hassle. Works nicely once you've got it together so once a yr. you will be pissed. :)

Mine was just a regular drop in circular battery. Open the case with a coin. Totally convenient. The model is Omron HR-100C. Based on a couple of days usage, I think it is a good unit. Jerry

So, I used my HRM for a spin class last night. I set the max. heart rate at 160. I'm pretty sure my actual HR is higher than that but the 220 minus age formula puts me at 157 so I rounded up. Anyway, every time I started working really hard the damned HRM zeroed out. I'm wondering if it does that when you go past your max. Better re-read the manual.

it could be moving / slipping

220 minus age is worthless. Determine your heart rate zones with a field test.