Does Garmin Connect automatically update versions, or do you have to do it manually?

It's a setting in Garmin Connect in the "Device" menu under "General". Auto Update Apps can be switched on or off.
I have heard of many cases of it not working reliably though.

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YP1 said..
My garmin Fenix 5 has been a great addition I especially like the Hr 0ty & alpha data fields.
I havent used my watch since Oct 30 2022 when every thing was working great. 2nd Jan 2023 & Hr 0ty & Alpha all did not display, all results 0. only plug the watch into my computer to charge & I cant remember if it has done any "auto" updates. I think it must have as it now reports all up to date & sync OK. Any Ideas why 0 results for Alpha 0ty & Hour?

Been for a drive in the car & it seems to be working now!? go figure, will give it another test next sail

Hi, thinking of jumping ship and getting a Garmin, but interested in the Instinct 2. Apparently it has access me to the store on this model.
will it still not work with the software?

No, the instinct does not support my Datafiles.
See My post on 3/7/22 (page 10) of this topic for the latest list of supported watches.

245 Music at JB Hifi
www.jbhifi.com.au/products/garmin-forerunner-245-music-sports-watch-black

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tbwonder said..
No, the instinct does not support my Datafiles.
See My post on 3/7/22 (page 10) of this topic for the latest list of supported watches.

245 Music at JB Hifi
www.jbhifi.com.au/products/garmin-forerunner-245-music-sports-watch-black

I know it is probably too early to say, but do you anticipate the new announced 265/965 which are basically a tarted up 255/955 will support your data fields? I expect so since the 255/955 do.

Yes they will be supported in the future, Garmin have released the specs for developers. But I will need to redraw the screens to suit the new resolutions of the new AMOLED displays.
If someone buys one it will encourage me to get on to it.

Sorry, I've got a question that ist possibly stupid and might have been answered somewhere in the pages before.
I'm a total Garmin newbie, have Just got Fenix 6x. First thing I downloaded your datafield, but now I can't find it in the watch.
Obviously I'm supposed to look in the activity it is meant for, but windsurfing isn't on the list.

Funnily enough you are not the first person with this issue!
There is a link to the manual in the Garmin IQ store
www.haigh.id.au/GPSTC.htm

Here is the updated list of watches that will be supported in the next update.
So yes I will be adding the Forerunner 265 and 965. But not the "s" versions.

Thanks for your reply.
Luckily I had found advice before. Once you know, it's easy.
It's a bit confusing though that app and data field is sometimes used as if they were the same. Or are they?
Once I had understood that you only have to go a watchface that consists of only one data field, it was no problem. You can easily find all the downloaded apps (or data fields?) when you go into the options for it.
This might help others or I might confuse them even more.

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tbwonder said..
Here is the updated list of watches that will be supported in the next update.
So yes I will be adding the Forerunner 265 and 965. But not the "s" versions.

Thanks for that.... Good to know about the S version limitation, as I was considering 265S, but will remove that option now. I'll probably go 965. My Vivoactive 3 has been a great watch, but the touch screen has become non responsive in one area (after almost 6 years 24/7 use), and you can still access all functions, but it gets a bit annoying trying to do some things when the screen can't press an area.

Is the S limitation just about the lower resolution screen, or is there some other hardware limitation?Cheers!

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vosadrian sa


Is the S limitation just about the lower resolution screen, or is there some other hardware limitation?Cheers!

It's the fact that they are different that is the problem. In order to cram as much as I can on to the screen in as large a font as possible I have had to design custom fonts. I can share these fonts within a range of screen sizes. So the fonts originally drawn for 240 by 240 screens can be used on 260 and 280 and still look ok. Then the ones I have drawn for 416 by 416 can be used on the 454. It is not possible to use the larger fonts on smaller screens.
So yes I could develop more fonts for the other watches, but I am trying to minimize the continuous upgrade work that is required as Garmin continue to produce so many new models every year.

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tbwonder said..

vosadrian sa


Is the S limitation just about the lower resolution screen, or is there some other hardware limitation?Cheers!

It's the fact that they are different that is the problem. In order to cram as much as I can on to the screen in as large a font as possible I have had to design custom fonts. I can share these fonts within a range of screen sizes. So the fonts originally drawn for 240 by 240 screens can be used on 260 and 280 and still look ok. Then the ones I have drawn for 416 by 416 can be used on the 454. It is not possible to use the larger fonts on smaller screens.
So yes I could develop more fonts for the other watches, but I am trying to minimize the continuous upgrade work that is required as Garmin continue to produce so many new models every year.

Fair enough! And thanks for the explanation.

Andrew I was wondering if your alpha datafield could be modified to draw a penis on the gps map. It is a legit challenge, i think started by Guy Cribb, and I would buy a Garmin to pursue it

Good to see that the Garmin Datafield is good enough for Nicolas Goyard!

Someone pointed out that the Garmin 955 was not actually supported in the GPSTC V4 Datafield, despite me saying that it was. So I have fixed that up and rolled out a new version V4.5, that I have been fiddling with for a while. I had a plan to show VMG. But after a fair amount of testing, I could not get the Garmin watch to reliably report a stable heading. So I gave up on that and went with a new screen showing 3 things.
1. The total number of turns for a session (total of gybes and tacks, even if they do not qualify as 'alphas')
2. The total number of alphas in the session.
3 The highest minimum speed during an alpha. This was harder than expected as I have not been recording the speed through alphas in previous versions. So there is potential for memory issues on Garmin 245, 645 and 745.

There is a new setting to enable this new page, the default is off, so the Datafield will remain unchanged if you are not interested in these new features. I have updated the intructions at haigh.id.au/GPSTC.htm

It became apparent during some on the water testing today that V4.5 was not working as planned. Furthermore, I have decided to also display the minimum gybe speed from the last gybe as well as the session best.

New V4.51 in the IQ store

Would a Garmin venu 2s with screen resolution 360x360 work?

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ka72 said..
Would a Garmin venu 2s with screen resolution 360x360 work?

No, not at the moment. I am only supporting watches with 240,260,280 or 416,454 screen resolutions.
So it should work with a Venu 2, but I'm not sure how you would go using the touch screen whilst wet.

After a request from a user in Europe to add the Garmin Epix Pro Gen 2 (51mm) watch, I have added support for several other watches.
Here is the new list:


Personally I have been using the Datafield on my new Forerunner 255, which I believe is the cheapest current model watch.
This watch has multi frequency technology which is so far producing some very clean and smooth tracks.

During my time at LG this year I received what I will call some positive feedback regarding the V4 Datafields.

The outcome of these discussions are:
1. A new hour screen to help with when to stop and when to keep going. This screen shows 30 bars representing two minute blocks of the previous hour.
2. A modification to the Live Speed Screen to show only the speed and I quote "None of that other graph S**t in the background!"
This is basically aimed at old grumpy sailors who need glasses to see the screens whilst sailing, it turns out that these are 90% of my customers.
For this new simple screen the minimum speed can be set to 12 kts.
3. A few of the more annoying sounds have been removed.

I have updated the manual to explain these new features
See www.haigh.id.au/GPSTC.htm
V4.62 Standard version and Foil version are both now available in the IQ Store (and despite all the cost of living increases they are still free!)

Andrew, can I run your Sailing Race Timer and GPSTCV4 at the same time? Ie during an arvo of racing. I have Garmin745. Cheer Dave

Yes that is the recommended set up.

Hi tbwonder, love the GPSTC data field and I've been using it for the last year or so! I was just wondering if there was a problem with your latest update this week as it's no longer working on my Fenix 6 Pro. I've uninstalled and reinstalled a couple of times but no joy. My watch now looks like this when I start the activity and none of the usual metrics are shown.
Apologies if I'm being an idiot!

Widget,
I just tested the 6 Pro on the simulator and it works fine. I also just updated my old Fenix 5X to the new versions and they both appear to work.
Have you tried making a new activity with nothing in it except the V4 datafield?

Thanks tbwonder- that worked! Back in business now, just need some wind!!

After several reported problems from users with Fenix 6 pro watches I have released a new version:

V4.63 in the store for both Speed and Foil versions
Contains a memory fix for older watches
Distance error checking for alphas

Great work Andrew, I had that issue also and the update fixed it!

More new Garmin Watches!
I have added initial support for the new Garmin 165 and 165 Music. This will also apply to the Epix Gen2pro 42mm which also has a 390 pixel display. The Garmin 165 is the new entry level Garmin watch with a retail price of $429, it has a bright AMOLED Touchscreen display, but also has the usual 5 buttons. Note it does not have Dual Band GPS, you will have to step up to the 255 to get that.

Version 4.64 in the IQ Store. No need for existing users to update.