HAC 4 Plus help!

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by jet10sn
I was wondering if anyone could help me. I just recently got the HAC 4 from Ciclosport. Neat product, but hard to understand. I am having problems with getting the HRM to work, Cadance to work, downloading the information to the right sw component. Plus, which sw is the best to work with? The only feature I got right was the speed, and distance. I am not sure on the altitude, and who knows, maybe i screwed it all up.

The directions are a bit unclear. Especially, when it comes to inputing the right data, and how to get the right data to input.

Also, I was wondering if there was anyone in the Southern California, Irvine area, that could help me?

My email is [email hidden]

Any help you can give would be greatly appreciate.

I just got one, too, and just spent hours trying to learn it. Very very frustrating. But I've managed to get a few things done.

Getting the HRM to work sometimes involves getting the strap to fit on just the right spot across your chest.

I've found "hactronic" to be the better software. "ciclotour" is a mess! few of the buttons work right, and the graphics are very buggy.

If anyone knows how to get the software to run better, I'd love to hear from them. And Jet, if you have more specific questions to post, I'll do my best to help you out.

Good luck!

I just got the HAC 4 and I can not get the HRM function to work. For some reason, the HR band around my chest is not communicating with the monitor. I do not know how to make the unit communicate. Is it a function of just turning it on.

Secondly, I can not get the cadence feature to work. I have it wired to the crank, but no read out.

I want to know how to set the altitude, and the heart limit alarms.

Lastly, getting it to record is the last function I got tracked down on the web. I have to have the mountains flashing to record the data.

The directions were [censored], and there was nothing on the software. I certainly would like to know how to read the graphs and the information on my training.

Any help you could give would be greatly appreicate!

Thanks
JET

(1) Maybe the battery in your chest strap is dead. You could try a new battery. Also, if you've got an old HRM (e.g. Timex, Nike, ...), it's strap should probably work with the HAC4 as well, so maybe try it.

(2) I'm not sure what you mean by "no read out." If you cycle through the bottom display, you should see a cadence display. If you don't, then cadence isn't turned on. Turn it on using the setup function of the watch. If you see the cadence display but it always shows zero, then cadence is turned on but not registering. Most likely, the magnet is not aligned with the pickup or they are not close enough.

(3) Setting up altitude and HR alarms is also a function of setup. The instructions are pretty clear (IMHO). If you've lost your's, you can download a new manual from their Web site.

(4) The included software is pretty lame. All the data is there, but ease-of-use definitely isn't. Best advice I can offer is just to play around with it. Personally, I rarely use the Ciclo Trainer or Ciclo Tour (although my daughter does like to watch the animated cyclist reproduce our trail-a-bike rides.) The basic Hactronic software has pretty much everything I need, and it isn't as cryptic as the specialized programs.

Stephen

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by jet10sn
I just got the HAC 4 and I can not get the HRM function to work. For some reason, the HR band around my chest is not communicating with the monitor. I do not know how to make the unit communicate. Is it a function of just turning it on.

Secondly, I can not get the cadence feature to work. I have it wired to the crank, but no read out.

I want to know how to set the altitude, and the heart limit alarms.

Lastly, getting it to record is the last function I got tracked down on the web. I have to have the mountains flashing to record the data.

The directions were [censored], and there was nothing on the software. I certainly would like to know how to read the graphs and the information on my training.

Any help you could give would be greatly appreicate!

Thanks
JET

In my experience wetting the HRM (on the contact patches) helps getting a better readout. Otherwise you have to wait till you start sweating ;-)

The CicloTour software is indeed very confusing, but I find the HACTronic software to be working fine. Just use the icons in the "graphics" tab to add different plots. By moving the time and distance indicators at the top you can easily select parts of your trip.

Regarding the software, make sure you update to the latest:
http://www.ciclosport.de/

I found these latest versions to work rather nicely (after spending a bit of time figuring out how to use them). My watch is a imperial/USB.

Regarding the HRM not working, try putting your strap on first, then press the upper right button of the watch till it shows the heart rate (if already on HR display then press buttons till it cycles back to this display). From what I understand, the watch tries to save battery life by going to sleep after five minutes of not getting a HR reading. By pressing the buttons, it wakes up (its described in the manual).

If that does not work, then you can test if your strap is working properly by going to a fitness club and seeing if any of their stationaries/climbers have a polar interface. See if they are able to get a reading from your strap.

Note: to start recording your data, you must press the upper left/lower left buttons (UL/LL) simultaneously. The imperial version requires you to hold the buttons for 3 seconds, the metric version you hold it for only one second (untested). Not sure why they made them work differently.

Good luck.

My HAC4 is working great and I have enjoyed the three weeks I have used it.

I just received a copy of the uplink software and hardware. For some reason, the HAC4 will not upload to my PC.

I have the cable plugged in... the port is set in the software to the correct com (COM6 in this case)... I activate the Hactronic software as required... I activate the upload feature of the cyclometer as required... and nothing.

No upload.

I have the most current software updates. I am confident my COM port is set properly.

Any thoughts why this is not working before I pack it all up and ship it back to the retailer?

To upload, you must use the setup fonction 'PC'. To start the process, press the two left button at the same time. During transmission, the HAC4 shows you the status of the transmission (0 to 100%).

At the same time, the HACTRONIC software diplay the status as well. If it doesn't not, there is a problem with the connection. Perhaps the com is not com6 but com5.