SPOT gps device

I know a lot of us have been talking about buying a SPOT gps tracker since Ed's accident. If you didn't get one in your stocking, I thought I'd let you know that the original device can be found pretty cheaply right now since the SPOT2 is now available. The best I've seen is at llbean.com, where it's going for $74.99 before a $50 rebate from SPOT. $25 is a pretty sweet entry price if someone wanted to try this out. Of course there's still a subscription fee as well. The rebate ends 12/31 so you'd have to move quickly.

A better deal, though extremely hard to find is at Best Buy. They included a $50 BB gift card and one year tracking subscription coupon in the box and you'd still get the rebate. If you live near a BB, you might see if you can locate one.

I've decided to wait and let my wife get me the new one for my birthday since the gps reception is supposed to be improved.

Here's the link to llbean and the rebate form:

http://www.llbean.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/CategoryDisplay?categoryId=64869&storeId=1&catalogId=1&langId=-1&from=SR&feat=sr

http://www.findmespot.com/holiday/

Happy New Year everybody.

Cabelas actually had them in their catalog this fall for free - $150 with a $150 rebate. Mine is about two years old now but I'll will probably end up in my daughter's car soon since she needs one anyway. I've always found the original to be pretty accurate if you know how to use it - kind of like any other GPS device out there - only as good as the operator, and the sky!

I just got Spot 1 ....99$ with 50$ rebate, but you cant beat free! Tim, since I now have one, what are some tips on using it more accurately?
Thanks,
Joe Rogers

Joe:

You need to turn it on and let it settle in for a while before you try to do anything with it - probably five minutes is a good minimum. Then once you push any of the buttons you need to stay put without moving for at least 5 minutes to make sure the signal gets out. I think the new model will let you know when this has happened (?).

New model button blinks green when it has a signal.

The Cabelas deal is still available but it requires a 2 year subscription to both the basic service and the tracking service to get the unit for free. Two years of just the basic service will qualify you for a $75 rebate and a one year subscription will get you $50.

Glad to see you picked one up Bryan. Of course I am now an evangelist for always carrying a locator beacon. I saw an article about a couple who was stranded for 3 days because their GPS nav sent them into the wilderness. Their cell phone did not have coverage but luckily after the 3rd day they got enough coverage for the cell phone to handshake. With the spot the rescue team would have had them the first day.

When I was prepping for the interview for Fox News I talked to a few of the Spot employees. Good group of folks; they told me the spot was catching on much faster than they had hoped.

On a side note, you should also consider the rescue cost insurance coverage. The helicopter trip to Washington Regional was almost $8000.

Ed, are you saying that the couple's GPS navigation receiver led them to some mistaken location in the wilderness that indicated they were somewhere they weren't? That actually happened to me this afternoon in the Hurricane Creek WA, in fog so thick you could cut it with a knife. Fortunately, I had only walked about a quarter mile before I realized that the receiver was malfunctioning (batteries were new). It had been working fine for the half hour that I used it to track my position along the road. Satellite reception was weak, and the unit was plotting my position all over the place within a half-mile radius. Once I got back to my truck, the problem continued for another 10 minutes or so before satellite reception improved and things were back to normal. I monitored the receiver on my way back home, and found that it was still not working as it should, but the poor reception periods only lasted about 10 to 15 seconds. When I got home, I called Garmin who suggested that I update the software. There have been 12 updates since I bought it! Oh, you don't say... . Frankly, I didn't know the software needs to be updated periodically, but I do now!

That is funny, Bill. It used to be that such things were the result of military actions going on somewhere in the world and they would scramble the sky birds so that only our military units would work correctly. It was President Clinton who put an end to that thank goodness, and opened up the sky birds for all of us to use accurately all the time (since we paid for them anyway).

That's exactly what I started thinking about, since I've never had a problem with it before. I thought, oh crap, another terrorist attack and they've degraded the signals...

Bill,

Not exactly your scenario. What happened is they told their toyota navigation unit to route them by the shortest method. The GPS didn't know that the road it selected was a 4WD path over the mountains. By the time they got stuck they were out of cell phone range. Fortunately they were smart enough to stay with their vehicle and by some miracle they caught a glimpse of cell tower signal (after they had been stuck for 3 days).

I had that happen one time around Crested Butte. We drove to a sign that basically said "don't go any further unless you want to ruin your vehicle and know what you are doing". It was dark and I obviously didn't know what I was doing so we turned around and took the long way home.

Most of the GPS databases are based on the TIGER database and updated from there so they have every trail known to man. Great when you are 4WD and want it, not so great when you don't know the area.

Just FYI, ALL of the new units have been RECALLED! If you have one you will have to send it back for a replacement. If you are thinking about getting one of the new models I would wait until they have the situation resolved, which is supposed to happen sometime next year (actually sometime in January)...