General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly? Rss Feed  
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2009-01-13 10:17 AM

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Expert
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Subject: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
There have been several threads here lately about different issues with the Garmin 305. I'd like to hear from people who's gadgets are working just fine. DD wants to purchase one for her 4-H project. TIA


2009-01-13 10:18 AM
in reply to: #1904472

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Sensei
Sin City
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?

Mine works great.  Never a problem.  Sometimes it doesn't connect to the computer, but after a reboot of my home machine, it works fine.

But I'm not selling it.

2009-01-13 10:21 AM
in reply to: #1904472

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Extreme Veteran
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Jenison , MI
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
Mine works great.
I got two of them back in the mid of 06. One crapped out in like 2 months the other worked fine. The one that died was mine the other my wife's. She was not running so I just started useing her's. Then about a year later she wanted to start running again. I then sent my dead 305 into Garmin and they sent me a new one free. That was about a year and a half after buying them.
The new one has worked great and her's is working still also.
2009-01-13 10:29 AM
in reply to: #1904472

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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
Had a 205 for two years that never gave me a single problem and I used it on avg 4 to 5 X per week.  Santa just brought me a 305 that I've already used half a dozen times and again, so far, zero problems
2009-01-13 10:33 AM
in reply to: #1904472

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Westfield, In
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?

I just recieved mine for Xmas but I have yet to have any issues with 10 runs.

Now I just need to figure out where my HR should be for the best training.

2009-01-13 10:37 AM
in reply to: #1904472

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Champion
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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
Do you find the elevation to be high?  Like 1000' ascent when it was more like 150'?


2009-01-13 10:39 AM
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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
I got mine last week and so far it works great
2009-01-13 10:42 AM
in reply to: #1904472

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Veteran
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Lewisville, nc
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
zero problems with mine as well. As for the elevation question, mine is a little off too, but if you read in the directions it tells you not to expect very accurate readings for that particular metric.
2009-01-13 10:46 AM
in reply to: #1904472

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Master
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Reston, VA
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
my 305 and cadence sensor both have worked fine for the past 1.5 years.
2009-01-13 10:53 AM
in reply to: #1904545

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Master
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Fulton, MD
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
I've had mine for almost 2 years without a single problem.  I've heard the elevation is wildly inaccurate, so I wouldn't put much faith in it.  I use SportsTracks for data viewing, and have an "elevation correction" plugin.  I'm not really sure how it works, but it seems to give much more realistic numbers.
2009-01-13 2:54 PM
in reply to: #1904472

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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
I've had mine for about 2 months...use it about 4 times a week, and it works great. I have never had a problem with it. My husband just got one after X-mas and his works great too! I love it!


2009-01-13 2:59 PM
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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
Mine is working fine now. Had a few issues earlier involving saving data but a reinstall and some free online software updates took care of that.
2009-01-13 3:02 PM
in reply to: #1904472

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Master
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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
I love mine! Almost 2 years and 3 marathons with it.  The only time it seems to get wonky is when the lap history gets full so I have to go in and clear it out.  I use mine a lot! (At least 3x per week since I got it) and do  fill up the lap history by using autlop for splits and interval workouts. 
2009-01-13 3:07 PM
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Lewisville, nc
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
One more thing... I have a feeling that a lot of people just pull it out of the box and take off, but you really should go to the website and make sure you have the most current version of firmware.

Not only because I do this for a living (Server Admin), but many times these updates have fixes to known issues as well as just regular updates. Its worth the time to do it.
2009-01-13 3:20 PM
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Expert
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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
My Garmin 305 edge / 305 forerunner work great but they still give me distance on the treadmill or trainer due to satellites.
2009-01-13 3:24 PM
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Master
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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
I LOVE my garmin, and more importantly I LOVE their customer service. Anything that I've needed for my garmin, they've bent over backwards to help me get. For example, their HR monitor strap, at it's smallest setting, is still too large for my frame. When I called to complain, they sent me a new elastic band, for FREE, so that I could mess with it without worrying about ruining anything. How thoughtful was that? They also are very good at honoring their warranty.

It does require reading the instructions, however, and occasionally you need to reset the unit, or update the firmware.

My garmin 305 is the most used piece of equipment I own.


2009-01-13 3:24 PM
in reply to: #1905222

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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
xcrunner2010 - 2009-01-13 4:20 PM

My Garmin 305 edge / 305 forerunner work great but they still give me distance on the treadmill or trainer due to satellites.


You can turn the gps off. That's what I do when I ride the trainer. I think it's cool that it still picks up the satellite indoors- just goes to show how strong of a device it is!
2009-01-13 5:07 PM
in reply to: #1905189

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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
scoli121 - 2009-01-13 4:07 PM

One more thing... I have a feeling that a lot of people just pull it out of the box and take off, but you really should go to the website and make sure you have the most current version of firmware.

Not only because I do this for a living (Server Admin), but many times these updates have fixes to known issues as well as just regular updates. Its worth the time to do it.


x2

Based on my observations most of the problems reported in the forums are computer/software/user related rather then problems with the unit itself.

I have both the Edge 305 and the FR305 and I had only one problem with the Edge. After about a year the unit started to power off from vibrations. This was a known issue with some of the Edge units and Garmin replaced it without any problems.

In regards with the elevation, it seems that many don't realize the FR305 doesn't have the barometric altimeter as the Edge 305 and other products, hence the difference in elevation accuracy. Computed elevation (only) from the GPS signal is less accurate then the horizontal position (latitude/longitude) and sometimes can be way off, depending on the unit, your location, how many satellites are blocked, etc... If a more precise altitude/elevation is something that you are looking for then get a unit that has a barometric altimeter or use software capable of correcting the elevation like MotionBased Gravity or Sportstats Elevation Correction plugin. The software uses the horizontal position reported from the GPS and cross-references the position to an elevation database. (I don't know if BT can do that for their paying users, I only have a free account here).

In my opinion, the FR305 is the best you can buy for the money. The amount of features that this unit has (and work flawlessly) at the current price is really hard to beat.




2009-01-13 6:24 PM
in reply to: #1904472

Master
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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
Mine works fine. The only complaint I ever had was that it seemed to take forever to pick up a satellite signal. Sometimes I would wait for close to 5 minutes, but lately it picks up a signal within a minute.

scott
2009-01-13 6:26 PM
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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
Just got one forerunner 305 works great.

How do you make the Heart rate window bigger? It is useless in the upper right as it is now.
Thanks, John.
2009-01-13 7:06 PM
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Pro
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the Alabama part of Pennsylvania
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
I've had mine for about 6-8 months and it works fine.  Sometimes a little slow picking up a signal, but usually if I turn it off and then restart it works fine. 


2009-01-13 7:11 PM
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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?

Shoeless - 2009-01-13 8:17 AM There have been several threads here lately about different issues with the Garmin 305. I'd like to hear from people who's gadgets are working just fine. DD wants to purchase one for her 4-H project. TIA

 

What is DD?

2009-01-13 8:21 PM
in reply to: #1905466

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Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?

Good explanation of the elevation inaccuracy, biggor.  This has come up a few times and I have been too lazy to type out the reason in previous threads.

To add to your comments, in general, the quality of the geometry in what would be called the 'z' axis (elevation) is not so good because the GPS satellites are approximately 12,000 miles above the earth's surface broadcasting synchronized time signals the 305 receives and processes to more or less triangulate it's position.  As you would imagine, lateral movement can be resolved quite well and with reasonably good accuracy since the 305 picks up several satellites at once at different positions in the sky.  However, moving the 305 up and down results in very slight variations in the triangulation calculation because you are simply moving the unit closer or farther away from many of the satellites and it doesn't have the capability to resolve the minute elevation change.  Keep in mind, we are asking for it to identify a 20' or 100' elevation change by tracking a satellite(s) that is 12,000 miles away at its closest point directly overhead.

Basically, without WAAS (that's another discussion), the elevation calculations and the % grade calculations are pretty inaccurate if a GPS signal is the only source of elevation change. 

Greg

2009-01-13 8:29 PM
in reply to: #1905622

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Davidson
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?

yaqui,

If it hasn't been on for a few weeks or if you have moved it a significant distance since it was last turned off, it takes longer for it to 'find itself'.   This happened to me in college a number of times before GPS was invented.  I would wake up in a new place that I couldn't remember going to the night before and it took me a while to find myself.

Also, make sure it has a clear view of the sky.  Move away from your house or any large buildings so it can recieve as many satellites as possible.  The GPS antenna is under the 'Garmin' logo below the screen, so make sure nothing is covering it up or blocking it from receiving the microwave signals.

FWIW,

Greg

2009-01-13 8:31 PM
in reply to: #1904472

Master
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STL
Subject: RE: Is anyone's Garmin 305 working correctly?
my HR monitor is not working, but other than that it works just as it did when I got it a couple years ago.
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