Ah, OK, thanks, was wondering why it didn't seem to all add up, so 128k it is! I think I'll have to go and get myself one! Well done once again!

Enjoying using this App with Vivo3. I've set it with a white background now and I find it much easier to read on the water.
love your work TBW

I don't think the GPS in this watch is as good as my old FR920XT was. The 920 was usually within 0.5kts of my official device (GT31, mini Motion), however the Vivo3 usually seems to read 1-2kts lower.
on the App, I have noticed it spontaneously dropping a datafield, with it being replaced by the timer. It's happened about 3 times now, has anyone else experienced this? Maybe a peculiarity of the Vivo3?

Got myself a Fenix 6X (on sale) and have loaded the data fields, so hope to try it out later today!

Have used the Fenix with the two data fields a couple of times now while foiling. The watch is working great for on-water feedback and certainly has a little more functionality than the GW60 I had been using (with feedback for alphas, 1hrs and NM's). Using the Mini Motion for posting to GPSTC - which couldn't be simpler for logging and downloading. A great combo! Thanks Andrew and Julien!

A quick question (just got a 245 Music)... should I tick the box that says, 'GPS signal logging to FIT file' on the GPSTC field 2 settings?

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AUS02 said..
Have used the Fenix with the two data fields a couple of times now while foiling. The watch is working great for on-water feedback and certainly has a little more functionality than the GW60 I had been using (with feedback for alphas, 1hrs and NM's). Using the Mini Motion for posting to GPSTC - which couldn't be simpler for logging and downloading. A great combo! Thanks Andrew and Julien!

And thank you GARMIN.

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mikey100 said..
A quick question (just got a 245 Music)... should I tick the box that says, 'GPS signal logging to FIT file' on the GPSTC field 2 settings?

Short answer No.

Long answer No, unless you are interested in viewing the signal strength numbers. Garmin only provides the most basic data, that is a number from 1 to 4. Which from my experience nearly always is 4. You will need a FIT file viewer to see this data. Also I don't think KA72 will allow you to upload a FIT file that has this extra field as it is not recognized.

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tbwonder said..

mikey100 said..
A quick question (just got a 245 Music)... should I tick the box that says, 'GPS signal logging to FIT file' on the GPSTC field 2 settings?

Short answer No.

Long answer No, unless you are interested in viewing the signal strength numbers. Garmin only provides the most basic data, that is a number from 1 to 4. Which from my experience nearly always is 4. You will need a FIT file viewer to see this data. Also I don't think KA72 will allow you to upload a FIT file that has this extra field as it is not recognized.

Thanks Andrew.

I have had several people contact me with a range of set up issues since Christmas. Below are two setting that some people are not aware of. I have described the key strokes required on a Fenix 5 your watch may be different.

Logging every 1 second.
Menu>Settings>System>DataRecording Set to "Every Second". Some devices default to "Smart" logging which is not suitable for use with these datafields.

Use Both GPS and GLONASS systems
Menu>Settings>Activities & Apps>Windsurfing>Windsurfing Settings>GPS Set to "GPS+GLONASS"

Exporting the log files from Garmin connect

If like me you use a GPSTC approved device for all post sailing analysis and you never export the track from Garmin Connect then you can ignore this.

Several people have been sending screen shots of their tracks from Garmin viewed in GPSResults (or similar programs). Typically they are very spikey. I noticed that everyone is exporting from Garmin connect as a GPX file, rather than a FIT file. The reason for this is because if you export as a FIT file neither GPSResutls are KA72 will read the file. I am assuming this is because when I write the category results to the Log file it changes the format of it in some way so that third party programs do not recognise it as a vaild FIT file.
The problem with using GPX files is that they do not contain the extra correction data that Garmin watches use to improve the accuracy of the logs, they only contain the basic positional data. You can test this yourself by just using the "Run" activity on your watch (with not special Datafields) and then exporting the session as a GPX and then as a FIT file and comparing the data in either KA72 or GPSResults.

So for those out there who would like to be able to use my Datafields and then process the log file afterwards as a FIT I am proposing adding another user option to turn off category logging. So whilst using the watch every thing would be identical. It would just mean that you would no longer be able to view the category resutls (2 sec, 5*10 etc) in Garmin connect but you would be able to process the FIT file in KA72/GPSResults.

There is no problem with the graphs inside Garmin connect they display the corrected data without issue, the problem only arises when you export the track.

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AUS4 said..
And thank you GARMIN.

For what? ... for having contracts which breach monopoly / anti-trust laws in almost every country?
Garmin have done precisely zero for windsurfing - it is the community which has driven the use of GPS.

New versions of datafields in the IQ Store.
If you don't wish to export FIT files from Garmin Connect then no action is required.
If you do want to export FIT files then change the "FIT file logging" Setting to 0. You must do this on Datafield 1 and 2.

To export a FIT file from Garmin Connect select the "Gear" icon and then select "Export Original", this will give better results than exporting as a GPX.

Looks like the forerunner 245 discount is over they have gone up from $286 to $587 odd we who got one got a good buy

Agreed Glynn. They were a bargain at the lower price. Took me a few days to set it up properly but now it is done it is great. Still use the GT 31 for posting but the Garmin is very, very close to it.

Purchased one of these for my half-price 245 Music as I am rough on watches. Clipped on snugly for a layer of protection around casing and buttons. Delivered in a few days- couldn't be happier.

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mikey100 said..
Purchased one of these for my half-price 245 Music as I am rough on watches. Clipped on snugly for a layer of protection around casing and buttons. Delivered in a few days- couldn't be happier.

Nice find Mikey, I was lucky to buy two of these before they got discontinued.

I'm trying to reset my watch . I can select other as an activity and I then go to the steps highlighted below but get stuck.
How do I find Andrews datafields to add them in? They don't come up as an option?
Mind you I don't really know what I'm doing .they are in Garmin Connect.
I had an issue with the watch and had to reset it to factory default setting so I now have to reload everything..
Garmin Forerunner 245


Customizing the Data Screens
Select START.Select an activity.Hold .
Select the activity settings.
Select Data Screens.Select a data screen to customize.
Select an option: Select Layout to adjust the number of data fields on the data screen. ..
.If necessary, select Add New to add a data screen to the loop.

Ok so I get to the last step but it only comes up with a basic layout? I need to somehow get Andrews available so I can select it? Sorry Andrew set it up the first time..

I see Rebel Sports has the Garmin 245 Music watch on special at $379. I'm off to the shops tomorrow!

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sboardcrazy said..
I'm trying to reset my watch . I can select other as an activity and I then go to the steps highlighted below but get stuck.
How do I find Andrews datafields to add them in? They don't come up as an option?
Mind you I don't really know what I'm doing .they are in Garmin Connect.
I had an issue with the watch and had to reset it to factory default setting so I now have to reload everything..
Garmin Forerunner 245


Customizing the Data Screens
Select START.Select an activity.Hold .
Select the activity settings.
Select Data Screens.Select a data screen to customize.
Select an option: Select Layout to adjust the number of data fields on the data screen. ..
.If necessary, select Add New to add a data screen to the loop.

Ok so I get to the last step but it only comes up with a basic layout? I need to somehow get Andrews available so I can select it? Sorry Andrew set it up the first time..

Andrew helped me fix it..I needed to enter another time and scroll to get the datafield layouts and then set them up.
Thanks Andrew! Now I've got the datafields I lose motivation without them..

It works!, Thanks Andy. Hope to get on the water this arvo.

Anyone could explain to me how to get a proper .fit file from the Garmin 245 please?

When I download the .fit file, there is no data and when I download the .gpx, it gave me incorrect speeds (unless I really did 30 knts in 6-7 knts of wind...).
Uploading the file to KA72 by the way.

Cheers.

try the latest version of GPSResults. I looked at a fit file yesterday and an older version of GPSResults said, no data, but Sailquick with the latest version got all the data without a problem

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decrepit said..
try the latest version of GPSResults. I looked at a fit file yesterday and an older version of GPSResults said, no data, but Sailquick with the latest version got all the data without a problem

The .fit file is empty so I doubt it would work with another program, maybe the .gpx would.
However, I'd like post to KA72 to be in the friendly worldwide foiling group

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jusavina said..The .fit file is empty so I doubt it would work with another program, maybe the .gpx would.
However, I'd like post to KA72 to be in the friendly worldwide foiling group

Are you sure it's empty? how big is it?
As I said I was told there was no data, but it was there.

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jusavina said..

However, I'd like post to KA72 to be in the friendly worldwide foiling group

anything under 30's is friendly, above is cheating !!

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decrepit said..

jusavina said..The .fit file is empty so I doubt it would work with another program, maybe the .gpx would.
However, I'd like post to KA72 to be in the friendly worldwide foiling group

Are you sure it's empty? how big is it?
As I said I was told there was no data, but it was there.

The .fit file is 200 KB whereas the .gpx file is 1.6 MB for the same session.
The .fit files I used to download with my Garmin 230 and another app used to be above the MB.

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seanhogan said..

jusavina said..

However, I'd like post to KA72 to be in the friendly worldwide foiling group

anything under 30's is friendly, above is cheating !!

I know

Things have been quiet for a while and then I get three requests in two days for help setting up my Datafields.
Perhaps it is because there are some good deals at the moment.
I see that Rebel have the Garmin Forerunner 245 Music reduced form $579 to $289
This is by far the cheapest option to run my full version Datafield.

Whilst at Lake George back in Feb/Mar this year I had some discussions with various people and along with my own findings, I decided to do a rewrite of my datafields. Currently there are 6 different datafields which I developed over time for various watches. This was a major pain as any code mods needed to be made in 6 programs and then tested on a variety of watches with different screen resolutions.
So I decided the solution was to write another one!

Wish List
To display the screen I want to see when I want to see it without the need to push buttons.
Larger text so easier to read on the move without glasses.
Live Nautical Mile as well as "Best run" Nautical, so you know when to ease up.
A way of knowing when to keep going in the hour - to improve your hour.
Put all the code into one Datafield to make management easier Simplify some of the code by removing some stuff that I don't really use

Constraints
There is no way to directly change pages within a Datafield by using the watch buttons
Memory space is very limited
Only 8 records can be written from a single Datafield to Garmin Connect. (Currently 12 are written from the 2 Datafields)
I am only a programming hack - I don't really know what I am doing

The Negatives
To achieve the wish list items there will the following downsides.
The Datafield will only be suitable for modern music/maps watches with round screens (Garmin 245 music and up)
Can't write the five individual 5*10 runs to Garmin connect - Only the average 5*10
No more GPS accuracy logging - it was pretty well useless data anyway.
Removal of 60 and 70 metre alphas - Couldn't find a good place to put these, I don't really ever look at them as the live alpha screen keeps you informed of the separation distance
The session distance will no longer be displayed and the session time is only displayed on the Hour page. This is easy to display on other screens outside my Datafield. Perhaps a screen with Time of day, Session Time and Session Distance.
Ability to reverse the foreground and background colours removed - It will be black letters on white background.

So back in April I started the rewrite and have been testing it ever since. It took a while to get used to it, but before long I had forgotten what the original ones looked like. Below is a rough look at the screens and how and when they are displayed. Any number with a yellow background are the best category results for the session.
It's not in the IQ Store yet. But only a couple of days away.
The original six datafields will stay in the IQ Store for those with older watches.

Here is my first go at the instructions....
GPSTC V4 Datafield
This Data field indicates the GPSTC Categories in real time as you sail.
Create a new 'Activity' and add this 'Datafield' to a separate 'Data screen', configure the 'Data screen' to have a 1 field layout.
It displays:
* The best and last 2 Sec run for the session in kts.
* The average of your best 5 Ten Second runs in kts
* Your last Ten Second run
* 5 coloured bars showing the relative speed of your 5 Ten Second runs
* Your best, last and current Alpha 500 (Return to within 50 m of start point)
* The best session, best this run and the current Nautical Mile in kts.
* The best and the current 1 Hour average speed kts.
* Your current speed
* Your recent fastest speed in the last 100 seconds
* A graph of your speed over the last 100 seconds

By default the screen alternates every four seconds between the session best and last run numbers. The yellow background tells you which ones are the session best
"Best 2 Sec"
This field show the best 2 second average speed for the session. The colour will change to red if this speed is above the user set target.
"Last Run 2 Sec "
This field displays the best 2 second average speed from your last run. A run is considered to have been completed when you either stop or complete a gybe.
"last Ten Second run"
This field displays the best 10 second average speed from your last run. A run is considered to have been completed when you either stop or complete a gybe.
"Av best 5*10"
This field shows the average of your 5 best ten second runs. The colour will change to red if the average is above the user set target.
The 5 coloured bars show the relative speed of the five best runs. The bar colour is green if within 5% of the best, orange if within 10% of the best or red otherwise.
"Last Alpha"
Your last run alpha.
"Best Alpha"
Your best Alpha for the session.
The alpha can be any length from 200 metres up to 500 metres. The watch only captures data for the last 60 seconds so the alpha must be completed within this time, this corresponds to a 16kt 500 metre alpha. Slower alphas may be recorded but they will be less than 500 metres in length.

Nautical Mile Page
The Nautical mile page will automatically display when the live nautical mile exceeds the setpoint. At the end of the run the nautical mile set point will be set to the best session nautical mile -1 kt. So the page will only appear when you are approaching the session best.

"Current Nautical Mile"
This is the real time updated every second nautical mile.

"Best run Nautical Mile"
This is the best nautical mile achieved on the current run.

"Best Nautical Mile:

The best nautical mile for the session,
Nautical Mile speeds must exceed 15kt, otherwise zero is displayed. The colour of the "best NM" will change to red if this speed is above the user set target.

Current Speed Screen
If the current speed set point is exceeded then the 'Speed Screen' is displayed automatically.
This screen shows the current live speed in very large text and below the fastest speed in the last 100 seconds. In the background is a graph of the last 100 seconds.

Current Alpha Screen
The alpha page will automatically display when executing an alpha, once the separation distance is below 100 metres. A plot of your alpha will display in red, once the separation distance falls below 50 metres the plot will change to green and the actual alpha will be displayed in large text. Typically this number will increase as you exit the gybe back to your start point. Ideally wear the watch on your front exit arm.

The Hour Screen
To access the Hour Screen push the 'Lap' button. Unfortunately this is the only button that can be used in Datafield code. The button will do its normal lap function but then after 5 seconds or so the hour screen will display. Push the 'Lap' button again to return to the default screens

During the first hour of the activity the "Best Hour" field will show zero, the "Current Hour" field will show your average speed in knots for the session so far. So say after 5 mins the field is displaying 20 kts, then if you continue at this speed for the remainder of the hour your "hour" result will be 20 kts. As the hour progresses the displayed number will become more and more a predictor of the final value.
If you want to accurately monitor your speed during the first hour, say you are attempting a PB, then you should get up to speed before starting your session.

Once you have been sailing for more than an hour, the "Best Hour" field will display your best hour and the "Current Hour" field will display your current hour (the speed for the last 60 minutes), the average speed for the session will no longer be displayed.

The colour of the "Best Hour" will change to red if this speed is above the user set target.


Sounds
The watch will play the "success" tune if any category beats the previous best for this session.

End of Session
At the end of the session the following is written to the FIT file and can be viewed in the Stats panel of the activity in Garmin Connect.
* Best 2 Sec
* Best 5*10 second
* Best alpha
* Best Nautical Mile
* Best Hour

This data field should produce an accurate indication of the GPSTC categories. However this data is not approved for posting to GPSTC.

Datafield Settings:
These can either be set up using Garmin Connect on your phone or Garmin Express on your PC. It is important that these settings are tuned to your style of sailing, otherwise you will not see the expected screens when required.

The first five setting simply change the colour of the text once exceeded.
If you prefer the colour not to change then set them all to 50.

"Your 2 sec target in kts" - Default 20
"Your 5*10 sec target in kts" - Default 19
"Your Alpha 500 target in Kts" - Default is 15
"Your Nautical Mile Target in Kts - Default is 15
"Your Hour Target in Kts" - Default is 15

"Display Alpha 500 page" - Default On
The alpha screen can be disabled if required.

"Display Units" - Default Kts
Choose Kts, Mph or Km/h. Note that in the Connect IQ stats panel on Garmin Connect the units will always display as Kts, even though the actual values will be in the units selected (eg an actual speed of 20mph will display as 20 kts in Garmin Connect)
"Speed Display Scale" - Default 15-25 kts
Choose the scale of the speed graph. Options are 15-25 kts, or 20-40 kts or "off"

"FIT File logging"
Set to '0' if you wish to export the FIT file for use in other programs such as KA72
The default value is "1" this allows the category results to be written to Garmin Connect.
It makes no difference to what you see during the session.

"Speed Display Scale"
You can set the vertical scale of the speed graph. Choose 15 to 25 for foiling sessions or 20-40 for speed sessions. Select off if you do not wish to see the speed page.

"The Live speed will be displayed above this setting" in Kts
Choose the speed at which the screen will change to the Speed graph page. As soon as the speed drops below this speed the screen will return to default.

"The live speed display will display for extended period above this setting"
This setting allows the Live speed screen to display for 30 seconds after exceed the set point. This gives time to view the page as you are slowing down or stopping.

So for example when sailing you may want to look at your speed when travelling over 27 kts, But be really interested in looking at runs over 35. So set 'live speed' to 27 and 'live speed extend' to 35.

"Nautical Mile Screen will be displayed above this setting"
Once this setting is exceed the nautical mile page will display. This screen will stay on until the current nautical mile is 1 kt below the best this run nautical mile.

Screen Display Priority
In the event of multiple screens being triggered simultaneously here is the priority order (1 is highest)
1 Speed Display extended
2 Hour Screen
3 Alpha Screen
4 Nautical Mile Screen
5 Speed Screen
6 Default Screens (best and last)


The following watches will be supported.