sportablet
  • home
  • the app
  • answers
  • contacts
  • links
  • blog
Got a smartphone or a small-screen tablet? check out the Uploader for Garmin!

Garmin Swim, Forerunner 50 / 60 / 70 going Alpha

6/1/2013

18 Comments

 
Picture
Sportablet 5.1 and the Uploader for Garmin 3.7 provides alpha-level support for the Garmin Swim and the Forerunner 50 / 60 / 70. This is basically closing the circle for all the ANT+ Garmin devices.

To set up your Android device (10" tablet: use Sportablet; 7" tablet or smartphone: use the Uploader), please follow these instructions. Remember that you have to install the two dynastream services, unless you're using an Xperia phone, in which case you can find more detailed instructions here.

The Swim and the FR 50 / 60 / 70 have a twist in their communication protocol, so you need to set up my apps accordingly:

Picture
After you set that option, you'll be ready to give it a try. As always, it is advisable to turn off any source of interference, as it's difficult to maintain the delicate ANT+ timing in android. The posts above provides some valuable tips, but in the end, setting your Android device in airplane mode could be the simplest thing to do. On my Xperia Ion, airplane mode seems to disable ANT+ as well, but if you use the USB dongle, or if you have another model, give it a try.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

Some users have complained that my app is reading the wrong date/time for activities using these garmin models. It's not really like that. Some background: in (other) models, with GPS, Garmin uses the timestamp from the GPS signal. In these models, without a GPS, Garmin has actually two clocks. One is used to show you date and time on the watch face; the other is used internally, to associate a date and time to activities, steps, etc. The two clocks are not automatically syncronized (yeah). So even if you see the right date and time, the internal clock will be stuck to the late 80s until you pair the watch with the garmin express agent.

See this post from Garmin, which I quote here: "The first time activities are uploaded from the Garmin Swim, FR60 or FR70 to Garmin Connect, they may show dates of late 1989 and early 1990. This can occur even if the time and date have been correctly set on the watch because the internal clocks of the the device are set to December 30, 1989, by default. To prevent this from happening, pair the device with the computer through Garmin Express prior to performing any activities. The internal clock will be synchronized with the computer’s clock".

It's not something that I can magically fix. You have to connect the watch using garmin express once, then your date and time will be fine.
18 Comments
sherman
6/18/2013 06:27:53

To prevent ANT radio from being turned off in airplane mode download this app: Airplane Mode Settings https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wparam.airsettings

If you do not see ANT in the list simply add it with the Set other radios option; use 'ant' without quotes as the argument.

Reply
eden
2/16/2014 14:15:19

How can i connect my garmin fenix to my xperia fone. Can u help me?

Reply
carlo pescio
2/17/2014 02:51:32

it won't work over ANT+, you need to use a cable. See here: http://www.sportablet.com/help.html

Reply
Luiz Motta
7/8/2014 05:29:52

I cannot export to Garmin Connect. I have a valid account. The app fail to sign in. How to fix it?

Reply
carlo pescio
7/9/2014 09:27:42

get in touch using the contacts page above as I'll have to see a transfer log to garmin connect to understand your problem. Make sure you're not typing an extra space - it has happened before...

Reply
Luiz Motta
7/10/2014 12:52:25

Carlo, you are right. There was an extra space on my email address. Tks.

Reply
Fernando gutierrez
7/30/2014 01:07:12

I have been looking for a way to transfer the data from my wife's Garmin Swim watch using a tablet or smart phone and only now have found your app in the Play Store.

Downloaded the app, followed the instructions and connected the watch on the first attempt. . Purchased the app immediately. . Looking forward to new features in the future.

Reply
John
8/5/2014 06:28:05

Hi , This is exactly what I am trying to do. I have a garmin swim watch and also a garmin cycle computer. I want to get a tablet to upload the workouts but they don't have usb port. Will it work on any tablet I buy and is it an easy process? Thanks

Reply
carlo pescio
8/6/2014 03:59:53

some phones/tablets have an internal ant+ chip so you won't need an usb to talk to the swim. The edge requires a usb and a usb-friendly tablet. You normally have a micro-usb on phones/tablets, which can be converted into a type-A usb female using a so-called OTG adapter.
There are a lot of info on this site about different garmin models, just start from the answers and help page.
Usb support in android is extremely fragmented. There is no guarantee that the app can work with any combination of tablet and garmin model. If you have one in mind, I might be able to check. Get in touch from the contacts page.

Join
11/26/2014 00:56:23

Hi
I'm a Garmin Swim user. Congratulations for the app!!

In my case, uploading works fine, even without disabling Wifi. I'm using a Samsung Note 10.1 tablet.

It would be great if you could implement a more according data view in relation to Garmin Swim: pace in min/100m, swolf, pace by swimming laps, etc.

Thank you very much, and go on developing this great application!

Regards

Reply
carlo pescio
11/26/2014 02:48:28

I see your point, but unfortunately I can spend relatively little time working on those apps, and most users don't care about looking at data in the app, they simply want to upload to their favorite web app (in fact, my Uploader is much more successful than the Sportablet app).
It's a very reasonable request, and it's in fact in the (large) list of planned improvements, but honestly, it's not around the corner. There are devices out there that are not supported at all (I can' read data), and I need to focus on those first...

Reply
JP
2/4/2015 13:41:20

Hello, i've purchased the app a year ago, worked brilliantly with my garmin forerunner 405 and swim until november 2014 , when i started to have issues(upgrade of my nexus 10 to lollipop). I can still upload my swims in Sportablet, however i can't access the activities in the app and therefore can't shareit on Garminconnect(despite having a "tranfer complete"). Any advice?

Thanks, JP

Reply
carlo pescio
2/7/2015 06:42:56

JP, I'm sure this is crystal clear for you but I have no idea of what is really happening, that is, what to you mean by "I can't access the activities". Are the activities locked? Then you simply need to ask the app to verify the previous purchase. Is the sharing button disabled for those activities? That usually indicates a transfer problem, which is really hard to detect with a 405. Send me a log and export a TCX file for me to see. Also a few more details won't hurt : )

Reply
Chhunneat
8/13/2016 06:26:27

Hi, I want to installing conection with my phone and need to used more funtion such as take awaypoint, root taker and data export for mapping.Please helping resolve it.

Reply
Carlo Pescio
8/16/2016 14:47:41

I have no idea about which garmin device you have, but if it's one of those listed at the top of this page, they cannot receive routes or waypoints or extract tracks with GPS coordinates as NONE of them has a GPS receiver, unlike other garmin models.

Reply
Frank Hoeeg
3/31/2017 21:56:14

Would it be possible to make an addition to the uploader, so i could activate and download from the Garmin HRM swim? I am not gonna buy the 920xt to get it to work.

Reply
Carlo Pescio
4/10/2017 17:43:46

maybe. I would need to buy one, reverse engineer the protocol used to send data to the 920xt (which I would also need to buy) and then implement / test the thing. To be honest, given the general response to the app ("we'll die before we pay for software") I'm not going to be the one spending money and time doing so, sorry. Maybe someone else will fill that role.

Reply
Andy MEYSONE
6/1/2017 18:39:01

Hi All, Please may I know how to use run and bycicle modes?

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    About me

    I'm a decent runner, ex mountain biker, and a good swimmer. I created Sportablet to squeeze a little more fun out of my Forerunner.

    In my everyday life,  I design software-intensive systems at different scales, using a number of paradigms, languages and technologies. ​
    You can read some of my thoughts at carlopescio.com

    Picture

    Archives

    September 2019
    March 2019
    May 2018
    September 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    September 2016
    July 2016
    March 2016
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012

    Categories

    All
    Announce
    Beta
    New Features
    Supported Devices

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.