Contec CMS50F Wrist-worn Pulse Oximeter with Software and Download Cable

I ordered this with reservations after reading some of the reviews, but I have found the unit to be easy to use and to function as advertised. My experience with issues identified by others:1. Programing the unit - I found the unit to be fairly easy to set up and navigate through the menu. The key is to read and follow the directions the first few times you use it. After a few times it is pretty intuitive. ( Note: As my grand daughters remind me I am "very, very old". I am not a young computer whizz.)2. Short battery life - The first few times I used it the rechargeable battery seemed to take a long time to fully charge and then drained very quickly. I found that after going through a few charge/discharge cycles these problems went away. Now I just charge it for 1-2 hours before each nightly use and wake in the morning with plenty of power left.3. Analyzing results - The included analysis software is fantastic for visualizing and summarizing results. But this is the part which took the most time to learn ( I waited a few weeks before even trying). In fact it went better than I expected - I didn't even have to call my son-in-law. It took a few attempts to get the mini-CD to fit into my computer DVD slot. But once I got the CD lined up installation of the program was no problem. Running the program was mostly trial and error (instructions were not real clear). Sequence is important. Follow this order: a) Open the program. b) Connect wrist unit to computer with supplied USB cable. c) Turn on wrist unit. d) From the computer program menu, download recorded data from wrist unit to computer. e) Open the desired downloaded data file in the computer program and view results ( Note: To download data from the wrist unit to the computer you must have been previously saved it in the wrist unit using the Record mode from the wrist unit menu. And each time you start a new Record session you will erase the previous data set. But that doesn't matter because if you have downloaded it, it is saved in your computer.Hope this helps people who may be experiencing problems - or are debating whether to purchase. I highly recommend.

The watch part worked fine and was easy to use. It's not the smoothest piece of hardware but it's not too difficult to figure out.Connecting the watch to the computer was a major pain in the ass. I tried 2 computers but could only get it to connect sporadically a few times. I followed a bunch of tips on the apnea board but I just couldn't get it to connect consistently.

This product works well monitoring my sleep. It monitors blood oxygen level and heart rate constantly through the night. In the morning I plug the unit in to my Windows based PC and use the software which came in the box to create very informative reports(No Mac Software Available). The other nice feature is the alarm function. You can set your own parameters for 02 level and heart rate both high and low. If any user programmed parameters are exceeded the unit will sound an audible alarm to wake you up. The instructions are bad but this link help me get started. [...]This unit has no bluetooth capability but there is a sister unit available that does, CMS-50FW is the model number.The bluetooth model is capable of real time remote monitoring of all information on a PC within bluetooth range. The live read out almost looks like what you see in a hospital. It also can be programmed to alarm. I presume you can also transfer data without a USB connection. I Have found that a piece of tape or a band-aide around the lower part of the finger unit helps keep it from slipping off or moving while sleeping and can provide more accurate readings.

The device worked as a non-recording pulse ox. However downloading information to the computer was a one time event, that could not be done again either the same way or any other way. The other times the information wouldn't download. There seemed to be lots of recordings when the files were opened up and the device was plugged into the computer. All except one had no PO2 or pulse information on the graphic display. Last night it stopped working. It read that the memory was full. Okay, so I tried to get the device to download again even trying to cut and paste the information.By this time you are probably wondering "how come I didn't mention anything about the instruction manual". Fret no more about that. There is a paper manual and a disc to download a manual into your computer, but there is no description how to download the information, just do it. Maybe the designers figured that their programming is just too simple to need explanation. So I tried Tech Support. They have a chat support filled with (probably) fictional American sounding names, which if you try to contact they give you an email address to contact tech support. You better reply quickly on their opening statement, because they are impatient and will cut you off if you linger for 20 seconds.. So I tried again, quickly. They sent me a reply to contact an email address for support. The initial address was returned as non-existing. I noticed another one on the manual in tiny type. The other address was not returned as non-existing, just no one ever replied after days of waiting. So I am replying to their lack of reply by returning their device. The device is probably....possibly... worth 2 stars as a pulse oximeter, considering their performance. The finger clip was tolerable and stayed on pretty well all night on the index finger.