Sports Tracker BlueTooth HRM available at Radio Shack.

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deadken

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Aug 8, 2004
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I've been wanting a new HRM for a while now. I bought a cheap HRM / Watch from Amazon and it did what it needed to, but wasn't exceptional. It did let me log my average and max HR into my workouts. Since I'm running / biking with my phone (as a music player and to log track my times & distances) I figured I might as well get a BlueTooth HRM. Since I'm using the Sports Tracker App (I've tried EndoMondo, Allsport GPS, etc...) I wanted to get a Sports Tracker HRM, but wasn't keen on buying one from Europe. Now, I've found that Radio Shack is carrying them and they are only $72 vs $80 from the Sports Tracker website. I've got 30 days to decide if I'll keep it, which I imagine I will.

Here is a link:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=22370536
 

deadken

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Aug 8, 2004
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I've read up on the Wahoo a while back. I can't remember why I discounted it, but the one you show doesn't state that it is compatible with Android devices. A quick search didn't show any that were (maybe that was the reason). Frankly, I'd like to think that BT is a standard and any BT compatible device should work with any BT Phone. With these devices clearly stating that they are for the iPhone and with the research I did, I wanted one that stated it would work with Android. From what I remember from a few months ago a lot of people have problems getting the HRM to sync or to stay connected. IIRC, some people had problems after a few months, which would be very upsetting to me. I'm much more comfortable buying something off the shelf at Radio Shack and being able to return it easily if there is any problems. Also, while I like the idea of a replaceable battery in the Wahoo, I love the idea of the rechargeable battery in the Sports Tracker HRM. I'm always plugging in my headset and phone to recharge, now I'll just make a little more room for the HRM (I finally used the last USB ports on the bottom of my Monitor). I do realize that it is possible in the months since I did research, things got better / fixed. But, I really like this app and I have no problem getting their HRM to match. I've read where people have used it with other apps. Perhaps I'll test it out with Endomondo for giggles. I liked Endomondo, but it crashed WAY too frequently for me. The longer the workout, the more likely I'd lose all of the data from it.

FWIW: I just did a 2 mile run with the HRM. I didn't charge it before running with it, and I found that I couldn't sync with it during my cool down (I walk my dog for another .2-.25mile). Apparently, the battery died. So, I have it charging in its USB cradle at the moment.

If you want to see the workout follow this link:
http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/workout/Deadken/a9apb9h5eqfttah3

You'll see that you can zoom in on the workout and while you move the cursor along the time / distance / HR chart (I usually uncheck the Altitude as it isn't very accurate), you'll see where I was on the map at that time. Pretty cool and perhaps helpful if I want to see when and where I need to focus on improvement.
 

RichieZ

Diamond Member
Jun 1, 2000
6,549
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I've read up on the Wahoo a while back. I can't remember why I discounted it, but the one you show doesn't state that it is compatible with Android devices. A quick search didn't show any that were (maybe that was the reason). Frankly, I'd like to think that BT is a standard and any BT compatible device should work with any BT Phone. With these devices clearly stating that they are for the iPhone and with the research I did, I wanted one that stated it would work with Android. From what I remember from a few months ago a lot of people have problems getting the HRM to sync or to stay connected. IIRC, some people had problems after a few months, which would be very upsetting to me. I'm much more comfortable buying something off the shelf at Radio Shack and being able to return it easily if there is any problems. Also, while I like the idea of a replaceable battery in the Wahoo, I love the idea of the rechargeable battery in the Sports Tracker HRM. I'm always plugging in my headset and phone to recharge, now I'll just make a little more room for the HRM (I finally used the last USB ports on the bottom of my Monitor). I do realize that it is possible in the months since I did research, things got better / fixed. But, I really like this app and I have no problem getting their HRM to match. I've read where people have used it with other apps. Perhaps I'll test it out with Endomondo for giggles. I liked Endomondo, but it crashed WAY too frequently for me. The longer the workout, the more likely I'd lose all of the data from it.

FWIW: I just did a 2 mile run with the HRM. I didn't charge it before running with it, and I found that I couldn't sync with it during my cool down (I walk my dog for another .2-.25mile). Apparently, the battery died. So, I have it charging in its USB cradle at the moment.

If you want to see the workout follow this link:
http://www.sports-tracker.com/#/workout/Deadken/a9apb9h5eqfttah3

You'll see that you can zoom in on the workout and while you move the cursor along the time / distance / HR chart (I usually uncheck the Altitude as it isn't very accurate), you'll see where I was on the map at that time. Pretty cool and perhaps helpful if I want to see when and where I need to focus on improvement.

I believe the andriod issue is that the base os doesn't support bluetooth le (4.0), a lot of the hardware does but software support is being introduced with Andriod 4.3
 

deadken

Diamond Member
Aug 8, 2004
3,196
4
81
I believe the andriod issue is that the base os doesn't support bluetooth le (4.0), a lot of the hardware does but software support is being introduced with Andriod 4.3

Ohhh, so I guess I should be glad that I bought my Nexus 4 before I bought this BT HRM? From what I can see on my Nexus, I have 4.3.

Out of curiosity, can I upgrade my old phone (Samsung Exhibit 4G, not Exhibit II) to allow me to use this? It shows I have software version 2.3.3. Anyway to upgrade that? I'm planning on getting a Kayak and I'd rather keep my old phone with me when I go out on the water rather than risk my new phone getting wet (yes, I know that my phone just got $100 cheaper, but I still want to keep it dry). I can switch my sim card back into my old phone, so I should still get the data / GPS connectivity, but with an old OS I doubt the BT HRM will work without an update. How do I go about that?
 
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