Erratic readings from Tickr HR monitor

[Paul Drawmer]

I've done this workout loads of times, and I have apretty good idea of what my body's doing whilst I'm on the trainer.
The objective here is to do a constant speed workout for one hour with a max bpm of 135.

Basically, I need to do about 15.5 mph and at the end of the hour, I'm just knocking on 135bpm

My hrm (wahoo Tickr) started sending odd information to Wahoo Fitness on my phone. I looked at the connection details in the app and it showed the Tickr with the strongest signal (well, it is nearer the phone than the cadence sensor or the turbo)

But in the trace below it shows that near the end of the hour the readings just go low intermittently. Where I've placed the cursor I know my hr would have been about 135 at that point, not the 99 it is showing.

I replaced the battery recently and I always use conductive gel on the chest strap.

Is this a sign it's just giving up - how long should they last? It's about 3 years old.

[lufbramatt]

I find eventually the connections inside the strap itself start to break, the transmitter box thingy is probably fine. Looks like you can get replacement straps for £15-20.

[Paul Drawmer]

Searching on the 'net; it's not an uncommon problem. The strap was changed about 3 sessions ago, and it gets washed with the other kit in the machine.

BTW - I have washed the monitor module in a full 30C wash and it survived, but I have only done it the once!

Lots of posts suggest poor strap performance, but one suggested conductive gel on the actual contacts - I'll try that for a few sessions and see what happens.

[frisbee]

Cheapo Amazon/Ebay straps seem to be a lot better than the official Wahoo ones.