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| Brand: SPOT Inc.
Category: Sports
List Price: $169.99
Buy New: $80.00
New (88)
Rating:  30 reviews
Sales Rank: 640
Color: Orange
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.9
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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| Customer Reviews:
 Search and Rescue able to find lost party who was using SPOT August 2, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I am a deputy with a county Sheriff's Search and Rescue patrol and had my first experience with the SPOT unit today. We had two motorcyclist lost in the back country for two days. Once they ran out of gas and food, they activated their SPOT unit. We kept getting messages with their exact location. We were able to locate them quickly and get rescuers to their remote location within hours. They were so far off of their "planned" route that it could have taken us days to find them without the SPOT unit. I wish all of our rescues turned out this good and were this easy to find! I plan on buying units for my loved ones.
First Try at sending OK Locations worked well August 1, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I have had the Spot Messenger for about a month now and have traveled remote areas in Canada and was able to send OK messages with no problem. They do take about 20 minutes from the time I turn it on to be completed however, so one should be aware of the time it takes to send messages three times, which is the standard pattern. The LED's are Quite adequate for letting one know what is occurring.
the daughter's perspective July 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
i don't know all the technical stuff, but as the person sitting at home getting the messages, i LOVE this thing!! it was SO much fun to watch Dad get to different points on his hike, and to know that he was safe! as far as we could tell after the fact, i received each of the messages he sent along the way, a couple twice, i think.
for anyone who spends a lot of time in the middle of nowhere, with loved ones at home, this is great peace of mind!!
 Works well IF you are in a clear area July 27, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The Spot works well if you have a clear area to send a message. I've found that if I'm in a heavily wooded area or in a valley with mountains close on either side the message does not go through. However, in the clear it works well. Be advised that you must turn it on and leave it on for about 20 minutes after your message is sent to make sure that it goes out. If you also have a GPS it will usually work where ever the GPS will. It's a good emergency backup where there is no cell coverage.
 Nice idea, big problems in actual use. July 25, 2008
10 out of 17 found this review helpful
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.
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