Suunto 7 Altitude Issues

Aleksander H

@isazi I’m running 4.371 on Android. That said, I have an activity which synced with quantified-self as far back as 31 january with this issue https://quantified-self.io/user/DUrrVK0qMVZO5TtAP0r6Ox2HVLD2/event/48100bfe1ddfeee6242d124cc67d4cbbff0fc13357bac4207d10f0b9d3bfb895

isazi

@aleksander-h now that I think about it, is the ascent 0 also on the watch right?

Aleksander H

@isazi For the activity with 0m ascent, the watch shows no info about ascent in the diary. Only the elevation graph and descent. I guess, because the number is 0, it is assuming that there is no point showing it.

isazi

@aleksander-h I think that’s what the S series does, do not show the profile if ascent is 0 (or something like that). Anyway, this means this is a problem of the watch, not the app

Aleksander H

@isazi And a reset isn’t going to fix it, as I’ve already done that once due to getting a new phone :(.

Aleksander H

@mikulass Discussion regarding the 0m ascent issue got split a bit, but see the latest posts in this topic https://forum.suunto.com/topic/6114/totalt-ascent-descent-doesn-t-seem-to-match-elevation-graph/35?_=1615371423779

ZaimoRa

@dimitrios-kanellopoulos hello, i have the same problem with suunto 7 (bad altitude 90% of the time). If i leave S7 on the table in sport mode “run”, at the end it says i made ascent and descent, even if it never moved. it means the same thing? that the sensor is not working? i tried to wash it, to soak it and so on…but always the same problem

Aleksander H

@zaimora do you have an elevation graph to show how much it moved?

ZaimoRa

@aleksander-h https://www.suunto.com/move/simor160/null
it was only for 11 minutes. but otherwise when doing real activities it says around the double of the real ascent. suunto costumer service told me to send it back but i want to test it still a bit in order to be sure

isazi

@zaimora your link does not work (the “null” should be the ID of your activity). Anyway maybe testing inside can cause problems with altitude because of very bad GPS reception. Try also to leave your watch outside with clear sky view. Not saying you will not see the problem, but it is a better test.

Aleksander H

@isazi

@isazi said in Suunto 7 Altitude Issues:

@zaimora your link does not work (the “null” should be the ID of your activity). Anyway maybe testing inside can cause problems with altitude because of very bad GPS reception. Try also to leave your watch outside with clear sky view. Not saying you will not see the problem, but it is a better test.

And attach it to something if you do! I’ve heard stories of people doing this, only to have birds fly off with it

Fenr1r

@aleksander-h said in Suunto 7 Altitude Issues:

only to have birds fly off with it

Ah, the Vertical Week winners we have missed.

ZaimoRa

@aleksander-h ehehe ok! thank you!

Aleksander H

I decided to do a “balcony test” myself to try and figure out the issue I’ve had with choppy altitude. Left the watch hanging outside for 1 hour, and this was the result
https://quantified-self.io/user/DUrrVK0qMVZO5TtAP0r6Ox2HVLD2/event/0221b481fde831df8bcae7ef74e3e69133541d41664a45bbe5d6e78b748cc30d

I’ve cleaned the watch a few times now. I’ve no idea what acceptable diff would be, but this seems a bit “jumpy” to me

I also gave the watch about 5 min with a gps lock before actually starting the activity.

freeheeler

@aleksander-h
looks very “active”… first question could be: is it windy? then after either yes or no: how is the satellite reception, does the track show one spot or did it paint a nice mandala around your balcony?

Aleksander H

@freeheeler Honestly not sure about the wind. I’d say “not much”, but I wasn’t paying that much attention to it. As for sattelite reception, I got a nice little square.

If you look at the activity on quantified-self, the movement seemed to take place at 2 places. Rest of the time it seems to know its not moving (if I’m interpreting this correct, no guarantees there).

[edit] I suppose I could find some field to go and sit in

aeroild

In my experience, the altimeter on the Suunto 7 works best when the watch is strapped to my wrist. And it also works very well (maybe even better) when I’m wearing it under a jacket.

I think that the simple, but probably cost effective design (compared to the Suunto 9’s more sophisticated and costly design), with one hole in the watch case for the barometric sensor could mean that even the slightest wind can influence the altimeter. And when wearing it on my wrist my arm works as some sort of a wind shield.

I have made tests where I walk 100 meter on a flat open space and then back to the starting point. First with the watch on my wrist and then holding the watch by the strap in my hand. On the wrist the watch only measured 1-2 meters ascent/descent. When holding the watch in my hand, it measured 30 meters ascent on a 100 meter walk. I will however do more tests before I conclude.

Aleksander H

@aeroild said in Suunto 7 Altitude Issues:

I have made tests where I walk 100 meter on a flat open space and then back to the starting point. First with the watch on my wrist and then holding the watch by the strap in my hand. On the wrist the watch only measured 1-2 meters ascent/descent. When holding the watch in my hand, it measured 30 meters ascent on a 100 meter walk. I will however do more tests before I conclude.

Unfortunately no such thing as flat surfaces around here . Maybe I can put it in a box with holes in it on the balcony. That way it should shield it from wind

freeheeler

@aeroild
that is a crazy weird observation…
I think the S7 baro hole design is actually very good and in some cases even better than S9B.

@Aleksander-H
you mean “fortunately no flat areas”
I would expect the watch can filter gusts because of the recording interval and FusedAlti.

Mff73

@aleksander-h
your balcony altitude values doesn’t looks good and not coming from a baro sensor. are you sure you have a S7baro ?
or some wind during the test ?