I have the Polar F4 heart rate monitor, and I do like it. However,today when I was doing upper body weight workout, it said my pulse was 200, which is ridiculous. Does anybody else have a similar problem.
I have had that issue with 2 old HRMs that I had. One was not digital and the instructions said it could pick up interference by powerlines. I run under powerlines, so my HR was either really low (like 30) or 240. The second HRM I got was a digital Timex. When it started to die a slow death, it would show 240. Eventually it quit reading. I think sometimes the wacky readings can be the result of a dying battery, so replacing it can resolve the problem.
I've given up on HRM's. I've had chest strap styles (Timex and Polar) and strapless (Mio's) and they have all died a slow death after acting wonky. After slicing into the last chest strap to replace the battery and it still didn't work, I threw all of them away. My 6 different pedometers are going to quickly follow
I ditched my Polar F4 after experiencing similar problems. Plus, I found that I was constantly checking it to see how many calories I had burned and I felt that I was focusing on the wrong aspect of fitness. I feel like I get much better workouts now that I'm actually focused on working out and not my HRM.
I also have the F4...the newer model that lets you replace the battery in the watch and the chest strap. I found when it acts wonky, one of the batteries needs to be replaced...
My HRM was acting great until recently. My average heart rate readout and working ranges suddenly dropped about 50 BPM. I know the actual transmitter piece was working fine because the readouts on the spin bike haven't changed! Good to know it's probably just a battery. I was getting ready to go out and buy a new HRM.
I have a bluetooth Polar HR monitor. It started getting wonky and giving me obviously poor readings. I replaced the battery and it's been fine since then.
One is the FT4 and I don't know what the other one is. I had to use the other one today as the FT4 was acting strange. I am a perfectionist, and I have to know what my heart rate is and how many calories I burned. I also use Boost electrode cream under the strap. Since I have two HRM's, I can usually get one to work. Thank you for all the input.