Customer Reviews

Oregon Scientific SmartSync Heart Rate Logger WM100

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

This product comes with the data receiver/recorder and with a CD with the software on it. It is the exact same product sold by Oregon Scientfic for $50. Easy to use, both while exercising and transferring the data via usb to PC.

I like the software because it shows daily, weekly, or monthly views of your exercise sessions and show how many minutes were spent exercising in each target zone.
I was going to buy the Polar F11 because it has features for helping you keep track of how much time you have spent in each zone per week and tells you how many more times, for how long, and how hard you need to exercise the rest of the week to reach your goal of maintaining, improving, or maximizing.

But with a little knowledge, a cheap no frills Polar heart rate monitor, and this software, I can manage my fitness program in just the same way as the expensive Polar F11 manages your program.

After a ton of research, I kept my Polar Fs1 (cheapest model I've had for 2 years already) and bought this recorder and software.

If you know enough about how much you need to exercise and in what target zones, then this is PERFECT and inexpensive way to manage your fitness program.

I got the below info from a website and it's the same logic the Polar F11 uses to create a fitness program for you. (I know because my co-worker bought the F11)

Target zones
Light: 60-70% HRmax Aerobic endurance
Moderate: 70-80% HRmax Aerobic power
Hard: 80-90% HRmax Aerobic stamina, anaerobic power and maximum performance

To maintain current level of fitness:
exercise approximately one and a half hours per week with light to moderate intensity, divided into two to three exercise sessions. The average duration of one exercise session is 30-45min.

To improve cardio, respiratory, and stamina:
exercise approximately three hours a week divided into three to five exercise sessions and by varying light, moderate and hard intensity. The average duration of one exercise session is 40-60min.

To maximize (move up a level of athleticism)
exercise approximately five hours a week, divided into four to six exercise sessions varying light, moderate and hard intensity. The average duration of one exercise session is 45-70min.

I can only imagine that this product works great, but apparently Timex codes their heart rate sensors differently, creating a compatibility issue. The discription could have been a bit more specific as to what sensors it works, or does not work, with.

If you purchase a Timex HRM and you want to log your workouts then you need to purchase the Timex T5G751 Data Recorder 2. It costs a bit more but it works.

I got this right before Christmas, right as our gym was closing down for 2 weeks. I have a Polaris FS1 heart rate monitor, and I fired it up just sitting for a few minutes to see how well it worked. The answer is very well.

I didn't have a problem with the Polaris T-31 band, and my brother-in-law has tried it too with his Polaris T-31 band. From the picture I had expected it to be a large device (like the GPS unit on the Timex Speed and Distance System) and was thrilled to find out that not only is it tiny, but that I can just clip it on to the chest strap and forget about it until the end of my workout.

The software is very nice, and generates some nice graphs and lets you see how long you are sitting in the various heart rate zones. It also allows you to save graphs (I use them on my blog) and you can also export the raw data in .csv format.

The only issues I have had with the device are:
1. The button to turn it on really has to be pushed hard. I was afraid it wasn't working but after pushing harder got it to turn on.
2. I was on a treadmill on the second story of a house, and it must have been getting interference from somewhere because the readings were all over the board. I am guessing it was something in that room however.

I am extremely pleased with this product, particularly for the price. I've had it about three months now and it's made my running a lot more fun. The data viewer that comes with it is underpowered, but you can easily export the data in a format excel can read and then get a better look at the graph in a spreadsheet. I used to have problems with "skips" in data, particularly at higher heart rates. I solved this problem by sample time from 1 second/sample to 3 seconds/sample, making sure my monitor was moist where it contacted the skin (it's a *very* cheap monitor) and clipping the recorder to my shirt collar, so it's right next to the monitor. The bonus for that is I now use it to clip my headphone cords to my shirt so that I'm not constantly yanking them out of my ears. The only persistent problem is that it won't record when my heart rate goes above 240 bpm, (extended dead sprinting and my heartrate naturally runs high) so it's not for the sprinters out there. Definitely fun and helpful, just don't expect professional grade software and you won't be disappointed.

This Oregon Scientific Heart Rate Logger doesn't work for me as it is advertised to do. Ostensibly, it will read the heart rate as transmitted from a Polar heart rate monitor. It doesn't. I tried with my own Polar chest strap, and a Cateye as well. Then I tried 5 other Polar chest straps, and a Garmin just to be sure. This item didn't read any of them. Perhaps I got a bad one, and perhaps if I exchanged this one, I would be satisfied. However, several emails over the course of 2 weeks to Heart Rate Monitors USA have gone unanswered. Buyer beware. The product is suspect, and the customer service is...well, non-existent

The device is smaller than expected; just over an inch;
we weren't sure if it was going to work for us, but we bought it in a pinch.
I have a generic heart rate monitor, and it worked just fine;
just press the button and it starts recording the time of mine.
The program that comes with it is not all that great;
there are features to make graphs and keep records, but other features could've been added easily, to make better use of the heart rate.
A nice function is being able to export to excel;
if you are good at using the program, you can make better graphs, utilize the data, and that's pretty much all I have to tell.
P.S. Its definitely worth the price;
i didn't have to save up by only eating rice!

IMPORTANT NOTE TO POLAR HEART RATE MONTIOR USERS: This unit will NOT work with the T31-Coded Chest Strap! You must use a Heart Rate Monitor from Polar that is compatible with the standard T31 chest strap.

I just purchased this product and for the price am pretty happy with it thus far. It is very small (the center clear plastic display area is exactly the size of a nickel) and weighs 3/4 of an ounce or about 22 grams.

There are two reasons I cannot give it 5 stars.

1. There is little documentation as to which heart rate chest straps this unit will work with. Turns out that the Polar T31-Coded chest strap that came with my Polar F6 watch, does not work with it. Luckily for me I have an older plain T31 chest strap that works fine (with both the data logger and my Polar F6).

2. The battery was almost dead when the unit arrived. I had to go out and spend an additional $5 (us dollars) to get a replacement battery before I could use it.

So far though, the unit does what it claims to do and that is give me second by second heart rate information during my workouts. Also, I am using the software on Windows Vista with no problems. To avoid issues that others may have had in transferring data, install the software BEFORE connecting the data logger to the PC for the first time.

This product would not work on my computer most of the time. Every once in a while (about 1 of 20 tries) it would work. I called Oregon Scientific and they said they don't support the software. They gave me the name of another company but they didn't even have a phone number for them. I tried it on my work computer and it worked.

I had this same problem with a data logging blood pressure monitor but have not had issues with any other USB devices on my computer. Everything else works well plug and play.

If you know how to make sure you are very computer savvy or you might be wasting your money. I even bought a new USB hub and that didn't work either.

I have a Polar F55 heart rate monitor and I use the Polar online software. Recently Polar did an "upgrade" to the software which turned out to be a downgrade since it reduced the functionality so I went in search of something that I could control on my computer.

I found this item and I am quite pleased with it. You just clip it on your chest strap and it collects infomation while you work out. It connect to your computer through a cable and USB port (no quirky audible or infrard stuff) and lickity split the data is on your computer. I particularly like the fact that the data is stored in an excel database so that you can manipulate it as you will.

Polar eat your heart out!

I've had one of these for more than 3 years now. It works great, so good in fact that I bought one for my son and another for my daughter.

I have read problems here that I have never experienced. Not with any of the ones I bought. It has worked with my and my daughters Nike chest bands, my son's Polaris chest band and works best with a cheap Chinese no-name chest band I picked up from ebay for $19.

Both the Nike and Polaris chest bands do not work well for my bigger body. They have a 'curve' to them that lifts them off my chest during intense exercise (like riding a motocross bike). This can cause the Smartsync to record sporadically, but it is the fault of the chest band, not the Smartsync. I have no such issues with the cheap Chinese no-name chest band. My Smartsync does not seem to get phased or bothered with any exercise equipment computers I have used it with and does not interfere with them either. It just works.