pricesquire

Hi all:

I did a search, came up with nothing.

My dad got me a GPS tracker for an upcoming trip to Africa.

I know next to nothing about it...

From the SPOT website:

SPOT Trace tracks your most valuable assets virtually anywhere in the world, using your phone or computer. Affordable and easy to use, it's a no-brainer for your cars, boats, motorcycles, toys and other valuables.

SPOT Gen3 provides location-based messaging and emergency notification technology that allows you to communicate from remote locations around the globe. It offers custom tracking interval options, motion-activated tracking, long-life battery and more.

Sounds like a nifty product, but again, don't know much about it.

Any reviews from here?

Here's their website BTW: http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=120

FWIW, sounds like a great product to throw in your suitcase if you're worried about it getting lost...

pricesquire

Just tested it. I clicked a button, the thing started blinking, and it uploaded my location(s) to a custom Google Map.

lwildernorva

My sister has one of these. She's used it along the Appalachian Trail and while hiking in Ireland and Iceland. Especially helpful as a locator of last resort when in an area with limited or no cell service.

ScottC

Very unreliable. When they work, the concept is cool, but most of the time the damn thing doesn't do anything. I was never impressed.

pricesquire

When did you own one? Recently?

What I mean is...is there any chance the product has changed?

I agree it seems a little basic...

Scifience

As others have said, these things are a cool idea, but the SPOT is (in my opinion) more or less the worst of the bunch. It has relatively weak SOS transmission power (just 0.4W) and no true two-way messaging functionality.

A few better (IMHO, anyway) options:

DeLorme inReach SE
This one has two-way messaging (useful) and a somewhat stronger SOS transmission function (1.6W). If you value communication and tracking in addition to emergency SOS functionality, this is a good, balanced option. I've seen mostly positive reviews; this one from Expedition Portal is particularly thorough.

ACR PLB-375 ResQLink+
If you don't really care about messaging/fancy online tracking maps, and just want the device that is most likely to help you in an emergency, this personal locator beacon has a much stronger signal (5W) than the SPOT or DeLorme options, is totally waterproof, and dead simple. Also, no subscription fee.

ScottC

First generation, and the current generation. Nothing has changed recently. Like the previous poster said, they are really low powered, and there is no way to know whether the message was actually received.

alphaod

SPOT uses the GlobalStar network. It's very unreliable in my opinion at especially from a sat phone perspective. I have tried a couple of their product and I wasn't really happy with any of them. I think their hardware has shoddy quality.

Anyways I have switched to an Inmarsat phone. Excellent reception everywhere (except the poles apparently, but I don't go there).

Be honest, I think having a sat phone where you can actually talk to someone is way more useful than some tracking device which you really don't know will work or not (since there is no reliable confirmation). An Inmarsat phone is only about $1/minute for outbound calls.

I have also used a friend's Iridium; also very good, but the per-minute rates seem much higher and the coverage doesn't seem to be much better except for polar coverage (again I don't use that).


Everyone who sees me with a sat phone thinks I'm crazy, but with true global coverage and per-minute rates cheaper than my US carrier when roaming, it's quite good.

ScottC

Well said. I also have an Inmarsat iSatPhone - top notch phone, excellent reception and good prices. Much better investment than any of the SPOT products.