New Balance HRM

AngelofMusic13

I wanted to try a Heart Rate Monitor since the exercise machines tend to be inaccurate (and for classes). I was super cheap and bought a $20 New Balance at Target. Maybe I'm just not using it right, but it is ridiculously far off from what the machine says (I do realise they tend to run high). For example, today I did the Stair Master for 15 minutes. The machine said 180ish and the HRM said 28. Is this right, or is it super low? On the treadmill there was 100kcal difference. I don't have the money right now to invest in a good one. Thanks!