Timex Easy Trainer Heart Rate Monitor

Timex Easy Trainer Analog Heart Rate Monitor

I''ve used a heart rate monitor for over 8 years and when my standby (had it since 2003)started acting up, I decided to look for a model with a backlight. The Indiglo backlight system from Timex appealed to me and the price for this HRM was OK to warrant a trial. I use a HRM primarily for cycling. I always monitor all my rides (even commutes to work and back) and try to maintain a heart rate in the cardiovascular conditioning range. I needed a HRM that could be read in the dark so I bought the Timex Easy Trainer which boasted indiglo backlight.

1) The good:

Light weight and comfortable chest strap, user replaceable CR2032 batteries, easy to read numbers, water resistant, backlight and the price was spot on for a no-frills HRM. Indigo backlight works great in the dark rides to and from the office. I like the fact that the chest strap transmitter has a faint "chirp sound" each time your heart registers a beat. If you don the strap in a quiet place and hear the "chirp" you know it''s reading your heart rate. If you don''t hear the faint "chirp" then you either have a dead battery or you may need to moisten your skin under the electrodes.

2) The stuff that might not affect you but it''s good to know:

This unit is sensitive to EMF (electronic, magnetic fields) when the batteries start to get low. My daily commute takes me directly under high voltage power lines for about a 1,200 yard stretch and I''ve found that the receiver drops the signal every time I ride under the power lines. Transmission is restored as soon as I get at least 60 feet away from the centerline of the powerline. I have repeated this test about 1/2 a dozen times and it is extremely predictable. With fresh batteries in both the chest strap and the receiver this doesn''t happen. I get at about 16 hours of use from fresh batteries before this EMF dropout starts to show up. If I stay away from the power lines and the EMF they create even the lower level batteries function just fine with this unit. If you own this unit and you experience a "drop out" (the watch suddenly shows no heart rate during usage) then I would check two things first, are you around some power lines when this occurred? and secondly, when''s the last time you changed batteries? This unit has worked flawlessly since I''ve learned this weird quirk.

Some reviewers have mentioned a "beep" when your heart beats and they are displeased. Yes, in a quiet room you will be able to hear the chest strap emit a faint "chirp" each time your heart beats. I kind of like that but it''s a personal preference. You cannot hear it when there''s normal ambient noise around you. You do need to slightly moisten the skin under the electrodes to get the unit transmitting if your skin is not moist at the time you don the chest strap. Once you begin exercising, your prespiration will provide the moisture.

The manual states the chest transmitter and the wristwatch receiver take a CR2032 battery. That is not correct. The transmitter is a CR2032 and the watch is a CR2025. A CR2025 is 0.7mm thinner than a CR2032 and the same voltage. A CR2032 appears to fit but it looks like the back "bulges" ever so slightly.

The indiglo backlight on this model is the kind that lights up the background (some indiglo watches light the numerals instead). The backlight is also momentary when you push the button it lights up for a couple of seconds and fades out.

3) The Conclusion:

In short, this is a great "no frills" heart rate monitor. I''ve logged over 1800 miles on my bike while using it. It took a few weeks of riding to understand the battery performance characteristics but since I''ve got those ironed out I''ve had flawless operation and can''t see myself riding without this unit. I would buy it again.

Overall, this HR monitor does what it''s supposed to. The only features that I know of and use are obviously the live HR monitoring, but also the average HR, maximum HR, and workout duration in minutes/seconds available at the end of the workout. The fact that it syncs up with some exercise machines is nice because then I can just look at the machine instead of the watch. The strap is comfortable, and I don''t notice it under my sports bra anymore now that I''ve learned to wear it a little tighter. The watch is comfortable, too; I don''t notice it bothering me while I run or lift.

I have a few complaints, however. In Amazon''s description it does say that that this watch will track calories. It does not. Granted, the data would likely be wildly inaccurate without knowing my age, gender, and VO2 max, for example. But an estimate would be nice for comparison between workouts. I could have gotten a slightly cheaper watch if I only wanted such basic functionality. Also, I haven''t figured out how to get workout summaries prior to ending a workout. It would be nice if I could see how long I''ve been working out, average HR, and max HR without having to end the session. Oh, and it stops working in some cars, in case anyone was planning on using it for all day HR monitoring. Not worth returning for these features, but perhaps I would have chosen something different if I had known.

Buy Timex Easy Trainer Heart Rate Monitor Now

Do NOT buy this heart rate monitor if you want CALORIE or PERCENTAGE OF HR information. It also does not have an alert when you aren''t in your peak HR range as it says it does. Overall I''m very disappointed with this product. I would have bought a different one if I had known, but now I can''t return since I opened it.

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I thought it had calorie counter with it. I may not have read the instructions right but I could have sworn there was a calorie counter

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The monitor has only these very basic functions:

*Time and date;

*Active heart beat rate;

*Duration of activity (starts from when the pulse rate monitoring function gets turned on and ends when it is turned off);

*Peak heart beat during the period when the heart monitoring was turned on;

*Average heart beat rate for the duration of the activity.

*All the previous stats are erased once the pulse rate monitoring function gets turned on and it starts the new stats.

The above are all the features. There are not any out of zone alarms or any of the of the additional falsely advertised bells and whistles. I assumed that I was getting the item as describe as they were the features that I was shopping for. I discovered the lack of the advertised features when the heart monitor arrived and I read the booklet which showed no mention of these additional features. The only reason that I am not returning it, is that there was an automatic $8 discount that I received at the check out.

Other than that, I was able to use it to monitor my heart beat rate right out of the box without even referring to the instructions at first; it was that easy and simple to operate.

(Note: One must wear the chest band if one wishes it to measure one''s heart beat rate, it doesn''t measure heart rate from wrist).

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