Trouble with Wahoo

[Bstone]

Anybody have trouble with their Wahoo HR monitor? I use the strap with Strava on an iPhone 4S. The signal comes and goes (more goes than comes) throughout a ride. Mostly end up with flat lines where the monitor stopped transmitting. Did LT ride today and my HR max was 150!

Not likely.

Any advice would be appreciated.:help:

[11.4]

How old is it, and how much has it been used?

Wahoo has improved their heart rate monitors quite a bit through several versions over the last 2-3 years. Older ones weren't all that reliable but the newer ones are pretty consistent. I find that they all have to be positioned just right, they are slow to connect (compared to Garmin, for example), and they often need an ECG paste for a good reliable connection. The latter is usually the most important trick. You can get the paste online at Excel and others -- I think the most common sports version is called something like Bu-bub, but if you get the big squirt bottles used in hospitals, they are a third the price and if anything, better.

One other thing is that you have to keep the little snap fittings completely scrubbed clean. They tend to pick up perspiration and corrode a bit, and then the contact comes and goes, just like you've described. Finally they just won't connect at all. I use a little Bartenders' Friend on a Q-tip and they clean out just fine. Silver polish also works well.

[professerr]

I have one of the more recent ones that I bought on a whim just to see what my heart rate was during rides. I found it unreliable too and stopped using it. I'm sure I could have fiddled with it a bit more to figure out how to make it work better, but I'm not serious enough about this stuff to bother.