The Great Big SPOT Thread

[GlennR]

I went riding & trail clearing on my Rancher last Monday and put the Spot in my pocket to carry along. Well, after running the chainsaw 15-20 on a big log pile, that was blocking a key intersection of the logging roads I ride, I got hot and took off my jacket and bungeed it onto the quad's front rack for the rest of the day.

After I got home I couldn't find the Spot, and I was pretty sure I'd carried it along. So, I'd been looking around for it all week, half hoping it would turn up...and half hoping I'd "have to go back and search the trails for it"!

Anyway, I found my Spot today.

I'm thinking I should have purchased the "replacement plan". (If I hadn't been too cheap to subscribe for tracking I would have known where it was "parked"!!)

[TravellingStrom]

Did anybody else have any issues with SPOT not relaying emails yesterday or in the past 36 hours?

I usually send an OK every morning and afternoon, and have tracking enabled during the day

Yesterday I tried three times in the morning but did not receive any confirmation emails at all, nor in the afternoon

But, the tracking was working fine. It was as if the OK was getting out, but the SPOT server had failed in some way

It works fine now?

Cheers
TravellibgStrom

[MedicineBow]

I do the same thing with my SPOT-1, run it with high-capacity NiMH rechargeables, but carry a set of Lithiums for just-in-case. An advantage of the '1' is it takes larger AA size, and I have run it for a week tracking 12-14 hrs/day, on a single charge of (2) 2000mAh NiMH batteries. The battery indicator turns red after 24-48 hrs, but I believe that just reflects the 1.2v operating voltage of NiMH. No apparent drop-off of tracking rate - it was consistently 70-80% the entire time.

I believe the 'Lithium-only' is just lawyerly CYA from SPOT. Mine has run flawlessly on a steady diet of rechargeables for almost 2 yrs.

[Bob]

New firmware for Connect and ios app out this morning. I haven't looked at any of it or tried to load it.

[TravellingStrom]

Originally Posted by MedicineBow

I do the same thing with my SPOT-1, run it with high-capacity NiMH rechargeables, but carry a set of Lithiums for just-in-case. An advantage of the '1' is it takes larger AA size, and I have run it for a week tracking 12-14 hrs/day, on a single charge of (2) 2000mAh NiMH batteries. The battery indicator turns red after 24-48 hrs, but I believe that just reflects the 1.2v operating voltage of NiMH. No apparent drop-off of tracking rate - it was consistently 70-80% the entire time.

I believe the 'Lithium-only' is just lawyerly CYA from SPOT. Mine has run flawlessly on a steady diet of rechargeables for almost 2 yrs.

I would be more concerned when/if you ever use the 911button. That sends a message every 5minutes until the battery runs flat. If you are lying there with a broken leg, how will your mind be affected if you see it flashing red?

Are the messages getting through or arent they, you will never know until/if someone turns up looking for you

Are you sure you want to chance it? A set of Lithiums last around 15,000km in track mode all day while moving, that is before the red light comes on, this is still a cost, but in my mind, safer than the nicads I had been using on occasion

[BrzGSAdv]

I have been doing some research but wanted to pick the folks brains on the SPOT gps.

Does it really work / is worh the investment?

I have found a lot of love (and an equal ammount of hate) for it on the web so am a bit confused.

I like the idea of giving my loved ones the ability to track me down and rest knowing I am ok and my whereabouts. I plan to ride mostly alone in Brazil / South America. I think the SPOT idea is great if it works as expected.

Any feedback on the gadget is going to be greatly appreciated...

[HogWild]

Originally Posted by BrzGSAdv

I like the idea of giving my loved ones the ability to track me down and rest knowing I am ok and my whereabouts.

It's worth it just for that. Plus you get the added bonus of the 911 feature! See the BOG SPOT thread here:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=282391

Be aware it won't work in the southern part of Argentina and Chile. Those regions are outside the coverage area. If that's a problem, get the Delorme InReach instead, which costs more but also does more.

[BigToad]

I would never leave home without it, read the story under this youtube video pasted below......

It's good for tracking however I will never mount it to my bike again. In this crash which broke my femur if had it been mounted to the bike I would not have been able to activate it as the bike went over the bank and I could not move.

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=qgJqZ...%3DqgJqZ1TaZ5w

[JimNtexas]

SPOT is an excellent investment for anyone going off the beaten track. It works well. Battery life is amazing. One thing I really like about the SPOT is the ten minute position updates.

A worst case scenario is crashing your bike in such a way that the SPOT is destroyed and you are crippled and unconscious. If your friends or family are following your SPOT updates and updates suddenly stop, then at least your watchers will have a good idea of where to search for you. This is a huge advantage over a PLB device.

I strongly suggest SPOT users check out the excellent free spotwalla.com web site.

Spotwalla provides a superior map display of your SPOT tracks, and (unlike the official SPOT site) saves them forever, giving you a nice souvenir of your ride.

[FL_biker]

I'm a HUGE fan of SPOT but only if used with www.spotwalla.com.
The issue with findmespot.com (the mfg's site) is that your trips go away in 30 days - not good if on a 44 day trip like I bought mine for!!

I've used mine from Key West to Prudhoe Bay and back to Tampa:

http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?...d4dd5420cac0ea


A trip to MD and back:

http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?...c5044b194030cf



And even a silly short trip to AL and back (Barber Vintage Days):

http://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?...050768109d9e52


My wife likes it so she knows where I am, but I DO have to agree that if it is mounted onteh bike it could be useless to signal for help in a crash. I mounted mine on my bike, but risked not being able to signal for help if I crashed.

I especially like the spotwalla integration and ability to post links to photos on spotwalla, even if I never HAVE linked a lot of mine (started but got busy)...

Dave

[BrzGSAdv]

Originally Posted by HogWild

Be aware it won't work in the southern part of Argentina and Chile. Those regions are outside the coverage area. If that's a problem, get the Delorme InReach instead, which costs more but also does more.

I must confess I have not heard about Delrone's InReach before and after reading about it I am now officialy over the fence on which to choose. Okay, it is more expensive but the Iridium network should be superior, right? This is safety so the extra buck$ are not the biggest driver...

Which is best??? Any additional views?

I plan to buy over the next couple of days and have it delivered to my hotel during an upcoming business trip so I need to make up my mind quickly here...

Best Rafa

[jeepinbanditrider]

I have had a 1st gen SPOT for years now and really like it. My mom really likes me having it I can send her the link to my SPOTWALLA page and she can track where I'm at and that calms her down a bit on my longer range excursions.

I have had luck dropping it in a jacket pocket and having it still work. I also velcro it to the fairing on my bike a lot and haven't had any issues there either. But as stated above that could leave me with no SPOT in the event of an accident.

[steveWFL]

I prepaid a year, used it and hated it. And there was a lot of lag of it updating. Mom, wife or GF will see you two towns over on the web page as you ring her doorbell.

The they tried auto-renewing me and charged my card after I had asked them to cancel my account many times. American Express made it right.

I won't even turn my bike around in their parking lot lol

[BrzGSAdv]

Originally Posted by steveWFL

I prepaid a year, used it and hated it. And there was a lot of lag of it updating. Mom, wife or GF will see you two towns over on the web page as you ring her doorbell.

The they tried auto-renewing me and charged my card after I had asked them to cancel my account many times. American Express made it right.

I won't even turn my bike around in their parking lot lol

Sorry Steve, is this about SPOT or Inreach? I have heard that problem about SPOT on Amazon customer reviews... So this is really happening? Sad to hear...

[TEZZA]

Had one for 4 years and never used it for an Emergancy , but good for tracking .
How much is your life worth ??????? For the small amount that you pay for the year.
Tezza.