X10mil

[Larry]

I recently purchased an X10mil and have the following comments/concerns. The screen is very dark so as to be unreadable in many situations, even at the highest contrast level (9). Why have a watch screen that is barely legible, even in good lighting conditions, makes no sense to me? I was sure there must have been some sort of removable cover protecting the screen making it so dark, but alas, there was none! Maybe the screen is bright enough if you live in California, but I live in a rain forest. And the backlight when activated appears as a bright red smudge. The alarm is totally useless; I cannot hear it when the watch is more than a few feet from my ear, and it certainly would not wake me up when sleeping! The GPS connectivity is very poor. I went for a run in an urban park, and although there are lots of trees in the park, the park entrance is relatively 'open', and yet I was unable to connect to a satellite. A friend of mine with a Garmin had no trouble at all getting the GPS to operate. I had intended to use this as an every day watch, but quite frankly it is pretty useless for that and I cannot even get the GPS to work-maybe it is faulty and should be returned? I am curious if anyone else shares any of my concerns?

	Suunto X9i - Click for more info Introducing the Suunto X9i - the new and improved version of the Suunto's X9, voted "Best Product of 2004" by Fortune Magazine. Now available in two colors, the X9i combines GPS functionality with an altimeter, barometer, compass, and thermometer ... all these instruments, packed into a single watch.

[musiljan]

I'm fairly new to the X10mil, but from the 2 days I have been using it I can say that it is a good piece of equipment that works to my satisfaction. It is quite possible that you have a dud that needs to be replaced. Here are few pointers that may help resolve some of the issues:

1. GPS - when I got the watch I configured it and then started GPS, set it on my table outside of my house and let it there for about 15 minutes. This establishes the initial synch with satellites in the area and assures that after the next start the watch gets reception in 30 seconds to 1 minutes. This has been the same for Polar G3 and also Garmin 405. Manufacturers recommend to do this every time you travel more than couple hundred miles from your original location.

2. GPS fix on subsequent starts - it seems to help to by in the open for the GPS acquisition after the start. I got signal in about 30 seconds this morning before the test run. Best to do this in a parking lot of as open area as possible.

3. As for the display - it seems to work for me. But I have seen many folks complain about the black display. Some even moved to non-mil version that is easier to read. If you can look at the positive display and try to change to it, maybe it will work better for you.

4. Alarm volume - never had issues to wake up to Suunto alarm - I own T6c and X10 and they both have similar volume of the alarm. I found Polar louder, but Suunto seems to work well for me - especially if I set three alarms in the row ;-).

It seems that Suunto has some production issues with some batches. I'm only wondering when my watch starts to peel. Oh we will see.

	Suunto Visit SuuntoWatches.com to see Suunto's full line of wrist top computers and compasses.

	Suunto X9i - Click for more info Introducing the Suunto X9i - the new and improved version of the Suunto's X9, voted "Best Product of 2004" by Fortune Magazine. Now available in two colors, the X9i combines GPS functionality with an altimeter, barometer, compass, and thermometer ... all these instruments, packed into a single watch.

	Suunto X10 Suunto commemorates 10 years with the Suunto X10. When you're trekking through a new frontier, adventure racing, biking, fishing, or conducting field operations, the Suunto X10 provides critical decision-making data. With full GPS functionality, including route planning and uploading, as well as outdoor essentials like an altimeter, barometer, and compass, the Suunto X10 wristop computer shows nature who's boss.