Race 2 accuracy

Brad_Olwin

@jjpaz what I posted are raw data from JSON files in quantified self. One of the watch recordings is no longer in the Sunnto database. I believe 3% is the acceptable GPS error for handheld devices.

dreamer_

@Brad_Olwin I think that is valid for GPS but not for GNSS dual band devices (and even more when It seems something strange is happening with the Race 2 but not the others). Someone correct me, if I’m wrong.

isaac.net

@Brad_Olwin In my opinion, an error of more than 1.2km in a marathon (3% of 42km) is unacceptable under any circumstances, especially if all other devices measure close to the actual target (even the cheaper ones). Especially considering that the position values recorded by the watch are very precise

Egika

I think while the actual position data of a point may have some error, the distance measurement by GNSS is quite precise these days. Also some filtering occurs to the data measured every second.
What we see is, that under some circumstances Rce 2 measures short, while this is not always the case (see John Korir’s Marathon distance in the other thread).
As this is not a special setup only in Race 2, there is not much to do about it. If it does not happen everywhere and every time, this is just an arbitrary deviation with the range of 0.5%.
Not sure what else to add to this thread now.

isaac.net

@Egika Are you sure it only happens in certain circumstances? Since I became aware of the problem and started checking distances, all my routes have the wrong distance. Today, a run of 6.01km according to Race 2, after correcting the distance with Strava, was 6.10km. Again, that 1%-1.5% less distance…
The difference can also be seen in the graph of sports tracker, 6.01km in activity info vs 6.11km in the graph

shamilt1

@Egika Yes, unfortunately it looks like we’ve come to the end of the road and Race 2 users are just going to have to live with it

Egika

@isaac.net maybe your individual device is a little different. We have seen a tendency but we have also seen perfect matches.

isaac.net

@Egika I’ve worked in software development for a long time, and with the correct track data, the solution is possible, since it’s not a precision problem but a distance calculation issue (software), as demonstrated on the Sports Tracker website. In the same activity, you can see the distance calculated by Race 2 and by the app on the graph. It’s a 100% software problem and therefore solvable. If the problem is due to processing, could it be that the routes with less error are straighter, while those with more error have more turns? I’ll try a completely straight route in the next few days to see what happens…

Egika

@isaac.net sorry, you are on the wrong track.
While probably everything might theoretically be solvable by software, I doubt that Suunto is going to invest a lot into this one. But who knows…

jjpaz

@Brad_Olwin said in Race 2 accuracy:

@jjpaz what I posted are raw data from JSON files in quantified self. One of the watch recordings is no longer in the Sunnto database. I believe 3% is the acceptable GPS error for handheld devices.

When I upload Suunto JSON files in QuantifiedSelf the distance showed is the same as summary distance saved the FIT file, not corresponding to the gps raw data distance.
If you want (and have time) you can compare a short activity wearing Race 2 and another watch and repeat the test.

Maybe our expectations regarding accuracy in Race 2 where higher, moreover comparing with other watches. In my case I combine Vertical and Race 2 in my trainings and I know that I have to apply a “mental calibration” when I compare data with both watches, and that’s all. In general I’m happy with Race 2, despite its behavior is very reliable when I repeat circuits.

Thanks for your contribution.

shamilt1

I’ve got about 1 week left of my return window…I’ve already sent one back as I wondered whether it only affected certain units and hoped I might be lucky second time round. I was also banking on it being addressed in the update…to me the accuracy fix would’ve been better than all the new features that came along. Might be time to try a Vertical 2…