Altitude outside of activity

Prenj

I got myself Suunto Race a few weeks ago and I noticed the strange behavior of altitude reading outside of the activity. I know it’s not crucial and that altitude during activity gets corrected by Fused alti algorithm, but to me, it seems that outside of activity Suunto Race behaves differently from Suunto 9 baro.

Suunto 9 baro would stay at pretty much the same altitude while I’m at home or in the office, but Suunto race fluctuates quite a bit. I observed Suunto race changing altitude up to 50m in a couple of hours.

Is the algorithm that interprets barometer readings as altitude change vs. air pressure change somehow different in Race?

Clément Lavabre

@Prenj I think we have the same problem
I detailed the problem in this forum : texte du lien

I sometimes find myself with almost double the “normal” altitude difference of the activity.

Is this the same thing you have?

Prenj

@Clément-Lavabre
I’m not sure. Most of my activities have been indoors due to weather so I don’t have a clear picture of what it looks like in GPS activities. So I cannot yet comment on that.

But based on altitude data outside of activities I’d guess Race is missing or have a completely different algorithm that is supposed to filter small changes in barometer readings and count them as weather changes and not as altitude changes.

Or it could simply be a bug? Algorithm not kicking in when it’s supposed to.

TitaniumDave

I turned the altimeter widget off. It’s not reliable and it’s only supposed to be “good enough” to keep relatively informed. Are you ascending or descending and at roughly what rate? What was the altitude when you started your hike and what is it now? I would say if you’re relying on the built in altimeter then you need to take the watch off of your wrist and put it on your bag or belt or a carabiner and let it the temperature of the sensor stabilize for about 20 minutes, then set it manually to the known altitude. It is meant to be a backup in case your primary altimeter fails so it’s not supposed to be super accurate or reliable. If you’re in a situation where you’re counting on it then you’re likely already in trouble. In fact, I’d say that for the A,B and C functions the watch should be off of your wrist.

Prenj

@TitaniumDave
You are right but still, Suunto 9 baro was pretty good in this regard this might be improved. I guess that this is either a bug or a different algorithm that is supposed to interpret pressure changes as changes in altitude vs. changing weather.

maszop

@Prenj Well, Suunto is creating problems for itself with its idiotic policy of removing more and more features from newer watches.

It used to be possible to select modes in Suunto watches: altimeter, barometer or automatic and such problems should not occur. Just keep it simple.

Well, that was before, now we have development and progress

Prenj

@maszop
I remember I owned Ambit3 peak. But they made it pretty good on Suunto 9 baro so it can be done…

maszop

@Prenj In my experience, the 9 Baro (despite its flaws) was the last Suunto watch in which the altimeter worked predictably and you could trust its readings.

But some functions have already been removed. Then the altimeter was only worse (despite the greater accuracy of individual measurements).

Audaxjoe

@maszop said in Altitude outside of activity:

@Prenj In my experience, the 9 Baro (despite its flaws) was the last Suunto watch in which the altimeter worked predictably and you could trust its readings.

But some functions have already been removed. Then the altimeter was only worse (despite the greater accuracy of individual measurements).

I have the Vertical, before that the 9 Baro. I am very happy with the Vertical altitude readings, they are very consistent and drifting is minimal. The most I have seen in bad weather is around 10 meters. With GPS on it is always very close or spot on to the map altitude.

It easily the best watch/gps I have had. And I have owned several over the years dating back to a handheld altimeter back in the day Garmin (several watches, GPS and bike computers) and Wahoo bike computers. The worst I had was a Garmin Fenix 5. That would drift 8000 meters day on the couch.

maszop

@Audaxjoe What’s the point of having the most accurate results in a certain place if, in windy weather, it gives completely incorrect and basically useless elevation totals? Often even twice as high. And I’m not the only one who has such problems with newer Suunto watches.

Audaxjoe

@maszop said in Altitude outside of activity:

@Audaxjoe What’s the point of having the most accurate results in a certain place if, in windy weather, it gives completely incorrect and basically useless elevation totals? Often even twice as high. And I’m not the only one who has such problems with newer Suunto watches.

That may be your experience but it isn’t mine, we need to be careful of making blanket statements. Should add the 9baro I had for six years, that did start giving erratic readings in the last year or so. And really didn’t like going under a jacket sleeve. But with none of the watches have I noticed wind affecting it.

It sounds strange and I can totally understand your frustration.

Brad_Olwin

@Audaxjoe said in Altitude outside of activity:

@maszop said in Altitude outside of activity:

I have the Vertical, before that the 9 Baro. I am very happy with the Vertical altitude readings, they are very consistent and drifting is minimal. The most I have seen in bad weather is around 10 meters. With GPS on it is always very close or spot on to the map altitude.

It easily the best watch/gps I have had. And I have owned several over the years dating back to a handheld altimeter back in the day Garmin (several watches, GPS and bike computers) and Wahoo bike computers. The worst I had was a Garmin Fenix 5. That would drift 8000 meters day on the couch.

I agree here as my race, vertical, and 9 peak pro all give consistent altitude and gain/loss ascent data. I often wear 2 or 3 on the same runs, SkiMo and hiking to verity this point. Windy, or not I rarely have issues. Happy to post data here.

I should add right now I have 3 watches reading the exact same altitude at my desk.

maszop

@Audaxjoe said in Altitude outside of activity:

That may be your experience but it isn’t mine, we need to be careful of making blanket statements.

I don’t treat it as a religion.
It’s just an electronic gadget, not without some flaws and errors, like any electronics. I write about my problems and experiences. These are real things that can be easily measured and shown.
That’s what internet forums are for - to point out problems and try to solve them, and not to perceive it as an attack on someone’s beloved deity