Polar HR Monitor

HarrisonR8 · 06-17-2009, 08:14 AM

I got the Polar about 3 weeks ago and I've really enjoyed it. I can't remember which number I got; it's the one that cost about $ 80.00 or so. Anyways, has anyone had any trouble with them after a few weeks of wearing them? It's been working well up until last night when I was on the treadmill and I know my heart rate must have been in the 170s but the HR mon. would say my HR was 00 or 75 and even the machine was giving low numbers. Could there have been an interference? I use the same treadmill when I workout and it's never acted funny before. Just asking!

AnnetteW · 06-17-2009, 08:24 AM

Those kind of numbers usually mean battery problems.

Interference tends to show extra high numbers. The lower cost monitor might not use coded chest straps (you can check that out on the polar site.)

If you have a fatty under chest area it could get stuck in a fat fold. Mine won't read when sitting on a recumbent bike.

beesknees · 06-17-2009, 10:37 AM

I have had two Polar models - most recently the F6 and have had the same problem with both, even when I first got the F6, so I know it wasn't a battery issue for me. For me its a positioning thing, not interference because it happens when I am not at the gym. Mine doesn't lay flat very well since I have kind of a poky, high rib cage. I find that if I wear it for a while before I use to warm it up and and even get it a little moistened (I know that's gross, but if I am sweaty it never has this problem) it gets better contact. Sometimes I just have to move it around a little under my bra strap to make sure its in the right place.

Phaedrus49er · 06-17-2009, 10:43 AM

+1 on positioning. Make sure you wet down both the mesh contacts (avoid the battery contacts) and your skin before putting on the strap. The moisture helps conduct your body's electrical current to the monitor, which is why it probably works better if you're sweating decently.

FWIW, I've had mine for over five years and have only had to change the battery once.

scribess · 06-17-2009, 10:58 AM

Yup, positioning. On occasion my Polar will tell me to "check transmitter" and if I don't get to it soon enough, it'll read 00. Fiddling with the positioning usually fixes the problem.

On two occasions outside I've had some sort of interference when it said my HR went from 55% to 100% over the course of, literally, two steps. But it's more frequent that I have to check the positioning.

Phoenix · 06-17-2009, 11:59 AM

I have a Polar HRM also. I've replaced the battery once, after 2 years of use.

I'm going to echo what others have said and that is to check the positioning and wet down the chest strap sensors AND your skin before the workout. It'll help the readings come out accurately and consistently.

The only time I ever have issues with it reading improperly is when I'm doing high-impact movement like jumping jacks, where the chest strap gets jostled around. But re-adjusting always corrects the reading.