Here are the answers to many of the questions we get asked every week. Please take the time to find you answer here, if you can't please email support and we will be happy to help.
| CONTENTS |
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| Pool-Mate | Pool Mate Pro | |
| Operating Troubleshooting |
The system Installation Problems Getting the most from the software Multiple Swimmers |
Pool-Mate
Operation
Q How does the Pool-Mate work?
A The Pool-Mate contains state of the art motion sensors that detect the motion of your arm. Our unique software algorithms and digital signal processing techniques analyse the data and extract lap, stroke, distance, speed and calorie information automatically.
Q Do I need to press a button at the end of each lap like other lap counters? A No, The Pool-Mate is fully automatic and will sense when you start a new lap without you having to do anything. Just press the start button and begin your swim.
Q Why do I need to enter my weight?
A The Pool-Mate uses this to work out the calories you expend, this is based on your weight and speed.
Q I want to swim sets, can the Pool-Mate record each set?
A Yes, you can playback all the details from individual sets as well as the details of the total swim session. Press the Start button at the beginning and end of each set if you want to record them. You can even time your rest periods.
Q Can I wear the Pool-Mate on my right arm?
A Yes, the Pool-Mate will work on either wrist, just change the setting in the SETUP menu.
Q What does the efficiency index measure?
A The efficiency index is based on the recognized Swim Golf method that you may be familiar with. It is the number of strokes (on the arm you are wearing the watch on) taken over 25 metres plus the time taken to swim 25 metres. Concentrate on reducing this number to increase your efficiency and improve your swimming.
Q What do you mean by a lap?
A We use the European nomenclature for laps which means from one end of the pool to the other (shallow end to deep end for example).
Q What units is the Speed measured in?
A We have found that the time to swim 100m is more of a meaningful measure of swimming speed than metres per second or miles an hour as swimmers are used to watching the pool clock and judging speed from it. The Speed shown is the average time in seconds per 100 metres.
Q Will the Pool-Mate work with tumble turns?
A Yes, the Pool-Mate will work with both tumble turns and when pushing off the wall. It detects the gap you get between regular strokes when you turn.
Q How accurate is the Pool-Mate?
A The watch has been tested on a wide variety of swimmers over an 18 month period prior to launch. We have a 99.75% accuracy rate with our database of hundreds of kms from many swimmers with 1500m times ranging between 22 and 40 minutes. No guarantee is given for accuracy with individual swimmers and rates may differ with users whose strokes or abilities differ from the norm. Accuracy may be slightly less when swimming breaststroke for some swimmers but if you have problems let us know as we would like to help.
Q Will the watch work with all pools?
A The watch will work with pools over 15m in length. However in order to recognise swimming the watch needs to detect several regular swim strokes (6 or 7 on the arm you wear the watch on), if using a very small pool you may reach the end before this occurs and the watch will not know you are swimming. If this occurs we recommend you try a larger pool. Similarly swimmers who take less than 7 strokes per lap (on the arm they wear the watch on) may also experience the same problem and have inaccurate results.
Q How long will the battery last?
A The Pool-Mate battery has an estimated life expectancy of well over 12 months. The higher your average hours swimming a week, the shorter the battery life will be. To maintain water resistance and ensure the warranty remains valid, the Pool-Mate may be returned to Swimovate Ltd for battery replacement. Alternatively it may be replaced by a qualified watch maker or jeweller- just be sure to tell them it's a waterproof watch so they can check the seal. The battery is a standard CR2025 that should be readily available.
Q My pool is measured in yards- Will the Pool-Mate work?
A Yes, you can swap between yards or metres at any time by changing the setup of the watch.
Troubleshooting
Q The Pool-Mate doesn’t count all my laps
A If you have inaccurate lap results make sure the watch is securely attached to your wrist and can’t move around. Also try gliding for a longer period at the start of each lap. This saves you energy, improves your efficiency and gives the Pool-Mate a little longer to register the change of laps. Some users also find that wearing the watch on the other wrist may help improve accuracy, remember to change the arm in the SETUP menu of the watch too first. When swimming crawl some users find that the watch works best on the arm OPPOSITE to that which takes the first pull.
Q The Pool-Mate doesn’t update my laps when I’m doing kick sets or one arm drills.
A The Pool-Mate must be put into Pause mode when kicking or drilling.
Q Will it work in open water?
A This version of the Pool-Mate has been designed for lap swimming in a pool only. In open water it will count average strokes per lap and time your swim but will not measure correct distance, speed, calories or efficiency and may detect rogue laps if your stroke pattern is disturbed. We are working on something for Open Water but no dates yet I'm afraid.
Q The Pool-Mate gives strange results when I change strokes mid lap.
A The Pool-Mate has not been designed to recognise changes of stroke part way through a lap. If you are going to change strokes you must do it when you change laps. If a hesitation or interruption in the stroke pattern occurs mid lap this may also cause inaccurate lap counts.
POOLMATE PRO
Q Will the Pool-Mate upload data to a PC?
A Yes, it will upload to a PC, MAC software also released as beta version.
Q What does the package consist off?
A The PoolMate Pro consists of the Pro watch, USB Pod and cable. Software is available to download from www.swimovate/downloads.html.
Q Do you support 3rd party developers?
A We would like other developers to add Pool-Mate support to their applications. Please email us for more details. The data uploaded from the PoolMate is a simple .csv file, we can provide details of the file format and sample Log file if requested.
PC Installation
Q What software is there to install?
A Download the installers from www.swimovate.com/downloads.html
The software consists of three programs:
1. Driver for the USB pod.
2. Pool-Mate Link. Downloads your data from the pod to your computer.
3. Pool-Mate Pro application. Shows the data on your computer.
The driver and link are supplied in a single archive (PoolMateSetup.exe) and the PC software in another. Download both archives to your computer.
The PoolMateSetup.exe is suitable for XP, Vista or Windows 7 but you will need to download the appropriate version of the Pro application for your
operating system.
Run PoolMateSetup.exe by double clicking on it. The Driver and Link software will be extracted to C:\PoolMateSetup.
Install the driver software
Go to C:\PoolMateSetup\USBdriver and double click setup.exe.
Follow the instructions and click on accept the license. The driver will be installed for you.
Connect the pod to a spare USB port using cable provided and place on a flat table. The computer should detect the new device and complete
installation of the driver. This may take a minute or two.
Install the link software
Go to C:\PoolMateSetup\PoolMateLink and double click setup.exe. Follow the instructions to install.
Install the PC software
Double click setup.exe in the PC software archive and an installer will take you through the installation process.
The link and PC applications can be added to your startup folder so they are automatically loaded when you need them.
You can now transfer your data from the Pool-Mate Pro!
Q How do I upload data on my PC?
A Each time you want to upload data from your watch you need to-
Run the link program
Plug in your Pod to a spare USB port and place on flat surface
Select UPLOAD on your watch
Position in Pod
and away you go
When you want to view on your PC,
Run the PoolMate Pro software
Select the Upload button (second from the left)
Press Open file
Problems
Q I am having problems installing the USB Pod driver on my PC?
A If you have tried to install it automatically and have had problems, you may need to do a manual install. To check it is installed correctly- Make sure the Pod is plugged into a spare USB port. Go to Control Panel/Device manager and expand the Ports tab. If the USB driver program is installed properly it will show Pool-Mate USB Pod (COMx) where x is a number. If it shows anything else or has a yellow exclamation mark next to it then it isn't installed correctly and you will need to do a manual install. Here are instructions
Q I can't upload data on my PC?
A Make sure you run the Link application. Go to your Start button, select All Programs and find the Swimovate folder. Double click on the PoolMate Link and the Link icon will appear in your system tray.
Q I can't see the Link Icon on my PC?
A If you have installed the Link software are cant see the Icon in the system tray on the bottom right of your PC it may be hidden. Click on the arrow to the left of the icons and it should appear.
Q Hovering over the Link Icon shows Pool-Mate port: NONE and data won't download.
A The Pod is not installed correctly. Make sure the Pod is plugged into a spare USB port. Go to Control Panel/Device manager and expand the Ports tab. If the USB driver program is installed properly it will show Pool-Mate USB Pod (COMx) where x is a number. If it shows anything else or has a yellow exclamation mark next to it then it isn't installed correctly. You will need to do a manual install. Here are instructions
Q The link icon shows Uploading% as expected but stops and wont complete the upload.
A The watch needs to be upside down and horizontal on a surface before upload will occur (the motion sensors in the watch will only allow upload when in this position). Make sure the pod is flat on a table and doesn't move when uploading. If you still have no success, go to Add or Remove Programs in your Control Panel and uninstall the PoolMate Link. Download again from our website and run the PoolMateSetup.exe. Go into C:\PoolMateSetUp\PoolMate Link and run setup.exe again.
Q Where are the uploaded files stored on my PC?
A They are stored as LogX.csv (where X is a number) in C:\PoolMatePro. After they have been imported into the PC software we change their name to done so you can see they have been imported.
Software
Q What does Rate mean?
A Rate is the number of strokes per minute (on the arm you wear the watch on).
Q How do I delete a set?
A From the main PoolMate Pro PC screen click on the edit/manual add icon nearest the botton left. Select the session you wish to delete by double clicking it and click the red cross that appears and the set will disappear. Note that the current software will not change the total values of the session to cope with the deleted set so you will need to manually edit the totals at the present time. We will be changing this in the next version.
Q How can I back up my data?
A For Vista or Windows 7 the database used by Poolmate Pro is held in this file:
E:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\
Where USERNAME is the name of the Windows user.
Consequently you should make sure this file is backed-up should there be a problem and you want to recover the data!
If you are ‘moving’ computer (you want to migrate the Poolmate Pro data from your old computer, to your new one) then:
1. Install the latest version of Poolmate Pro onto your new computer from http://www.swimovate.com/
2. Copy the above file from the old computer and overwrite the same file on your new computer. I.e. copy swimming.mdb
From old PC: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\
To new PC: C:\Users\USERNAME\AppData\
3. Start the Poolmate Pro application from the Windows ‘Start’ menu.
4. That’s it! Well done. You deserve a swim!
Multiple Swimmers
Q How do I set up 2 swimmers using one watch?
A You need to assign each swimmer a User number on the watch and in the software.
The watch is set by default to User1, the second swimmer should change the watch setting to User2 each time they swim.
In the software, select the swimmer icon (bottom right button) and set up the first swimmer as User1 and the second as User2.
Next time you run the software and import data you can select the swimmer at the top left of the screen and the imported data will be matched to the swimmer so only those sessions for that swimmer will be shown.
Q My husband and I have a watch each but want to view on one PC, can we do this?
A Yes, you need to assign each swimmer a User number on their watch and in the software. The watch is set by default to User1, the second swimmer should change their watch setting to User2.
In the software, select the swimmer icon (bottom right button) and set up the first swimmer as User1 and the second as User2.
Next time you run the software and import data you can select the swimmer at the top left of the screen and the imported data will be matched to the swimmer so only those sessions for that swimmer will be shown.