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Joined: Jun 2003
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And, what I failed to mention in the above post is that several (I think 3.) OK messages did not make it out during this trip.
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Joined: Jun 2003
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I noticed that Mountain Gear has the SPOT2 available now.
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Joined: Oct 2009
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I recently picked up the new spot just in time for my day-hike of Mt Whitney. Quick thanks to everyone on this message board, it is full of great information (I did summit successfully in early Oct).
Couple observations on the new Spot. It still definitely needs to face the sky to transmit properly. I first used it on a hike in Yosemite and had neglected to read the instructions. As a result, the Spot was just sitting in a top pouch of my pack. The tracking on that was rather spotty.
Lesson learned, I attached the Spot to my shoulder pack. Given that I just bought in 1 day into my trip, I wasn't able to attach it well to my pack since I only had 2 zip ties (the enclosed armband type strap is rather useless)(if I was at home I could have rigged something a little more secure). As I result the Spot would ocassionally flip on its side while I was hiking.
So on my Whitney hike, it seemed to track fairly well. There definitely were a few missed track points, but no huge gaps (on my way up I was a little more vigilant in making the sure the Spot was properly oriented). All my Ok messages were successfully sent, and my Custom message that I have made the summit was successfully sent as well. On my way down, I was just trying to get back to the trailhead before dark, so I really didn't keep my Spot oriented properly, I know it had flipped on its side for a good portion of the hike down. And as expected there weren't as many track points on my hike down. I am sure if I had it mounted properly it would have tracked better.
Overall, I am happy with the Spot. It was great that people can track my progress. And that you can send Ok messages out.
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Joined: Jul 2007
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I purchased "Son of Spot" from REI online (the store didn't have any)...got it about 2 weeks ago. I'm still figuring out all the quirks and I'm not certain if it is super accurate, but my family is grateful for the contact when I'm hiking. Google Maps has some issues--doesn't even indicate Mt. Baldy by name (Mt San Antonio), but shows the lesser peaks. All of my "I'm OK messages" have been received. I have it hooked onto the strap of my pack.
Karen
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Joined: Oct 2009
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We bought and used the new SPOT messenger last week and it SUCKS! We sent ~20 messages to family and friends across 8 days to let them know we were okay in that nasty storm and TWO went through. Family and friends were worried. The worst part is that we came close to using the SOS/911 button and I now don't think it would go through. My brother spoke with the search ane rescue folks at the park when he did not hear from us and they confirmed that the SPOT devices are unreliable and not safe. I'm sending mine back today and cancelling the subscription. What a waste of money! Thankfully we are safe, but I hate to think what would have happened if we really needed help.
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Jennifer, thank you for your posts, here and in the Fall Conditions thread. What you wrote there is extremely beneficial to everyone planning to climb this fall.
So sorry your Spot did not work like it should.
I am curious how you set it up when you sent out your transmissions...
Did you always set it with its antenna face flat to the sky? (This is very important.)
Did you try to set it in an open space so rocks, trees and even mountains on the horizon did not obstruct too much sky?
Did you leave the unit turned on for at least 30 minutes so it could re-send the messages? Sometimes a receiving satellite is not "in view", so a transmitted message will not be received. That is why the Messenger sends repeated transmissions. Sometimes, I'll send my OK-check-in message twice from camp, so it has an even better chance of reaching an overhead satellite.
I loaned mine to a friend while she hiked solo in Sequoia out to Bear Paw meadow. Even in tracking mode, it did not send a single message all day. During her entire three-day trip, it only sent 5 or 6 transmissions. But when I use it, it sends messages just fine. The biggest difference is where/how she carried it, and in camp, where she set it so it could send a message.
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Joined: Oct 2009
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All good questions about the SPOT. We left it off until we were ready to send and OK message then turned it on, got the GPS signal, pushed the okay button until it lit up and waited for the confirmation button to light up, telling us the messag had gone through. Then we turned it back off. All while in a clear space, unit flat etc. Follwed every bit of thosed darned instructtions to the letter and still very little luck.
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...pushed the okay button until it lit up and waited for the confirmation button to light up, telling us the message had gone through. Then we turned it back off. By "confirmation button to light up" did you mean you sat and watched it send out a message by watching the lights, or do you have the second generation unit that actually has a confirmation light? Or did you wait the full 20+ minutes so that the two blinking lights stopped blinking and it reverted back to the single blinking light? Either way, "confirmation" only means it got a GPS location, and transmitted it. It does not mean a satellite actually received the transmission. You have to assume that over 50% of the time in the Sierra, your transmissions will not be received due to no satellites being within view.
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