A Great Trick Solving your Heart-Rate Strap Problem 

Thanks Tom, The resistance of my Suunto Smart Sensor belt was truly the problem. I had the fortune of being able to test your theory on a working belt and the resistance was measurably the problem. Thanks for that research!

Thanks so much for this video! The multimeter tip was a great way to confirm that yes, my belt had come to the end of its life. I got a reading of 17 kilo-ohms from it. Got a new belt, and it gave a result of about 550 ohms. Problem solved. (the problem was that during an exercise the heart rate reading would go down to 00 for several minutes at a time) By the way, some people claim that some people's sweat has a bigger impact on the contacts than others.

I have been licking my heart-rarte strap contacts for 10 years. Works every time.

Wow, you solved my Suunto belt problem! I had tried everything! Nice work!

Thanks! I was able to measure the resistance of the belt and confirm it's the problem. Prior to watching your video I just placed my thumbs over the contacts on the module and got a good HR on the watch. Your resistance test confirmed the belt is bad 2M Ohms

The correct resistance information is really helpful. Thanks!

I bought a new HRM strap and I was wondering why It wasn't showing my heart rate even though I was appying the instuctions, but with your trick It worked! Thank you.

I have had very similar problems with my Suunto heart-rate belt (used with an Ambit3 Peak). In my case the heart rate readings had become intermittent and incorrect, and then finally I could not get the watch to pick up anything. To cut a long story short: the problem was the electrical contact between the central connectors (where the Suunto module plugs in) and the conducting polymer strips that run to the contact pads. On one side I had a reasonably low resistance (about a 1 kOhm) between the connector and the pad, and on the other side greater than 300 kOhm. For whatever reason (poor design, penetration of sweat etc) the contact between the connector and conductive polymer had failed. My solution: I carefully slit open the rubber seal on each side of the connectors to expose the contact between the polymer strip and the connector. I then cleaned up the area (mechanically and with isopropanol) and used a silver conductive epoxy to remake the connection. Finally I sealed it back up again with an RTV silicone. Result: works perfectly now. Or I guess you could buy a new belt...although I think it is likely the same deterioration will happen over time, unless Suunto have changed the design. Final comment: I also cleaned the pads rubbing gently with water and isopropanol. I don't thing this was critical, but you can certainly improve the surface conductance doing this. If you wanted to make a conductive gel --- you could try potassium/sodium salt ( from the supermarket) dissolved in glycerol/water. This is a well known combination. Licking probably works fine, anything that is not pure water will improve conductivity.

Extremely valuable info, never tought that the belt can cause wrong reading, thnx a lot

Thanks! Tip about resistants is very helpfull!

6 years later, just saved my HRM from the bin. Water on the chest worked! Chest strap lasted 3 years so not bad. Now I discovered the water trick I’ll get another 3 years before ordering the strap lol. Agreed regarding battery. Good quality lasts a while. Also worth remembering, whilst 6-12 months is easily achievable on a good battery, if you train multiple times a day (3-6 hours daily total) then the battery may need replacing quit a bit sooner. Thank you for the tips and hacks 🙌

Thank you Tom Tech! Very helpful!🤙

Very useful thing about wetting the band and readings in the multitester. Thanks.

Just great .thanks for the explanation

Hi Tom. Thanks for this. I have been having issues with my polar h10 strap of recent with it just dropping out now and then. Eventually it wouldn't connect so replaced the battery which got it working but it still drops out. I have not had an issue with it for the last yr with just wetting the electrodes. But will try your method. I did just test the belt which came out good at 0.7 ohms. Thanks for posting your video. Regards Lee

thank you, really helpful, tried new batteries etc, did not think of the belt, tested it and it was really bad! will buy a new one :-)

Fab. Top tips. Thanks for making this.

If you have a polar h7 that skips and spikes during movement I fixed mine by doubling up some tin foil in between the belt and the connection domes, this basically tightens the connection. Works well

Thank you! Your technique worked. I was about to replace it.

Hi Tom. Thank you very much for this material, very helpful. Will use that moisten skin instead belt method for sure. Greetings from Poland

Thanks for the advice, it works for me ✌️

Great info Tom, well done

I submerge my belt in water completely before workout, and no problems whatsoever. It also helps the belt to stay in place, because it "sticks" to my skin and I don't have to overtighten it.

Thanks Tom that was really enjoyable to watch! Good stuff!

Thank you ! Solved the problem for me !

Thanks for the tips!

Thanks Tom adding moisture to my skin first did the trick it is now working again I love your studio

This is the first Fitbit I have used. It has some new features ru-vid.comUgkxbkrje8Y7BaqRkAjimw-55ajvVo7RbcIp and I like the information that it gives me.I think the phone app could be designed to be a bit more accommodating, as it can be confusing to use. The rubber band is comfortable, and normally I do not like rubber bands for my watches, but this is comfortable.I am looking forward to seeing if this helps me stay accountable in my fitness endeavors!My only gripe is the box was very damaged when it arrived, however, the tracker is performing perfectly!

I bought a new Polar H9. Could not get it to pair. Wet my chest (just as you said) and it worked immediately! Thank you.

Hello! I had long since given up on my Wahoo Tickr. But inspired by your video I tested the resistance of the strap. Although I had thoroughly cleaned it the resistance was over 7 kOhm. I then rubbed the pads with silicone remover and got down to about 0.3 kOhm. In today's Zwift session the HRM worked just fine. Thanks for the tipp, I wouldn't have thought of testing the resistance.

Good info, thank you.

Okay this worked for me. I tried everything and even at my gym class i was sweating bullets so i figured the belt was wet anyways from sweat. But wetting my skin after putting the belt on worked. I was so sad that I couldn’t get this damn think to work. Thanks

My Polar H7, was not working. I measured the belt resistance and it had more than 12k Ohms. To have the information about the correct value of the resistance was very useful for me.(

Большое спасибо! Благодаря Вашему видео удалось реанимировать TIMEX HRM. Самое главное в электроннике - это контакт! :)

Kiitos Tomppa, hyvä kikka toi ihon kastelu!

that trick worked for me .. thanks a lot

Synths and heart-rate straps...weird combination. I thought I was the only one. Nice setup mate!

Great vid thanks. I tried all your tips eventually discovered that the resistance of the strap was 200K. I would never have thought of doing it that way. Also didn't know the strap could be bought separately

It helps :) Thank you very much!

Thank you for sharing

The Best! 👍🏻

Thank you for these tips. My HRM either doesn't work, or works erratically. I'll try it one more time by cleaning the sensors more thoroughly and wetting my chest instead of the sensors. I think a gel/lubricant is also an idea worth trying.

Cool - thanks!

Your video was helpful for me thank you

Just followed the instruction - instantly better - genius (and logical)

Dude! This is great! I just licked and it created a connection!

Thank you 🙏🏽 really helped

real good job

It worked thanks

Hehey thank you Tom. I checked my old ant belt step by step you showed and found that the problem probably, if not definitely, in resistance of rubber contacts. Why probably, because I haven't that measure device but with method of deduction, checking other variants and connectivity with the watch was the same - no outputs - I stopped on this. Even visible it could be seen a little dust and micro damages around the corners. I tried to clean from dust, it almost the same, some outputs were 2-5 seconds but then again no outputs. I think it's time to replace with new belt and test it with my old ant sensor, I suppose it still works because 2-5 seconds of outputs say it still alive :) Or may be take completely new one with new standards. Again thanks for advices, keep it doing. Nice channel, useful advices :)

Good video. Tap water isn't the greatest conductor, so I have thought of using saline or ECG electrode gel to put on my chest. Some say the electrode gel can cause the heart rate strap not want to stay up because it is so slick.

Thanks mate!

nice synths dude

Very useful information. Nice to know how to measure the resistance, and very good to say what it _should_ be. I was able to eliminate increased resistance from the belt as a reason for my apparently non-functioning HRM. I had tried shorting the contacts, in addition to changing and leaving the battery out for several minutes. The last thing I tried was deleting the HRM from my watch, and rediscovering the HRM. It turned out that it changed it's "name" from whatever it was previously (a six digit number) to "496158". By re-discovering/pairing, I was able to use it again.

Thanks for the share it helps :)

Really good video

Appreciate it!

Thank you very much :)

Thanks!!!

Is that elitebook 8540w on the back plan?

I've used a H10 sensor for about 2 or 3 years, but the belt has broken down. I was doing the chest-moistening trick but also putting some water on the belt, even though I noticed the same issue (the plastic pads are hydrophobic). However, even though I don't use the belt super often, cracks started to appear in the contact pads. Yesterday the HR updates got slower and slower, then stopped. My suspicion is that the way I stored the belt caused this -- I was basically folding it over itself, which obviously caused elastic deformation stress over time. My next belt will be gently rolled up instead, I think.

Damn the thumbnail looked like Dr evil...from Aston powers...I definitely clicked the wrong video 😆 🤣

Genus!!!!!

Hello , when the watch and belt is paired you can see the hartrate on your watch?

thank you for your video. I found this very helpful. Question : How can I measure HR belt's resistance if the module is not removable such as Garmin HRM tri?

I found where the problem is with pairing belt- after some time without using, I can't pair my belt with Suunto watch. Try to reset belt, but without success even battery in watch is new. Then I change battery in watch - even watch works well, and now paired successfully.

greats advices

Thanks for the video. 99% isopropylic alcohol restore the resistance to my 2 belts. My old one had no reading and after vigorous rubbing with IPA , it now read less than 500ohm. My newer one reading went from 800ohm to 220 ohm.

Use your own spit, it's the best, and you always got it with you, if you don't have spit, you should not run anyway :-))

Thanks for the video. I've had bogus readings 3 straight days with my Polar chest strap. The strap looks great, but tested terribly. I have several other straps that tested well & look forward to trying one of them tomorrow.

Hi, can I pair it directly with my phone?

Tom great help thanks ! What is all that sound arenal on the back ?

thanks

Can you pair a Suunto heart rate belt to a Garmin Edge 830 ?

Thanks Tom. really helpful. I have a question. Is there any way to pair a Suunto Quest watch with the Movescount App?

Hi. Your comments about resistance pad to pad interested me. My garmin strap stopped working....battery was down to 2.4 volts. Replacing battery with new battery working at 3.4 volts did not work. I measured resistance across pads as you suggest and it was massive...1.2mohm. I assumed strap was dead on the basis of your advice. However, I then tried shorting battery contacts as per another video on youtube and then replaced battery. Worked fine immediately. My message would be that I'm not sure your comments on resistance between pads are a reliable indicator of whether the strap is broken. Btw my strap is an old ant only 1. Ta jim uk

Ha ha good point with the water, yet I only put on inside strap. Your right the water does fall off.

I am a one hand person, how can I put the polar h10 belt on my chest, any tips, thank you, have a great day,

Very good! Thanks my friend

Try conductive gel, $2 on amazon, works in the winter ( low moisture dry air) and lasts the entire workout.

That's a valuable video, thanks. Iam having a Wahoo Tickr one and its sensor pads are coming out of the strap, can I fix it with a glue or replace it, please suggest.

That's help

Thank you very much Sir, so much that I learnt in this video, but I couldn't see how to measure the resistance of the belt strap , maybe you should make it more easy for us to understand in another video, and do you sell, heart rate belt so I can buy from you sir?

Use uLtra sound gel or adult lubrication gel. It will stay moist for hours. Water or sweat on skin will also evaporate if your doing a easy workout. Lubricant will work amazing.

Hi. I have this belt and I notice that when the CR2025 battery gets to 2.9v the belt won't connect with my Suunto peak watch and I have to install a new battery. This occurs consistently. I use Duracell batteries The manual says the battery should last 500 hours. Is the smart sensor broken or consuming too much battery? The sensor is 2 years old, in good shape. Thank You UPDATE: I installed the "old" battery which has 2.9v back into the sensor and used the movescount to connect to the sensor so i could get a battery level reading. The battery is showing 50%. I wonder if the sensor is acting weird.

Hello, can you show me how to clean the central button (Suunto Ambit). Is that when I squeeze it, it gets stuck or it is difficult to return to its initial position to tighten it again. Thank you

Hello Tom, is it necessary that the central sensor (where the battery goes) is in contact with the chest? because I have pectus excavatum and this sensor is suspended in the air but the side contacts make contact with my skin but I do not get a real heart rate. Thanks you!

…...4 year old belt, well used, intermittent heart rate readings, soooo...I washed it, replaced the battery, reset it, washed the strap, washed the contacts etc and having established my belt was defunct. I sourced a replacement for £20....then decided to use fine sandpaper on the rubber contacts on the belt to rough it up a bit and in theory improve connection.....success, belt back fully functioning.

Hello Tom, I used my strap over a year. Battery ran out. I replaced and ran out after 2 runs. This happened 3times ever since. I used batteries from other stores, even good brand.

Hi. How strong should I press while measuring resistance? For if I press slightly with approximate power on my chest, then it is above 20 oms. But if I press hard, I can reach about 9 oms. So what power is OK? And one more question - why you say 10 oms are the line I can through my strap off? :)

Thanks for the advice, question, you said 10k ohms where you found this info?

Nice tips. One question. Will the sweat on the chest’s skin moisturize the contact? It’s almost always that I sweat in the area where the sensor sits. A good practice is to wipe the belt with warm water after each use to keep it clean and germ free. Just my 2 cents worth. Thanks.

what kind of battery is used in Polar H 10? The one where voltage slowly goes down to zero, or the one where voltage is constant 3V during the lifetime, and then it suddenly drops to zero? Or, in other words: how can Polar measure your heart voltage in micro-volts, but can't display if a battery is 3,12V or 1,97V ?

Hello! Does this suunto have the external temperature function ??

What can you do to prevent contamination?

My brand new suunto Smart Sensor spikes to heart rates of over 200 bpm, while my max heart rate is 189 bpm. I wash and dry it after each training. My polar H7 works perfectly fine. Suunto has problems.

Wetting the skin instead of the strap is genius!

you are going to sweat so it will be moisten or it will be soak to your own sweat. my problem is that the HR strap is not working if i am over sweating

Hello. Thank you for the very informative video. I owm a Brytom 610 cycling computer. When I'm using the heart rate strap, I see a light verifying that there's a signal. But, within riding the signal is very intermittently working. I just tried the Ohm resistance tip. My meter continues to display 'old. No numbers are displayed. The batteries are fairly new. Any other suggestions? Thank you

Hi ! Anybody knows where I can find a replacement for a suunto ambit belt heart monitor? Tks