PM3 vs PM5 - Pros and cons?

[Allan Olesen]

The PM3 arm can be used, and I have considered reinstalling it instead of the PM5 arm, because the PM5 arm is somewhat less flexible, so it shudders a little when I row.

The only practical difference between the two is that the PM5 arm has a hole through the vertical centre "wall" of the beam. This hole is necessary for a hidden routing of the wire, because the connector on the PM5 is placed opposite to the PM3. If you keep the PM3 arm, you can either route the wire out in the open, or you can make the hole yourself.

I don't know what you do now with the data from your logcard. If you have never transferred it to your online logbook, you will need something to do that before you get rid of the PM3. A PC and an ordinary USB printer cable (Type A to Type will do that, together with the Concept2 Utility software.

[Rumpled]

Allan,
Thanks for that info.
Good for anyone thinking of the PM3 to PM5 upgrade about the arm differences.
I'd be fine with an outside wiring with zip ties holding the cable or something.
I'd also be fine with drilling a hole to make it cleaner.

As far as my log, I currently use a wired connection to Ergdata - so no worries there.

[Thornhill27]

I just replaced my PM2 on a circa 2003 Model D this afternoon. I drilled a 3/8" hole through the support arm and was able to poke the connector through. This provided plenty of slack in the cable and resulted in a clean and tidy installation. Easy peasy.

Picture of the finished installation: https://www.flickr.com/photos/14288045@ ... res/n9S2r7

[StevenWayne]

That's a nice photo, Thornhill27.

I just this weekend changed my PM3 circa 2005 to a new PM5 that I ordered from C2 last week; I did not order the package that was $20 more and included the extra hardware. It took me all of 4 minutes to swap out with the old PM3 monitor, and the extra length of wire seems not to be an issue (I just looped around the arm, but it didn't drill or route it through the arm).

To the original poster, I am actually impressed by the PM5 compared to my PM3. Admittedly, I may not have been using my PM3 to its fullest capacity or latest firmware, but with the PM5 I enjoy the ability to connect it with ErgData on my iPhone XR and my Polar H10 HR monitor. I love the feedback from it, and find that it has more utility than my PM3 (where I would use the Polar Beats app for HR data, but didn't integrate my HR monitor with the PM3). The ability to input customize workouts into the PM5 memory is a big plus for me. I row in the dark on purpose at times, and the backlit monitor is nice.

Having just used both PM3 and PM5, I believe that if someone generally uses the pre-programmed workouts, or does simple timed rows, and records their workouts on their own (eg. spreadsheet, journal, etc), then there may be no pressing reason to upgrade to the PM5.

Overall, I'm pleased that I upgraded because I like the data, and easy syncing with my HRM and iphone, and I'm also pleased that I did not spend extra for the PM5 with the monitor hardware kit. ymmv