The Great Big SPOT Thread

[kneeslider]

don't see why not! should work. gps works thry clear windshield glass or plastic windscreen!

[Rodzilla]

Would the Pelican case prevent you from pressing the 911 button should you have an issue?


Personally I'd think the SPOT would do better on your person should you and the bike be separated

[dzone]

Originally Posted by Rodzilla

Would the Pelican case prevent you from pressing the 911 button should you have an issue?


Personally I'd think the SPOT would do better on your person should you and the bike be separated

+1 and the SPOT is already
Waterproof to 1 meter for up to 30 minutes

[GB]

Isn't it water resistant and doesn't need more protection?

GPS type devices go to the GPS forum.. off it goes.

[Just_Jake]

^ Thnx GB. Sorry for the added effort on your part.

1.) I know the unit is "waterproof" but I like to keep gear, esp electronics as dry as possible.

2.) I want the device to be securely attached rather than just clipped to the exterior of my gear or a dry bag.

I see the merit of keeping the device on me, to utilize the SOS function, but unless I glue it to the top of my helmet, I'm fearful of losing connectivity to track my travels. Spot regularly advises to keep the device facing upward (on its back for lack of a better explanation). So, in a pocket, seems like it wouldn't work. And I'm certainly not going to rock the Spot on my bicep in the provided arm bad case.

[Thriller5]

Personally I'd think the SPOT would do better on your person should you and the bike be separated[/quote]

That makes 2 of us

[AKASY]

I can't address the II but the one is something I have experience with. I've had mixed results my first one would not transmit thru codura--one layer facing up. My second one would but in heavy cover it would not transmit as well. I went with a RAM mount and placed it on the rear subframe--managed to lose it twice, once in a get off during an enduro and once by brut force jumps. Got it back both times--lucky. It is now mounted facing up on my handle bar--I can see if it departs the bike. It has been in all sorts of rain snow and sleet as well as hundreds of river crossings--no impact on the unit from water.

[widebmw]

My SPOT 1 worked great in the bottom of my tank bag and inside my GIVI trunk on the back of my bike, both with the front of the SPOT up.
In my pocket it would miss some tracking signals now and then, sometimes several in a row depending on the direction I was going.

[AKDuc]

Originally Posted by Lucky_Devil

While Christmas shopping at a couple different Best Buys and REI I made a point to check to see if they were still selling SPOTII, and they were still on the shelves at all locations.

REI Anchorage pulled all the Gen II's and sent em back a couple weeks before Christmas. You may have seen the demos on display.

I'm surprised Spotmaker hasn't jumped on here yet.

Mark H.

[patsymack]

Hi Guys,
An update on what I decided to do.I received the spot2 on Christmas.They had purchased it at best Buy in philly.I returned it the day after Christmas for a refund and purchased the spot1 for 99.99 with it I got an instant in store $50 rebate, in the box was coupon for free tracking for 1 year(you still must register and pay for basic service from what I understand) also I'll register for the online $50 rebate from spot (unit has to be purchased by 12-31-09 and rebate applied for by 1-31-10).All in I think it's a good deal.I'll use the spot1 and when the 2 comes out if I think I need the added features I'll upgrade.
I think it's shitty that they were still selling the spot2 after the recall and taking advantage of the Christmas rush and will send spot a message voicing my opinion of thier business practices.
Patsy

[rhicks]

I thought about getting a ram mount for my gen 2 but after thinking about it I decided just to use the arm strap that it comes with (or carabiner) and attach it to my jacket or arm. Signal should be fine and in the worst case scenario of me being thrown from the bike and I'm unable to get to the bike or the HT I take with me the spot will be right there and within reach. If I am unable to hit the button then maybe someone else that finds me will know what to do. I liked the silver but went with orange just for the visibility in case someone else would easily see it.
I hope it never happens but that was one of the reasons I bought it to begin with. If it gets wet, so be it. It's designed for it.

Water Proof: 16.4 ft (5 m) submersion for 1 hour

[Lucky_Devil]

Originally Posted by AKDuc

REI Anchorage pulled all the Gen II's and sent em back a couple weeks before Christmas. You may have seen the demos on display.

I'm surprised Spotmaker hasn't jumped on here yet.

Mark H.

I saw multiple boxes on shelves... not demos. I didn't ask for one out of the cabinet at REI, so they may have refused to sell me one... but there were definitely units on the sales floor.

[DeBandi]

[DiabloBlanco]

Ok ok let's not return to the already played out debate on whether it's better on the bike or attached to the body, people's main preferences and reasons for use of Spot are different. With the low sensitivity GenI I had Spot on a ram mount on the handle bars going through South and Central America during rainy season, and I rode through a LOT of rain. It performed flawlessly, no water issues whatsoever. I wouldn't bother with the little pelican case, but if you really want to I won't rain on your ride. I also dropped the bike 8 times on said trip and it never budged in the ram mount. Thing is a decent piece of kit. If you're really worried about it popping out you could run a piece of tape or velcro around it.

Now with Spot II being a much higher sensitivity and thus should have a much higher track rate (my main reason for purchase) I would probably just carry it on my person and it should still track fine thus meeting both requirements of tracking ability AND being on my person in the event I would need it.
Salud

[TavisB]

So I decided to order a gen 1 while there was still a rebate. No one had it in stock locally so I ordered from bestbuy.com for $99. I just printed the rebate form and noticed that it said for purchases at regular price ($149+). So I'm guessing I should try to cancel my order since I'm betting they won't honor my rebate?

Edit: I found a different form online that said for purchases of $99 so I think I'm ok. whew.