Saris H3 Dropouts

Hi all, I know you probably see enough of these but it’s really getting me down so thought I’d post here. I’ve had few issues since buying a new Saris H3 turbo in May last year but recently it’s been terrible and every other minute I lose cadence and power and it may or may not correct itself.

I get the same issue with Rouvy but not as bad so determined it’s not a software issue.

My setup:
Acer Nitro 5 laptop - decent spec
Saris H3
Garmin Ant+ dongle - straight into laptop so maybe 1-2m away
Garmin dual HR

Normally I have an android tablet playing spotify to bluetooth speaker but turned that off to try and help. I had phone instead playing music on wired Hesh 3 headphones but realise that wifi connection may have interupted signal. I was also running wifi analyzer app and there were no droputs and running at circa 60hz.
I also have Samsung watch paired to same phone.
In the room I also have another work mobile connected to wifi and work laptop - switched off.
I also have Google home in the same room.

Wifi running on channel 44 in 5Ghz mode.

I did a test ride this evening for 8km and zwiftaliser log didn’t look too happy.

Yikes! Your ANT+ device signal was up and down like a fiddler’s elbow. Your environment is the most likely cause.

ANT+ weak signal times

Channel 1 Device 14370

17:52:23, 17:52:27, 17:57:54, 17:58:11, 17:58:48, 18:00:36, 18:01:20, 18:02:21, 18:02:40, 18:03:54, 18:04:12, 18:04:28, 18:04:37

Channel 2 Device 14793 PowerTap PowerTap SLC+, PowerTap SL+, PowerTap Pro+, PowerTap Elite+, PowerTap 2.4+, PowerBeam Pro, PowerSync

18:04:28

Where should I start?
Thanks

There is another (long) thread on the forum about H3 issues. Have you read through that?

Hi @Michael_Shannon

I would start with a usb Extension cable. I have a H3 and Windows 10 PC and I don’t get any dropouts.

Thanks @Gerrie_Delport_ODZ I have a 3m extension cable ordered for delivery tomorrow so will give it a try. I’ve opted for ant+ as I believe it’s more stable and was trying to eliminate the dropouts one by one. I’m hoping it will allow me to then use BT for other things like music.

@Nigel_Tufnel, yes I have seen the post thanks (amongst others of course) but it is mostly referring to either bluetooth dropouts or Apple products.

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Thanks again @Gerrie_Delport_ODZ

I did another test today with a 3m extension cable and pleased to say there were no ant+ dropouts. I’m not really sure what the Channel 1 / Channel 2 info is telling me but there looks to be something cyclical about the signal on channel 1.

For info for others with ANt+ issues this is what I did:

disabled USB selective suspending in power options
made sure the laptop was running in high performance mode (plugged in)
switched off my fan
switched off my work laptop / dock / monitor / google home / work mobile / tablet
switched off wifi / BT on my personal mobile
took off my Samsung watch and left it in another room
unplugged an unused BT dongle for the laptop mouse
used a 3m extension cable for my ant+ dongle which now sits above the light on the turbo
I also had no spotify running on any device

It might have been luck so will try again later this week and slowly introduce some BT / wifi devices.

Channel 1 is your trainer, and I suspect channel 2 is your Heartrate monitor or a cadence sensor. Channel 2 is the worst of the 2 if it is a HR monitor try to replace the battery.

Channel 1 has distinct drops every 3-4 minutes. that I can’t explain.

You can try to eliminate stuff.
You can use this tool to look at your log file while riding (you have to refresh the page to make it update)
https://kylemacfarlane.github.io/zwift-live-ant/zwift-live-ant.html

Thanks again. I’ll give that a go if I still have problems.

Did a 2hr ride this morning and 0 ant+ drop outs.

Very happy now thanks

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