I bought a Fenix 5 to use as a sports watch but also to windsurf with. I compete in the TC and normally use a GT31 for downloading to KA72.

I have a couple of questions!

Can I download from the fenix to use in KA72? And how?

Does anyone have/know of a good app that will give me all the TC scores as I sail?

Thanks for your help in advance.

wdshort said..
I bought a Fenix 5 to use as a sports watch but also to windsurf with. I compete in the TC and normally use a GT31 for downloading to KA72.

I have a couple of questions!

Can I download from the fenix to use in KA72? And how?

Does anyone have/know of a good app that will give me all the TC scores as I sail?

Thanks for your help in advance.

great watch mate so easy to use and upload , i use the wind\kite data field by fin151, has a few of the fields you are after 2 sec 5/10 and 10 sec. One day GPSTC might let us use these for non pb sessions
to upload to ka72 , log on to the garmin connect software on pc , you can then download your track and then upload it to ka72

John340 said..

wdshort said..

Does anyone have/know of a good app that will give me all the TC scores as I sail?

The Motion is a GPS that displays all the GPS scores as you sail

And you can't use it for anything else.

JulienLe said..
What else would you like to use it for ?

Running/swimming/cycling/ as a watch for the time?

I've got the Fenix 3, been a great watch and never failed me ??
use that data field fin 151 as well. Easy to upload to ka72 and all the info you need while sailing.
Great to hear we can use it if non pb sessions now ????

DarrylG said..
I've got the Fenix 3, been a great watch and never failed me ??
use that data field fin 151 as well. Easy to upload to ka72 and all the info you need while sailing.

+1 for that data field. Create a new generic "activity" then add these data fields to it

apps.garmin.com/en-US/apps/b820a772-e335-406a-85b7-2ac6a0e5b61a

AUS4 said..
And you can't use it for anything else.

vosadrian said..
Running/swimming/cycling/ as a watch for the time?

I don't get it. There's a map, tracks, charts, non-speedsurfing averages, the time and bike/car supports.

AUS4 said..
Are you serious?

I wouldn't use that SUPing, mountain biking and especially not at a nightclub.
it is too big and not convenient like a watch.

I would use it on my arm for windsurfing.

Yep, 100%.
I was answering the statement that said it could only be used for windsurfing, which is patently wrong!
Whether you choose to do so is a different matter all together.

decrepit said..

JulienLe said..
I don't get it. There's a map, tracks, charts, non-speedsurfing averages, the time and bike/car supports.

Don't stress Julien, these guys just want to wear watches.
No matter how much better the motion can be because of it's size, they want something smaller, and wont bother to even look at what the motion can do.

You just don't get it decrepit .
I know what the motion can do but I would rather spend my good money on something that I can use for multi sports that I do. I can't use the motion for bike as it will get smashed or sup as it will get in the way of the paddle and seriously swimming in a race with the motion on my wrist..... Really.

Well, it isn't that "it can't" anymore but that "you won't". I'm fine with that. To each their own. I wouldn't swim a race with Motion either and I see the value in an everyday watch.

I'm surprised by some of your opinions but I'll quit here because I asked my first question thinking I would learn something to add to Motion, not this.

JulienLe said..
Well, it isn't that "it can't" anymore but that "you won't". I'm fine with that. To each their own. I wouldn't swim a race with Motion either and I see the value in an everyday watch.

I'm surprised by some of your opinions but I'll quit here because I asked my first question thinking I would learn something to add to Motion, not this.

Since this thread was about the Garmin Fenix, your question drew the comparison of the Motion to that. I now see where you were coming from in asking the question and it makes sense to add things that people want to your product.

But really the Fenix and Motion are quite different. The Fenix is a multi purpose device that does many things including GPS tracking of windsurfing. The Motion is a dedicated device that does a small range of things well and not much else. I am into car racing and I use a special dash on my car to record lap times that has 10Hz GPS and high accuracy. I could have used an app on my phone. Many people would be happy with the phone app, but I wanted something more accurate. I however am a small minority in that choice. Most people are happy with an app. I see this as the same thing. The Motion will do a better job for windsurfing.... but most people would be happy with the watch.

I have in excess of 10 gps units, several Garmins including fenix, 3 or 4 GT31s, GW60, Canmore and a Motion.
They all had their good points at the time of purchase. If I could only keep one it would be the motion. That is because it does do everything. Sure it is not ideal for running or cycling (I use my fenix for that) but it can be used. For sailing nothing even comes close. The support offered by Julien can only be described as exceptional. Most manufacturers will not even reply to a technical email. Julien has delivered firmware updates to my requests within 24 hrs.

tbwonder said..
I have in excess of 10 gps units, several Garmins including fenix, 3 or 4 GT31s, GW60, Canmore and a Motion.
They all had their good points at the time of purchase. If I could only keep one it would be the motion. That is because it does do everything. Sure it is not ideal for running or cycling (I use my fenix for that) but it can be used. For sailing nothing even comes close. The support offered by Julien can only be described as exceptional. Most manufacturers will not even reply to a technical email. Julien has delivered firmware updates to my requests within 24 hrs.

So what features of the Fenix (or other similar smart watch) and Motion do you use in terms of hours of use per week, and which would you use more?

The way I see it is if windsurfing is your thing and you do little else, the Motion (or similar) make perfect sense. If however you do many things including windsurfing and you are lucky to get to windsurf once a week in summer but use other fitness activities regularly, the watch is a better choice. Having both is even better as you do, but unless you are competitive on GPSTC (by that I mean getting fast results compared to others), what does the Motion do to justify its cost/benefit over a Garmin or similar other than keep the GPSTC management happy?

But if you use the Motion for cycling/running/swimming you really have not experienced a Garmin like product or you would not.

[b]vosadrian said..>>

Well the motion does come with a bike mount, and maps. Have you tried both on a bike, a wrist device may be more user friendly, but without trying a handlebar mounted motion, I don't see how you can call which is best.

I'll give you the swimming, though, but I'm not convinced about running. The wrist is far from the ideal place when running, all the arm movements will be recorded, whereas if it's worn on the upper arm only body movements get recorded. I suppose if you're only after a long term average, these movements get cancelled out, but for a short time spurt, it won't be good.

And I must admit I don't understand the swimming thing, the wrist is going to be submerged around 50% of the time. The GPS will have to reacquaint it self every time it comes out of the water, only to be submerged again. Doppler data will be useless, you may get a length speed from trackpoint data at each end, but that will mean the watch will have to be out of water at the start and end of each length. And remember that trackpoints are only accurate to 1m, so if it's a 50m pool you could be out by 10% depending where your watch is out of the water.

Love the hijacking of Will's original post by the technical purists and social sailors continuing their running argument ad-nauseum, especially now we are in the June doldrums where there is not much other entertainment happening here (except for the 2200 people Dark Mofo Nude Solstice Swim at dawn tomorrow www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-20/dark-mofo-nude-swim-survival-guide/11212120?WT.ac=statenews_tas - BTW I can't see there will be nude windsurfing, forecast is for a brisk 4 degrees at dawn!!)
No doubt those unhappy with the status-quo of GPSTC will volunteer to do (or pay for) the system upgrades to incorporate unapproved GPS data so that (for example) only hour and distance scores from unapproved devices are counted for team scores and PBs ???

decrepit said..

[b]vosadrian said..>>

Well the motion does come with a bike mount, and maps. Have you tried both on a bike, a wrist device may be more user friendly, but without trying a handlebar mounted motion, I don't see how you can call which is best.

I'll give you the swimming, though, but I'm not convinced about running. The wrist is far from the ideal place when running, all the arm movements will be recorded, whereas if it's worn on the upper arm only body movements get recorded. I suppose if you're only after a long term average, these movements get cancelled out, but for a short time spurt, it won't be good.

Decrepit, you have no idea what people who run and cycle and swim regularly need from a device. I will do a brief summary.

* A cyclist cares little if the GPS read 5m off their location. They just want to see what road/track they rode and know the distance. 99% do not care for maps as they are riding somewhere they have ridden before. What they care about is fitness parameters.... how much elevation they did up a climb. What speed they did over a section. What was their heart rate zone. What is the power output. What pedalling cadence. Garmin like devices have altimeter sensors for elevation, and connect to sensors for HR/Power/Cadence/wheel speed etc. The motion for a cyclist gives them just two things... speed and position. Position is not important for accuracy beyond about 10-20m. and speed is LESS accurate than Garmin as the Garmin calibrated the wheel speed sensor (it measures wheel rotations and uses GPS to get rotation distance calibrated to mm) against GPS and uses that for speed. It even works in tunnels and in built up areas accurately. My ride to work is the same every day and records within 10-20m for a 12k ride.

* A runner cares little for instantaneous speed. They want to know their pace over the last 10 seconds or so and manage that pace for fitness goals. They want distance to be accurate and typically watch type devices are sufficient unless in built up areas. They also want HR/Cadence/running power... and most of all they want something light that can be viewed easily while running. Motion gives them a small portion of that and clearly does a worse job.

* Most swimmers do more swimming in a pool than in open water. In fact I would guess that 90% of swims are done as laps in a pool and many indoor. Garmins and similar do not use GPS to track lap swimming!! They use accelerometers. They can detect what stroke type you are using, how many strokes you are doing. Each lap time etc. They can also track HR and other fitness metrics. For the 10% of swims done in open water, they do use the GPS and have done algorithms to do the best they can with GPS. It is pretty good, but the best you might hope for would be 5% distance accuracy. They still record other fitness metrics like stroke rate/HR etc.

So really here, I think many here arguing the Motion can do the job for other sports really just don;t understand what these watches can do. The Fenix can do a much better job of windsurfing than the motion can do of other sports.