The Insight is a pressure altitude altimeter that includes a GPS module for spotting assistance, improved canopy flight navigation and GPS track recording. It also has built in wireless capabilities to connect to other devices such as heads-up-display (HUD) glasses, our phone app, and the Soundlink audible altimeter.

Standard Dropzone Operation

Power on your Insight at the DZ at the beginning of the day by pressing the center button. The Insight will calibrate itself to the current air pressure. As the air pressure changes due to air temperature changes or weather systems pass through, the Insight will automatically track the ground level pressure.

Once the Insight detects ascent in an aircraft it will lock the field elevation and begin to show your altitude above ground level (AGL). All of this is done automatically with no need for input from the user.

There are a few reasons the altimeter may not display an altitude of 0 on ground. If the altimeter was on and you drove to the DZ, or you performed a skydive and did not land at the same elevation as your takeoff. If this occurs the easiest way to reset the altitude (and field elevation) is to perform a Forced Restart.

Manual Altitude Zeroing (Forced Restart)

WARNING: Do not perform a forced restart while in the aircraft or during a skydive. Reported altitudes will be incorrect.

The fastest way to manually zero the altimeter is to perform a forced restart by holding the top & bottom buttons for 8+ seconds, then release. The altimeter will restart and calibrate the field elevation based on the current air pressure, and will display an altitude of 0.

Automatic Shutdown

In order to save battery, the Insight will automatically shutdown 14 hours after it was turned on. If a skydive is in progress at the 14 hour time, the Insight will shutdown after the skydive when it is safe to do so on the ground.

To manually turn off the altimeter, from the clock screen press the center button to open the menu. Navigate to System->Shutdown.

Main Screens

The Insight has 5 main screens that provide information. Each screen has it’s own menu to control functionality.

The final screen is altitude. This screen is has different formats when on the ground & during airplane ascent, and is configurable for freefall and canopy. Check out the Altitude Display Configuration section for details.

Battery and Charging

Battery Life: Starting at full charge, the Insight can last about 10 days of skydiving.  This will depend slightly on the different functions used because systems such as GPS recording, wireless connect, and the display light will drain the battery more quickly.

Charge Time: The battery charges using the USB-C port.  If the Insight battery is at 0% charge it will take approximately 1.5 hours to completely recharge the battery.

A charge of as little as 20 minutes will be enough to get through a day of jumping.  Useful if you forgot to charge the Insight and arrived at the DZ with a dead battery.

USB Power Delivery (PD): Newer versions of the Insight support power delivery (PD) for charging.

Insight altimeters manufactured before May 2025 do not support PD and must use a standard USB cable and 5v charge block. With these older Insight a USB C-to-C cable and PD block can be used along with an adapter (not included) that negotiates the “standard” 5v charging voltage.

Care

Your altimeter takes care of you on your skydives, so take care of it. Deep and Steep builds tough altimeters, but they are still electronic devices with fragile screens. Treat your altimeter like you would a smartphone or smart watch.

Avoid hard impacts such as drops onto concrete or smashing your altimeter against the door of the airplane. Store your altimeter in the case it came in or another protective case instead of throwing it in a gear bag with other hard objects. Wipe the screen with a soft cloth to keep it clear and easy to read.

A few simple precautions and your altimeter should give you years of worry free use.

Storage

If storing the altimeter for periods of longer than a month, the following conditions are best to maintain the overall battery capacity:

• Store at a battery charge between 40% and 60%
• Store at temperatures between -0°C to 35°C (14°F to 95°F)

Lithium Ion batteries in any device can lose capacity over time.  Long term storage of a battery outside of the parameters listed above decreases the battery life of the device.  When possible never store the battery completely discharged as this can damage the battery and degrade its capacity further.

Specifications

Model: INS

Dimensions: 75mm x 45mm x 17mm (2.9″x1.8″x0.7″)
Weight: 86g (3oz)

Display
Size: 36mm x 28mm (1.4” x 1.1”)
Viewing Angle: 120° x-axis, 120° y-axis

Power
Charge Voltage: 5v DC
Charge Port: USB-C
Charge Time: 1.5 hours
Charge Temp Range: 0°C – 55°C (32°F to 131°F) Lithium ion batteries will not charge below 0°C

Environmental
Max. Altitude MSL: 9,146m (30,000 feet above MSL based on pressure)
Operating Temp: -20°C to 55°C (-4°F to 131°F)
Storage Temp: 0°C to 35°C (32°F to 95°F)
Water Resistant: Depth of 1 meter for 30 minutes

The post Insight GPS Altimeter Overview first appeared on Deep and Steep - Skydiving Altimeters.

Navigate the menu to Settings->Time.

There are two options related to the time and date:

• Hour Type
• Timezone

Hour Type

Choose between a 12 hour clock format (showing “am” and “pm”) or a 24 hour clock style. This setting only applies to the time display on the clock screen.

Timezone

Set your current timezone offset. Generally this timezone can be found on your phone or you can search for your timezone by city.

Once your timezone is entered the Insight will automatically set your correct time and date when it has a good GPS signal. You may see “–:–” on the clock screen, this is because you didn’t have GPS signal when you set the timezone. Go to the GPS screen and wait for it to show at least 1 bar of GPS signal. After that your time and date will be set based on your selected timezone offset.

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Before you start jumping your new altimeter set your current jump number (total jumps).

From the clock screen (the main screen showing the time), press the center button to enter the menu.

Navigate the menu to Settings->Total Jumps.

Set this number to your current total number of skydives. The altimeter will automatically increment this by 1 when logging your next skydive.

For example, if you have 100 skydives currently set “Total Jumps” to 100. When you complete your next skydive the altimeter will automatically log jump #101 to your logbook.

Jump Counter

Deep and Steep altimeters provide a handy “jump counter” to help you track the number of jumps in a certain timeframe. Use this jump counter to track:

• Number of jumps on a canopy line set
• Jumps during a training camp
• Jumps since you biffed a landing…

The jump counter is shown on the altimeter’s logbook screen, along with your total jump number. The jump counter is incremented by 1 every time you perform a skydive, just like your “Total Jump” number. However you can reset the jump counter to 0 any time you want.

From the clock screen (the main screen showing the time), press the center button to enter the menu.

Navigate the menu to Settings->Counter Reset.

This will reset the counter to 0 to start a new sequence.

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From the clock screen (the main screen showing the time), press the center button to enter the menu.

Navigate the menu to Settings->Units.

Use the up/down buttons to select each type (altitude, distance, etc..), then use the center “select” button to toggle through all of the available options for that row.

Altitude

Altitude can be displayed in feet or meters.

Distance

Distances can be shown in miles, kilometers, or nautical miles.

If you are comparing the distance to the LZ shown on your altimeter to the distance shown in the aircraft, keep in mind that most aircraft use nautical miles. Ask your pilot to confirm you are using the same distance units. It is also important to know where the pilot has marked the center of the DZ, because in many instances it is not the main landing area that you may have marked.

Ascent Vertical Speed (Asc Vspd)

Choose the units for the vertical speed (aka “climb rate”) of the airplane on your ride to altitude. Feet per minute (fpm) is the standard that aircraft use around the world. Our altimeter’s also provide meters per second (m/s) as an option.

Freefall Vertical Speed (FF Vspd)

Choose the units for the vertical speed (aka “fallrate”) during the freefall portion of the skydive. Our altimeter’s provide plenty of options, but for most people miles per hour (mph) or kilometers per hour (kph) will be familiar.

Canopy Vertical Speed (CP Vspd)

Choose the units for the vertical speed (aka “descent rate”) during the canopy portion of the skydive. For most people a general feel for canopy speed can be had using miles per hour (mph) or kilometers per hour (kph).

Some canopy coaches may want to talk in feet per second (fps) or other units based on their coaching style. Talk to you canopy coach to decide what is right for you.

Groundspeed (Gspd)

Groundspeed can be shown in mph, kph, or kts (knots, which are nautical miles per hour).

The standard for aviation is knots. Use this setting if you want your groundspeed indication on jump run to match the groundspeed shown in the aircraft.

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Insight main GPS screen

To set your LZ coordinates go to the main GPS screen. Press the center button to enter the GPS menu, and you will see two options:

• Mark LZ Here
• LZ Coordinates

Mark LZ Here

This options provides a straightforward way to mark your current location. While this screen is open the GPS module will be on and searching for satellites to give you the most accurate GPS position possible.

Tips:

• To assist the GPS signal, stand in a clear area with no overhead obstructions within a 20 foot radius.
• It may take up to 5 minutes for the GPS to acquire your location for the first time.
• Stand at your desired landing point when marking the LZ to have the most accurate distance reporting from the LZ while on jumprun.

Once the GPS has a good signal it will show you current location latitude and longitude using the decimal degrees format, as well as your MSL (mean sea level) altitude. You can select “save” to store this location as your LZ for future jumps, or “cancel” to exit this screen without updating your LZ.

LZ Coordinates

Select this menu option to manually enter the LZ coordinates. This is useful if you are going to do off-site jumps (aka InHoppe), or if you just don’t want to walk out to the main landing area at your dropzone. For this option you will need to use a mapping app that allows you to drop a pin and copy the coordinates in decimal degrees format.

You can also use this GPS coordinate converter if you only have a street address or lat/lon in a different format than decimal degrees.

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Caution! Always use extra visual cues and conservative canopy approaches when performing an off-site jump. If you estimate the LZ offset incorrectly then your reported altitude AGL will be incorrect.

From the altitude screen, press the center button to open the menu. Then navigate to “LZ Offset”.

The LZ Offset screen allows setting an altitude offset in feet or meters. The altitude of the LZ is calculated from the current ground level elevation where the altimeter is located.

• Enter a positive LZ offset if the landing zone elevation is ABOVE the takeoff elevation
• Enter a negative LZ offset if the landing zone elevation is BELOW the takeoff elevation

For example, an airport is located at 1,000′ MSL and the jumpers are going to land at an off-site LZ with an elevation of 1,500′ MSL. In order for the Insight to show a correct altitude AGL (above ground level), the jumpers will enter a POSITIVE LZ Offset of 500 feet.

The image below shows this situation, with a landing zone elevation 500 feet above the takeoff elevation.

Remove the LZ Offset

To remove the LZ offset, open the menu from the altitude screen. Select “Clear Offsets”, and the LZ offset will revert to 0. The Insight will revert to the default functionality and will use the takeoff location elevation as “ground level”.

LZ Offset After Landing

If an LZ offset was used for a skydive the Insight will automatically clear the offset and return to it’s default functionality after landing. However this will only occur if it lands within 150 feet (50 meters) of the configured LZ offset.

For example if the altimeter reads higher than 150 feet after landing because the offset used was not correct, the altimeter will not correctly register a skydive and will remain on the altitude screen.

If you do not land within 150 feet of the LZ offset elevation, perform a forced restart on the Insight. The previous skydive will not be recorded in the logbook in this instance.

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Ascent Screen (and Ground)

The center of the ascent screen shows the altitude. The other information shown on this screen are:

• Vertical Speed (Vs) – Bottom Right
• Ground track (Gt) – Top Left
• Ground speed (Gs) – Top Right
• Distance to LZ (Lz) – Bottom Left

The ascent screen shows fixed fields during the airplane ride. This is the screen shown when on the ground as well. When the altimeter detects takeoff in the airplane it will switch to this screen.

All of the fields except for altitude and vertical speed require GPS signal in order to function.

Distance to the LZ requires saved LZ coordinates to function.

Stratos only: The Stratos will display distance to the HARP while in the aircraft, if the HARP was configured. Otherwise the Stratos will show the distance to the DIP (aka LZ).

To change the units for each of the data fields, go to the Display Units section.

Standard Altitude Display

By default the altitude display for freefall and canopy descent is the “standard” display. This display format keeps things simple and only displays the altitude using large, easy to read numbers.

Deep and Steep recommends using standard display for newer jumpers, AFF students, and anyone who doesn’t need in air GPS feedback. Keep it simple.

Nav Display (GPS Navigation Data)

To configure the Insight / Stratos altitude display for GPS data (this only applies to freefall and canopy modes), first switch to the home screen. Press the center button to open the menu, then navigate to Settings->Altitude Display->Mode. Use the center button while the cursor is on the “Mode: “ row to cycle through the display options.

• Standard: Only show the altitude for freefall and canopy descent (standard altitude display)
• Nav CP: Canopy descent will show extra GPS data, and freefall will show only the altitude in large numbers (standard altitude display)
• Nav CP+FF: Canopy descent and freefall will show extra GPS data

Remember: These display options do not change the ascent screen that you see while on the ground and in the aircraft. The ground/ascent screen is fixed data.

Nav Display Options

Within the Settings->Altitude Display menu there are options to configure what is shown in each corner of the display. Top left, top right, bottom left, and bottom right.

The following options are available for each corner:

Remember: To change the units shown for freefall (FF) and canopy (CP), go to the Display Units section.

LZ Glide Altitude

The LZ Glide Altitude controls how high above the ground you want to be when you reach the LZ. The Insight / Stratos will use this altitude to calculate the LZ Glide needed to reach the LZ.

The Current Glide indicator (if selected) will show an “!” (exclamation point) after the glide if your current glide is not enough to reach the LZ at the set altitude.

For example if you set LZ Glide altitude to 1,000 feet and your altimeter display shows “Gl: 1.6!” this indicates:

• The current glide ratio is 1.6 to 1
• At the current glide ratio you will not reach the marked LZ at a minimum of 1,000 feet AGL

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• Total number of skydives
• Number of skydives today
• Jump counter (for more info search “Total Jumps and Jump Counter”)
• Total freefall time recorded by this altimeter
• Total canopy time recorded by this altimeter

There are 3 ways to view logbook data:

• Recent Jumps list through the user interface
• Full logbook through the Deep and Steep app (firmware version 4.04 and higher required, and the app installed on your phone)
• Full logbook file (logbook.csv)

Recent Jumps using the user interface

From the main logbook screen, press the center “ok” button to enter the Recent Jumps list.

The Insight & Stratos altimeters keep a list of the previous 20 skydives for easy review directly from the altimeter’s display. Use the up and down buttons to scroll through detailed skydive information. Each skydive is broken down into a Summary page, a Freefall page, and a Canopy page.

The summary page shows overall information about the skydive with the jump number, date and time at the top. Followed by overall jump information:

The freefall page show information specific to the freefall portion of the skydive.

The canopy page shows information specific to the canopy flight porition of the skydive.

Deep and Steep Connect App

Coming soon!

Logbook File (USB Connect)

A full logbook can be downloaded from the altimeter using the “USB Connect” mode. The file is a CSV (comma separated value) file that can be used in various logbook apps or simply viewed with a spreadsheet program such as Excel or OpenOffice.

Download a sample logbook.csv file here. All of the altitudes recorded in the logbook file are in meters, distances are meters, and speeds are meters per second.

To enter “USB Connect” mode, ensure your altimeter is on the clock screen and press the center button to open the menu.

Navigate the menu to System->USB Connect

The altimeter will restart in a mode where it will show up as a USB drive when connected to a computer using a USB-C data cable. Insights purchased earlier than May 2025 will need to use the supplied USB to USB-C cable (some cables work better than others). After May 2025 the Insight and Stratos will accept USB C to C cables.

WARNING: Exit USB mode before boarding an aircraft! The altimeter will not function while in USB Connect mode, and exiting this mode while in flight will lead to incorrect altitudes during your skydive. Press the center button to exit USB Connect mode and restart as an altimeter.

Once connected to your computer, the Insight will show up as a new drive called “INSIGHT”. Open this drive to find the logbook.csv file. Copy this file to your computer for use in other programs.

Important: Do not manually edit the logbook.csv file. If you corrupt the file your altimeter may stop recording new skydives, and the only fix will be to delete your entire logbook and start over.

Important: Always eject the USB drive before removing the USB cable from your computer. Failure to do so may corrupt the filesystem and cause your logbook and GPS tracks files to be lost.

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Recording Modes

To change the GPS track recording mode, first switch to the GPS screen. Press the center button to open the menu, then navigate to the “Rec: “ option. Press the center button to switch between the various modes.

Auto

The auto GPS recording mode handles all of the GPS track recording during a skydive. The GPS is in a low power mode while on the ground to save battery. When the altimeter detects ascent in the aircraft, Auto mode powers on the GPS. The GPS will record data to a track file:

• Every 30 seconds during the plane ride
• 3 to 4 times per second during freefall and canopy descent

Upon landing, Auto mode puts the GPS into low power mode again to save battery until the next airplane ride is detected.

Manual (Low)

Manual mode enables the GPS immediately and begins to record even while on the ground. Manual (Low) mode will record data to a track file:

• Every 30 seconds on the ground and during the plane ride
• 3 to 4 times per second during freefall and canopy descent

Upon landing, the GPS recording mode switches back to Auto.

Manual (High)

Manual mode enables the GPS immediately. Manual (High) records data to the track file 3 to 4 times per second the entire time. This mode is useful when using your altimeter off the DZ for other activities such as BASE, speed flying, and paragliding.

This mode will continue to record until switched back to Auto unless a skydive is performed, in which case the altimeter will switch back to Auto upon landing.

Disabled

This mode will disable the GPS recording features of the altimeter. The GPS module will still function to provide GPS data for navigation and information, however no track file will be created to record the skydive. The GPS will automatically turn on when ascent in the airplane is detected, and will switch back to low power mode upon landing.

GPS Track Files

The GPS track files are stored using the onboard memory of the altimeter. To access the files, use the Deep and Steep phone app (see the app section for instructions), or connect the altimeter to a computer using USB Connect mode.

Track files for a skydive are named “gps_XXXXX.csv”, where XXXXX is replaced by the jump number. For example jump 123 will have a track file named “gps_00123.csv”. These skydive tracks are found in the “skydive_tracks” folder.

Track files that were created with manual recording modes and did not take place on a skydive are stored in the “other_tracks” folder. These track files will have a random number assigned to them. The easiest way to find a particular manual recording is to sort the files by created date.

For more information regarding GPS tracks and how to interpret the GPS data, see the Learning Center section for “Understanding GPS Track Data“.

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