Spot

800Black · Oct 5, 2008

Does anyone have any information about the SPOT personal locator? Does it actually work the way it is designed to? Any personal experiences with it?

Thanks in advance for any information.

tudizzle · Oct 5, 2008

there are several threads with lots of responses on the spot do a search for more info

but....yes they do work and lots of people us them with great results including myself

fiveptbill · Oct 5, 2008

I got mine before hunting season for a piece of mind for my wife. It has worked great all of the season. She loves it because she doesn't have to worry about me. For me I think it will become like my beacon I won't ride without it.

teeroy · Oct 5, 2008

I've got one and it works great. as stated above, cheap peace of mind for the wife while I'm out of cell service sledding or hunting.

there is a good deal on the subscription right now through to Dec 31st if you sign up to Yahoo's Fire Eagle service. their promo code gives you free one year subscription ($99.99 value) and free one year tracking ($49.99 value) upon activation. you can buy the unit from where ever you choose, and activate it with the code.

Joe Mama · Oct 6, 2008

I picked one up at the Denver Snow Show this weekend from True North Adventure and they had the cupons for half off the first year. You can try their web site.

SHEFFY40 · Oct 6, 2008

i wonder if it covers evac if your sled breaks down

????

Quote from the website
$7.95/yr USD (if purchased at initial activation. $150.00 USD afterwards)
Provides up to $100,000 USD of additional search and rescue resources, including helicopter extraction around the world and reimbursement benefits – underwritten by Lloyd’s of London – for any emergency service expenses incurred. For more information, including terms and conditions,

sledhead ut · Oct 6, 2008

SHEFFY40 said:
i wonder if it covers evac if your sled breaks down????

Quote from the website
$7.95/yr USD (if purchased at initial activation. $150.00 USD afterwards)
Provides up to $100,000 USD of additional search and rescue resources, including helicopter extraction around the world and reimbursement benefits – underwritten by Lloyd’s of London – for any emergency service expenses incurred. For more information, including terms and conditions,

Don't see why it wouldn't. However I doubt it will cover sled extraction.

Weekday Warrior · Oct 6, 2008

I DO NOT TRUST MY LIFE WITH SPOT, but its good for those whos wife worries about them and solo riders *GASP!*

I've had mixed results with mine

last ride only a few of my tracking points made it thru, and several of my OK messages did not go thru either. I suggest not buying the tracking option.

I think I might have gotten some interference with my Rino, I had the two units right next to eachother??? Placement of your SPOT is VERY IMPORTANT, keep it on top and south facing if possible lol, hard to do when riding all over. Trees will kill SPOT's performance.

First couple rides with SPOT and it worked "OK", but not great. It's always missed track points.

ALSO I created a public profile for my fam to see where I was and the waypoints didn't go across my profile, basically it was worthless.

SPOT needs work, I give it 2 of 5 stars.

T-BO · Oct 6, 2008

We have one for our remote access/working alone procedure at our gas plant. They are a very accurate locating device, we have done excercises and its always accurate to within 5-10'. And the batteries last forever, were going on four months on a set and we have never shut the unit off. We also use it at a check in device twice a day.

Ex-Member · Oct 6, 2008

My biggest concern with them (as i've posted many times before) is that it's a one-way pager.

No way of getting critical information to dispatch as far as what type of situation, how mnay involved, rescue equipment needed, etc.

Message to dispatch is "911-page at this location". Nothing more. In an emergency, my radio's the first thing i'm going for.

Timber700RMK · Oct 6, 2008

Mule said:
In an emergency, my radio's the first thing i'm going for.

What kind of radio are you using? I'm going to wait until somebody up here gets a Spot to see if the signal works in the areas that I ride in before I buy one.

tudizzle · Oct 6, 2008

they are not designed to work in a pack.....so many say the tracking feature does not work. But it is the user who is not working properly

:beer;

Weekday Warrior · Oct 6, 2008

tudizzle said:
they are not designed to work in a pack.....so many say the tracking feature does not work. But it is the user who is not working properly :beer;

So what am I supposta do, super glue it to the top of my helmet?

Yamadoo04 · Oct 6, 2008

I just bought mine a month or so ago and I have used mine a couple of times now. I put it in the outtermost pocket in my pack and it worked great. Yes it does miss a few tracks but look at where you are sometimes. If you are under thick tree cover it may not go through. I would not say it is accurate up to 5 feet but certainly within 30 to 40'. It never missed a track when I was in an open clearing.

I bought mine for piece of mind for my wife more than anything else. She can be at home and track me in real time, so she knows where I am at every 10 to 15 minutes. She can know if I am heading back to the truck or haven't moved for 2 hours (in which case I would send an ok message so she doesn't freak out.) I also carry a sat phone (which only works half the time) for those emergencies that need communication. Its worth the $160 per year for her to know that I am ok when I take longer than I said I would. Then she won't chew me out for riding longer than I said I would. Less fights I'm sure cause she will know I am ok.

Ex-Member · Oct 6, 2008

Timber700RMK said:
What kind of radio are you using? I'm going to wait until somebody up here gets a Spot to see if the signal works in the areas that I ride in before I buy one.

VS/Yaesu FT60. 5-watt VHF/UHF. Waterproof, mil-spec chassis, battery that lasts way too long, one of the worse user interfaces i've ever dealt with but damn solid hardware. It'll throw a signal out there quite a ways.

Ancient Sledder · Oct 6, 2008

Bought mine at the start of last season and it has worked very well.I'm pleased with it,but I hope I never have to use it to call in Search and Rescue.

graveler · Oct 6, 2008

spot uses Globalstar sats, and they are very unreliable!!!!

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