The question I get asked the most by friends and acquaintances goes something like this: my Forerunner shows heart rate data in little tiny numbers. How do I get it bigger? Or: I only see time, distance and pace — how do I show calories? Since we’re all about options, most Garmin fitness devices let you customize multiple training screens with a variety of data fields. Choose fewer fields if you want the numbers bigger — more fields if you want to see more data on one screen. All you have to do is find your way to the main menu and then go through the settings submenus until you get to data fields or training pages. Best of all, you can set the screen up like you want for one workout and then change things up for another. Last night, my workout called for 800m repeats at the track, so I set up one of my FR60 screens to show lap pace and lap time so I could check my stats at a glance and make sure I was on track for my goal. If you want to customize screens on your Forerunner 405 or Edge 705, Jake will show you the way. If you have an FR60, I’ll take you through the steps. Check out the videos below.

With topics ranging from Custom Maps to custom icons, and hints for features such as track navigation and track archiving, my engineering friends in outdoor recreation have been updating the Trail Tech blog to help you get the most out of your Garmin outdoor handheld. Easily accessible through the On The Trail section of Garmin.com, Trail Tech is a hands-on guide to specific features and updates, written by the same brilliant minds who design our innovative handhelds. To give you an idea of the helpful insight you can gain from Trail Tech, here are excerpts from recent posts, with direct links to each. 

Understanding Track Archiving Improvements: In the latest beta firmware, Oregon 450 and 550
devices add more utility to track archiving. They now support adjusting
the automatic archiving to occur daily or weekly. For
many, adjusting this setting will reduce tracklog clutter on the map
display. (Click here for more on track archiving)

Personalize Your Map with Custom Symbols: With the latest beta firmware
for Oregon 450 and 550, users can create entirely new or replacement
symbols for waypoints and geocaches New symbols are
grouped together in the waypoint symbol list under the “Custom” heading. (Click here for step-by-step instructions)

Getting More Out of Track Navigation: We’ve added automatic detection of high- and low-points using elevation
stored in the saved track. These points are added
to the map and listed on the active route page. If
you have significant landmarks, campsites, trailheads, restrooms, or
other points saved as waypoints, our new track navigation includes all
waypoints located along the track and lists them on the active route
page. (Click here for more on track archiving)

Creating Garmin Custom Maps in Five Easy Steps: This unique feature allows users to combine Garmin map drawing technology with georeferenced map images, effectively putting a paper map inside your Garmin GPS. (Click here for step-by-step instructions)

Stay tuned to Trail Tech for more GPS tips and tricks, and get even more enjoyment out of your adventures this spring and summer!

Over the weekend I went for a ride on my time trial (TT) bike for the first time since racing in Dallas last October. The black Beyond Fabrications frame is the same bike I rode in 2007 when I won Amateur Worlds in Germany, but I’ve made a few key upgrades to it. Most recently, I added an SRM Dura-Ace powermeter, which uses ANT+ wireless technology to pair seamlessly with my Garmin Edge 705. On my road bike I’d been using a Quarq CinQo powermeter for about a year and a half, and I was excited to see how the SRM’s performance would compare.

My Edge 705 display is set to show seven data fields (out of a possible on the main page: Lap Split, Heart Rate, Power (3s running average), Cadence, Speed, Distance, and Energy (Kilojoules). I use the 3s average because typically power data sampled at higher rates is not steady enough to follow. The Edge 705 also has an option for 10 second averaging, which gives an even better idea of the steady state wattage you’re pushing.  The Energy setting is really nice to look at instead of distance as a measure of how hard I have worked. A Kilojoule (KJ) is power multiplied by time. So if you push one thousand watts (kilowatt) for one second, you’ll produce 1KJ of energy. Or – if you’re human – you may produce a KJ by pedaling 125 watts for 8 seconds, or 200 watts for 5 seconds… you get the idea. To help you conceptualize, a kilowatt hour – like the ones you pay for every month on your electricity bill – is equal to 3,600 Kilojoules. In my three-hour, 55 mile ride on Saturday I produced just under 2,000 KJ (connecting your trainer to a power generator will not save you much money). A few weeks ago, however, I rode three hours and covered only 50 miles of pavement, but produced 2500 KJ of energy because the terrain was significantly more difficult, the weather was worse, and somehow the downhill sections still required pedaling.

Back to my first impressions of the SRM powermeter.  Without a calibrated ergometer to test both powermeters side-by-side, I can’t make a claim for which is more accurate, but judging by how they perform during rides on a computrainer, both seem to provide data precise enough for me to rely on it during my training and racing. The big difference between my two units is the quality of the crank that the powermeter is mounted to. The Shimano Dura-Ace cranks and chain-rings of my SRM are much higher quality than the FSA Team cranks on my early-issue Quarq CinQo. Quarq now sells their product on more reliable crank systems (from SRAM, Specialized, even Rotor). Otherwise, I can’t tell a performance difference – they both work very well.

To learn more about viewing Power data on your Edge 705, check out this video from Garmin’s online learning center.

Did you know that Garmin has a fleet management interface so you can turn the Garmin GPS device into a messaging terminal. Whether its delivery vans or taxi cabs, we team with many third parties in
order to provide PND-based
offerings that help operators make sure their vehicles are achieving maximum
efficiency. Today, Navtrack
announced they will use Garmin devices for real-time vehicle tracking and fleet
management.

Our fleet management interface makes it possible for dispatchers to send
multiple destinations and other instructions directly to drivers. By using the
Garmin device as a screen in their vehicle, drivers get real-time voice
prompted navigation, messaging and job dispatch capabilities at their
fingertips. Using a third party sensor, fleet managers can also track vital GPS
information like vehicle location, speed and direction of travel, distance
traveled, elapsed time, number of stops and fuel status. 

With features such as ecoRoute, lifetime traffic and cityXplorer, the ultra-thin and portable nϋvi 1390T is popular for epic road trips and scenic vacations. But The Family Handyman magazine points out that it excels with everyday chores as well. In their April issue, The Family Handyman shines the spotlight on nϋvi as an example of “Brainier navigation.”

“Even if you’re not map impaired, you need this cool GPS from Garmin,” the editors write. “It taps into traffic reports and reroutes you around traffic jams. That’ll save you time. Want to pick up food on the way? This baby will pull up all the restaurants along your route and sort them by cuisine. Get the Bluetooth model and you can use it as a speakerphone.”

While we all dream of big adventures and exotic excursions, thanks to the folks at Family Handyman for reminding us that little helpers like a pocket-sized nϋvi can keep our daily routine from becoming a nightmare.