Varia RCT715 Radar/Camera

[jasonc]

Just seen on a mates new Synapse a Cannondale SmartsSense intergrated system incorporating Garmin Varia paired with Lezanne lighting (front and rear) together with powered Garmin GPS mount suitable for some Garmin Edge computers, 530 and above all supplied from a common battery which is detachable for charging.
Long Term Review by DC Rainmaker https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2023/02/can ... 1-rle.html

yeah great. so if you have more than one bike you need to have lights for each
and the radar is the non-camera version

[grt046]

Just seen on a mates new Synapse a Cannondale SmartsSense intergrated system incorporating Garmin Varia paired with Lezanne lighting (front and rear) together with powered Garmin GPS mount suitable for some Garmin Edge computers, 530 and above all supplied from a common battery which is detachable for charging.
Long Term Review by DC Rainmaker https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2023/02/can ... 1-rle.html

yeah great. so if you have more than one bike you need to have lights for each
and the radar is the non-camera version

Yes agreed. Wouldn't suit me either as I swap all between two bikes.

[Comedian]

So I've found one issue with the Garmn rct715. It's impossible to buy replacement rubber straps for them. When you buy one you get two rubber straps in the kit, but they are not available from garmin full stop. Just not sold separately.

Eventually the straps stretch and start to loose their elasticity. Not sure what the answer is. Perhaps buying a new mount.. or zip tying the mount on.

[jasonc]

But then servicing the bike in a work stand becomes difficult

[Comedian]

But then servicing the bike in a work stand becomes difficult

Good point. My workstand is a through axle one (remember those?) but that could be an issue for some.

[Comedian]

Heads up to anyone on the fence on this. Pushy's currently has the 715 on special. Might be worth checking out if you are interested. Retail 649 but currently 569. Still not cheap I know.

Personally I don't mind paying for stuff that works, and keeps working. Unfortunately that hasn't been universal in this space of camera tail lights. As long as I get a couple of years out of it I'm in front.

[caneye]

So I've found one issue with the Garmn rct715. It's impossible to buy replacement rubber straps for them. When you buy one you get two rubber straps in the kit, but they are not available from garmin full stop. Just not sold separately.

Eventually the straps stretch and start to loose their elasticity. Not sure what the answer is. Perhaps buying a new mount.. or zip tying the mount on.

have you found a substitute/replacement strap for the RCT715?

i'm thinking an alternative is possibly a big rubber o-ring (will need 2x) like those that come on some bike lights.

[Comedian]

So I've found one issue with the Garmn rct715. It's impossible to buy replacement rubber straps for them. When you buy one you get two rubber straps in the kit, but they are not available from garmin full stop. Just not sold separately.

Eventually the straps stretch and start to loose their elasticity. Not sure what the answer is. Perhaps buying a new mount.. or zip tying the mount on.

have you found a substitute/replacement strap for the RCT715?

i'm thinking an alternative is possibly a big rubber o-ring (will need 2x) like those that come on some bike lights.

I have not found anything - but you can cable tie them on. Potentially there would be o-rings that would do the trick but might need a bit of experimentation.

[Comedian]

So another interesting thing with the varia. The main button.. the documentation is really poor. If you press it .. it turns the camera off but the light might be on.

I went to look at footage of the motorbike last night and it hasn't been recording for a month. In the app it said record was off so I turned it back on and I think it's recording again.

lesson is if it doesn't put rec on the screen you need to look into it. My garmin also has a Varia page which magically appears and you can control the setup in there. You want video recording set to "on radar activity"

[Comedian]

You can use a varia radar camera to record the speed of motorists in your favourite rat run! Trick is you need AUTOPAUSE = OFF on your headunit.

[shareyoutube]https://youtu.be/Z_-9atOvLZM[/shareyoutube]

https://youtu.be/Z_-9atOvLZM

[jasonc]

something has changed when sharing youtube videos. i have to strip out the code from the "embedded link"

there you go comedian

[Retrobyte]

or if you go to the video on YouTube and click "share" and copy that link, it will work with the shareyoutube tags

[Mr Purple]

So finally pressed the button on buying one of these things today - happily they're on a semi decent discount ($549) at Garmin themselves:

https://www.garmin.com/en-AU/p/721258

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. Currently using a Wahoo Bolt V2 so some of the functionality will be limited. Is the passing traffic speed still visible on the filmed video?

[jasonc]

So finally pressed the button on buying one of these things today - happily they're on a semi decent discount ($549) at Garmin themselves:

https://www.garmin.com/en-AU/p/721258

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. Currently using a Wahoo Bolt V2 so some of the functionality will be limited. Is the passing traffic speed still visible on the filmed video?

i think that's done by the unit. so should still work

[Mr Purple]

i think that's done by the unit. so should still work

Thanks, looks to be the case. The display for the radar on the Wahoo actually looks pretty decent as well.

I'll see how it goes with the Wahoo for the moment. Unfortunately Wahoo seem to be doing that thing where every software update makes the Bolt a little bit worse. It's gone from something that 'just works' to something that now doesn't record elevation for the first few kilometres of the ride, doesn't seem to sync Strava live segments or pre-planned routes very well, and doesn't even automatically upload the ride when finished at all anymore - all needs to be done manually.

They really need to fire their software update team.

[jasonc]

doesn't record elevation for the first few kilometres of the ride

My garmin spends the first 30 seconds to 1 minute doing an elevation correction. annoying in the afternoon as I head straight up a hill

[warthog1]

doesn't record elevation for the first few kilometres of the ride

My garmin spends the first 30 seconds to 1 minute doing an elevation correction. annoying in the afternoon as I head straight up a hill

Is that a 1040?
My 1030+ sometimes takes a while to find the vector3 pedals (after I have turned cranks by hand). I then calibrate them and away I go.
I am unaware of any "elevation correction" but I am an IT or electronics numpty.

[Mr Purple]

The vector crank issue is also a Wahoo problem. The other issue with the most recent update is that they changed the starting screen so you can't actually see what accessories have successfully registered via bluetooth - you don't find out you're missing your pedals or HRM until a few kilometres in the ride and then have to stop and reboot everything to find them.

Just find it really annoying. Software updates are supposed to make things better, not worse.

[warthog1]

I just use stava elevation at the end of rides anyway. I don't see any head unit that uses barometric pressure being in any way accurate.
Mind you the strava data may just be a compilation of multiple device readings. Being multiple devices it should be slightly more accurate.

[jasonc]

I just use stava elevation at the end of rides anyway. I don't see any head unit that uses barometric pressure being in any way accurate.
Mind you the strava data may just be a compilation of multiple device readings. Being multiple devices it should be slightly more accurate.

when i was paying for veloviewer i did a comparison of elevation for commute depending on the garmin device i was using. was interesting

[warthog1]

I just use stava elevation at the end of rides anyway. I don't see any head unit that uses barometric pressure being in any way accurate.
Mind you the strava data may just be a compilation of multiple device readings. Being multiple devices it should be slightly more accurate.

when i was paying for veloviewer i did a comparison of elevation for commute depending on the garmin device i was using. was interesting

My old 800 was very stingy in the amount of elevation it deigned to allocate a ride.
The 1030+ is more generous but almost always less than Strava gives.

[Mr Purple]

RCT715 arrived today.

The radar component is excellent, the video download process is bloody awful.

I pair with it and it takes a few minutes to download and drops out halfway through most of the time. I'm assuming most people just plug it into a PC via the USB cable?

[jasonc]

RCT715 arrived today.

the video download process is bloody awful.
. I'm assuming most people just plug it into a PC via the USB cable?

Yep. Just plug the thing in. The app is horrible. I've only used the app for configuration

[Mr Purple]

RCT715 arrived today.

The radar component is excellent, the video download process is bloody awful.

I pair with it and it takes a few minutes to download and drops out halfway through most of the time. I'm assuming most people just plug it into a PC via the USB cable?

The app is absolute trash. I have no idea how a multinational corporation thought they could get away with releasing that rubbish.

Did a 27km ride on a major road to work today. Three notable bits of footage (Dodge Ram doing a deliberate narrow pass, another SUV running through the shoulder at me and an idiot doing well over the speed limit through a red light). But now I'm at work and the only way I can download any of that is via the app. Which doesn't work. The stupid thing is you can't even lock the footage from the app so it doesn't get rewritten later which you would have thought was the most important feature the app could actually have.

Radar is excellent at least. And I'm pretty sure the change in flash pattern made some drivers realise they were being filmed - that's actually less drama than I usually have on a ride to work.

[warthog1]

The app is absolute trash. I have no idea how a multinational corporation thought they could get away with releasing that rubbish.

Did a 27km ride on a major road to work today. Three notable bits of footage (Dodge Ram doing a deliberate narrow pass, another SUV running through the shoulder at me and an idiot doing well over the speed limit through a red light). But now I'm at work and the only way I can download any of that is via the app. Which doesn't work. The stupid thing is you can't even lock the footage from the app so it doesn't get rewritten later which you would have thought was the most important feature the app could actually have.

Radar is excellent at least. And I'm pretty sure the change in flash pattern made some drivers realise they were being filmed - that's actually less drama than I usually have on a ride to work.

Hmm, I am an IT numpty, just not interested, so I will struggle.
You must be able to do it somehow, as JasonC regularly posts footage from his.

Yes the radar without the camera also changes flash pattern. I get quite a few sitting behind me waiting until it is safe to pass. I am guessing some may mistake it for a camera due to its' size.
I always wave my thanks when they wait.