DIY Sailing watch specs wanted

Hi all, besides sailing I tend to dabble a bit in electronics every now and again. I decided it would be nice to design and build my own sailing watch / wearable computer.

What type of functions would you like to have integrated into such an appliance if you could design this yourself?

I was thinking along these lines:
- Water and shock proof
- relatively compact but:
- large reflective LCD (matrix) display
- countdown timers for starts
- electronic compass (adjustable)
- Time and Tide info
- USB interface for loading tide data etc

What have you found to come in handy in a good start watch?

Thanks,
Dennis

The count down timer needs a sync up and sync down button so if you missed starting your watch by a few seconds you can sync it exactly at the next signal.

Maybe a GPS logger?

Just a thought, you may want the interface to be bluetooth or some other wireless protocol so the watch/computer could be sealed and water tight. the usb port could introduce moisture into the places you don't want water to be.

I also thought a barometer would be a good addition but of course I'd have to learn how to read and understand it.

Get yourself a Velocitek SC-1 or a Nauteek SC200...

Zander, pardon my ignorance but what good would a barometer do you once out on the water? Wireless sounds nice, its certainly doable (but adds the complexity of an extra receiver and its housing). I could look into induction charging to keep the system water tight (much like an electric toothbrush).

Tony, I think a GPS logger is probably best left to a dedicated GPS unit. Data captures could be synced later in software (if it turns out I actually want to capture data!)

I think for this project I'd like to focus on doing just one task, and doing it really well. (can you tell I like Linux?)

I agree Jake, I always forget exactly how many seconds late I was in reacting to the last signal... re-syncing at the next signal (or maybe even averaging) is an absolute must for me.

Pepin, that's no fun, that's cheating!
Besides, my bank balance is "slightly" off-color at this time, so nice presents like the pro toys are out of the question for me. I'll be sure to read up on the specs though...

Dennis:

Instead of a watch, how about instead of a watch, you work on a wireless instrument system, ala ticktack that is more beachcat/dinghy oriented? (and priced)

It needs to have a variable speed blender on it... optimally, you want high speed for margaritas and low speed for pina coladas... etc

I was thinking more of distance racing. It might be nice to be able to forcast a little. probably not that useful once you're out there just lets you know that in an hour you're gonna need to hang on tight!

Don't make the mistake of limiting the countdown options to whatever the rulebook currently says. I have an expensive watch that can only do 5- and 10-minute sequences. I sail at a club that uses 3- and 6-minute sequences for some events.

I think the old-style Timex Ironman was a nearly perfect sailing watch, with buttons on the face rather than the sides where they could accidently get pressed when tacking. I have three of them, got them all for under $20, and have replaced batteries several times.

My Polar Fitness heartbeat monitor watch has a uniuque data upload/download method...it uses the watch internal speaker to send out tones...you place it next to your PC microphone to download watch data (heartbeat rate log for your exercise). To upload date to the watch, you place it near the PC speaker and the watch picks up the sounds (internal mic or perhaps via the internal speaker acting as a mic).

Pretty cool.

They also have a model of watch that comes with an IR send/recieve system. Comes with a send/recieve IR unit that plugs into the PC USB port. Allows for faster/more reliable data transfers.

BTW, Suunuto makes a series of watchs, some sailracing specialized, that have race countdowns,barometers & e-compass functions.

I typically use my Ironman for starts.

For the Velocitek devices, just ask if you want to know how they work. Velocitek kindly send me a S10, a SC-1 and a SpeedPuck in exchange for me writing an opensource Mac software for those devices.

Undecided, a wireless instrument system sounds nice, but I'd need instruments first... Maybe I'll start out with a watch then add some more stuff as time goes by...

John W, good point there about those programmable start times, I'll definitely do that. I'll have a long hard think about those buttons too.

Tornado: IR sounds doable. That way It could double as a TV remote ;-)

Good on you Pepin for making your solution Open Source! But I really want to get into the hardware side, just for the fun of it. I spend way too much time at the keyboard as it is.

Thanks for the tips guys, I really appreciate them!

John,

what model Timex Ironman is it you use? Pics or a link?

I did not like the Polar audio transfer. I had to be really careful to get a successful handshake so the transfer could start.

Dennis, good initative to build something on your own! I do have a mental image of a Gyro Gearloose creation though
Look forward to seeing pics.

One thing I would like in a sailing watch is a timing function for tacks/gybes and rounding top and bottom mark. On really long courses where you can not see the marks and no distinct landmarks it helps to keep you on the course.
Adjustable countdown timeing is a must have.
Re-sync is nice but not a must have (on a 5 minute sequence I start my watch on the 4 minute signal/flag).
Audio signals for each minute and for the last 15 secs changing every 5 secs is a must have.
Buttons placed where they can not be accidentally operated while sailing is a must have.
A leash that will not open and drop your watch into the ocean is a must have (almost lost my Casio Seapathfinder that way. Lost quite some ground while diving to the reardeck to catch it while gybing).
A leash wide enough to go on your forearm over the drysuit is a must have.
It absolutely have to be waterproof
Looks.. I dont care as long as it functions well and is wearable

Good luck, and keep us informed. Great Blog topic.

Oooh, I thought of something else! I have a hard time hearing some of the watches I have used for starts (probably because of all the yelling). Because of this at one time I purchased a cheap watch that was specifically designed for the hearing impared. It vibrated like your cell phone in time to the countdown sequence. That watch was great but not built well enough to last through the rough treatment. Maybe a vibration feature along with the audible signals?

BTW, I have a Suunto M3. The sailing timer is hard to beat. Large display, loud, sync up/down, and a button lock so you don't accidentally stop or reset while in sequence. It also has a compas rose ring to help determine the favored side of the startline and course but I have never used it. From my results I should.

now that's a cool feature! It can get noisy out there when it's 20+.

i like the idea of being able to mount the device on the boom. one drawback is that it needs to be read on both tacks. i use a garmin foretrex 201 strapped to the boom. When i tack i swivel it around and read it upside down. i suppose i could get 2 but that starts getting a bit expensive. ideally i would love to have a flexible LCD screen attached to both sides of the sail! wouldn't that be cool???

I think that is right around the corner, have you seen how thin the big screens are getting.

i thought it wouldn't be to hard to create a swivel / cradle that could easily flip a device to the other side of the boom....

i think Jake could / should engineer one his work....!!!

I've made a display "tacker" for my Nauteek 2000 Sail Computer. It mounts under the boom near the mast. It's a swivel bracket bolted to the boom with a short "tiller" arm extending forward. I have bungee line running from the tiller arm down to the mast rotator tiller. This triggers the swiveling of the display bracket. I also run a limiter line from the bracket to the boom...stops the swivel going too far on either tack.

Works extremely well.

OK, there are some really great ideas here!

Rolf: Gyro Gearloose, my hero! Could you explain to me how you would like the tack / gybe timing function to work? To be honest I can currently rely on the field to keep me on course...
For the leash I was thinking of a mega velcro strap. I'll be sure to add a waterproof speaker with a vol. control. (maybe tunable frequency in case my years at the disco start to catch up with me...)

Capt Cardiac, a swivel sounds cool. I could add a detector, with suitable logic so it doesn't flip on every wave, to automatically flip the display so I don't have to read upside down (maybe that would require software controlled buttons too). Still, good food for thought.

Tornado, that sounds good do you have pictures?
David Ingram and Capt Cardiac. I'd bet on e-paper technology to give us wearable ultra light screens "Real Soon Now" (c)(tm). Just imagine the drama if you forget to change the batteries in your main! (hope they make them solar powered).

Thanks everyone, this project is really starting to materialize in my head now. I won't be doing any GPS interfacing because the required modules suck too many batteries for my tastes. Maybe on a next version in the future though...

The tack/gybe function is something I find useful on long windward/leeward courses where you can not see the marks after rounding. I.e. the old Tornado courses.
What we do, is we round the mark, and then note how many minutes we sail before we gybe, and how long we sail between gybes. That way we have better control on where we are on the course, and we know how much longer we have gone left/right on the course compared to the previous lap. I dont know what kind of screen and other hardware you want to run and what is needed to visualize this. It might also be just me who thinks this is good to have and like to structure my sailing like this. It is your watch
I dont think it is against any current class rules to have this functionality, but there might be some classes who dont allow this.

In designing a sailing watch remember what Reg White wrote in the 60's "All yacht timer will eventually leak around the buttons, treasure the Rolex Submariner" translation any mechanical penetrations of the case will eventually leak.

Below are some features I like:

My favorite sailing watch is the Timex Victory, it has a big red START button on the front. Because it is programmed for 5 minute increments , I can't use it all the time.

Take a look at the Nike Typhoon (tide model). It has multiple independent programmable timers. I programmed the timers for 1, 3,3, 5 and 9 minutes. It's like having preprogrammed times. You go to start mode and then page through the timers to the time you want. The advantage is if something screws up (restart, postponement, you missed a flag) you don't have to stop and reset your timer, you just page to a new timer. The active timers controls the display and sounds. The case on the typhoon is interesting. The case and the band are one. The only penetration is the back. The case has pushers under the plastic of the band/case skin to operate the micro switches on the movement. The display, electronics and battery are a single module that is seperate from the case. When the case/band wears out or you crack the crystal you replace it.

I think the Garmin 201 or the Suunto M9 have the best computer interface, gold contacts on the outside of the case and a matching holder. The contacts provide battery charging and a serial port to the movement. The holder touchs the contacts and provides standard connects for serial and battery charger.

My SWISSSAIL had a button lockout. You rotated the bezel to set the mode and clicks between the modes was last mode, buttons inactive. That way you didn't reset your watch halfway through the start sequence. Everything else about that watch sucked. It was hard to read, use and it leaked.

I have seen old PDA's used in Labs as Timers and data loggers. If you could build a waterproof case, you would have all the programmability features, and interfaces you would need to play for a couple of years.

IMHO this the the best starttimer around:
http://www.sailingclothingstore.co.uk/Sailing_Watches/pr28055_sc343.aspx
Its got big digits, its loud, straps around the boom and flips over easily. very easy to use, has presets, big buttons, sync, last 10-sec beep countdown, etc.
I also have a Suunto Mariner for everyday watch which is also good as a timer but I prefer to have one on the boom for the crew to operate.

Tony, no doubt that is a good timer. I have one, too. But it is absurdly expensive and you can't set to 3- or 6-minute sequences. And it is absurdly expensive. And, for the electronics involved, it is absurdly expensive. It costs too much, too.

THe Tornado Tack-n-Gybe watch had some nice sailing features you may want to explore for other ideas:

since we're brainstorming..

Why not build the watch into your sunglasses, with a "heads up display" in the lower corner showing countdown timer. The "brains" of the unit could be similar to a cell phone somewhere in the boat, and connect via bluetooth (or some other technology) to the glasses.

Vibrating feature would be nice, or some kind of earpiece off the glasses.

Once the countdown is complete, the display could be user-programed to switch display to VMG, COG, heading to next waypoint, etc. just like a handheld GPS.

If it's not integrated into the sunglasses themselves, maybe it could be a "flip up" type semi-transparent display that goes over (or under) an ordinary or perscription lens.

How about a watch that counts out loud so i don't have to keep telling my crew how much time is left??? how much time? how much time? how much...damn were late...

Ding ding ding!!!! we have a winner!

I actually experimented last week with my Garmin Foretrex on the edge of my hat bill off to the side and it was still too close to read.

God, your a geek!

Water depth would be useful.

Yeah...I would accept that if it had worked and I showed up at the next regatta with a carbon mount for it on my hat!

I meant that in a good way.

Carbon mount? Just make a carbon hat.

A lot of mobile phones (I phone etc) can now tell which way you're holding them and adjust the display to suit. Could you make a display that inverts automatically when the unit is upside down (ie after being twisted around the boom).

Carbon hat? you may have something there!

This one would be very audable.. but only on the 1/2 and 1/4 hour

thanks guys, I have a lot of stuff to think about now... A talking clock would seem nice... Don't know if I can find an affordable micro controller with enough ram for that though. I will look into it though.
A heads up display is very fragile AFAIK, a virtual retinal display (laser) is way too expensive...
I could try a vibration system, that's not too difficult to make.
I was planning to use magnetic switches to keep the electronics water tight.
I'll send pics once I have something, but it may take a while!

Thanks, Dennis

Lots of great ideas here already for someone to write a killer app for the iPhone. If they ever make a smaller version, that would be perfect (except of course, for Apple's pricing policies)...

Mike