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Garmin 205 Owners (Read 1104 times)

    I was thinking about getting one of the above to track my trail milage. My question is ,does it work in the tree covered woods. I know the satellite radio in the car cuts in and out driving around town. Someone told me that the trees over the road are the cause. So I'm wondering if I should shell out the cash for something that might not work. Thanks Mark
    Mark, I've only used mine on the trails one time so far but it worked great. I was set on buying the 201 but after talking to a rep at Garmin, he really recommended the 205 as it's so much more sensitive and does better at picking up a signal. The whole reason I got it was for the trails because once the weather warms up, that's where I'll probably be most of the time. I'm elated that I can relax and run anywhere I want and still know my distance and pace!
      To give you an example of my experiences with the Garmin in the city, here's a portion of the unedited track from my 2006 Chicago Marathon. You can see that the track does get a bit fuzzy in places downtown, but overall isn't terrible. Also, this was before the updates mentioned in my last post were released -- I think the track would be even cleaner now (not that I'm volunteering to test it by running the full 26.2 anytime soon Wink).

      How To Run a Marathon: Step 1 - start running. There is no Step 2.

        I found that the 11/06 chipset update and the 12/06 unit software update both helped tremendously with accuracy issues. Install these ASAP if you don't already have them.
        I upgraded the unit software when I realized there was a newer version (it came with 2.40 and 2.50 was available) but how do I know what chipset sw it is running?

        Runners run

          oops, double post. nevermind.

          Runners run


          Prophet!

            i'm wondering if Garmin would ever include a second receiver to serve as a 'base' receiver, something you can put at the start of the run, in your house, in the car, whatever...that would improve the accuracy a whole lot i would think. I've done some 'differential GPS' surveys and accuracy greatly improved over static GPS surveys.
            Scout7


              Hey, anyone seen the footpod Garmin is coming out with, too?
                Hey, anyone seen the footpod Garmin is coming out with, too?
                Yes!!! Only compatible with the 305 though! Tongue
                  I upgraded the unit software when I realized there was a newer version (it came with 2.40 and 2.50 was available) but how do I know what chipset sw it is running?
                  Settings > General > About Forerunner The screen will show the software version (unit software) and the chipset version (GPS). The most current chipset version is 2.90.

                  How To Run a Marathon: Step 1 - start running. There is no Step 2.


                  You'll ruin your knees!

                    Hey, anyone seen the footpod Garmin is coming out with, too?
                    The footpod isn't likely to help with tracking, it is designed to use indoors on a treadmill! I thought this was a bit of a stretch for Garmin...now you can take your Garmin GPS INDOORS! I think that is pretty funny! Modified to add this from Garmin: New! Train indoors and still track your distance, pace and calories burned with the optional Foot Pod accessory. This wireless sensor attaches to your running shoe and transmits distance and pace data to your Forerunner 305 for those times when GPS reception is unavailable. Lynn B

                    ""...the truth that someday, you will go for your last run. But not today—today you got to run." - Matt Crownover (after Western States)

                      The footpod isn't likely to help with tracking, it is designed to use indoors on a treadmill! I thought this was a bit of a stretch for Garmin...now you can take your Garmin GPS INDOORS! I think that is pretty funny! Lynn B
                      Agreed. Two places I defiinitely don't need a GPS to tell me how far/fast I've run: the track and the treadmill (assuming I ever get on another treadmill again.) That's the solution to a problem I don't have. Modified to add: Thanks, Berner. Looks like I'm running v. 2.80 of the chipset...I'll play around with it tonight and try to upgrade to 2.90.

                      Runners run

                        The footpod isn't likely to help with tracking, it is designed to use indoors on a treadmill! I thought this was a bit of a stretch for Garmin...now you can take your Garmin GPS INDOORS! I think that is pretty funny!
                        It is funny!! But- you guys are all "professionals" ! Wink If you're someone like me who's trying to get a handle on how well exactly she's doing, who started when the crummy weather was kicking in & uses a treadmill, then it'd be a useful thing to have. Since I started, I've been trying to gauge my distance and time with a pedometer and stopwatch on the trails as well as the treadmill (distance on this has got to be wayyyy off). Since I initially was only interested in how I was progressing, as long as I was using the same pedometer, (apples to apples) I could see if I was getting better or staying the same. It didn't really matter what the numbers were. Now, though, I'd like to know more specifically what I'm doing. I took the Garmin out the other day on the road and found that I'm probably not progessing like I thought I was. When I do the treadmill, even though I thought I'd adjusted my stride correctly in my pedometer, I found after going outside that I'm a LOT slower than I thought! Yeah... I know I have to factor in snow, wind, hills, etc., but geesh. What a downer for me. It'd be nice to know what I'm actually doing on the treadmill too. Obviously, at this stage of the game, exact doesn't matter, but "close" would be nice! Smile


                        Prophet!

                          i always have trouble matching outside pace with treadmills...some treadmills i found my regular easy pace is way too fast and some too slow...depending on the machine i guess.
                          Scout7


                            You guys bring up a good point: how reliable is your local treadmill? I know they need to be calibrated (although I'm not sure how often). I'm also not sure what specifically needs calibrated; in other words, is it just the distance traveled, is it the speed of the belt? Now I'm wondering how exactly it determines a number of these factors.....I would assume that there's an internal device that measures rotations of the roller the belt goes around, and does some wonderful math to determine speed of the belt, and then distance traveled based on the speed (or vice versa, but that seems odd....). If that's the case, I am wondering what they need to calibrate on them.....I would think that the RPM sensor wouldn't generate that much of a variance.... Sorry, I got wrapped up in technical stuff.... As for the foot pod.... I know that there are people who love using the Polar footpod because they never lose the signal. So, depending on where you live, this could come in handy for more than just indoors. I know there's been a few times where I either didn't get a lock (like yesterday....), or had spotty coverage.
                              If you're someone like me who's trying to get a handle on how well exactly she's doing, who started when the crummy weather was kicking in & uses a treadmill, then it'd be a useful thing to have.
                              It's hard for anyone to gauge their fitness when they're just trying to survive winter. If I went by my average daily training paces on the roads for the last 2 months I would have to say that I'm getting slower, not faster. And that is definitely not the case. You just have to know that when the weather is with you and you can shed the layers of clothing and run on nice dry roads with good footing (someday soon I hope!) that you will see the progress. We're getting there. This week's forecast notwithstanding...

                              Runners run

                              Trent


                              Good Bad & The Monkey

                                I went for a run today without a watch, a GPS or a HRM. I went about 6 miles in 56ish minutes, nice and easy. I think...
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