Garmin Varia experience

[lechatnoir]

Probably depends on who is behind you, if its Bakkies Botha, probably not.

 

But in truth, if you have Bakkies behind you, it probably won't matter if you're in the fast lane on the N1

[Long Wheel Base]

And to think this thing was developed by a South African. 

I remember reading somewhere that it was initially sold under some other name but not successful at all. Then Garmin bought it and did nothing but change the name and then it sold much better. Just shows how people back a big brand. I hope they paid the guy decently for it. Mark Shuttleworth kinda money!!!!

[thisismyotherbike]

Would love to get a good deal on one of these, but the newer one RTL510 that has a proper light

[DieselnDust]

I just got one of these radars. Did anyone else struggle to sync it with an edge 520? I am busy googling the issue but if someone has had an experience before it might be quicker than reading plenty reviews trying to find a solution to my problem. Funny enough if I select to pair with a light it pairs and gives an ID but it just gives a ? under info and doesn't help at all as it wont put the radar info on my ride screen. But selecting radar under devices just goois searching for as long as I can watch. 

 

 

Garmin head units seem to be giving problems with sync and connection to BT devices since the last update....

[IceCreamMan]

two things, connecting a tail light to do a software update means I am firmly in the 21st century I reckon.

 

And secondly, I made the error of pushing the on button while running the update with the light close to my eyes in a darkish room....instant blindness....still got spots in my eyes...

[Long Wheel Base]

Garmin head units seem to be giving problems with sync and connection to BT devices since the last update....

A software update sorted my issue. That was back in Jan and not a seconds issue since then.

[IceCreamMan]

So, I took it on a lil shakedown ride this morning....

 

Pros:1. this thing is sharp, it detects cars extremely well from relatively far away. Initially I looked over my shoulder just to "calibrate" my brain with it. Even cars that are very close together are picked up as separate cars. That's pretty awesome.

2. It works so well that the once or twice I thought there was a car the device showed no car so I looked over my shoulder, strues nuts , the device was always right, the converse is also true, when I was convinced the unit was erroneously showing a vehicle I would look over my shoulder and there indeed would be a car.

3. The light works extremely well.

4. The battery use is relatively on my Edge 520. I have had the 520 for about 9 months, normally life is around 15 hours so around 6 to 7 percent and hour connected to phone only. With the Varia the batter usage creeps up a tad to 9 to 10 percent. I also have a Garmin Explore on order which has full mapping for when I go touring. The battery life is around 12 hours, so I expect this will be reduced to around 8 hours. No train smash there.

5. In the country lanes this works a real charm. Essentially my reason for buying it.

 

Cons: 1. When going around a traffic circle and cars join directly behind me at the same speed it does not always pick them up until they start overtaking. Just something to bear in mind and possibly this is due to my positioning of the device, will play around with this. Also if a car comes up behind me then sits behind me at the same speed it "lost" the car once or twice. I knew it was there though. Possibly this is a bug destined for future releases.

 

Certainly felt a lot more aware with the device.

[IceCreamMan]

I logged a case with Garmin UK as I could not load to the latest version of firmware being 3.40. The unit was shipped 3.20. Version 3.40 apparently addresses my comment made above regarding cars directly behind me traveling at the same speed. Garmin UK were incredibly responsive and informed me it was a known error ( not able to update firmware to 3.40) and asked me for my logs to assist with the issue which I sent them.

 

Today I for an email informing me ver 3.50 has been released which addresses the issue. Will load it tomorrow and test it when I can. Great feedback from Garmin. I guess it’s as it should be.

 

So if anyone else has had the problem, new SW released to address it

[Sepia]

I logged a case with Garmin UK as I could not load to the latest version of firmware being 3.40. The unit was shipped 3.20. Version 3.40 apparently addresses my comment made above regarding cars directly behind me traveling at the same speed. Garmin UK were incredibly responsive and informed me it was a known error ( not able to update firmware to 3.40) and asked me for my logs to assist with the issue which I sent them.

 

Today I for an email informing me ver 3.50 has been released which addresses the issue. Will load it tomorrow and test it when I can. Great feedback from Garmin. I guess it’s as it should be.

 

So if anyone else has had the problem, new SW released to address it

Please would you send a link for this upgrade?

Edited November 30, 2018 by Sepia

[IceCreamMan]

Please would you send a link for this upgrade?

The updated software is available on Garmin Express. It should also be be fed to yr Edge device at some point I would imagine for hookup to the Varia.

 

I don’t have a link to the update. I can send you link to Garmin forums if that will help.

[Sepia]

My Varia has gone and packed up.  Green light comes on when plugging in to charge and then turns to solid red.

It seems stuck in this position.  Updated it, removed it and reloaded but it is still the same.

I really like this safety unit so would like to know if anybody has had a similar experience and what was done to fix it?

As always, advice is greatly appreciated.

[capediver]

7 hours ago, Sepia said:

My Varia has gone and packed up.  Green light comes on when plugging in to charge and then turns to solid red.

It seems stuck in this position.  Updated it, removed it and reloaded but it is still the same.

I really like this safety unit so would like to know if anybody has had a similar experience and what was done to fix it?

As always, advice is greatly appreciated.

Try another plug...this happened to me, it should flash when charging , the status LED flashes green while charging and is solid green when charging is complete. Got another plug and it worked...could be related to voltage from charger...?? 

[Sepia]

I actually did try all the above  but to no avail.

Garmin are not cooperative and send me automated mails.

Terrible service and response.

[tourdeboland]

On 11/22/2018 at 1:17 PM, Long Wheel Base said:

I remember reading somewhere that it was initially sold under some other name but not successful at all. Then Garmin bought it and did nothing but change the name and then it sold much better. Just shows how people back a big brand. I hope they paid the guy decently for it. Mark Shuttleworth kinda money!!!!

• iKubu's Backtracker
• Highly successful
• Garmin got the team to make some small changes
• True about brands
• The pay was good.

[Pieter-za]

I have been playing around with this IQ Store app the past weekend, and thought to mention it here in case other Varia users want to try it:

MyBikeTraffic

Some more info can also be found at https://www.mybiketraffic.com/ 

 

[Sepia]

Done.  Thank you.

Will give it a test.  Something more to play with.  Might prove interesting?