SPOT for dummies

[SAR_Squid79]

I have spent the last 3 days & nights exploring Anza Borrego with my wife. I had my SPOT going pretty much the entire time...

...Now - the tracking feature I've got down pat. That seems to be working fine.

Over the course of the last 72 hours, I (thought I) sent about 6 "OK" messages. I just checked my SPOT page, and apparently only 1 of them went out.

Every time I thought I was sending an "OK" the 'OK' LED would be flashing green - then flash red 3 - 5 times, then solid red for about 5 seconds, then go back to flashing green every few seconds. I thought this meant that the message was being sent...

What am I doing wrong? Can someone explain to me the proper way to send an "OK" message when in Tracking mode. The instruction manual must not be getting through my thick skull.

 

[68m]

Just checked the user manual "While preparing to send a message, the function indicator and on/off lights will blink every 3 seconds in unison. Once spot has determined your GPS coordinates and sent your message, the indicator lights will turn solid green for 5 seconds and then continue flashing in unison"

It goes on to say that if it is flashing red it is either the battery or a problem with the unit.

Are you sure you saw red? If so I would try changing the batteries first then check for red at power up.

Good luck!!

 

[bigreen505]

You can either track or send OK, not both. To turn tracking on, hold the OK key for 10 seconds. Turn tracking off the same way. Press the button I think (RTFM) for 3 seconds to send OK. Wait for light show to end, then hold for 10 seconds to resume tracking. Apple got away with no buttons on the iPhone because it has a big screen. Spot is trusting that you use it enough to memorize the manual, which I think is dumb. Multifunction buttons on a device like this just seems silly.

 

[Arvin G]

Ya what he said^. Its probably due to having the tracking still on when you try to send the ok message(can't use them both at the same time).

As soon as I arrive to our destination for the night I usually power off my Spot, then turn it back on, this way I know my tracking feature is off. Next, I let it sit for a few minutes before hitting the ok button to send my message. I usually give it 20 minutes to send the message. Hasn't failed yet.

 

[SAR_Squid79]

As soon as I arrive to our destination for the night I usually power off my Spot, then turn it back on, this way I know my tracking feature is off. Next, I let it sit for a few minutes before hitting the ok button to send my message.

Ok - well this is making more sense, then.

Incidentally - what you just described is exactly what I did on the 1 "OK" message that was sent. We got to our last camp site last evening, and I took the SPOT out (that had been tracking), and turned it off. Then I realized that I forgot to send an "OK" for the night, turned it back on, and sent the "OK". I saw the green light turn solid for a few seconds, I gave it a few more minutes and then turned it off.

I guess I never realized that you couldn't send an "OK" while tracking...