Post
by RBFC » December 18th, 2014, 12:55 am
The PM5 retrofit for Model D/E rowers is $180 + shipping. I received mine yesterday and it works perfectly. The back light is much appreciated. The use of the USB flash thumb drive is easy, both for loading firmware updates (none done yet) and transferring data to your online logbook. The Bluetooth Heart Rate function worked perfectly with my Polar H7 transmitter and belt (better than the older heart rate dongle, which suffered occasional dropouts). Battery replacement will be simple. The layout of the inputs on the back of the monitor is far superior to the tight arrangement under the PM3; easier to plug things in, and easier to to connect many lines at once. There are two race-software ports, the USB port for firmware/data transfer, and the USB port for plugging in the thumb drive. The only port on the bottom is the rower-to-monitor connecting cable. C2 includes a new monitor arm (the part where the monitor mounts on the rower), as it has an extra hole in its side near the monitor end to route the rower cable slickly to the monitor. The arm should be replaced with the new one when adding the PM5.
Initial setup of date/time/user name, etc. is very easy, and uses the same navigation buttons as those for setting distances, etc. for workouts. Under "More Options", you find the Bluetooth Heart Rate pairing function, where the monitor searches for available Bluetooth heart rate belts and prompts you to connect them. Simple, & worked perfectly.
As for the firmware, my monitor came loaded with version 15. Apparently, version 16 was released last week, but C2 removed it from the website after encountering a few problems with it. They expect to re-release it soon with corrections. Remember that you must download the newest version of the C2 Utility software (6.80) from the C2 site in order to communicate properly with the PM5. You will see the additional features and options using the USB Logbook, etc. when you open the new Utility and insert your thumb drive into your computer. The workout downloads work exactly as before, etc., but you must log in to your online logbook account all over again so the download will transfer to the correct logbook. All the necessary prompts appear to guide you through the process easily.
So, you get the monitor and a new mounting arm with bolts in the package. Simple instructions are included, mostly to ensure you route the rower/monitor cable correctly through the new arm. According to C2, you must supply your own thumb drive.
Hope this helps.
Lee
Age:61 Ht: 186 cm Wt: 102kg
