Varia RTL515 - impact on Head Unit battery life

[grt046]

I have recently installed a Varia paired to my Garmin 520 plus which I am pleased with overall.

However I have noticed a marked reduction in battery life of the head unit ..... typical ride yesterday 47 km battery level at start 98% and at finish 48%. Ride about 2 hrs
Backlight set at 50% and Traffic iQ app off.

Ride started at 0500 so passing traffic not heavy.

Is this normal?

[warthog1]

I have recently installed a Varia paired to my Garmin 520 plus which I am pleased with overall.

However I have noticed a marked reduction in battery life of the head unit ..... typical ride yesterday 47 km battery level at start 98% and at finish 48%. Ride about 2 hrs
Backlight set at 50% and Traffic iQ app off.

Ride started at 0500 so passing traffic not heavy.

Is this normal?

I had a garmin edge 1000 (which I still have in a drawer) when I got my varia. Yes it seemed to chew a bit of battery.
The 1000 was also getting old and I started using mapping at a similar time (gravel).
I got a refurbished 1030 + and it is no longer a concern. Less than 3% per hour.

Sorry I can't say I noticed how much extra it used on the old head unit, but it did seem to shorten battery duration a bit.

I turned the lighting alert on the head unit off. Just set to beep when a car is detected and the dot moves up the right side of the screen.

[Arbuckle23]

Has a bit of an effect on my 1030 as well. But with the bigger battery, just enough to notice.
I run tracking (so my wife can find my body) as well, that also affects battery life.
The more extra functions you run, the more battery consumed.

[Comedian]

I have a 1030plus and have run varias for a while. I can't say I've noticed extra draw, but the battery life is very good so maybe it's knocking it around a bit.

I'd still use one though. Worth it.

[grt046]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I notice on the current user manual it indicates compatibility with 130, 530, 830, 1030 and up although research prior to purchase indicated from 520 plus and up.
Unit paired and works fine except what appears to be excessive battery drain.
However I can live with that for the time being.

[queequeg]

I run a 530 with the Varia and I have never noticed any impact to the head unit battery life from running the radar, and I have a power meter, HRM and speed sensor paired with it in addition to the Varia, and I also run with Bluetooth connection to my phone for call notifications.
With it being winter, I also run with the display backlight on (10% Brightness) and while that does drain the battery a bit, it's not by much.

[warthog1]

Garmin states for the edge 1030 it decreases battery life by about 20%

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=H ... e%20device.

I selected the edge 1000 and 520 and it said 20% for them too.

[grt046]

Garmin states for the edge 1030 it decreases battery life by about 20%

https://support.garmin.com/en-US/?faq=H ... e%20device.

I selected the edge 1000 and 520 and it said 20% for them too.

Thanks for that.
520 plus is getting on a bit (nearly 5 yrs old) so battery is probably loosing a bit of holding capacity as well. 540 might make a nice Christmas present

[Arbuckle23]

Would love a 1040 Solar, but getting that past the wife might be a challenge

[caneye]

I've got the Varia RTC715 paired to my 530. In a 10 hour ride, say a 200km ride, I'll be down to 30% at the end of it. I also have mobile, HRM and power meter paired with the 530.
I think it's the radar notification volume that's draining most of the battery. The alert is currently set to be quite loud. Someone riding in front and behind me can probably hear the notification too (possibly a good thing for them?). I'm hoping to turn down the volume to see if it helps with the battery life.

[Comedian]

I've got the Varia RTC715 paired to my 530. In a 10 hour ride, say a 200km ride, I'll be down to 30% at the end of it. I also have mobile, HRM and power meter paired with the 530.
I think it's the radar notification volume that's draining most of the battery. The alert is currently set to be quite loud. Someone riding in front and behind me can probably hear the notification too (possibly a good thing for them?). I'm hoping to turn down the volume to see if it helps with the battery life.

Please report.

[nickobec]

Radar either a RTL515 or a Magene L508 (long story why two) and pair to a head unit Wahoo Bolt V2, Garmin 510 (yes it does work, even it Garmin says it does not), Magene C406pro or Wahoo Elmnt (another long story for why 4 head units) as well as a Garmin 935.

Never noticed the impact on battery life of a head unit with a paired radar. The 510 battery life is poor but it is old and well used. It is also paired to mobile, HRM, power meter. The 935 battery goes south rapidly with GPS, so a few extra paired devices don't really matter. The Bolt V2 and Magene C406pro are new and seem to last.

[queequeg]

I've got the Varia RTC715 paired to my 530. In a 10 hour ride, say a 200km ride, I'll be down to 30% at the end of it. I also have mobile, HRM and power meter paired with the 530.
I think it's the radar notification volume that's draining most of the battery. The alert is currently set to be quite loud. Someone riding in front and behind me can probably hear the notification too (possibly a good thing for them?). I'm hoping to turn down the volume to see if it helps with the battery life.

I run my Varia with Visual Alerts only. The constant beeping is annoying when on busy roads. With my out front Garmin Mount though, I always see the sidebar because the whole display flashes red when something is picked up. As noted above, I don't notice any extra battery drain when using it like this, so you might be onto something with the sound causing the extra drain.

[warthog1]

The coloured edge light I found more annoying than the beep.
I just have the single beep and the dot on the side of the screen. I am on rural roads with lower traffic density however.

As per the Garmin link yes it does use battery life.
However if you have a head unit with good battery capacity it is harder to notice.
My 1030+ uses less than 3% per hour with varia, HR, power and mapping going. Not an issue.
The 1000 was down to maybe 8 hrs total battery life with all of that going.

[warthog1]

I had experienced significant head unit battery life loss from the Varia. So much so that I got rid of my 520Plus and got the 530 for the extra life.

Then discovered it was due to my backlight settings. Turn the backlight timeout to the minimum setting - uses far less power with each Alert from the Varia


https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/gar ... tery/55904

[caneye]

I had experienced significant head unit battery life loss from the Varia. So much so that I got rid of my 520Plus and got the 530 for the extra life.

Then discovered it was due to my backlight settings. Turn the backlight timeout to the minimum setting - uses far less power with each Alert from the Varia


https://www.trainerroad.com/forum/t/gar ... tery/55904

thanks for that. every little bit helps i guess. I've also switch the alert to a single tone. will see if there's any improvement