HRM giving weird results? You are not alone, and not an alien (Read 41 times)

OK, the title is misleading because I'm not telling that there is a silly cause for that and that I have been able to resolve the issue.

So, your HRM is telling you that your HRmax is 200 or higher? And this happens even while you are in your couch resting?
Before running to the doctor or searching for a cool super-hero name read on:

I was having this problem for a wile already: My Garmin FR60 that worked perfectly went nuts one day. Well, my fault, actually as I hurled the soft band into the washing machine when the thing started to smell like horse (I swear it!).  Initially I took the values  as legit and raised my HRmax to 200 and later 215. But after a few days I noticed that this went on in moments when I was sure that my HR was low. I thus decided to try a different HRM and bought a second hand Suunto T3c (35 Euro-bucks!!!). It gave normal results... until one day it started to go nuts too.

As I already had a suspicion that the cause was the sensors I first googled about ways to clean the thing that did not involve a washing machine... Suunto actually recommends washing it gently by hand with only warm water or just keeping the HRM on while showering after the workout. And it does work indeed. My Suunto band is clean and works perfectly. As for my Garmin one: Well, I think it's totally b0rked... poor thing :_(   But I found out that the Polar Wearlink belts work perfectly with the Garmin HRM and I think that the sensors are better.

So, guys and gals: If you HRM behaves in an antisocial and completely absurd way just remember to give it a good rinse under the tap, let it dry and that's it. You can forget about visiting the doctor or filling in the application for the X men.