If you'll be using windows, first step is go here

www.locosystech.com/en/product/gps-watch-gw-60.html

And download the quick start guide also download and instal the utility, updater, driver and latest firmware.
If you're already using a GW52, the old util, updater and driver seem to work OK with the watch.

Set up is very similar to the GW52, you can do it from the watch or utility, (I'm not going to repeat what's in the quick start guide)

Non windows users will also want this guide. But they can only set up from the unit.

here's where I've set mine.
buzzer, x (off, but you may want it on if you set an alarm)
logging, 5hz. Smart seemed like a good idea, but during a gybe it changes frequency which confuses the software and gives strange alpha results. So if I'm doing distance I set to 1hz, but for the rest of the time, 5hz gives better looking alphas and more accurate 2s. The software can center the peak speed, where as at 1hz you could be off to the side of the peak speed and missing some decimal points. NOTE, setting the watch to 1hz is probably not necessary for distance as it's got a lot bigger memory than the GW52.
min SPD, 2kt. (not if you're doing a battery test!)
unit, NM.
GMT, +8 (for Perth, +10 for eastern states +11 for daylight saving South Australians and NTers you'll have to work your own out).
SPD AVG, You'll probably want 10s but I've set mine to 2s, because the max speed at 5hz can be almost a knot higher and it's the 2s I'm really interested in. The 10s average will be on the GW52.
SPD Genie, I have set to 27kt, because I'm interested in speeds over that, and I'm not likely to do more than that upwind. In other words set this between your downwind and upwind speeds, that way you can see the last run when you get back to the start.
Action SPD, is on S, but I don't think this matters, unless you want to see the average speed while you are sailing.
SPD Font, BIG. (if small I don't think you get distance in the scrolling speed genie display, but I've never tried it)
SPD History, O. (on) This gives the max and average speeds since the display was cleared, in other words session maxes
Scroll, 1.5s. but that's because this old brain couldn't cope with 1s using the GW52 in a pouch, maybe with the watch I'll be able to see it a bit clearer and cope with a higher data rate. After a couple of weeks it's still on 1.5
USB Class, If you're a windows user you'll leave this on the default "COM", being a linux user mine is on "UMS", MAC users will want this as well.


Windows users plug unit into computer and launch the utility, click on "connect", with any luck you'll get a dialog saying you've succeeded. On the first page you can do the set up and change user name.
Click on "Log Data", to get the next page.
I'd make sure "Auto Clear" is un-ticked! If this is selected it's possible to loose all the data from that session if the computer has a "glitch" of any sort.
SBP Header should be ticked,
In "file selection" browse to where you want your data stored.
Then click on "Download Log" a progress bar tells you what's happening, when it hits 100%, and the dialog says transfer successful, then you can click the "Clear log" button and the "Clear" under "top ten speeds". Clearing log data also resets distance to zero, 'clear top ten speeds' zeros the speed genie display.

Non windows users, with the device already in "UMS" mode and asleep plug into computer, press the adjust button, the display then changes from watch to adjust with "buzzer" selected at the top. hit the "start" button to bring up the version, then hit it again to select "to usb msc" then hit "adjust" again and the watch should then display a connection graphic.
No ideas what happens with a Mac, but on this computer a USB icon comes up labeled "locosys MSC," click on that and I get a "GPSLOG.SBP" file. I save that to my windsurfing file and rename it. It's necessary to rename because this file is always called "gpslog" so it'll want to rewrite any previous file.

To delete the internal data there's two steps. First go to GPS mode then hit adjust, select yes and hit adjust again. This deletes the log data and distance record.
Then hit start or reset to bring up the speed genie display, do the adjust delete sequence again to get rid of max and average records.

Hope this is clear, if not please post questions, It's very easy for me to forget stuff.

Hi it might help Mac users to know the watch firmware needs to be updated on a windows machine first, with watch in COM mode. Then data can be uploaded via Mac in UMS mode

There is a video posted on gpsspeedsurfing under FAQ GW60 if anyone needs some more help in how to update the firmware.

Thanks for all your info and help on the watch Decrepit

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Dezza said..
Hi it might help Mac users to know the watch firmware needs to be updated on a windows machine first, with watch in COM mode. Then data can be uploaded via Mac in UMS mode

Thanks Dezza, as you say useful to know.
But I didn't notice any difference in the way it connected to Linux before and after the firmware update, so this is probably just a Mac thing,

I'd suggest to perhaps wait a bit with the firmware update (at least if you also use the GW-60 on a Mac). I just tried to do update the firmware on brand-new GW60. At the end, I got an "update failed" error message, and now, the watch is frozen. The screen in blank, the backlight stays on, and the communication with the Windows 7 computer does not work anymore (neither to GW60Util nor to the update utility).

When trying to use the update utility again, I now get an error message "No boot loader detected!!", followed by "Device syn failed!!".

This may (or may not) have something to do with the Mac integration. I had connected the GW60 to my Mac before, which worked without problems the first time. There was minor issue that the device automatically re-connects after ejecting (similar to the Canmore). After a couple of cycles, the Mac would show an error message "cannot repair disk". Copying the .spb file from the device still worked, though, and connecting to Windows XP (under VMWare) and erasing the data from the utility also worked. Installing the update utility under Windows XP did not work, however, which is why I used Windows 7 to do the update.

I'll contact Locosys support about the issue. I'm sure they'll get the watch working again eventually, although I'm a bit afraid that may require sending it back to Locosys. But I figured I'd share the little problem before someone else encounters it, too.

Thanks boardsurfr It's good to know a Mac is still usable without the update. there's probably a few Mac users around who'd have problems accessing a windows machine.

I did my update with windows 7, fortunately without a problem.

So did you use windows 7 in VMWare, or did you use a windows computer?
There just may be a problem with using VMWare for updates

Hi,

I've got the same problem with updating the firmware when running Windows on a Virtual machine (Windows 10), update got stock after a few seconds. Wacht was frozen for a few hours. After that it rebooted normal and operated normal again. Firmware upgrade with native Windows runs perfect, i think maybe the virtual machines under Mac OS do something tricky with the COM ports. Please notice that Windows XP is not a supported platform anymore and could cause additional problems.

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JHdeBruin said..
Hi,

I've got the same problem with updating the firmware when running Windows on a Virtual machine (Windows 10), update got stock after a few seconds. Wacht was frozen for a few hours. After that it rebooted normal and operated normal again. Firmware upgrade with native Windows runs perfect, i think maybe the virtual machines under Mac OS do something tricky with the COM ports. Please notice that Windows XP is not a supported platform anymore and could cause additional problems.

Yes, I had the suspicion that this may have something to do with the unreliable communication. I often have to try several times before a download from the GW-52 succeeds. I thought I encountered the problem on a Surface Pro 3, too, though, but I'm not sure (I rarely use the Surface for GPS stuff).

Seems like your update got stuck at a different place, leaving the firmware intact. My watch is still frozen 12 hours later, the backlight display is still on. I got a response from Locosys support that was not really helpful yet ("watch the video, try again, send us screenshots"), but the response was quick and now I have a few email addresses to attach files etc. I'm sure this will be sorted out eventually.

Small correction maybe, a few hours was at least a good night sleep, also the backlight stayed on.... so maybe a bit much patience...

You are right! The backlight eventually went out after about 18-20 hours. After that, I got a different error message the first time I tried to update the firmware again; saw progress bars going to 3% in the next try, then 8% in the third try, and finally got a "Firmware updated successfully" message in the fourth try. All that still using a VMWare virtual machine. The battery indicator now shows that the battery had run out. I remember that letting the battery run down was also a way to fix "hang" problems with older Locosys units.

I used a Windows computer (Surface Pro) to update my other GW-60, and that worked without any problems. So while it's possible to update the firmware using a virtual machine on OS X, it seems to be a better idea to do it from a "real" Windows computer.

Great ! After the first crash i didn't do it again, a bit afraid it would stuck again , and indeed upgrading with a native Windows machine no problem and really fast....

It's not a power settings thing with your computer is it?

I've had issues in the past where the computer goes to "sleep" if unused for 10 mins.

Some update programs even called for this feature to be switched of when doing instal's

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elmo said..
It's not a power settings thing with your computer is it?

I've had issues in the past where the computer goes to "sleep" if unused for 10 mins.

Some update programs even called for this feature to be switched of when doing instal's

No, that's not it. Neither is it the "AppNap" feature on OS X. The firmware update takes about a minute or less, even if it fails. It's something about the USB communication over a serial bridge (the "virtual COM port") that is unreliable from a virtual machine. Even getting data downloaded often shows these problems, and sometimes fails. But that does not hurt (unless you have "Auto Clear" selected!). Similar communication problems during the firmware update get the watch all confused, and you have to run the battery down before it comes to it's senses again. Should not be an issue if you use a Windows computer. If you have to use a Mac and a virtual machine, do it when you don't need the GPS for a day or two. But finding a friend with a Windows machine is probably a safer bet.

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boardsurfr said..
.....All that still using a VMWare virtual machine.

I gave up using VMWare because of similar issues communicating with ports. I now use Oracle's Virtual Box. This has been a better virtual machine for me thus far. Plus it's free

www.virtualbox.org/

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fangman said..

I gave up using VMWare because of similar issues communicating with ports. I now use Oracle's Virtual Box. This has been a better virtual machine for me thus far. Plus it's free

www.virtualbox.org/

Do you ever get timeouts with Virtual Box at all? If not - which OS X version are you using?

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boardsurfr said..

fangman said..

I gave up using VMWare because of similar issues communicating with ports. I now use Oracle's Virtual Box. This has been a better virtual machine for me thus far. Plus it's free

www.virtualbox.org/

Do you ever get timeouts with Virtual Box at all? If not - which OS X version are you using?

MacOSX Sierra. Time outs have not been a problem, but to be fair, I use it infrequently, and as a consequence port issues are not common either. Also, I dont run any software that is particularly resource/RAM hungry. (i.e just a C Compiler or Cisco Packet tracer)

Very very helpful, all set up and waiting for wind.
Has anyone got as far to test...

If we do not clear logged data.. because its super windy and were all excited. Ending up sailing 2 days without clearing the log.. will KA still recognize as different files when the file is uploaded?

Little like when the SD card failed and we had to use internal log on GT-31.

If no one has been there yet this could be my project.

I'm not sure how KA72 works like that, if you could do it with the GT31 internal .sbp log, then it should be ok from the watch.
It's no trouble with GPSResults, that has a separate header for each date, so you can just select the date you want.

If you're interested in analysing your data, this is the program I recommend.

But if you don't clear the log, the displayed Km is accumulative, so you see the sum of both days.
And if you don't clear the display, then speed genie shows the max over the two sessions.
This could lead to disappointment if you don't realise what's happening.

Ka separates the files but only one file per day when posting to gpstc.
I sailed two locations in one day.it combines results but puts the first location.
Same as gw52.
It will keep files from previous sessions no drama.
Recently used gw60 in race and found i had to turn off gps to use the timer function.i love mine so bought 2 to overcome this.

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bearhoover said..

If we do not clear logged data.. because its super windy and were all excited. Ending up sailing 2 days without clearing the log.. will KA still recognize as different files when the file is uploaded?

I don't know what ka72 will do, but this may also help:
The GW52 and GW60 utilities contain a program to split SBP files into separate files called splt.exe. I have used it to create separate files by day (when I used it, there is no documentation). It's a command line program, but easy enough to use. Here are instructions for those who are not familiar with command line programs:

1. Open a command line window (run CMD or open Windows Powershell).
2. Drag and drop the "splt.exe" program onto the command line window.
3. Type a space.
4. Drag and drop the file you want to split.
5. Press return.

You'll get one or more files that have _X000, X001 etc. appended to the name. The file will be in the folder shown in the terminal. If you want to create the file in a different folder, you can change to that folder by typing "cd folderName" before step 2 (e.g. "cd C:\LOCOSYS\GW60Util", without the quotes).

For Mac users: you can get away with connection to GW60 without updating firmware! Just setup watch and then connect. If GW60 does not show up immediately, press adjust or check cable contacts.

great video thanks but still I couldn't get it to work so watch useless at moment spent 2 hrs trying.

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byronmc said..
great video thanks but still I couldn't get it to work so watch useless at moment spent 2 hrs trying.

If you're more specific maybe somebody can help.
What can't you get to work?
I haven't watched the video, but it just says how to update firmware. And it seems this is not essential for the watch to work with windows or Mac

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byronmc said..
great video thanks but still I couldn't get it to work so watch useless at moment spent 2 hrs trying.

Make sure you have installed the software driver. I hadn't done this part and struggled for a couple hours until my son fixed it all up with pointing out the basics. It's part of the download from Locosys but must be manually installed separate to the GW-60 Utility and Updater. I hadn't done this and was frustrated not being able to connect (not real good with computers doesn't help). After this it was simple to follow Mike's instructions at the top and also the software update video. Good luck and hope this helps in some way.

I got to the "click on browse to click on .bin file from downloads then click update" but then get a message saying "port open failed".
Tried everything but that's as far as we could get. Bloody frustrating!!

finally got it to work tall about making something simple bloody hard.
The video really did help just my computer didn't like to open some of the files had my 12 year old son help me LOL the youth these days.

So how do you down load a session file is there any secrets?
note I have not don't it or used it yet.

Combined with all the tips above I found the quick start guide which can be downloaded from the website very helpful.
This watch almost even replaces a start watch... maybe in later firmware

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bearhoover said..
Combined with all the tips above I found the quick start guide which can be downloaded from the website very helpful.
This watch almost even replaces a start watch... maybe in later firmware

So what didn't you understand from my first post?
I can be a bit cryptic at times, so it would be good to fix any ambiguities.

The firmware update has to be done from the down load area not hard drive.
I still don't understand why I Canot see it when I plug it in . I can only see the watch if I open a file which I carnt remember which one.

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decrepit said...

bearhoover said..
Combined with all the tips above I found the quick start guide which can be downloaded from the website very helpful.
This watch almost even replaces a start watch... maybe in later firmware

So what didn't you understand from my first post?
I can be a bit cryptic at times, so it would be good to fix any ambiguities.

Read 100% fine to me, breezed through setup and all worked perfect. Don't think anything needs changing at all.

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Sorry bearhover, I meant to quote Byronmc he's the one having trouble.

[quote}
The firmware update has to be done from the down load area not hard drive. I still don't understand why I Canot see it when I plug it in . I can only see the watch if I open a file which I carnt remember which one.

So Byron, I'm not sure what you mean by this.

And I still don't know if you are using windows or some thing else??????????????????????

In windows I downloaded all the locosys stuff to my hardrive.
Then installed the driver, that lets me connect to the watch.
Then I installed the utility, that lets me setup the watch and down load data.
you won't "see" the watch. You have to open the utility and press the "connect" button