New SPOT this fall

[teotwaki]

Actually they are supposed to be running a promotion sometime soon where they are going to offer SPOT1 users some sort of upgrade offer. There's a factory rep posting in the SPOT thread on Adventure Rider. They start talking about the newer model on around page 100 or so. They're available from several retailers already.

Link to Adventure Rider thread:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=282391

This is from that thread


Good day

Thank you for contacting Spot Customer Care. We apologize for the delay in responding to your email. There will be a promotional offer available for existing customer's looking to switch to the Spot 2 unit. However this information will not become available until mid- November.

Should you have any other questions or concerns you may contact us at 1866-651-7768.

Best regards,

SPOT Customer Service
North America: 1-866-651-7768
Europe: +353 12 909 505
Australia: 0424 21 7768 or 1-905-712-7117
NZ: 0800 11 7768 or 1-905-712-7117
www.findmespot.com

 

[Ursidae69]

This is from that thread


Good day

Thank you for contacting Spot Customer Care. We apologize for the delay in responding to your email. There will be a promotional offer available for existing customer's looking to switch to the Spot 2 unit. However this information will not become available until mid- November.

Should you have any other questions or concerns you may contact us at 1866-651-7768.

Best regards,

SPOT Customer Service
North America: 1-866-651-7768
Europe: +353 12 909 505
Australia: 0424 21 7768 or 1-905-712-7117
NZ: 0800 11 7768 or 1-905-712-7117
www.findmespot.com

Good find. I looked but that thread was too much ******** chat and I got bored and instead emailed Spot through my account. I will certainly upgrade if they have a special offer.

 

[traveltoad]

FYI the batteries do not last nearly as long in the new unit. Don't get me wrong I will probably still get one once I see what the S1 --> S2 promotion is... just an FYI.

 

[teotwaki]

FYI the batteries do not last nearly as long in the new unit. Don't get me wrong I will probably still get one once I see what the S1 --> S2 promotion is... just an FYI.

From what I read there are two factors

1. The switch from AA to AAA batteries to get the size down
2. The new one transmits more in order to achieve a higher success rate for sent messages.

We do get a better performing GPS receiver in the new unit so it all seems to be worthwhile in the end.

 

[teotwaki]

Good find. I looked but that thread was too much ******** chat and I got bored and instead emailed Spot through my account. I will certainly upgrade if they have a special offer.

I "cheated" and jumped into the thread at Post 100 as some kind soul here had suggested... :ylsmoke:

Hopefully the upgrade deal is worthwhile as my SPOT-1 power button is taking some precision button pushing to turn the unit OFF.

 

[teotwaki]

Actually they are supposed to be running a promotion sometime soon where they are going to offer SPOT1 users some sort of upgrade offer. There's a factory rep posting in the SPOT thread on Adventure Rider. They start talking about the newer model on around page 100 or so. They're available from several retailers already.

Link to Adventure Rider thread:
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=282391

THANK YOU Robert!!!!

 

[robert]

I just happened to be researching them last night on that forum and when back to cross check here I figured I'd let folks know. Even with the known issues I've been thinking about buying one since I usually travel alone. I really only want it for emergencies and to be able to send maybe one "I'm OK" message a day.

 

[eXpeditionXterra]

I just happened to be researching them last night on that forum and when back to cross check here I figured I'd let folks know. Even with the known issues I've been thinking about buying one since I usually travel alone. I really only want it for emergencies and to be able to send maybe one "I'm OK" message a day.

I use mine, the extra weight is worth carrying on extended hikes, and keeping it in the car is nothing. Though I have come to enjoy my Iridium 9555 satellite phone much more, but it is also much more expensive.

 

[Driver-Navigator]

After the SPOT recall, this should generate some positive buzz for them: http://www.gpsreview.net/delorme-pn-60w-spot-messenger/

 

[dms1]

That is an interesting concept pairing with the Delorme GPS, however they should just add bluetooth or a USB connection to the Spot device so you can customize the messages with your cell phone or laptop keyboard.

 

[teotwaki]

That is an interesting concept pairing with the Delorme GPS, however they should just add bluetooth or a USB connection to the Spot device so you can customize the messages with your cell phone or laptop keyboard.

I doubt that the messaging is in the current SPOT device at all. In terms of system architecture it is more efficient to keep the outgoing transmission length of the device to an absolute minimum to achieve the best Energy per Bit to Noise ratio (good Eb/Noise = good copy!) and save batteries too. It is likely that the device sends an ID number, message type bit (ok/help/911) and GPS coordinates and that is it. Post processing would be handled in SPOT's terrestrial servers where message tags are appended and the entire message is distributed to email and cellphone texting.

The GlobalStar satellites are just "bent pipes" (radio frequency translators) and perform no signal processing.

Having the Delorme device input additional bits to the new SPOT device would be something interesting to hack on the wireless link and then input truly custom messages

 

[chrismc]

Having the Delorme device input additional bits to the new SPOT device would be something interesting to hack on the wireless link and then input truly custom messages

I think this is a pretty exciting development for the Spot service. This is basically a satellite-based SMS text message system (albeit, one-way). The first thing that comes to my mind is "bring more beer".

The other nice thing is that now the Spot is seperated from its user-interface. Since the Spot is so particular about having a good view of the sky (or at least mine is), its also a pain to find a good place to keep it in a vehicle. Since you'll no longer need to have the Spot near you, placement becomes a lot easier. I wonder if the Spot is waterproof for on-roof mounting?

I'll be curious to see what kind of price tags these things show up with.

*Added* I found the PN-60w on Amazon for pre-order. Price is $549, and release date is May 1 (link). After reading the technical details, I found this important tidbit on the DeLorme PN-60w: "Includes SPOT Satellite Communicator". That's right, $549 buys the GPS and the mini-Spot. The mini-Spot also works standalone for emergency SOS messaging. The bundle also includes DeLorme TopoUSA 9.0 software (Window and Mac compatible). This product bundle contains quite a few new developments!

 

[Driver-Navigator]

It will be interesting to see what else can be done with the wireless, and the specific type of wireless they are using. With the dual-processor PN40 already having a reputation of being something of a battery hog and not liking rechargeable batteries, hopefully the additional power consumption won't be substantial...

 

[HMR]

DeLorme Places Large Initial Order for New GPS Satellite Communicators From Globalstar. (LINK)

Glad I bought more shares of Globalstar when it dipped below $.90. :sombrero:

 

[targa88]

SPOT deal for trade-up (nothing to write home about):
$25 rebate if you buy SPOT II
$50 rebate if you sign up for a year
$75 rebate if you sign up for 2 years