Garmin ant dongle

rozzer32
rozzer32 Posts: 3,923
edited November 2015 in Training, fitness and health
So I want to get an ant dongle so my laptop can pick up my power meter and I can use the golden cheetah train facility. Now as well as the dongle picking up my heart rate and power meter will I also be able to connect to my garmin 810 at the same time? Or is it one or the other?
***** Pro Tour Pundit Champion 2020, 2018, 2017 & 2011 *****

Comments

  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Yes, but just make sure that the Garmin Connect software doesnt hog the dongle in the background which will make it unavailable for other devices... I dont have mine running as a service.. not needed on the laptop. Yopu can check via Task Manager.
  • sungod
    sungod Posts: 17,367
    cycling oriented sensors are mostly transmit only, so you can 'pair' as many things as you like to them

    power meters using the pwr profile can also receive calibration and auto-zero commands from a head unit, but it doesn't matter, you can still have multiple devices listening for packets with the power meter's device number
    my bike - faster than god's and twice as shiny
  • prawny
    prawny Posts: 5,440
    Just FYI the £6 ones from ebay work perfectly.
    Saracen Tenet 3 - 2015 - Dead - Replaced with a Hack Frame
    Voodoo Bizango - 2014 - Dead - Hit by a car
    Vitus Sentier VRS - 2017
  • So I want to get an ant dongle so my laptop can pick up my power meter and I can use the golden cheetah train facility. Now as well as the dongle picking up my heart rate and power meter will I also be able to connect to my garmin 810 at the same time? Or is it one or the other?

    Yes with ANT+ you can transmit to as many different devices as you like. That's unlike Bluetooth where you can only pair one receiver with one device.
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    Just FYI the £6 ones from ebay work perfectly.

    ah - my sort of price .... which one?
  • fenix
    fenix Posts: 5,437
    Or get the Suunto one of wiggle - as it doesnt stick out and won't get broken off. You may want to tape it to the laptop as its tiny and will stop the Mrs taking it out to do something else with, and then you can't find it when you need to.....
  • birdy247
    birdy247 Posts: 454
    So I want to get an ant dongle so my laptop can pick up my power meter and I can use the golden cheetah train facility. Now as well as the dongle picking up my heart rate and power meter will I also be able to connect to my garmin 810 at the same time? Or is it one or the other?

    Yes absolutely. Each type of device transmits packets of data at a different rate with a unique ID. It is the job of the head unit to listen and interpret for this data. Essentially, the dongle and your 810 are both head units, and can listen to the devices. This is why when you are out riding sometimes and you pass another cyclist, you may be alerted of a new device found i.e. theirs.
  • prawny
    prawny Posts: 5,440
    Just FYI the £6 ones from ebay work perfectly.

    ah - my sort of price .... which one?

    Any of the unbranded sticks of eBay are fine. They do stick out though so aren't as slick as the suunto ones but you know, £6.
    Saracen Tenet 3 - 2015 - Dead - Replaced with a Hack Frame
    Voodoo Bizango - 2014 - Dead - Hit by a car
    Vitus Sentier VRS - 2017
  • slowbike
    slowbike Posts: 8,498
    ok - ta :)

    They all say for the forerunner though ... seemed a bit odd - £6 though - worth a splash!
  • rozzer32
    rozzer32 Posts: 3,923
    Well now I've run into issues.

    I bought the Suunto Movestick Mini after reading it's compatible with garmin devices and it was also a fair bit cheaper then the garmin one.

    So I've tried to use it in train mode in GC but it won't pick anything up. It finds the dongle as it allows me to search for devices but then when it tries to pair devices it just gets stuck at searching and won't find either my HR strap or my pwoermeter. So I'm thinking the movestick mini might not be compatible after all. Anyone got any ideas? Running on a Mac on El Capitan 10.11 if that's any use.
    ***** Pro Tour Pundit Champion 2020, 2018, 2017 & 2011 *****
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Well now I've run into issues.

    I bought the Suunto Movestick Mini after reading it's compatible with garmin devices and it was also a fair bit cheaper then the garmin one.

    So I've tried to use it in train mode in GC but it won't pick anything up. It finds the dongle as it allows me to search for devices but then when it tries to pair devices it just gets stuck at searching and won't find either my HR strap or my pwoermeter. So I'm thinking the movestick mini might not be compatible after all. Anyone got any ideas? Running on a Mac on El Capitan 10.11 if that's any use.

    Like I said before (but obviously not taken notice of) .. if you have software like the Garmin suite running as a service on the laptop unbeknown to you, it will hog the ant+ stick and not allow it to be used by another appilication.
  • rozzer32
    rozzer32 Posts: 3,923
    Well now I've run into issues.

    I bought the Suunto Movestick Mini after reading it's compatible with garmin devices and it was also a fair bit cheaper then the garmin one.

    So I've tried to use it in train mode in GC but it won't pick anything up. It finds the dongle as it allows me to search for devices but then when it tries to pair devices it just gets stuck at searching and won't find either my HR strap or my pwoermeter. So I'm thinking the movestick mini might not be compatible after all. Anyone got any ideas? Running on a Mac on El Capitan 10.11 if that's any use.

    Like I said before (but obviously not taken notice of) .. if you have software like the Garmin suite running as a service on the laptop unbeknown to you, it will hog the ant+ stick and not allow it to be used by another appilication.

    Give that man a biscuit!!! Had Garmin express running in the background. Found them now, cheers!
    ***** Pro Tour Pundit Champion 2020, 2018, 2017 & 2011 *****
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Well now I've run into issues.

    I bought the Suunto Movestick Mini after reading it's compatible with garmin devices and it was also a fair bit cheaper then the garmin one.

    So I've tried to use it in train mode in GC but it won't pick anything up. It finds the dongle as it allows me to search for devices but then when it tries to pair devices it just gets stuck at searching and won't find either my HR strap or my pwoermeter. So I'm thinking the movestick mini might not be compatible after all. Anyone got any ideas? Running on a Mac on El Capitan 10.11 if that's any use.

    Like I said before (but obviously not taken notice of) .. if you have software like the Garmin suite running as a service on the laptop unbeknown to you, it will hog the ant+ stick and not allow it to be used by another appilication.

    Give that man a biscuit!!! Had Garmin express running in the background. Found them now, cheers!

    G&T for success!