The Great Big SPOT Thread

[bananaman]

Back when GatoGato went missing I was wishing he'd had something like SPOT. As soon as I heard about it, I realized it's exactly what I've been looking for. I bought mine with an awful lot of optimism. I took it with me as extra insurance. I bought all the bells and whistles. I tested it in Wisconsin before I left, and it worked perfectly. PERFECTLY. I was super impressed. I posted in my ride report that it was part of the safety equipment I would be ready to rely on. I informed everyone of my experience with it. I exchanged a couple of messages with Spotmaker. I appreciate his comments in the exact same way as I appreciate the comments of other vendors who have helped me with this adventure.

Spotmaker is way, way, way the most expert on Spot. He's also vested in selling them. I have nothing negative to say about Spotmaker. It looks like one play on his sentence, "your Spot is defective" into "your posts are defective" wasn't as funny as I thought it was when I first typed it.

As for user-error, I used Spot the same way the whole time. SPOT lived in my tank bag on the top left hand side. The only thing between my SPOT and the sky was a thin piece of nylon. The idea of putting SPOT on a ram mount while travelling in Central America on an extended journey- it's not workable for me. As it is, I have to remove my tank bag and my GPS from the bike at almost every stop. Mounting-up again gets to be a chore when you have to keep re-positioning things. Every time you stop, people come up to you and start touching stuff. Most of the time my big GS is the biggest bike they've ever seen. You can't keep kids off of stuff. If you don't lock everything, things will start to disapear.

I understand the concept of probablility, and I appreciate the reality of probability vs facts. My opinions and my experience with SPOT are my own. I was answering the original question, Has anyone seen or bought a Spot Satellite Messenger yet. As far as I know, I'm the first Adv'er to report the use of one on a trans-continental ride. I ended up getting into a little argument with Spotmaker about my experience vs his design. If I didn't tell him that it didn't work very well in Central America, then how is he going to know? Spotmaker and guys like him need our feedback to make the product more user-friendly, and more reliable. I'm really glad people like Spotmaker are working hard to make it possible for whackos like me to go off on crazy adventures while reducing our risks.

I wasn't using SPOT on an easy weekend adventure. I was extremely hard on all of my equipment. I tested SPOT under very difficult conditions. I am very demanding of all my equipment. I do not sugar-coat my equipment observations or opinions. Regarding my experience with SPOT I'm not trying to offend anyone (including Spotmaker) and I'm not trying to suck up to anyone.

Here are the Vendor Forum rules for those of you who haven't read them. This is why I wondered out-loud if this thread should actually be in Vendors.

Originally Posted by jcolombo

The following was penned by Kurt in 2002, when we created the Vendor Forum. I can't say it better myself.

The motorcycling experience is aided and abetted by vendors -- craftsmen and corporate titans and everything in between. Today, because of the internet, we have the opportunity to enhance our experience by using one of the most powerful information tools ever imagined to share information about the vendors who help make our rides a blessing or a curse.

We hope that unknown products of utter genius will be plucked from obscurity and revealed to Advriders here, that noble technicians and mechanics who solve our problems or go the extra mile to get us back on the road will receive well-earned recognition, and, conversely, that the bastards who cheat us, screw up our bikes out of gross negligence and otherwise make our rides more dangerous or frustrating will be exposed and driven to more suitable professions, like shoveling coal in the furnaces of hell.

Unlike the Equipment Forum, the Vendor Forum welcomes helpful, intelligent, insightful submissions from vendors who want to update or introduce their products to Advriders. This is a discussion forum where vendors who post will be expected to discuss their products and answer questions.But be warned, spamming* will not be tolerated; this is not a place to post advertisements or the latest $19.99 special. It is a place to inform and discuss, not advertise and promote. I realize that the distinction can be subtle at times, but I think most people "get it" most of the time.


Welcome.


* For the purposes of this forum, spamming will be defined as anything the moderators consider to be spamming.

[aciurczak]

Nobody is questioning your intentions. I gotta believe you mean well. But your delivery sucks. And chasing away the one person on this board who can get us advance information on updates and have a meaningful effect on the future development of the device and related service, pretty much demonstrates how much subtlety your posts lack. Your last post was even worse before you edited it, and even after the edit, if you can't see how you're coming across as a raging ***hole to someone who is sincerely trying to help you with your issues, then you just don't get it.

[bananaman]

Originally Posted by aciurczak

Nobody is questioning your intentions. I gotta believe you mean well. But your delivery sucks. And chasing away the one person on this board who can get us advance information on updates and have a meaningful effect on the future development of the device and related service, pretty much demonstrates how much subtlety your posts lack. Your last post was even worse before you edited it, and even after the edit, if you can't see how you're coming across as a raging ***hole to someone who is sincerely trying to help you with your issues, then you just don't get it.

My intensity about some subjects can be difficult for some people to understand. I take emergency-communications very seriously. We're talking life-or-death here. I need equipment like SPOT to actually be absolutely perfect. Come ride with me and I'll show you how valuable my intensity is.

In the last six weeks I've have had at least twenty conversations (the face-to-face kind) where I've defended SPOT, explained the benefits of it, and encouraged its use.

My ride is scheduled to resume on March 17. I don't know when I'll be able to report my experiences again. I might not be able to report anything comprehensive until some time in April. If anyone else is using SPOT in Central or South America, I would like to read their ride report and, if possible, a summary of their SPOT experience.

[R1200GSA]

Originally Posted by bananaman

I didn't intend my message to be flaming.

WTF were you trying to do, if indeed as you say, your post was not intended to be flaming?

If you had taken the time to read this entire thread you would have realized that SPOTMAKER was just a guy that happend along and the stayed around for a while and offered some very good help/tips/troubleshooting and answered A LOT of questions that we had.

Do us all a favor and go away. You have sir, have done enough.

SPOTMAKER... Don't let this turn you away, you are better than he is.

[PhilSpace]

Enough, let it go, or this banter is off to JM.

[ducmons]

Not sure if this was asked. Is it possible to track multiple SPOTS on the same account?

Say I used for them for work, and needed 3 of them...can I name them and then track them on the same site?

[JimC]

Originally Posted by bananaman

...............I take emergency-communications very seriously. We're talking life-or-death here. I need equipment like SPOT to actually be absolutely perfect. Come ride with me and I'll show you how valuable my intensity is.

What does sending out 47 OK messages have to do with a life or death situation? Do we have any reports of the unit failing to send out a 911 or emergency message? I know we have several reports of the unit saving lives and we have a post of someone successfully using the emergency message.

Mars was absolutely spot on (no pun intended) you don't need this unit. The majority of the posts here are about two topics, 1) when can we have guest logins so my wife and friends can see where I am every 10 minutes and 2) only 10 of my 47 OK messages made it through today, how can I live with this. I agree with Mars, the unit fits my needs perfectly. It provides me with an EMERGENCY messaging system that can be used in non life threatening as well as life threatening situations. This is something that has never been available to adventurers, short of a satellite phone.

Another thought, if I was using the unit in a third world country I would be a lot more concerned about the who, what and when of responding to a 911 message I sent out, rather than whether my OK messages were getting out. If you are absolutely concerned about life and death situations you should be carrying a PLB and an Iridium satellite phone. Of course that assumes that your life is worth more than $150 and you actually travel out of cel phone coverage.

If you are expecting the Spot to be absolutely perfect save your money. It the Spot saves 90 out of 100 lives does that mean we should abandon it? (probably depends upon which group you would fall into ) If those numbers mean that 90 people were saved because they were using a Spot rather than nothing, I think it is a huge step in the right direction. People that really need more than a SPOT already have it.

Jim in Sacramento

[Hotspice]

Originally Posted by ducmons

Not sure if this was asked. Is it possible to track multiple SPOTS on the same account?

Say I used for them for work, and needed 3 of them...can I name them and then track them on the same site?

Yes you can add multiple Spot's to a single login. They are displayed in a table format with the ID's on the left. As you add them you have an option to keep them all with the same message profile or create a different one for each one.

What that means is that if you want each of your 3 SPOT's to report back to different managers you can create a message profile with different recipient email addresses. It also means that you have the ability to have different emergency contact information for each unit.

[mars]

I heard a first hand story about some one that used a sat phone for an emergency last night, it took him 1 and 1/2 hours to make contact with emergency channels. He told a story of dehydration, two broken legs and cold weather turning his Idaho outing into a life and death situation. This can happen quickly and for those that have been there it completely changes your perspective.
This same person just got back from Guatemala raving about Spot and how it tracked his entire trip, I got him his spot and his wife gave me a big thumbs up.
I think Bananarama is just looking for attention.

[klebel]

OK so then lets just start ignoring the assclown's posts and get back to the really topic of the thread. I'm tired of hearing about where he likes his bananas put.

[mars]

Originally Posted by klebel

OK so then lets just start ignoring the assclown's posts

[Staplegunnr]

Within the next couple of hours, UPS will be delivering a SPOT.

I purchased the unit based entirely on comments posted to this thread.

I ride in areas with spotty or no cell phone coverage. I plan on using it as a tool to provide peace of mind for friends and family.

I plan on putting the unit to the test with many local area rides that have the potential the challenge the unit.

I will report the results as I get them.

[Mike955i]

Originally Posted by klebel

OK so then lets just start ignoring the assclown's posts and get back to the really topic of the thread. I'm tired of hearing about where he likes his bananas put.

+1, a great thread ruined. I hope Spotmaker returns and doesn't let 1 bad experience detract from the majority who appreciate all that he has done so far.

[AngryScot]

Looking forward to getting my device and reading the "informative" posts here

Does it make tea?

.

[Squeaky]

I still want a RAM mount for it. The only clutter I have on the bars right now is the GPS, so I have room for it, especially if I try to get an offset mount that can hold it up and off to the side, lik by a resv. or mirror.

I've seen pics of the "generic" cradle, where it squeezes in from the sides - but I can't find any locally to test fit the SPoT.

Has anyone mounted one yet?