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Navigation - Maps, Compass, GPS How to find your way - traditional map, compass and road signs, or GPS and more
Photo by Marc Gibaud, Clouds on Tres Cerros and Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia

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Photo by Marc Gibaud,
Clouds on Tres Cerros and
Mount Fitzroy, Argentinian Patagonia




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  • 1 Post By MilesofSmiles

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  #1  
Old 20 Sep 2012
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Location: Riverside California
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I purchased the original SPOT and to this day I still only use this unit. The later version is small, under powered and batteries run out quickly. As for any other SPOT device, I would just turn away from them as they seem to be even less useful. As with sat phones, the original designs worked the best and had the most power. Later smaller designs have always been underpowered and short batter life.

Stick to the original design.......
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  #2  
Old 21 Sep 2012
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An alternative is "delorme inreach" a two way satellite Messager.

i have a review here:

http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/hub...messager-65983

I dont have a spot and can`t compare it. But the delorme device works well, you can also test livetracking in my blog (signature)
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  #3  
Old 25 Sep 2012
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My spot has never failed me during my ramblings about the western states. Even in thick forest cover aside a mountain I got an OK out just fine. My SPOT is always in it's pocket within my Maxpedition backpack, which I must say is about the best riding pack I have ever owned.

IMHO as always.
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  #4  
Old 25 Sep 2012
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Location: Tanah Merah QLD Australia.
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Ás one can Imagine, living in a country the size of the continental United States with only a fraction of their population, our communications infrastructure, can leave a little to be desired.

I've been using the Spot 2, for the last couple of years. I have never had an issue with it not being able to find a satellite (except inside buildings), and the batteries last a trip of several weeks without a problem.

My wife is much happier letting me ride in remote areas when she can see that I am ok.

Connversely to some of the previous posters, I would have absolutely no problem reccomending the SPOT 2, I know nothing about the Connect, and will therefore reserve my opinions on that device.
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  #5  
Old 25 Sep 2012
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Location: Oslo, Norway
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My friend brought a Spot GPS Tracker on our trip to Bissau this winter. Problem free. We integrated the map on our blog so our followers could follow us live. Battery time is awesome.

Connect looks cool, as does the delorme inreach, but until I can get a gadget that I can use as a modem, I'm not in the market... I think.

The delorme has maps though... and I do love tech. But I hate clutter
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  #6  
Old 26 Sep 2012
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For what it's worth my original designed SPOTs batteries are still in the unit going on several years now and countless trips. In fact I was just thinking about replacing them last week. What I do not do is keep it on during the trip to track where I am. I feel the battery should only be used for end of day OK and 911.

For those of you who only want one for emergency's then go with a real Emergency Response Beacon like ACR which use the governments sat system not the commercial sat that SPOT uses.
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  #7  
Old 12 May 2013
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If all you want to do is keep someone else informed of your whereabouts, a much simpler (and totally free) solution is 'Google Latitude', an app that runs on various smartphones.

If you leave Latitude running in the background, it will create a breadcrumb trail of where you have been. Be aware that you will incur some data charges from the phone network if you have 'data roaming' enabled. However, if you disable data roaming on your phone, Google Latitude will check in (drop a breadcrumb) every time you connect via Wi-Fi. That's free.

You then get your wife, boss, friend, whomever to set up their own Google Latitude account (also free) on a computer (no smartphone needed), and they can then track where you are, either at a 'city level only' - if you so prefer - or with maximum GPS accuracy, if you enable that option.

In my day job, I deliver new aircraft from Canada to all parts of the world. I use a SPOT to let people keep track of where the aircraft itself is (I leave it on the glareshield of the aircraft), but I use Google Latitude to let people keep track of where I am. Most of my colleagues prefer to use Google Latitude, because they aren't really interested in where I am when I am in flight (transiting), they are interested in where I am at the end of the day.

Michael
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