by Dave Camire
Imagine a device that can measure running distance, speed,
pace and heart rate with impressive accuracy. Now imagine being able to download
this information, at the touch of a button to your own personal online running
log. Does this sound to good to be true? Well it isn’t! The Fitsense
FS-1 Speedometer does all that and much more.
I must admit that I was a little skeptical that any device could accurately measure my running mileage. I run on very hilly routes and my stride length and pace is constantly changing. Nevertheless, when my FS-1 arrived in the mail I was ready to test it with an open mind.
The box contained all the system components needed to get started
-- including a watch, foot pod, Netlink, the optional heart rate monitor and
user manual. The 25-page user manual was nicely written with lots of diagrams
and graphics accompanying the text. The first thing I did was sit down and
read the manual from cover-to-cover. This took me about 45 minutes and was
time well spent in understanding this feature rich device.
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| Fitsense
Watch |
The FS-1 watch resembles something you might expect to see
George Jetson or Captain Kirk wearing. It took me a while to adjust to its
space age design. It has a side-mounted display so you do not need to turn your
wrist to view it. The window of the watch is larger than your conventional
digital watch, but with all the information you can monitor during workouts you
quickly realize the reason for this additional real estate.
The foot pod, which you must wear to measure speed and pace,
is slightly larger than the champion chip and weighs about the same. The pod
has a simple yet very clever design for attachment. It uses a rungee (elastic)
cord that makes attachment and removal simple. I do not need to unlace my
shoes to remove it.
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| Foot
Pod |
Finally the Netlink device connects to your PC serial port
and communicates wirelessly to the watch. This device allows you to store and
chart your activities online and to personalize your watch from the web. In
many ways this reminded me of how a Palm Pilot communicates with your computer
sans the cradle.
Once I familiarized myself with the components, it was time
to calibrate my FS-1. According to the manual there are two ways to calibrate
the unit, one is on a measured track (400 or 200 meters) and the other method
is by using a treadmill. The recommended method is a measured track.
Unfortunately with all the snow we have had this winter, track calibration
was not a viable option for me.
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|
Netlink |
I decided to use a treadmill for my calibration. I soon discovered
that not all treadmills are properly calibrated. After I completed my treadmill
calibration, I was off to check it against a USATF certified 8-kilometer course.
To my dismay, the watch was off by about a half-mile.
As luck would have it, that afternoon I received an email
newsletter from Fitsense outlining a method for calibrating the unit on the
road. Using my certified course, I was able to properly calibrate the unit
using my 8-kilometer course.
Once I felt I had the unit properly calibrated, I started
checking it against other training loops. In every case the measurement matched
the distance of the course. However the real test came during a run in late
March. The run was a measured point-to-point 30-kilometer Boston Marathon
training run. At the start of the run I started my FS-1. As we ran along I
became engrossed in the conversation and totally forgot about checking my FS-1.
It wasn’t until we stopped at a water stop at 15 miles that I checked it. To
everyone’s amazement the display read 15 miles!
The device is well engineered from my
perspective. I really like the fact that the batteries on the watch, foot pod,
Netlink and the heart rate monitor strap are very easy to replace. My unit came
with additional batteries.