Review velocitek
S10 gps speedometer
By Huud Ouwehand
NED229
Website:
www.velocitekspeed.com
Last year I came across with the Velocitek
S10, a gps speedometer, specially designed for sailing
sports. The S10 comes in a strong casing. It has large
digits and two buttons on each side. The buttons work
by just putting your finger onto it. The S10 package
comes with a usb cable and two velcro strips to attach
it to a bracket or straight to your boat. You can also
equip the S10 with a clip with which you can attach
it to a bar or the boom of a surfboard.
The S10 runs on two AAA batteries and
you can also use rechargeables. Nowdays you can buy
NiMH AAA 950 mA rechargeable batteries. They have the
same performance as normal batteries in the S10.
It measures standard speed and vmg.
If you are not familiar with the term vmg: it means
Velocity Made Good. For the S10 it means that it shows
you your actual speed along the wind axis. This wind
axis is determined by entering an upwind and a downwind
reference point in the S10. Detailed explanation about
vmg can be found at http://www.velocitekspeed.com/vmg.php
Also the S10 holds your max speed and
max average speed over 10 seconds and it can log over
ten hours of trip data which can be downloaded to your
computer for use with Google Earth and GPS Action Replay.
Retrieving max speed and average speed is don by pushing
one of the sidebuttons.
How it works
Every gps needs some time to gather enough satellites.
The S10 needs aproximately 10 minutes for that. I always
switch it on before rigging my boat then it's definitely
finished searching when I'm ready. To go sailing.
As you switch it on it first shows you the energy level
in your batteries (%).
After that the CL (clear) option appears.
To clear max speed data from your S10 you must switch
the S10 off while CL is shown.
There is an extra button inside for clearing the logged
trip data. Press this button and hold it while you switch
it on. The display will count down to zero. At zero
all trip data is cleared so you can start all over again.
Now you decide what operating mode to
use: standard speed or vmg. To switch between both modes
just put your fingers over both buttons. Then again
a countdown starts till zero. At zero it altered to
the other mode then it was in.
Connect the S10 to your boat and go sailing.
If you chose the standard speed mode you need not do
anything but watch what your speed is at any moment.
Every now and then it shows you the max speed during
sailing.
For the vmg modus you need to enter an
upwind and a downwind reference point. It is not important
where you enter the reference points because the S10
calculates the wind direction with these points. It
is important to choose points in the precise wind direction.
The points will not be used as waypoints so you can
enter them while still on the beach or on the water!
Just make sure you have at least 75 metres between each
point. Vmg is measured both upwind and downwind.
In case the wind direction changes you
can add new reference points to keep your vmg accurate.
Changing from vmg modus to standard speed modus can
be done on the water by pressing both knobs at the same
time. Wait till the countdown finishes at 00 and your
mode has changed.
I figure changing mode or referencepoints in a breeze
and a rough chop can be quite a handful on your MPS...
After a day sailing you can download your
trip data from the S10. In order to do so you need to
download and install the Velocitek Control Center from
the velocitek website.
After you start the Control Center you can connect your
S10 to your computer using the usb cable. If ther is
any logging data in your S10 you can start downloading
by pressing the download button. After download the
Control Center shows a track name in the bottom of the
Control center window. To save press the “save”button.
You can keep the name as it is since the date in the
file name takes care of a unique naming. To use this
data in other programs you need to export it to a gpx
file format. Just press “Export” in the Control center
to start the xport process. It prompts you to save it
under the same name but a different extention (gpx).
Now you can open this gpx file in Goole earth or in
GPS Action Replay just by clicking 'file-open' and then
select the gpx file you want to show or play.
Please read installing manuals before
installing these programs and how to use those programs..
Accuracy
The S10 updates the speed display every second. When
you feel the boat accelerating or slowing down the S10
reacts instantly. If there is any delay in speed adjustment,
it is a short delay and will possibly be caused by the
one second update sequence.
The S10 finds satellites easy. I never saw strange speeds
appearing at the display due to loss of satellite signal.
I use both the S5 and S10 (S5 lacks trip
data logging). I made a bracket for the boom to stick
both the S5 and the S10 to (photograph) by using the
velcro strips. To secure both speedometers I use the
attached ropes to bind them to the boom just in case
but sofar the velcro strips work just fine.
After use, they mostly show different max speeds. The
max difference I came across was half a knot between
the S5 and S10 which is only just over the stated +-0.2
knots accuracy by Velocitek, so I find this acceptable.
Training tool
Velocitek advertises the S10 as an extremely powerful
sail training tool.
In practice you are able to measure what
a change in trim brings you in terms of extra speed.
The most accurate modus for trim issues will be the
standard speed modus.
The standard speed modus isn't influenced by windshifts.
In vmg modus, a change in course often has a revers
affect in vmg speed and boatspeed. Generally when you
drop hight you gain boat speed but you will loose on
vmg speed (if not the extra speed compensates the extra
miles...)
In vmg mode, also windshifts can be detected by the
S10. It doesn't beep like a Tacktick but when your vmg
drops dramatically you might consider tacking for more
gain on the opposite tack.
Downwind you can pick the fastest direction by just
watching your speedometer and stear up and down a bit
in order to find the highest vmg.
All in all I agree in Velociteks advertising
the S10 being a powerful tool. It really helps understanding
your boat better. You now can actually see what changes
in trim and/or rig settings do to your boat speed. Especially
when you don't have a sparring partner, this comes in
handy.
Have fun if you buy one.
Huud Ouwehand
NED229
Please note: This is an independant
review by Huud; this represents his views and thoughs
and is not an endorsement by the MPSCA or Ovington Boats.
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