Speed and cadence values keep dropping every few seconds

Kibbee

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Dec 11, 2021, 11:28:25 AM12/11/21

to golden-cheetah-users

I'm trying to use Golden Cheetah to record my indoor riding data this winter, and I'm having an issue trying to get the sensors to read consistent data. Every few seconds it will show the correct value for speed and cadence, but then drop down to a lower value for, usually about 1/2 to 1/3 of the actual value. Heart rate data which is also read on the same ANT+ USB stick reads completely normal.

When I try using IPBike on my Android tablet it seems to be able to read the data consistently and gives nice smooth readings.

Also, I tried it with Zwift, and the sensor data seems to be reading consistently, so it seems like an issue with Golden Cheetah rather than some kind of connection issue since Zwift uses the same sensors and Ant+ stick for reading the data.

I've tried using a USB extension cable to put the USB ANT+ stick closer to the sensor, but that doesn't seem to have any effect.

The behaviour is exactly the same both on my Windows machine and my Linux machine.

I have a new battery in the speed/cadence sensor

Both the ant+ stick and the speed/cadence sensor are unbranded ones that I got off AliExpress a few years ago. I suppose this could be the issue and it's just bad hardware, but I would like to try to resolve it without buying new hardware if possible. It seems like the ant+ stick reads the heartrate data just fine, and the speed/cadence are sending the data appropriately as other apps can read the data. I think it just comes down to how Golden Cheetah is interpreting the data it receives.

Ale Martinez

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Dec 11, 2021, 4:54:41 PM12/11/21

to golden-cheetah-users

I would look for other sources of interference like WIFI routers as explained in https://github.com/GoldenCheetah/GoldenCheetah/wiki/ANT--and-BTLE-Troubleshooting#data-spikes-and-dropped-connections.

OTOH, as a non-funded FOSS project, regrettably we cannot warranty support for all variants of sensors and adapters, unless a developers has the same hardware, confronts a similar problem and is willing to change the code to support it, I would not expect a solution anytime soon.

Kibbee

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Dec 12, 2021, 12:33:43 PM12/12/21

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Yeah, I don't really expect much help if it just comes down to the fact that i'm using weird hardware. I was just wondering if this was a known issue and if it could be fixed with some settings. It seems odd that it would be due to radio interference because other apps running on the same computer with the same sensors and receiver seem to have no issues. And it also seems too regular to be interference based. Is there any way to see an output of the signal strength or any other information that would be useful for debugging. Here's a short capture of the data so others can see what I'm getting for my speed and cadence values. There was no resistance on the wheel, just mounted in the trainer, and turning by hand. so the cadence should be reasonably consistent. At the end where you see the cadence stops, the wheel should be coasting to a stop. Instead we see the speed jumping up and down. There doesn't seem to be any missing readings, but rather just wrong values. Unless it is interpolating the data from somewhere else.

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pepe

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Dec 12, 2021, 12:48:06 PM12/12/21

to golden-cheetah-users

Check for faulty hw (with the same setup) with another app that records speed and cadence.

Kibbee

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Dec 12, 2021, 3:35:43 PM12/12/21

to golden-cheetah-users

Pepe,

I stated in my original post that I tried recording with Zwift on the same hardware and it works fine. I also tried the same sensors and reading them from my tablet and that works fine as well.

Ale Martinez

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Dec 12, 2021, 6:12:04 PM12/12/21

to golden-cheetah-users

El domingo, 12 de diciembre de 2021 a la(s) 17:35:43 UTC-3, Kibbee escribió:

Pepe,

I stated in my original post that I tried recording with Zwift on the same hardware and it works fine. I also tried the same sensors and reading them from my tablet and that works fine as well.

There are some ANT+ adapters working with Zwift but not with GoldenCheetah, this is a know limitation documented in FAQs: https://github.com/GoldenCheetah/GoldenCheetah/wiki/ANT--and-BTLE-Troubleshooting#cycplusanself-ant-stick

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