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 said:
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 said:
Quoted message said:
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 said:
This is not the case with the 720/725.
Quoted message said:
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.
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 said:
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 said:
Quoted message said:
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 said:
This is not the case with the 720/725.
Quoted message said:
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.
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 [censored] for about the last 3 months.
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 [censored] for about the last 3 months.
"john" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
From an earlier posting,
I said:
Quoted message said:
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 said:
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 said:
Quoted message said:
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 said:
This is not the case with the 720/725.
Quoted message said:
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.
"john" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...
Quoted message said:
Quoted message said:
From an earlier posting,
I said:
Quoted message said:
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 said:
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 said:
Quoted message said:
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 said:
This is not the case with the 720/725.
Quoted message said:
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.
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'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.
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.
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.
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 [censored] for about the last 3 months.
did you calibrate it at the start of the ride, I find this ensures a more accurate reading
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 [censored] for about the last 3 months.
did you calibrate it at the start of the ride, I find this ensures a more accurate reading
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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! 🙂
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! 🙂[/QUOTE] 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.
