Get (re) started with Model E (2008) with PM4

[smallfreak]

Hello folks,

quite a while ago I bought a used "Model E" with an PM4 for a decent price. Back then I did not know much about rowers other than this one is considered "a good one".

I had troubles with the logcard right from the start. It did reject the card increasingly until it wasn't recognized anymore at all. I didn't complain, as it's only me and my wife who use it without much need for sophisticated statistics or competition.

But things change. Since Im currently recovering from a heart attack and my MD adviced me to do lots of "monitored and logged exercises", I try to get my stuff up to date, linking all together and get use of all the features I didn't miss so far.

One of my first surprises in researching my options was, that the "card not recognized" problem is quite common with the PM4 and often solved quite easily too - just loosen the screw on the battery case a bit. Bummer!

So now I have a fully working PM4 with the latest Firmware (332) with some old records on the log card and quite some newer ones in the internal memory - that seems to be a kind of WOM (write only memory). I found NO way to get those date out of the PM4 or even transfer it to the logcard. That seems a bit strange, so certainly I'm missing something.

If the only solution is to forget everything in the internal memory and start anew with my "repaired" logcard, then ... bad luck. That happens. However, if I can get hold of my history, that would be a welcomed bonus.

The next upgrade is a suitable heart rate monitor, as I definitively have to check and document my rate for the recovery. I found confusing information on what monitors are suitable but settled on the assumption that the PM4 with FW 332 and obviously the "new processor" should be compatible with any ANT+ device without the need of additional "adapters", so that a Polar H10 would be a good option to buy.

I already tried connecting my smartphone via a common USB cable and a suitable OTG pigtail to the PM4 and the ErgData APP seems happy with that.

However, I still have to tame the cabling mess and get a suitable smartphone holder before I can start with this option.

Did I miss something vital in that constellation? Are my assumptions valid? Any other Ideas how to get the best of my trusty rower without draining my purse? Any recommendation on additional/competitive APPs/tools/addons that keep me "motivated" while exercising other than staring at the numbers counting? As you may guess, I'm not the kind of guy that easily finds joy in exhausting physical exercises.

Btw, I additionally have a new treadmill (Chrisopeit TM 650D) - bought just a week before my heart attack - that at least has a BT interface and might work with the Polar H10 that I'm probably going to buy.

In addition I have a cheap roller where I can mount my bike - but without any "smart" features, so probably I don't get much training data from this setup. But maybe I can munch together some data from the different devices in a way or the other. It certainly would have been a great idea to get the different tools from the same ecosphere, but things tend to collect independently over the years.

Thanks for reading so far,
Bob

[MPx]

Welcome (back).

The best idea is to maintain a (free) logbook with C2 - set one up here https://log.concept2.com/log

Then for one off PM4 connectivity and data transfer:
Get yourself a Laptop/PC in range of the PM4 and connect them with a USB A to USB B cable (old fashioned printer cable) and download the C2 utility onto the laptop. This can be found here https://www.concept2.com/service/monitors/pm4/firmware.
The utility will facilitate uploading the old workouts to your new log from both PM4 and Log card (and will "repair" the card if needed).

Once you've done that then for ongoing training records you need the sort of set up that you mention with a smart phone/tablet connected to the PM4 with Ergdata on it (some prefer Ergzone and there are several others, but Ergdata is the simplest and inhouse C2). Do your session, and then once you've finished and hit the menu key on the PM4 (this saves the session) you can swipe 2 screens right on Ergdata and tap "synch" in the top left corner and all the session data will be automatically uploaded and saved to your C2 log.

Oh...and you need one of these to hold the smartphone https://shop-uk.concept2.com/parts/353- ... d-pm5.html

Motivation wise...logging your meters, taking part in the online challenges, maybe joining a team, making progress through the rankings, posting on here giving/getting feedback, etc. It all helps, but at the end of the day it will only work if its what you want to do...
Best of luck!

[Tsnor]

Any other Ideas how to get the best of my trusty rower without draining my purse?

Excellent post. You know how to research. Congrats on getting everything working. Glad you are OK to do monitored exercise, "currently recovering from a heart attack" sounds scary.

You will be doing a lot of long/slow miles on the bike, treadmill and erg. Get waterproof bluetooth sport earbuds. That way you can listen to music, watch video, listen to audio books. Makes the time flow by. Passive noise cancelling masks the whoosh of the rower.

Get a FAN and mat to go under the rower. You'll find a fan makes rowing (and biking and treadmill) more comfortable as you start to pick up the pace a bit over the summer months.

Good Rowing technique keeps your back safe. Watch the some rowing videos before you go too hard on the rower.
Concept2 australia : https://www.youtube.com/user/Concept2Australia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6lIWbPgxBo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ82RYIFLN8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP6OR-G7AxM

..

In addition I have a cheap roller where I can mount my bike - but without any "smart" features, so probably I don't get much training data from this setup.

The Polar H10 heart rate belt is great. It will give you a ton of data from your bike on rollers and the treadmill as well as the erg. You are looking at time spent in HR zones and peak heart rates. The concept2 online log suggested in the post above is excellent. You absolutely want to do that. In addition, you can explore the tracking Polar does using their Polar Beat and Polar Flow apps. You can also export / link your Concept2 log data into other apps like Strava. I use C2 log, Polar Flow and a spreadsheet.

Aside, give the chain some oil. It may be dry after sitting for a while. see youtube for videos or just wipe on some 3inOne oil with a rag.

[Carl Watts]

You can simply FORMAT that logcard in the PM4 and start again.

Its a hidden menu, you go into the second screen of the product ID then hit the bottom left button 3 times then the bottom middle button 3 times and follow the on screen instructions.

As long as the card is not stuffed it should work again.

It completely blanks the card, you need to reenter your name(s)

[Citroen]

As with all flash memory, it will die when there's no more cells for wear levelling. Remember we're looking at I2C tech that from 2003 (which is why it is limited to 32K bytes).

$6.50 gets you a new card
https://shop.concept2.com/cart?add=1&id_product=29
that will last 10 years.

Or $160 gets you a PM5 that'll last forever.

[Dangerscouse]

Welcome to the forum, and I 100% agree with a fan: I can't cope without it now. I also always use sweatbands and liquid chalk for my hands, but that's only necessary if you start sweating quite a lot, as I do.

Don't dismiss the cheap Bluetooth earbuds on Amazon. I have got some by Boltune (which seem to have disappeared) and they cost about £20. I love music, so sound quality is important to me, and these are as good as some expensive ones that I used to use, and they have lasted without any issues for about 12 months now.

[smallfreak]

Thanks for all your suggestions!
This will help me find my way around.

The utility will facilitate uploading the old workouts to your new log from both PM4 and Log card (and will "repair" the card if needed).

I did install this tool, but it only offers to load data from PM5 memory or LogCard. No PM4 memory.

But since my LogCard is fully working again, thanks to the "losen screw trick", I meanwhile found a menu option in the "LogCard menu / LogCard settings / move training" that is able to move a single training from internal memory to the currently selected user on the LogCard. This is a bit cumbersome, but it does allow me to clean up the internal memory, save the data to the card one by one and later load them off the card.

"currently recovering from a heart attack" sounds scary.

It is not as dramatic as it used to be 50 years ago. While it hit me by surprise, since my annual health checks showed no risk factor other than my lack of affinity to sports, it just needed a STENT and three weeks rehab to strengthen the heart and build up condition. Luckily the permanent damage to the heart seems to be small and they promised me that I will fully recover if I do my exercises - and might even get fitter than before.

I just have to stay in my heart rate corridor around 100 BPM during training. So it's essentially that I have an eye on that.

[CBDB]

Big game changer for me was doing the 30x30min YouTube series to row a long to, by RowAlong. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8oo ... SxbHbGfTiU

For me it helped by looking at technique, providing a varied series of different workouts and integrated a daily practice into my routines.

It’s also available as a podcast (titled RowAlong) which helps if you do not have WiFi near your rower.

Great stuff! Keep on keeping on!