Garmin Forerunner 305 Review (part 4) - Locating satellites and satellite reception
One of the main reasons I didn’t buy a GPS for running when I first bought a heart rate monitor with pace monitoring functionality was because most of the reviews I read at the time were talking about poor satellite reception in built up areas or areas with a lot of cloud cover.
However, this was a good 3 years ago now, so having read more reviews recently about the Garmin Forerunner 305 and how Garmin had improved the chip that locates the satellites, I didn’t have an excuse not to buy one anymore!
So, how do you get the Garmin Foreunner 305 to locate satellites?
This is the easy bit…. as soon as you turn the wrist unit on, the Garmin starts to search for satellites.
However, this can be a bit annoying, as if you just want to turn the unit on to look at your history of runs then you need to hit the ‘mode’ key to move from the ‘Locating satellites’ message.
What’s the satellite reception like with the Garmin Foreunner 305?
Well, I’m not in the most built up of areas - I live in the south east of the UK in leafy Kent… so although not built up, we have our fair share of cloud cover!
At home the unit takes about 1 minute to locate and fix on to enough satellites to get an efficient enough satellite reception for use. I find the best thing to do is turn the wrist unit on and leave it on my doorstep whilst I do my pre-run stretching routine. It’s then simple enough to open the door, put the Garmin on, and then run off (slowly of course to warm up!).
I also start my runs from my gym and the unit takes about the same time to find and lock on to satellites from there too (outside of course!).
How accurate is the Garmin Forerunner 305’s satellite reception?
The unit normally finds about 8 different satellites and locks on to about 3… there’s a screen to see the satellites its found and which ones it’s locked on to. You can also see the accuracy of the unit at any time. It normally says to +/- about 150 feet.
Does the Garmin lose reception during a run?
I’m yet to see the Garmin Forerunner 305 lose reception during a normal training run. On a couple of occasions it has taken maybe up to 2 minutes to initially get a reception, but then it’s been fine.
The biggest test I’ve carried out wasn’t on a run, but on a train journey from London to Bristol. I managed to locate and lock on to satellites from within the train when coming out of Paddington Station, and then kept the unit on all the way to Bristol.
Apart from when in tunnels, the unit lost satellite reception may be about 3 times on the whole journey (due to high banks to the side of the railway).
What happens if reception is lost?
As I said above, I’m yet to lose reception on a training run (just in train tunnels!), but when the unit does lose satellite reception it remembers the location of where the reception was lost and then assumes that a straight line was travelled between that point and the point at which the satellite reception was regained.
The big question…. how accurate is the unit for measuring distance?
This is obviously the biggest question on everyone’s lips before buying GPS device for running!
I can honestly say that I’m not disappointed with the Garmin Forerunner 305. I haven’t carried out a test on a track, but for the non-elite runner this unit seems to be extremely precise.
I’ve measured a mile from my house using my old Polar footpod (which had been calibrated some time ago) and with my cycling computer, and the Garmin is pretty much exactly the same - give or take a couple of yards.
What to do next...
- Leave a comment about this post
- Read other articles with these tags:
Garmin Forerunner 305, GPS - Visit the homepage to see the latest articles
(This entry was posted on March 23rd, 2008.)
Posted by: AndrewE
on March 26th, 2008 at 3:13 am
Mine is on its initial charge now! 2 hours till I can go for a run!
Posted by: Niki
on April 24th, 2008 at 12:01 pm
Hi,
I like reading these comments, very useful (and funny too)!
I’m just about to by one of these watches, I think this 305 is the winner, but..
I have read some reviews, like the one below:
“Im a slim chap and have big problems with the HRM (Connects ok, but rarely gets an accurate rate)”
So can this be a real problem?
And another thing. I’m a slim (and short) girl and was wondering about wrist circumference… Does it fit well to all types of wrists?
Posted by: mart
on April 25th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Hi Niki… and welcome!
For a guy I have surprisingly thin wrists.. and the Garmin Forerunner 305 fits me just fine. It does actually come with another wrist strap in case the one that comes as standard is too small… so this should give you a good indication of how flexible the sizes are.
Mart
Posted by: Niki
on April 26th, 2008 at 2:06 pm
Hi Mart,
Thanks for the answer. I’ll definitely buy one very soon. And once it is on and working I’ll come back and share my experiences!
Niki
Posted by: Niki
on May 11th, 2008 at 7:00 pm
Well, I’ve got the Forerunner! Nice and stylish - as described
I’ve used it three times already. I’ve had no problems with the watch or strap itself, but with the Training Center program. No big problems though. I’m now re-installing it which should solve the problem.
Niki
Posted by: mart
on May 11th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
Hi Niki,
Glad you got one!
What problem have you been having with the Training Center? I must admit, I don’t really use it myself. I think there are better programs available.
Mart
Posted by: Niki
on May 13th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Hi Mart,
One of the problems has now been solved. The other thing is I can not update the program itself. All sorts of error messages come up. However, the program seems to be working fine.
What programs do you use that are compatible with the Forerunner 305?
Niki
Posted by: mart
on May 18th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Hi Niki,
I’ll hopefully post an article about the software I use soon.
Regards,
Mart
Posted by: mads kjolby
on June 22nd, 2008 at 11:31 pm
Hi
I’ve just bought a forerunener 305 but it takes minimum 5 minutes for it to locate satellites. I live in central copenhagen and I wonder if that could cause the problem. I can’t see myself in front of my front door for at least 5 minutes waiting for the watch to work in the wintertime:-( Any suggestions?
Best wishes,
Mads
Posted by: mart
on June 23rd, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Hi Mads, and welcome to the site!
I find the best and quickest way to lock on to the satellites is to place the watch on the ground (or on a wall or something), so that the sensor is pointing straight up in to the sky.
If I’m setting off from home I put the watch on my doorstep before I start putting my running shoes on on… so that by the time I’ve stretched and sorted myself out it’s locked on to the satellites.
Let me know how you get on…
mart
Posted by: Andrew
on July 11th, 2008 at 10:54 am
I just read the note re the connection from the heart rate monitor being a bit temperemental. I’ve used the 305 and prior to that a polar monitor and they both work just fine, as long as you moisten the contact area first so that it can get a contact off your skin. Obviously once you are warmed up and a bit sweaty, it’s fine anyway, but if you use a couple of drops of water you should be fine. Alternatively you can get a tube of electrode gel, but I find water works just fine.
Posted by: mart
on July 11th, 2008 at 7:39 pm
Hi Andrew,
I completely agree… I never have any problems with the heart rate strap/monitor. I simply lick my finger and rub it over each sensor before putting the strap on.
Mart
Posted by: Niki
on August 5th, 2008 at 3:36 pm
Hi Mart,
I’ve been using the Forerunner 305 for a couple of months now and it still works fine!
But I still have problems with its software… I’ve now installed it onto another computer but when I try to uptade the program, it just fails all the time… :-/
Are there any other free programs available I can use this Forerunner with?
Niki
Posted by: chris
on August 12th, 2008 at 10:16 pm
I’m working with mac (osx) and the trainingsoftware just works perfect.
I also use a website (www.motionbased.com) for uploading my traininghistory. It is free and does everything a non-prof runner.
I’m running and biking with my forerunner now for 2 months and i’m impressed about the quality of satellite-reception.
Just trying to find out now how to upload a custommade program into the forerunner. Some better tutorials wouldn’t be bad in the manual.
Chris
Posted by: trio
on September 17th, 2008 at 1:19 pm
I use sportstracks software on my PC I think it is brilliant!