velocitek-export

Cross-platform (Linux/macOS) Python CLI for downloading tracks from Velocitek sailing instruments (SpeedPuck, ProStart, SC1, S10) and exporting them as GPX.

Talks to the device's FTDI USB-serial chip directly via libusb/pyftdi, so no proprietary drivers are required.

Install

Linux

git clone <repo-url> velocitek-export
cd velocitek-export

# Install udev rule so a regular user can access the device over USB
sudo cp 99-velocitek.rules /etc/udev/rules.d/
sudo udevadm control --reload
sudo udevadm trigger

# Set up a Python virtualenv
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Plug the device in (unplug/replug it once after installing the udev rule so the new permissions take effect), then run:

./velocitek

macOS

git clone <repo-url> velocitek-export
cd velocitek-export

# libusb is required by pyftdi on macOS
brew install libusb

# Set up a Python virtualenv
python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

Then:

./velocitek

Note: macOS has a built-in FTDI kernel driver (AppleUSBFTDI). The SpeedPuck/ProStart/SC1 use custom FTDI product IDs that the kernel driver ignores, so they work without any extra steps. The S10 uses the stock FTDI product ID (0x6001); if macOS claims it first, you may need to unload the kernel driver (sudo kextunload -b com.apple.driver.AppleUSBFTDI).

Usage

./velocitek

./velocitek is a thin shell wrapper that runs velocitek_cli.py under the repo's .venv — you don't need to activate the virtualenv first, and it doesn't modify your shell's environment. All arguments are passed through.

The CLI is interactive. It will:

1. List attached Velocitek devices and ask which to use.
2. Show a menu with: read firmware version, list tracks, export track to GPX.
3. For the export option, list the tracks on the device (newest first), ask which to export, and ask for an output filename (defaults to track-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.gpx).

Quick export

./velocitek --newest

Non-interactive shortcut: uses the first detected device, exports its newest track to track-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.gpx in the current directory, prints the track name and a success or error message, and exits.

Supported hardware

Tested on: SpeedPuck.

Should work on (same protocol, same FTDI chip, but not yet verified): ProStart, SC1, S10.