RunningAHEAD - Topic: Garmin 201 question

Shiksa

posted: 6/18/2007 at 8:48 AM

I just got my 201 second-hand. I'm liking it pretty well, but I have a question. I live in a mountainous area, but I seem to be able to get a signal pretty well. Sometimes I will get a weak signal beep. However, overall, it works well. I don't see the sattelite icon flashing. I drove my car my running distance. I also used to use a good quality pedometer and it was pretty close to the correct distance based on my car ride. My Garmin seems to give me different distances. They are similar, but not always the same. I try to stick to the same car loop (not cutting corners) and sometimes the Garmin has me running farther to accomplish the same distance. It's odd because with the pace/time, it all seems to work out no matter how far I run. I am just wondering how common it is for the Garmin to be off on distance?

Stacy
I make no apologies for my liberal use of smiley icons. http://www.BlakeHillHouse.com

jEfFgObLuE

I've got a fever...

posted: 6/19/2007 at 7:38 AM

On average, the current Garmin devices (205/305) have about ±5% accuracy for distance. It may be worse for older devices like the 201. On a 5-mile course, ±5% works out to 4.75~5.25 miles, meaning that there's a half-mile range of distance the device could give you and still meet its spec.

On your deathbed, you won't wish that you'd spent more time at the office. But you will wish that you'd spent more time running. Because if you had, you wouldn't be on your deathbed.

Trent

Good Bad & The Monkey

posted: 6/19/2007 at 9:27 AM

The 201 can drop signal more often than the 205, which can give incorrect distances and increase the error margin. The +/- 5 estimate is for when it actually does keep signal. Mountains, trees and buildings can make signal dropping worse.

I'm running somewhere tomorrow. It's going to be beautiful. I can't wait.

Poor baby

Shiksa

posted: 6/19/2007 at 9:35 AM

Thank you for your answers. That makes sense. Having a Garmin, in general, has made me a little obsessive. Big grin

I don't want to run over in my training, but mostly I don't want to run under and short my mileage. I will have to measure it out again and see if I can get an average.

Stacy
I make no apologies for my liberal use of smiley icons. http://www.BlakeHillHouse.com

KennyRun

posted: 6/27/2007 at 11:50 PM
modified: 6/27/2007 at 11:50 PM

Shiksa, I've had a 201 for a couple years. In the mountains, cities with tall buildings, or heavy wooded areas, you will lose your signal at times. Most of my running is in suburbia where it works well. I have noticed inaccurate distances on occasion, but, it has never exceeded 200 meters. On my most frequently used routes, the 201 is near perfect each time and I trust it more than the odometer in my car. If you keep having problems, call Garmin (even after buying it second-hand). The phone number is 800-800-1020. I found their tech support to be quite good.

Garmin 201 question (Read 593 times)