Can Ant+ devices pair with multiple receivers?

andyeb
andyeb Posts: 407
edited February 2014 in Road general
I'm in the process of switching over from Bluetooth 4 heart rate and speed/cadence (paired with my iPhone) to Ant+ devices, paired with my new Garmin 800.

Does anyone know please if Ant+ devices can be paired with more than one receiver at the same time? With Bluetooth devices, it's a one-to-one connection only and it's a pain if you want to switch between using different devices.

Comments

  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Yes - I use various different GPS computers and they can all be set to talk to the same sensors at the same time. So using different units on one bike means no messing about. If you want to use one unit on different bikes, you need to resynchronise the unit to that sensor each time.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    Rolf F wrote:
    Yes - I use various different GPS computers and they can all be set to talk to the same sensors at the same time. So using different units on one bike means no messing about. If you want to use one unit on different bikes, you need to resynchronise the unit to that sensor each time.

    if you set up bike profiles on Garmins it remembers which sensor is for which bike so you don't have to resync
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • rolf_f
    rolf_f Posts: 16,015
    Chris Bass wrote:
    Rolf F wrote:
    Yes - I use various different GPS computers and they can all be set to talk to the same sensors at the same time. So using different units on one bike means no messing about. If you want to use one unit on different bikes, you need to resynchronise the unit to that sensor each time.

    if you set up bike profiles on Garmins it remembers which sensor is for which bike so you don't have to resync

    But then you have to remember to select which bike profile to use! Granted that's still a little less bother than resynching but I don't think there is much in it. Besides, Bryton only give you two bike profiles so I'd have to muck around a bit anyway.
    Faster than a tent.......
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    It's far easier to swap profiles than resync! Plus on my 800 I get 5 profiles. Just need another couple of bikes! Oh send a power button on the 800 that works....
  • redvee
    redvee Posts: 11,922
    My HRM & GCS-10 is paired with my 800 and Virb camera at the same time.

    https://www.dropbox.com/s/0njf82psg3dqsy7/IMAG0482.jpg
    I've added a signature to prove it is still possible.
  • thistle_
    thistle_ Posts: 7,217
    I think you can pair your computer with someone else's HRM while you are in range - to see how much they are suffering :wink:
  • southdownswolf
    southdownswolf Posts: 1,525
    I have connected my GSC/10 and heart rate monitor to my Garmin 800 and Sony phone at the same time with no problems.
    http://www.stuartmole.co.uk/
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    Yes you can use an ANT+ device with more than one computer/watch.
    As far as I'm aware the ANT+ devices like speed/cadence sensors, heart rate straps, foot pods, etc are transmitters only. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there's any two-way communication. If that's the case it's analogous to tuning your radio to a radio station - it doesn't stop anyone else tuning in.
  • chris_bass
    chris_bass Posts: 4,913
    thistle (MBNW) wrote:
    I think you can pair your computer with someone else's HRM while you are in range - to see how much they are suffering :wink:

    i've had this a couple of times as someone has cycled past in the opposite direction!

    also, i have a motoactv watch which has 3 different speed/cadence sensors linked to it and it just picks whichever one is working at the time, no profile switching or resyncing needed!

    but for my garmin edge 500, 3 bike profiles work fine for me and no hassle to switch profile
    www.conjunctivitis.com - a site for sore eyes
  • rafletcher
    rafletcher Posts: 1,235
    Of course they can - thats how they pick up speed/cadence and HR from different transmitters simultaneously :wink:
  • neeb
    neeb Posts: 4,471
    I regularly have my hr monitor paired to both my garmin 800 and tacx bushido trainer at the same time. I've also had both the hr monitor and powertap paired to the garmin and bushido at the same time. That's quite a complicated setup as the bushido head unit is picking up both the ANT+ power meter and hr signals and then transmitting them again to a USB dongle in the laptop (acting as an intermediate node) while the garmin is also picking up both device signals. I did have a few odd signal drops which may have been due to a faulty powertap g3 powercap or the imperfect implementation of power meter pairing on the bushido, but i did wonder if there might have been some subtle sort of interference going on.
  • andy_wrx
    andy_wrx Posts: 3,396
    Ai_1 wrote:
    Yes you can use an ANT+ device with more than one computer/watch.
    As far as I'm aware the ANT+ devices like speed/cadence sensors, heart rate straps, foot pods, etc are transmitters only. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there's any two-way communication. If that's the case it's analogous to tuning your radio to a radio station - it doesn't stop anyone else tuning in.
    Yep, except that the transmissions are all the same frequency but each has a differently-coded signal.

    Pairing the devices is so that if you're out with others who also have transmitters and are close enough for your headset to pick up, it filters them out and displays your data.

    SO answering the original question, yes no problem multiple re eiders picking up the same signal - each is 'unaware' of the other.


    I'm intrigued if the Garmin profiles are actually linked to the diferent transmitters - perhaps the Garmin just has a list of paired devices it picks up (rather than your mates' devices)
    - so if you and a mate were out together each riding one of your bikes, changing the profile would cause it to show the data from one bike or another ? Be worth a try...

    - and alternatively if you set the profile to the wrong bike, does it ignore your signal because it's not the one paired to that bike's profile ?
  • The Mechanic
    The Mechanic Posts: 1,277
    That is exactly what the Garmin 800 does. I have speed/cadence sensors on two bikes with profiles set in the Garmin. If I forget to change the profile and ride the other bike, there is no cadence reading. As soon as I switch to the correct bike profile, hey presto, the cadence reading appears again. I did get speed and distance but I guess this was coming from the gps rather than the sensor. It defaults to gps readings if no sensor is found. Don't ask me how I know this.
    I have only two things to say to that; Bo***cks
  • ai_1
    ai_1 Posts: 3,060
    andy_wrx wrote:
    Ai_1 wrote:
    Yes you can use an ANT+ device with more than one computer/watch.
    As far as I'm aware the ANT+ devices like speed/cadence sensors, heart rate straps, foot pods, etc are transmitters only. Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think there's any two-way communication. If that's the case it's analogous to tuning your radio to a radio station - it doesn't stop anyone else tuning in.
    Yep, except that the transmissions are all the same frequency but each has a differently-coded signal....
    My radio analogy may have been badly worded - I wasn't suggesting anything about tuning in and transmission frequency being analogous to pairing but simply that one person listening to a signal doesn't prevent someone else listening to the same signal.

    I think some confusion comes from the way people are using the terminology, i.e. pairing a HR strap or cadence sensor to a Garmin computer. In reality you're doing nothing to the HR strap or cadence sensor, it's the other way around. You're pairing the computer to the sensor.

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