In Australia it is now the start of the sailing season. People are getting out their long unused GPS devices and finding that they no longer work.
So what are the options?

Motions
Is there any availability of Mini Motions or screen Motions for that matter?
Can they still be ordered from Belgium?
Is there any stock in Australia?

ESP32
Is anybody in Australia making these for sale? or offering them in Kit form?

Garmin
GPSTC have currently approved the Forerunner 255, 265 and 965. All these models are no longer current (but are still available)
This summer it would be a good idea to work towards approving some other models. Which ones? Perhaps the 265 and Fenix 8 range.

Are there any new devices that have come to market in the last year that should be considered?

According to the Weymouth Speed week is the mini motion not in production anymore....
weymouthspeedweek.com/

There are several paid mini motions orders from 2023 for Australia, which haven't arrived, nor some promised warranty replacements. Julien hasnt responded to emails for 10 months now. My last email from him in Nov 24 was that he was finishing the project after sending our last orders. So that device is sadly off the table for new orders even if the final orders arrive.

So far as I know, nobody has had any contact with Julien since Nov last year so his personal situation is unknown. The last contact with WSW was in late Oct / early Nov when he agreed to make one final batch for WSW. A couple of UK folk had contact in late Nov 2024. I spoke with several people at the Prince of Speed in April and nobody has heard from him since Nov 2024. At this moment in time my primary concern is about his health and well-being.

With regards the Garmin watches, I have lots of different models in my posession... over 15 at the last count, including various older models that were dirt cheap but provide some interesting insights. All of the multi-band models are pretty much comparable in terms of performance and I typically use a fenix 7 pro and epix pro. There are some great deals on the fenix 7 pro and epix pro in the UK making them great vfm. The Instinct 3 is also a decent choice amongst the current ranges. The fenix 8 performs well (Synaptics chipset) but is somewhat expensive. I can provide test data and insights for a variety of models to the GPSTC tech group.

The Motion mini is still the device that I use for my posts. It is a great shame that it is no longer available.

Thank you for starting this topic.
I'm getting ready for the coming season (after a 10 year break from sailing) and I've been wondering about the very same thing.

The Garmin 255 is currently the cheapest of the off the shelf approved devices.
Retail price is $749. I would estimate that they sell at a reduced price for at least 25% of the year.
Current deal is here
www.jbhifi.com.au/products/garmin-forerunner-255-music-watch-black

I got 255 from AliExpress for $300. So far so good.

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MobZ said..
I got 255 from AliExpress for $300. So far so good.

Are you sure it isn't fake? Pretty sure it is

Hmm, yeah maybe. It did seem a bit cheap.
Looks, feels and acts legit though.
The serial brings up the right watch in Garmin website 7E6434684

Pretty sure i'm going atleast 10kts faster than what it says, that'd be it, cheap knockoff watch being stingy with the numbers

I think Mobz did get a genuine Garmin watch. But it is a huge gamble. It may not arrive at all if it does it will not be the Australian model, it will not have an Australian warranty and you will probably have to pay import duty.
Mobz likes to do things a little bit differently to others and for that I respect him. However I will continue to buy my watches in Australia.

I also purchased my Garmin 255 from Aliexpress a few months ago, I have been given no reason to think it is not the genuine item, it arrived very quickly and works as expected. I would not hesitate to purchase again.

Too right Andrew, i go to Asian jungles for cheap dentistry not many would do that. But i know they are trained in the US so all good, atleast their bit of paper says they are, i trust their work anyway.
Then i spend the money saved on TOW

About 10% import duty gets added on when processing the order from AE.

Usually if something is this much cheaper than anywhere in oz, it's a good sign something is not right and don't proceed. I wouldn't buy a nut or bolt from there, but i find deals can happen particularity on electronics, and teeth Try a cheap hypersonic usb toothbrush from there, you wont be disappointed. Clean teeth, no dentist, max TOW.
Speaking of which, there's not enough spring version of it right now, clearly i going troppo need wind.

Oh the wind came, ripper. I wanted to compare the watch and mini motion but failed to press motion button properly darn it.
Here is today's fit file from the watch, hopefully i've got it set up right. www.ka72.com/Track/t/546857

As far as I can tell, it looks OK, comparing it with the mini will tell more.

Not the best test as i had motion in the chest pocket of jacket, and watch on the wrist with clear view.
I'll do another someday with them mounted the same place but i had to hurry, wind was dying.
Sorry about the lack of speed for the test Gawd it was some blue water and nice sun though

AliEx garmin 255 watch www.ka72.com/Track/t/546906
Mini motion www.ka72.com/Track/t/546896

KA72 will not let me download your Motion file.

What about forerunner 645 is that approved or might be added.
Where's the best updated list of which garmins you can get the windsurfing app. On, and which ones are approved.

Here is the latest list of watches supported by my sailing Datafields.
Only the Forerunner 255, 255 music and 965 are currently approved for posting to GPSTC

The watches listed which have Multiband GPS could potentially be approved for use in the GPSTC.
Because the 645 does not have Multiband GPS, it will never be approved for GPSTC.

I would like to see several of these watches approved this summer. If anybody has a request then please let me know which model(s) are of interest.

I like my GPSSS compatible coros watch with dual satellite systems. Seems close to my mini motion when I compare them. But not good enough for GPSTC. I think it should be allowed based on my experience of decimal place errors.

It's been tested by multiple people and found wanting.
Multiple GNNS is not the same as dual band.
And from last count the Coros didn't have dual band.

Dual band helps eliminate interfering reflections, that watches, by their nature suffer from.

And unlike Gpsss, GPSTC doesn't have any commercial affiliation with GPS companys

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MobZ said..
Hmm, yeah maybe. It did seem a bit cheap.
Looks, feels and acts legit though.
The serial brings up the right watch in Garmin website 7E6434684

Pretty sure i'm going atleast 10kts faster than what it says, that'd be it, cheap knockoff watch being stingy with the numbers

Don't get me wrong I want to buy one of ali express, but just gets me worried it's a legit watch, and I'm in need as my GW60 is about to die. So not too many options.

I also bought from Ali express, nothing wrong if you pay a reasonable amount. I registered it with garmin so its not dodgy

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powersloshin said..
I also bought from Ali express, nothing wrong if you pay a reasonable amount. I registered it with garmin so its not dodgy

Cheers I'll order mine tommorow

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decrepit said..
It's been tested by multiple people and found wanting.
Multiple GNNS is not the same as dual band.
And from last count the Coros didn't have dual band.

support.coros.com/hc/en-us/articles/4406191947284-Choosing-the-Right-GPS-Mode

I read on Coros support that the Apex 2 Pro, Vertix 2 and Vertix 2S use the Dual Frequency Mode.
May be i don't understand something.

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windsurfing4 said.. I read on Coros support that the Apex 2 Pro, Vertix 2 and Vertix 2S use the Dual Frequency Mode.
May be i don't understand something.

I no longer follow this in detail, it could be correct, you'd need to ask the powers that be, if these models have been tested.

Yes it is true, some of the later Coros models do have Dual Band GPS.
The best place to read up on all things GPS watch related is here

logiqx.github.io/gps-details/
An excellent resource put together by Michael George.

It is possible that some Coros watches set up correctly with the correct firmware may produce results as good as the best Garmin watches.
The trouble is the GPSTC advisory panel have little knowledge of these devices. There have been many reported accuracy issues relating to setup and firmware bugs.
GPSTC did a fair amount of work with 3rd party developers (Me, KA72 and GPSSpeedreader) in order to develop a procedure for the correct set up of Garmin watches and a method of verifying the correct setup from the FIT file. It is unlikely that this will be repeated for the currently small number of people using Coros watches in Australia.

Thanks mate, great informative reply!

Does anyone get DATA from their Garmin watch to KA72 via an IPhone? I haven't been able to work it out. I download activity to the Garmin app but can't find it to select it in KA72. Cheers

I have managed to do it, but it is so painful that you will wait until you get to a PC.
You cannot export the fit file from The Garmin Connect App. You need to open a Browser and then open the web based Garmin Connect.
Then export the FIT file which is the "Export file" option. That gets exported in a compressed folder!
So you have to browse to the download folder on your iphone and then decompress the folder.
Then you can login to KA72 and select the Fit File that you just uncompressed.
It's really not worth the trouble.

More info in another thread:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Windsurfing/Gps/Garmin--GPSTC-Best-Work-Flow

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tbwonder said..
I have managed to do it, but it is so painful that you will wait until you get to a PC.
You cannot export the fit file from The Garmin Connect App. You need to open a Browser and then open the web based Garmin Connect.
Then export the FIT file which is the "Export file" option. That gets exported in a compressed folder!
So you have to browse to the download folder on your iphone and then decompress the folder.
Then you can login to KA72 and select the Fit File that you just uncompressed.
It's really not worth the trouble.

I do it as described above. Once you get used to the procedure, it's ok. And for those who know me, if I can work it out, so can 99% of the population.