The K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple Stupid) guide to setting up the NAVi GT-11 for Speedsailing

The NAVi GT-11 is a fantastic little unit that has the highest level of accuracy of any GPS we use for speedsailing when set up correctly.

It wasn't designed specifically for our needs but firmware revisions have turned it into a potent little device.

All the features and menu screens may seem a bit daunting at first but here's a simple guide to setting it up that will have you on the water and downloading data in no time.

Charge the battery

Once you've unpacked your NAVi open the flap on the bottom of the unit and plug the small end of the USB cable into the mini-USB slot on the right hand side next to the slot for the SD card.

Plug the other bigger end of the cable into the USB slot on your computer.

A battery icon will appear on the screen to show that it is charging. It will go solid when fully charged and flash while charging.

The units come from the factory with the built-in battery charged up but I find it best to leave it charging for an hour or so just to make sure it is topped up.

A full charge from empty will take about 4 hours.

You can also charge it with the car adapter, plug it into a cigarette lighter socket and connect the USB cable.

A full charge will last several days of use but best to keep it topped up.

Read the manual

While it's charging go online and read the manual, it will give you an idea of what the unit is capable of.

You can find it here http://www.locosystech.com/download/handheld/GT-11%20Owner%27s%20Manual%20ver%201.01%20English.pdf

All the features you need for speedsailing are covered in the manual, but there are a few extra features that have been added with firmware revisions.

If anyone needs any help on these just ask.

For Speedsailing we will only be using four of the the many menus the GT-11 has available.

These will be "SETTINGS", "MEMORY CARD", "TRACK" and "TRIP METER"

Configure the system, "SETTINGS"

Time to configure the unit, basically tell it how to perform in public and do the things we want it to.

Turn the gps on by pressing and holding down the small button just below the thumb stick.

The unit will power up with menu icons on the screen ""SAT SIGNAL" will be written just below the icons.

A box may appear on the screen asking if you are "INDOORS", select "YES" with the thumb stick, this will allow you to set up the unit without it trying to get a fix on satellites.

Using the thumb stick move it up/down or left/right to move through the menu icons until you get to "SETTINGS"

Press the thumb stick in to select "SETTINGS"

The first item highlighted will be "LANGUAGE" "ENGLISH" is the default setting and will be listed at the bottom of the screen, leave it as it is.

Move the thumb stick down to select the next item "FUNCTION" The default setting is "NAVIGATION" leave it on this setting and it will store all the data from the satellites without any filtering.

Next is "TIME FORMAT" select whether you want 24 hour or 12 hour by moving the thumb stick left/right.

"DATE FORMAT" is next, you have a choice between day/month/year, month/day/year or year/month/day.

"TIME ZONE", this setting helps out the GPS and lets it know roughly where it is in the world so it can look for the right satellites. You can choose from a list of cities or select "+Others" it will allow you to select the number of hours your location is ahead/behind "GMT" the time in London.

"UNIT" will determine how speeds are shown on the screen, "NM" for nautical mile will give readings in knots, "FEET" will give miles per hour and "METRE" will produce kilometres per hour.

Leave "ARRIVED", "MAP DATUM", "POSITION" and "USER GRID" on their default settings, we have no use for them.

"POWER MODE" should be left on the default setting "NORMAL" for full performance from the gps, "LOW POWER" is a power saving mode that shuts down some functions of the gps.

"OFF" is the default setting for "DGPS SOURCE", this is for differential correction of satellite data, the only place you can pick up satellites that provide this is in the USA, it improves the accuracy of positional fixes by correcting with data sent from 4 special satellites.

"INTERFACE" is used when connecting the gps to navigation systems, default is "NMEA"

"BACKLIGHT TIME" allows you to select how long the backlight stays on after a button is pushed. It can be overridden at any time by pressing the on/off switch, "10 SECONDS" is the default.

"CONTRAST" controls how bright the display will be, adjust it for your location by moving the thumb stick left/right.

"EXT.POWER MODE" controls how the unit performs when plugged into a computer, leave this setting "OFF".

"USERNAME" allows you to enter your own name for the gps with up to 13 characters.

"USAGE" cannot be changed, it tells you how many "Routes" and "Waypoints" are stored in flash memory.

"SERIAL NO." identifies the unit and cannot be changed.

"VERSION" tells you what "Firmware" is loaded on the unit. See the manual for loading new "Firmware"

Now press the on/off button to get out of the "SETTINGS" menu.

I like to switch the unit off now to make sure my configuration is stored in the unit's flash memory, hold down the on/off button until "SYSTEM OFF.." appears in a box on the screen.

Initialize the receiver

Even though the GPS is a pretty smart little unit to begin with, it doesn't know exactly where you are located on the planet, giving it a few hints helps things along. Setting the correct time zone in "SETTINGS" gives it a rough idea.
Take the unit outside and turn it on.
Leave it with a clear view of sky until it has fixed its position, this may take up to 15 minutes the first time. After that, it needs only around 45 seconds to find its location each time you switch it on. When the unit has not been used for long time, or you move a long way from where you initialized it, you will need to re-initialize the unit before use.

Recording NMEA data to the removable SD "MEMORY CARD" Now you've set you GPS up with your personal configuration you need to tell it how and what data to record to the SD memory card.

We want to set the unit to record track points every second.

You'll use this data after sailing to analyse your sailing session and see just how fast you've gone.

Using the thumb stick move it up/down or left/right to move through the menu icons until you get to "MEMORY CARD"

Press the thumb stick in to select "MEMORY CARD"

The first item highlighted will be "LOG SWITCH" default is "OFF" leave it on this until you have set all the other "MEMORY CARD" functions correctly.

Use the thumb stick to highlight the next selection "NMEA ITEMS", push in the thumb stick to bring up the menu that allows you to select the NMEA items to record.

First up is "GGA", move the thumb stick sideways until it shows "GGA 1SEC"

Move the thumb stick down to highlight "GLL" then again move it sideways until "GLL 1SEC" shows.

Keep going and in the same way select "GSA 1SEC", "GSV 1SEC", "RMC 1SEC" and "VTG 1SEC", leave "ZDA" OFF.

Press in the thumb stick and a box will appear asking you to "SAVE" Select "YES" and press in the thumb stick.

Move down to "FILE SIZE" and move the thumb stick sideways to select "CARD SIZE"

Now you can put in your SD card, open the cover on the bottom of the GPS and put in the SD card with it's face right side up.

Select "FORMAT CARD" from the menu, a box will appear with "FORMAT CARD" in it, select yes.

Once formatted correctly a box will appear saying "SUCCESS". If the card fails to format correctly, switch the unit off and on then try again.

The next menu item is "REMOVE CARD", select this if you want to remove the SD card while the unit is one, it will complete writing any data to the card and a box will appear on the screen with "REMOVE CARD" Push in the thumb stick to select "OK"

Move back up to "LOG SWITCH" and select "ON" by moving the thumb stick left/right.

The unit is now set up to automatically record data as soon as it is turned on.

Press in the on/off switch to get out of the "MEMORY CARD" menu.

Recording NMEA data to GPS flash memory "TRACK"

The GT-11 will save a copy of your trackpoints to on-board flash memory, it can store up to 8192 records, that's over 2 and a quarter hours at 1 second intervals.

Once the memory is full it will stop recording until reset.

The information is not as detailed as the NMEA data on the SD card but serves as a backup.

Using the thumb stick move it up/down or left/right to move through the menu icons until you get to "TRACK"

Press the thumb stick in to select "TRACK"

Press in the thumb stick again to bring a menu box up on the screen, scroll down and select "INTERVAL", push in the thumb stick to select.

Another menu box will appear, scroll down and select "1 SECOND", push in the thumb stick to confirm your selection.

To clear the memory of data press in the thumb stick to bring up the menu box and scroll down to "CLEAR" and select.

A menu box will pop up with "CLEAR", select "YES" and press in the thumb stick, all data will be removed from on-board flash memory.

Press in the on/off switch to get out of the "TRACK" menu.

Turn off your GPS to store all the settings in memory.

You have now successfully set up your NAVi GT-11 ready for your next speedsailing session.

Pre Speedsailing Checklist

• Make sure you've charged your GPS.
• Turn it on at least 10 minutes before sailing to get a good satellite fix.
• Check to see if the SD card is inserted and data is recording, if you've followed all the above steps when you turn the GPS on a box will appear on the screen saying "CARD FOUND" and a few seconds later "NEW FILE"
• Make sure your backlight has turned off, press in the on/off switch to turn it off.
• If you want to save data to the onboard memory as a backup make sure you "CLEAR" it from the "TRACK" menu so you have enough space.

Monitoring your performance "TRIP METER"

One of the best features of the NAVi is the detailed speed information it gives you on the water.

The onscreen speed display is extremely accurate, it reads Doppler speed from the satellite information and updates it many times per second.

It is also displayed to 2 decimal places and available in large screen format for easy viewing.

Using the thumb stick move it up/down or left/right to move through the menu icons until you get to "TRIP METER"

Press the thumb stick in to select "TRIP METER"

First screen up is "TIME NOW", it is the current time at your location based on the "TIME ZONE" you selected in "SETTINGS".

Move the thumb stick down to bring up the "STOPWATCH, push the thumb stick in to select "COUNT" or "ZERO"

"TRIP MAX SPEED" comes up next, to reset push in the thumb stick and select "YES"

"TRIP AVG SPEED", "TRIP TIME" and "TRIP ODOMETER" all follow, resetting any of the "TRIP" screens resets all the "TRIP" readings to zero.

"ODOMETER" and "TOTAL TIME" will give you the combined distanced traveled and time recorded when the unit has been switched on. Both can be reset to "ZERO" by pushing in the thumb stick.

The next 4 menu items are in large digit format for easy viewing, they are "SPEED", "TRIP MAX SPEED", "ALTITUDE" and "TIME NOW"

Now its time to get on the water, point your board far off the wind, clench your butt cheeks, sheet in and hold one.

Rest assured your GT-11 will be faithfully recording your every move, as one speedsailor I know often says....once the data drops the bull**** stops!

The NAVi is a great little unit, treat it well and set it up correctly and you'll be rewarded with extremely accurate speed data. Screw with it and change settings without any knowledge of their purpose and you'll end up with a jumbled mess!