Varia Audible Alert
 

I have a RTL515 that I use with an Edge 830. The visual alert works well, but I can't hear the audible alert. The Edge allows you to select multiple or single tone beeps. I can barely hear the faint beeps when I select the feature in the house; I can't hear it at all on the bike.

I do use my iPhone with Garmin Connect. It allows me to get audible updates for speed and heartrate at specific intervals. I have these audible features broadcast to a neat little Noxgear blue tooth speaker clipped to my jersey. But I can't figure out any way to broadcast the Varia audible alert to my phone or other device. Anybody figured out a way to make the audible alert useful?

Mike

I can't hear the little beep on my edge 530 either when on the road and riding. However I do hear the beep from my son's edge 1030 plus even when I'm a bike length or two away.

Similar to my edge 500, I feel that the beep tone of the edge 530 just doesn't have the frequencies in it that I can hear well. Evidently the 1030 plus does, or perhaps it is just louder.

It seems like one member here had their Varia connected to their hearing aid somehow. So there must be a way to get that notification. Maybe they will be along soon.

the gamins vary a lot on volume. the 1030+ is nice and loud the explore is a fair amount quieter.

I’m hearing challenged and I can not hear the alerts from my 1030 and never have…ever. I had to go to YouTube to hear what it is supposed to sound like. People around me can hear it but I can not.

OK. I downloaded the Varia app for my iPhone and I can usually hear it from my jersey pocket except in the windiest conditions.

Better yet, I can send iPhone tones directly to my hearing aids and that is best.

I have mine connected to my watch, so the watch vibrates when there's a car behind me. It's very noticeable.

Ours sure is loud enough on my Wahoo Roam.

My Garmin 52 is loud enough for me to hear most times, except when going fast into a headwind. In fact it's loud enough I think riders ahead of me can probably hear it.

I've got mine connected to a Hammerhead Karoo 2 and, even though I've experienced some noticeable hearing loss at high frequencies, I have no trouble hearing the radar beeps at all. In fact, it's quite loud. I'd be interested to know how to sync it to my Apple Watch for vibration alerts.

The RTL515 can also be connected to your phone via Bluetooth. I ride with Aftershokz bone conduction headset to listen to pod casts but you can also bring up the Varia app on your phone and hear the alerts then through your headset at whatever volume you want.

FWIW, I also have a Hammerhead Karoo (K2) which also has a stupid little beeper on board. That said, I pair it to a Noxgear 39G external speaker and it's *plenty* loud. On top of that, you also can get verbal turn by turn directions which is pretty awesome and a wonderful safety feature.

All of the bike computer designers who put those stupid little beepers in their computers deserved to be fired. They're a single click up from worthless. This, when we have very cheap loud speakers from the cell phone industry.

Sort of a surprising comment since one of the biggest complaints people had about the Karoo 1 is that it didn't have a speaker/beeper. And, as I said before in this thread, I have a bit of hearing loss (enough that I have to wear OTC hearing aids in some situations), and I can hear the Karoo 2 loud and clear (without my hearing aids). Maybe you don't have the volume on the K2 turned up enough?

That’s an excellent idea. I’m half deaf in one ear but can still hear the beeps on the 530 90% of the time. Sometimes into the wind or downhill on gravel it’s hard to hear. I’m assuming you can connect the Varia to both the phone and watch?

Thanks for the tips. I carry my phone in a jersey pocket with the Garmin Connect app open and the phone paired with the 830 Edge. It gives me audible speed and heartrate info, but there is no setting for the Varia radar audible to come through Garmin Connect. I do have the Varia App. I will try using it instead of Garmin Connect to see is the radar audible will broadcast to the Noxgear blue tooth speaker paired with the phone. Maybe I could pair the Noxgear speaker directly with the Edge, I don't know yet.

I am agreed with the sentiment that this should be much easier.

Mike

Opened the Varia app and the aduble alerts played loud and clear through the Noxgear blue tooth speaker, And i got audible reports regarding speed and hear rate. I was using a new saddle (leather Selle Anatomica X1) and didn't focus on how the Garmin audible magic worked. It did work, though, and I probably won't mess with it to sort out the etiology of the magic.

Thanks, folks.

Mike

No, it’s turned up all the way.

I’m an electrical engineer and understanding the components available, it’s disappointing that all of the bike computer companies continue to use these crappy beepers when they could, at very low cost, use a real speaker. The K2s is another in that line. I can hear it, but in traffic it becomes tough (when you really need it). It’s also tough to differentiate alerts from Varia from navigation alerts. A speaker would give designers a lot better choices for the audio part of the UI.

With a speaker, the audio verbal turn by turn directions wouldn’t need an external speaker. That’s a huge missed opportunity in my book for a feature no other computer has. And for a feature which has huge positive safety impacts. Navigation prompts typical involve intersections and with a spoken cue one can often avoid looking at the computer and be paying attention to traffic at the intersection.

there are some really cheap high quality speakers available due to the cell phone industry and it’s high volume. Hammerhead and others should leverage that and get rid of this ancient budget beeper tech.

don’t get me wrong here - this is a nitpick on the K2 and, IMO and for what I do, it’s far and away the best choice in bike computers. With this beeper, the K2 is equal to other computers where I find it substantially better in most other things and I’m a fanboy.