Polar 72X HRMs

[john]

>From an earlier posting,
I wrote:

>> I know I'm beginning to sound like the preverbal broken record, but are
>> the 720/725 altimeters temperature compensated? IIRC, they are not.

Lou wrote:

>I own a 720i and all I can tell is that the altimeter works great within the
>limits of barometric changes. Since it has a temperature sensor, I would
>expect that the altimeter is temperature compensated.

I wrote:

>> If not, IMO, they are virtually useless as altimeters. An earlier poster
>> was concerned about fractions of a mile average speed. That is really
>> nothing, compared to random gains or losses of 400 feet in a few
>>minutes, caused by a jump of temp due to leaving the shade of trees
>> behind as one climbs closer to or above the tree and also by the heat
> >of ones arm.

Lou wrote:

>This is not the case with the 720/725.

>Lou

So I wrote Polar to confirm Lou's statements. I got back an incredibly
thorough 1 page e-mail explaining the limits of accuracy of their
altimeters, and that yes they are temp compensated. Now that's what I
call customer service. Not the usual terse non secquitur, that leaves
me scratching my head.
I do want to point out that if one buys a non temp compensated
altimeter, it will not be accurate unless they use it under unchanging
temp. & sun conditions.
Also the inclusion of a thermometer does not guarantee temp
compensation. Dumb as it might seem, I've encounter quite a few w/
thermos & no compensation.
The reason that I'm so adamant about this, is that the majority of
manufacturers hide their lack of temp compensation. In buying or
attempting to buy an altimeter device, after blowing ~$130 on a Casio
non compensated altimeter in the late '80s, I have been repeatedly
stonewalled or double-talked to.

So, of course Lou was correct, John

 

[john]

>From an earlier posting,
I wrote:

>> I know I'm beginning to sound like the preverbal broken record, but are
>> the 720/725 altimeters temperature compensated? IIRC, they are not.

Lou wrote:

>I own a 720i and all I can tell is that the altimeter works great within the
>limits of barometric changes. Since it has a temperature sensor, I would
>expect that the altimeter is temperature compensated.

I wrote:

>> If not, IMO, they are virtually useless as altimeters. An earlier poster
>> was concerned about fractions of a mile average speed. That is really
>> nothing, compared to random gains or losses of 400 feet in a few
>>minutes, caused by a jump of temp due to leaving the shade of trees
>> behind as one climbs closer to or above the tree and also by the heat
> >of ones arm.

Lou wrote:

>This is not the case with the 720/725.

>Lou

So I wrote Polar to confirm Lou's statements. I got back an incredibly
thorough 1 page e-mail explaining the limits of accuracy of their
altimeters, and that yes they are temp compensated. Now that's what I
call customer service. Not the usual terse non secquitur, that leaves
me scratching my head.
I do want to point out that if one buys a non temp compensated
altimeter, it will not be accurate unless they use it under unchanging
temp. & sun conditions.
Also the inclusion of a thermometer does not guarantee temp
compensation. Dumb as it might seem, I've encounter quite a few w/
thermos & no compensation.
The reason that I'm so adamant about this, is that the majority of
manufacturers hide their lack of temp compensation. In buying or
attempting to buy an altimeter device, after blowing ~$130 on a Casio
non compensated altimeter in the late '80s, I have been repeatedly
stonewalled or double-talked to.

So, of course Lou was correct, John

 

[Andrew F Martin]

I've never seen the temp work right. Most of my rides it's 78 and
cloudy according to my Polar. Keep in mind I live in Seattle where
it's been 45 and shitty for about the last 3 months.

 

[Andrew F Martin]

I've never seen the temp work right. Most of my rides it's 78 and
cloudy according to my Polar. Keep in mind I live in Seattle where
it's been 45 and shitty for about the last 3 months.

 

[me]

My 720 is usually realistic on temp.

Me


"john" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >From an earlier posting,
> I wrote:
>
>>> I know I'm beginning to sound like the preverbal broken record, but are
>>> the 720/725 altimeters temperature compensated? IIRC, they are not.
>
> Lou wrote:
>
>>I own a 720i and all I can tell is that the altimeter works great within
>>the
>>limits of barometric changes. Since it has a temperature sensor, I would
>>expect that the altimeter is temperature compensated.
>
> I wrote:
>
>>> If not, IMO, they are virtually useless as altimeters. An earlier poster
>>> was concerned about fractions of a mile average speed. That is really
>>> nothing, compared to random gains or losses of 400 feet in a few
>>>minutes, caused by a jump of temp due to leaving the shade of trees
>>> behind as one climbs closer to or above the tree and also by the heat
>> >of ones arm.
>
> Lou wrote:
>
>>This is not the case with the 720/725.
>
>>Lou
>
> So I wrote Polar to confirm Lou's statements. I got back an incredibly
> thorough 1 page e-mail explaining the limits of accuracy of their
> altimeters, and that yes they are temp compensated. Now that's what I
> call customer service. Not the usual terse non secquitur, that leaves
> me scratching my head.
> I do want to point out that if one buys a non temp compensated
> altimeter, it will not be accurate unless they use it under unchanging
> temp. & sun conditions.
> Also the inclusion of a thermometer does not guarantee temp
> compensation. Dumb as it might seem, I've encounter quite a few w/
> thermos & no compensation.
> The reason that I'm so adamant about this, is that the majority of
> manufacturers hide their lack of temp compensation. In buying or
> attempting to buy an altimeter device, after blowing ~$130 on a Casio
> non compensated altimeter in the late '80s, I have been repeatedly
> stonewalled or double-talked to.
>
> So, of course Lou was correct, John
>

My 720 is usually realistic on temp.

Me

 

[me]

My 720 is usually realistic on temp.

Me


"john" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> >From an earlier posting,
> I wrote:
>
>>> I know I'm beginning to sound like the preverbal broken record, but are
>>> the 720/725 altimeters temperature compensated? IIRC, they are not.
>
> Lou wrote:
>
>>I own a 720i and all I can tell is that the altimeter works great within
>>the
>>limits of barometric changes. Since it has a temperature sensor, I would
>>expect that the altimeter is temperature compensated.
>
> I wrote:
>
>>> If not, IMO, they are virtually useless as altimeters. An earlier poster
>>> was concerned about fractions of a mile average speed. That is really
>>> nothing, compared to random gains or losses of 400 feet in a few
>>>minutes, caused by a jump of temp due to leaving the shade of trees
>>> behind as one climbs closer to or above the tree and also by the heat
>> >of ones arm.
>
> Lou wrote:
>
>>This is not the case with the 720/725.
>
>>Lou
>
> So I wrote Polar to confirm Lou's statements. I got back an incredibly
> thorough 1 page e-mail explaining the limits of accuracy of their
> altimeters, and that yes they are temp compensated. Now that's what I
> call customer service. Not the usual terse non secquitur, that leaves
> me scratching my head.
> I do want to point out that if one buys a non temp compensated
> altimeter, it will not be accurate unless they use it under unchanging
> temp. & sun conditions.
> Also the inclusion of a thermometer does not guarantee temp
> compensation. Dumb as it might seem, I've encounter quite a few w/
> thermos & no compensation.
> The reason that I'm so adamant about this, is that the majority of
> manufacturers hide their lack of temp compensation. In buying or
> attempting to buy an altimeter device, after blowing ~$130 on a Casio
> non compensated altimeter in the late '80s, I have been repeatedly
> stonewalled or double-talked to.
>
> So, of course Lou was correct, John
>

My 720 is usually realistic on temp.

Me

 

[Antti Salonen]

Andrew F Martin <[email protected]> wrote:

> I've never seen the temp work right. Most of my rides it's 78 and
> cloudy according to my Polar.

Do you wear it on your wrist? While it might be a degree or two
(celsius) off, I get perfectly reasonable temperature readings with my
S725, mounted on the handlebar.

-as

 

[Antti Salonen]

Andrew F Martin <[email protected]> wrote:

> I've never seen the temp work right. Most of my rides it's 78 and
> cloudy according to my Polar.

Do you wear it on your wrist? While it might be a degree or two
(celsius) off, I get perfectly reasonable temperature readings with my
S725, mounted on the handlebar.

-as

 

[Andrew F Martin]

Both wrist and bars it's usually pretty far off last I checked. That
said, I haven't looked in a long while since I figured it was a
worthless feature and haven't bothered to look in a while.

 

[Andrew F Martin]

Both wrist and bars it's usually pretty far off last I checked. That
said, I haven't looked in a long while since I figured it was a
worthless feature and haven't bothered to look in a while.

 

[jcjordan]

I've never seen the temp work right. Most of my rides it's 78 and
cloudy according to my Polar. Keep in mind I live in Seattle where
it's been 45 and shitty for about the last 3 months.

did you calibrate it at the start of the ride, I find this ensures a more accurate reading

 

[jcjordan]

I've never seen the temp work right. Most of my rides it's 78 and
cloudy according to my Polar. Keep in mind I live in Seattle where
it's been 45 and shitty for about the last 3 months.

did you calibrate it at the start of the ride, I find this ensures a more accurate reading

 

[Chris M]

FWIW I have used the 7X series since its release and find the totaly
fluctuation over the course a a single day's ride to be normally about
5 to 10 feet and only once or twice over 20 feet. The day to day
(overnight) changes can be on the order of several hundred but that
doesn't bother me since it is easy to correct either before I leave or
any time I know the starting elevation. Without tempurature
compensation it would not even be close, obviously. With courses that
go through such dramatically changing climates I am impressed at how
accurate it is even with tempurature compensation. The latency is even
very low abd easily keeps pace with climbing or descending stairs while
walking so the only time it might be off a little is while descending
on the bike very quickly but then I don't care about that. All in all,
a great performer. If only it had a GPS add-on I would never even look
at any competitors.

PS - I also find the Finnish helpdesk to be excellent.

 

[Chris M]

FWIW I have used the 7X series since its release and find the totaly
fluctuation over the course a a single day's ride to be normally about
5 to 10 feet and only once or twice over 20 feet. The day to day
(overnight) changes can be on the order of several hundred but that
doesn't bother me since it is easy to correct either before I leave or
any time I know the starting elevation. Without tempurature
compensation it would not even be close, obviously. With courses that
go through such dramatically changing climates I am impressed at how
accurate it is even with tempurature compensation. The latency is even
very low abd easily keeps pace with climbing or descending stairs while
walking so the only time it might be off a little is while descending
on the bike very quickly but then I don't care about that. All in all,
a great performer. If only it had a GPS add-on I would never even look
at any competitors.

PS - I also find the Finnish helpdesk to be excellent.

 

[Chris M]

You calibrate the altimeter, not the thermometer.

Mine is always 78 too, when on my wrist otherwise it is always as
accurate as any other thermomenter I have used and is not sensitive to
wind chill (by design I assume). I almost wish I could calculate the
wind chill separately but that is too much to expect from a watch.

 

[Chris M]

You calibrate the altimeter, not the thermometer.

Mine is always 78 too, when on my wrist otherwise it is always as
accurate as any other thermomenter I have used and is not sensitive to
wind chill (by design I assume). I almost wish I could calculate the
wind chill separately but that is too much to expect from a watch.

 

[Lou Holtman]

Antti Salonen wrote:
> Andrew F Martin <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>>I've never seen the temp work right. Most of my rides it's 78 and
>>cloudy according to my Polar.
>
>
> Do you wear it on your wrist? While it might be a degree or two
> (celsius) off, I get perfectly reasonable temperature readings with my
> S725, mounted on the handlebar.
>


I second that. I was pleasantly suprised, because although it's mounted
on the handlebar it is still exposed to direct sunlight. I think the 72X
are very fine units.

Lou

--
Posted by news://news.nb.nu

 

[Antti Salonen]

Andrew F Martin <[email protected]> wrote:

> Both wrist and bars it's usually pretty far off last I checked. That
> said, I haven't looked in a long while since I figured it was a
> worthless feature and haven't bothered to look in a while.

My point was that to get accurate readings, it really has to be mounted
on the handlebar. If you wear it on your wrist, it is measuring your
body temperature as much as air temperature.

-as

 

[Andrew F Martin]

Chris M wrote:
> FWIW I have used the 7X series since its release and find the totaly
> fluctuation over the course a a single day's ride to be normally about
> 5 to 10 feet and only once or twice over 20 feet.

Maybe mine is a little different, but I am often quite surprised that
my hour-long trainer workouts result in somehow gaining 15-30 feet of
elevation!

 

[jcjordan]

Chris M wrote:
> FWIW I have used the 7X series since its release and find the totaly
> fluctuation over the course a a single day's ride to be normally about
> 5 to 10 feet and only once or twice over 20 feet.

Maybe mine is a little different, but I am often quite surprised that
my hour-long trainer workouts result in somehow gaining 15-30 feet of
elevation!

If you have it mounted on your wrist it will effect the barometer readings giving you a higher temp reading resulting in a lower pressure reading and therefore a rise in altitude.