Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Spot Device

Dale,

I just wanted to update you that I haven't received the answers to your great questions and that I haven't forgot about you. We have had a lot of changes in corporate and getting complete answers is a little tough right now. Feel free to call me at the number listed in the above postings to discuss.

Regards,

Brad Horton

Thanks for hanging in there. They aren't easy questions, but the answers would be useful.

Dale B. Dalrymple

If I may digress from Spot's SOS function, my wife gave me a Spot Messanger for my birthday, and its primary locating feature turned out to be a present to both of us. I carried it for the first time on a leisurely solo hike last week from Agnew Meadows, out the High Trail to 1,000 Island Lake, then back via the JMT past Garnet and Shadow lakes, dropping down to the River Trail for the return to Agnew Meadows. I'm sure many people on the board are familiar with the trip.

Each morning when I set out, I'd send a "check-in/OK" message to my wife's computer, followed by another one or two from stops along the trail. When I stopped for the night, I used the custom message function to send a message saying "Stopped for the night." (I was an English major, but no need to overdo it.)

When I got back to Mammoth and cellphone range, I phoned home and found my wife had received and appreciated all of the messages. She said they gave her a lot of peace of mind, which I think was the whole idea, for both of us. When I got back home, I checked the copies of the messages on my own computer. Each message comes with a locator URL, and by clicking on it, and then zooming in, I could see, yep, that's where I camped alongside Garnet; that's where I stopped for lunch at Shadow Lake.

Now, caveat/disclaimer: Having read previous posts here about message failures, I made sure to find a place with minimal overhanging trees, etc., to set the Spot while it was sending, and I left it transmitting for 20 minutes or so each time. I did have one check-in message fail to go through ... on the drive home. That time, I was parked near a high wall and left the Spot transmitting from my car's dashboard only as long as it took me to go into a convenience store, visit the restroom, wash my hands and purchase a Pepsi. Maybe 4-5 minutes.

So, yes, Spot is not without limitations; but it also has two new fans.

Phil

P.S. This has not affected one of my longtime goals: to never have SAR called out on my account.

Back to bitch about the company again...



I contacted support on Monday to try and resolve an issue with my SPOT device not transmitting any messages when ALL of the status indicators are GREEN. Still waiting for a response.....

(Makes me feel real good when I come home to look at the track and it states that there is no data to display.)

BTW: Anybody else seen the IS version? Yeah, right. If I was doing hazardous duty and my employer handed me one of these, I'd tell 'em where they could stick it.

I've always considered the device in the same light as some of the other toys I carry..... with the thought that if I ever got into real trouble, it might just work.

Might be time to look into buying a real PLB since they seem to have come down in price significantly.

Reminds me to make sure I contact them early enough to discontinue my contract - last year they auto-renewed me again without any notification and it was a tech support nightmare to get them to remove tracking from my account. If their rescue service works as well as billing...

In my third year of sending money to them for something I may one day need, I am past the "this is cool to have" attitude and back to "why do I need to carry this lump?"

If I decide to bring something for emergencies after my $100-per-year-year-911-hope-for-the-best subscription runs out in June, it'll be a satellite phone or nothing.

I thought about getting one of these when they first came out and decided that is was just a toy. I never felt the need to have a "rescue" device in the wilderness or when fighting fires.
If I am ever solo and imoblized I will still find a way to get "found" using conventional methods. I would never trust my life on a device.

If i am going to carry anything it would be a signal flare and orange smoke. http://www.orionsignals.com/Outdoor/products/signals.html

That's the way I originally felt about it when my wife went out and bought one. Then I realized I could use it to remind one of my buddies that I'm on a summit while he's at his desk at work. He has received 160+ reminders that I'm retired and he isn't. Somehow, that made the cost and weight worth it.

When I'm doing something trivial close to home, I only send a "Custom" message from the summit and an "OK" when I get back to the car. Otherwise, I turn on "Track" mode so my wife and anyone else who cares can follow my progress. It's common to loose some of the tracking messages, but there are always enough good ones to show where I am and that I'm still moving (or not).

It's not perfect, but I'm going to keep renewing the subscription.

imagine calling him on a sat phone to really rub it in?

We used the Spot Tracking feature the first year we had it and half the family and total strangers watched how my kids made it down the Muir Trail. Was kinda cute, but when it didn't send out anything for one day, even though the lights were doing their normal flashing thing, everyone got worried.

"...but when it didn't send out anything for one day, even though the lights were doing their normal flashing thing, everyone got worried."

I've seriously considered buying a Spot a couple of times, but the failure stories like this stop me. If it's unreliable, it defeats the purpose of peace of mind for family. My daughter and father would love to track me when I'm alone in the backcountry, but tracking failures would just make them worry needlessly.

I have had a Spot for 3 years. It has tracked me in the Tetons, the Grand Canyon, the Colorado River, the JMT, Yosemite, the Swamps of Florida and out on the Atlantic ocean... I have witnessed it reports accurate Lat/Long (from the GPS satellites) and sends that location (Iridium Satellites)very reliably if you have an exposure to the sky. I had my Spot ripped from my Gheenoe during alligator relocation - since I had the replacement policy, I had a new one at my house in 5 days - no extra cost, no hassle. One night I had to send a "Help" message (not a SOS), my wife got an E-mail and a phone call very quickly.
If you want real communication, rent a satellite phone. If you want a tool to track you and get help, try the Spot - it may not be perfect, but I believe it is cheap insurance.

That's becoming an increasing problem that needs to be dealt with by agencies. Relatives/friends are calling in because they didn't get a tracking signal for x amount of time. They're not even overdue, just no contact via gizmo. So relatives also have to understand the limits of these things.

g.

In the meantime, there is a new version of SPOT, designed to work with advanced phones via bluetooth that give the ability to sent text and emails via satellite:

http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=116

Be interesting to see how this technology works out.

So, I have to report that I finally had a pleasant experience with SPOT Customer Service...

I bought inReach by Delorme. It uses the Iridium sat system. It can connect via bluetooth to a cell phone. It has a subscription, the cheapest is $9.99 a month. The unit weighs 8oz. It can be use as a standalone system. It has worked without a hitch so far and their customer server is very responsive. I always hike alone and this keeps my wife and daughter happy. They know where I am and I can send updates if plans change.

I just wanted to add a bit of information on Spot performance:

I've been using a Spot 2 since shortly after they came out. I normally climb above tree line, and the vast majority of my Tracking, Custom, and OK messages get out. I climbed Tehipite Dome yesterday, where I spent nearly the whole day under the cover of the trees. Only 36 messages got out, when there should have been at least 90. The elapsed time between two of my tracking messages was two hours and 37 minutes. If tracking messages weren't getting out, there is a good chance that a 911 wouldn't have gotten out either.

It's no secret that performance may suffer when reception is obstructed, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. I always assumed that most of the complaining about poor performance was due to improper orientation of the antenna, failure to read the manual, or other fixable issues. Now I know how much difference the trees can make. I'll try to stay away from sub-10K peaks from now on.

A different experience:
I've been using SPOT since it first came out - at least 20 days in the wilderness each year.

I've never had n OK signal fail to go out. I try to get into as clear area as possible, but many times I've been in the trees with sightline restricted.

Have never used the track feature.

just spent 10 days on Isle Royale and took my Spot with me to give it one last whirl given it is paid for through June. OK signals only went out 3 times, failed about 10 times. I did it correctly, and the unit was in open space each time, no trees, no movement, at least for 30 minutes each time.

FWIW, my sat phone also had a 4 hour "can't register with network" moment, so I think it is time to go ultra light and ditch all that communications stuff. The only thing that worked well was the $14.95 Midland NOAA weather radio, giving me accurate forecasts, albeit in French most of the time

I managed to lose my third Spot on Friday. It was still sitting up on the summit as I started down. If anyone happened to pick it up, I would appreciate hearing about it.

BTW: it didn't transmit an OK from the summit, but I'd have been surprised if it did as the batteries were just about dead.

I did get it back but it died in the storm a few weeks ago...

I tried to revive it this morning, but no luck. Since it was purchased in May, I get to see how the SPOT Warranty Service Center operates. They're supposed to send me an RMA soon, since I was able to use their online Warranty Service Request form.

they should give you a free spot for all the advertising you do for them.