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Spot Satellite Messenger with GPS Tracking | 
 enlarge | Brand: SPOT Inc.
Category: Sports
List Price: $169.99
Buy New: $127.15
You Save: $42.84 (25%)
New (62)
Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 123
Color: Orange
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.2
Dimensions (in): 5.9 x 5.9 x 5.5
MPN: SPOT
Model: SPOT-1
UPC: 893049001059
EAN: 0893049001059
ASIN: B000YTZV74
Release Date: November 1, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Satellite messenger with GPS tracking for keeping users safe on adventure trips | | • | SpotChecking feature alerts friends and family of your precise location | | • | SpotCasting function lets friends and family follow your progress in real time | | • | Sends GPS coordinates and distress message to Emergency Response Center | | • | Satellite technology works around the world; measures 2.75 x 4.38 x 1.5 inches (W x H x D) |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Stay in touch via satellite technology – whether you're just checking in, allowing others to check your progress, or calling for help.- 100% satellite technology works where cell phones don't
- Vital line of communication with friends and family
- Emergency service when you need it
- 4 key functions for sending messages to friends, family or emergency responders
- Works around the world
- Satellite service subscription required
- Waterproof to a depth of 1 meter
- Floats in water
Communicate with friends and family and get emergency assistance where and when you need it.
Amazon.com Product Description
Give your loved ones full peace of mind when you're on the mountain with the Spot Satellite Messenger. Whether you're just checking in, allowing others to track your progress, or calling for help, Spot gives you a vital line of communication with friends and family when you want it, and emergency assistance when and where you need it. Spot employs a GPS satellite network to acquire its coordinates, then sends its location to the recipient of your choice, complete with a link to Google Maps and a pre-programmed message. Unlike personal locator beacons, however, Spot does more than just call for help. The SpotChecking feature, for example, lets you notify your SpotTeam--the friends and family you've chosen as your contacts--and tell them all is well, notify them of your location, or save waypoints so you can review your route at a later date. You can also activate the SpotCasting feature to let friends and family follow your progress in real time (every 10 minutes). Anyone with access to your account information can log on and view your route, complete with virtual views provided by Google Maps. SpotCasting is a terrific feature for mountain climbers looking to celebrate their accomplishments with their loved ones. The most important feature, however, is Spot's ability to call 911 in the event of a life-threatening or other critical emergency. Once activated, Spot will acquire your exact coordinates from the GPS network, and then send that location along with a distress message to a GEOS International Emergency Response Center every five minutes until cancelled. The Emergency Response Center will then notify the appropriate emergency responders based on your location and personal information. Responders may include local police, the highway patrol, the Coast Guard, an embassy or consulate, or other emergency response and search-and-rescue teams. Even if Spot can't acquire its location from the GPS network, it will still attempt to send a distress signal--without your exact location--to the Emergency Response Center, which will still notify your emergency contacts of the signal and continue to monitor the network for further messages. Spot works around the world, including in virtually all of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia, and portions of South America, Northern Africa, and Northeastern Asia. And provided you're in a good coverage area, Spot offers a 99 percent probability of sending a successful message within 20 minutes. As a result, Spot is ideal for anyone with a taste for outdoor adventures, including boaters, kayakers, sailboarders, archaeologists, skiers, climbers, pilots, business travelers, snowshoers, and just about anyone else. Spot requires two AA lithium batteries, with a battery life of up to one year in standby mode, 14 days in SpotCasting mode, or 7 days in 911 mode. And thanks to the water-resistant housing (safe in 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes), you needn't worry about using Spot in adverse conditions. Spot measures a compact 2.75 by 4.38 by 1.5 inches (W x H x D), weighs 7.37 ounces, and carries a one-year limited warranty. Communication Functions: 
Spot employs a GPS satellite network to acquire its coordinates, then sends its location to the recipient of your choice, complete with a link to Google Maps and a pre-programmed message. | - Alert 9-1-1 dispatches emergency responders to an exact location
- Ask for Help sends a request for help to friends and family with your location
- Check In lets contacts know where you are and that you are okay
- Track Progress sends and saves your location and allows others to track your progress using Google Maps
Battery Life: - Power ON, unused: Approximately 1 year
- SPOT casting continuous tracking mode: Approximately 14 days
- 9-1-1 mode: Up to 7 consecutive days
- HELP mode: up to 1900 messages
- SPOT check OK up to 1900 messages
Specifications: - Weight: 7 ounces
- Waterproof to a depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes
- Operating Temperature: -40F to +185F
- Operating Altitude: -300 feet to +21,300 feet
- Humidity and Salt Fog Rated
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 Nice idea, big problems in actual use. July 25, 2008
After completing a three-day climb of Mt. Rainier, upon my return I discovered that ONLY ONE "OK" message had been sent while we were on the mountain, despite setting the unit to transmit tracking signals every 10 minutes; almost 400 messages should have been sent. The Spot unit was in my front (thin) pants pocket or on a rock at a bivy site pointing to the sky the whole time. A call to the manufacturer revealed that the Spot unit requires "a clear unobstructed view of the sky" with nothing between it and the sky for it to operate properly; this critical information is lacking from the instruction manual. Unlike virtually any GPS unit, this means the Spot unit has to be on top of your head, your helmet, or somehow attached to the very top of your backpack at all times to transmit an OK or emergency signal successfully. This is a serious drawback to actual use of the unit. A satellite phone is a much better and more reliable, albeit more expensive, option. The subscription costs for the Spot unit ($150 per year for full service) are also non-refundable. Don't waste your money on this expensive trinket that at the end of the day will not bring you or your loved ones peace of mind. I do not trust the Spot unit and will be returning it for a refund of the unit's costs (but will be SOL on the subscription costs). I should have bought a satellite phone.
 SPOT...Un-reliable, NOT to be used for emergencies!!!!!! July 20, 2008
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
SPOT Messenger review: I have owned this unit since May 2008. I have used it numerous times during the months of June and July quite disappointedly with it's lack of reliability. Only functioned correctly 2 out of 9 times!!!! I spoke with SPOT customer care, competent and professional but could not help with technical aspects. I called on Saturday, will have to wait until Monday. (mean while my son is at sea and unable to communicate his position to me, the reason I purchased this sytem!) DO NOT buy this unit for an emergency tracking system, most likely it will not work! Instead, take the $149.99 you'd pay for the unit plus the $149.99 for the annual service fee (Yup, $300.00) and buy a portable USCG and/or SOLAS approved EPIRB, ELT or PLB from either ACR or McMurdo/Paines Wessex for about $500.00 with NO ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION FEE!!!! Both ACR and McMurdo units work!!!! SPOT is UNRELIABLE at best!!!! SPOT should be pulled from the marketplace as it represents the unit to be dependable when in fact the manufacturer knows this to not be true! It's a good concept but needs to fixed and brought up to a near 100% functioning reliability range before being re-introduced to the marketplace! Hopefully, the 2nd Generation units will WORK!
 Dose what it should July 17, 2008
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
I have had the SPOT unit for about three weeks and have tested it several times. It works just as it is advertised. I had a little trouble trying to change an email address for one of my contacts, but a call to the service number solved the problem quickly. I am well pleased.
Reliable and easy tracking device April 20, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
I am living in Germany and imported the device from the USA (Bass Pro). It took unfortunately 8 weeks because the German customs was holding it back. I am running the device now for 2 weeks. The activation over the SPOT Web site worked fine. Foreign addresses and credit cards are accepted.
The device works without any problems in Germany.
Beside the messaging (included in the basic subscription for $99.99/year) I also use the tracking service (additional $49.99/year to the basic subscription). The tracking must be re-activated every 24h by pressing the Ok button for 5 seconds. Every 10 minutes the current position is sent to the satellite. This position is very accurate (within a few meters accuracy). In your account (on the SPOT Web site) you can access the messages and the tracking data as KML file (Google tracking format) and also display the positions in Google Maps and Google Earth. So far I like the device very much. In the next months I will use it on my wilderness trips.
Tip for how to publish the tracking data on your own home page: The tracking data is offered through the account that is password protected. I don't want other people accessing my account. If you have a running PC with network (e.g. permanent DSL) then you can use a Webtool (e.g. iMacros for Firefox) for polling regularly the KML file from the account (be responsible for doing it not too frequently). After that the KML file can be copied over to your home page (e.g. write a small script that uses FTP). Then link it with Google Maps (see http://maps.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=41136 for instructions). So anyone visiting your home page can watch your live tracking positions in Google Maps (use it e.g. when you are on vacation). Alternatively someone can define a so called "network link" in Google Earth that periodically reads this KML file from your home page.
Tip for the initial activation: If you enter the ESN (equipment serial number) on the Spot Web site for the initial activation, then include the '-' character. Otherwise you get a misleading error message that the device is already in use.
Spot Messenger and Tracker March 24, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This devicde works exactly as described. The directions as to how to enable someone to access the tracking function are not all that great. A brief demo on the web site might be of a help. Once you get it figured out the system is actually pretty simple to operate.
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