SPOT Personal Tracker

by SPOT Inc.

Product Features

• Satellite messenger with GPS tracking for keeping users safe on adventure trips.Purchasing a service plan is required in addition to purchasing the SPOT unit.
• 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)

Product Description

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: -40ºF to +185ºF
• Operating Altitude: -300 feet to +21,300 feet
• Humidity and Salt Fog Rated

Product Description

The SPOT Satellite Messenger, the world's first satellite messenger, uses both the GPS satellite network to determine a customer's location and the SPOT network to transmit that information to friends, family or an emergency service center. SPOT is a revolutionary product that is designed to raise the safety factor for hundreds of millions of people around the world.

See all Product Description

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 6.1 x 2.6 inches ; 1.9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000YTZV74
• Item model number: SPOT-1
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (129 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #59,400 in Sports & Outdoors (See Top 100 in Sports & Outdoors)
  • #21 in Sports & Outdoors > Bikes & Accessories > Accessories > Cycling GPS Units

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

225 of 240 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SPOT ON!!!!, December 12, 2007

By 

ATHiker (Chattanooga) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

Please ignore the comments about Globalstar service below, he has no clue about this product. Globalstar is having problems with its duplex service S-band amplifiers which only affects two-way traffic. I should know I have a Globalstar satellite phone. SPOT uses the L-Band uplink (simplex modem) which is used to track trucks etc. this network is running at full efficiency. I have this product and it works better than my expectations. About this product: it is not a personal locator beacon and if you wish to use this solely for emergencies, I would recommend another product. A true personal locator beacon because it works in all conditions and all-terrain (I also own one by ACR). SPOT needs to have an uninterrupted view to the satellite. In other words in heavy canopy this product does not work very well but in broken canopy or in the open this product works great (samething is true with my handheld GPS). I use this product to communicate with family and friends on my progress when backpacking, biking, or just out and about. I do use this product in heavy canopy areas and send a signal when I cross a road or powerline crossing. I still carry my personal locator beacon for real emergencies but this product helps in non-emergency situations. For more operational details you can download the manual at www.findmespot.com

My cell phone doesn't work when I'm away from cell towers or underwater while scuba diving nor in caves. Similarly SPOT will not work if it cannot contact the satellite. As with all communication devices, they all have limits and parameters that they operate in. You should know this before buying any product like this.

77 of 80 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Where Have I been, December 19, 2007

By 

Roger H. Howe - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

I have just begun using this. Very impressed so far on what it can do. The check-in function allows after about 2-4 minutes of being on to click once and send either a text message to a phone or an e-mail to computer for up to 10 separate addresses. You manage the addresses by accessing your account on the internet. The tracking(an optional service costing another 50 dollars per year) also has worked for me. That service does seem to be more challenged to keep connected to the satellites than my Garmin Etrex which rarely looses it's connection. The SPOT has a blinking green light sequence that indicates whether or not you have lost satellite signal. If you see both the power and tracking light(ok checkmark) are both blinking in sync then SPOT indicates it has satellite connections and knows where you are. I was disappointed that leaving it in the top of my backpack did not always insure keeping a signal. When I held it in my hand and walked for about 10 minutes it would begin blinking in sync. I tested it in several more remote mountainous areas by leaving it horizontal on top of my pack and on my shoulder pouch of my backpack. Once it has the signal it usually will keep it in sync. However, if you just turn it on in heavy trees and deep canyons it is not very sensitive to finding the GPS satellites. This is the one weakness that I keep in mind. With the GREAT battery life, I have had great luck in turning it on when I leave home, then driving to the location I want to explore. When arriving I already have a synced signal and can now begin tracking my trip to the website and usually keeping the signal.
The website shows the track and you can click on the several points of the tracking and they display the multiple locations on Google Maps numbered in order of creation. The power of this device to me is that since I have no cell phone towers in the remote mountain areas I frequent, this will use the messages by satellite and be available for four uses 1)Checking in by message that all is ok 2)Create a log of tracking locations every 10 minutes while turned on 3)Using another list of up to 10 addresses from your setup on the website a different message can be sent for help that is not life threatening like car breakdown or need to be picked up at a location and finally 4)Call 911 which will send to your broadcasted location help and rescue. I found it powerful to test these by using the device in non-life threatening situations. Customer service was very quick in answering my e-mail questions with kind and helpful responses in less than 24 hours each time. Color me satisfied.

151 of 164 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A rescuer's perspective., December 25, 2008

By 

Jennifer J. Whitcomb (Seattle) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: SPOT Personal Tracker (3.5" and 5.25" disks)

As someone with Coast Guard Search and Rescue experience who is very familiar with SPOT, (also an AT and PCT alum) I wanted to add my review from the perspective of someone who has responded to distress beacons. I first learned about SPOT with an open mind, but have since found many reasons to dissuade mariners and others from using the device. I can't stress strongly enough the need to go with a 406 MHz beacon, such as an EPIRB / ELT / or PLB as the distress-alerting device of choice. As a reference, I'll point to SPOT's own web site.

Unfortunately, it is full of half-truths and other misleading information.

Below, I've included a transcript of their online video about its "Alert 911" function.

A point-by-point discussion/rebuttal:

Claim: "Every year, emergency authorities conduct 50,000 rescue missions. Many of these people are not found in time. Now there's a way to make sure that they are: the SPOT messenger is the first and only product that combines GPS technology with Satellite-based communication..."

Response: FALSE! Such technology has been available for many years: SARSAT-based 406 MHz EPIRBs / ELTs / PLBs. When synced with a GPS, they embed and transmit their coordinates to a satellite, giving the Coast Guard (and for inland positions, the Air Force) an immediate "E" (electronic) solution where they can send boats / aircraft / search teams.

Claim: "Whether you are snowmobiling, hiking or sailing, it is your personal connection to loved ones and emergency authorities, with the simple push of a button, from virtually anywhere, worldwide..."

Response: Not always true. You CANNOT depend on it! In Seattle, the Coast Guard had a case in September where a boater's loved ones hadn't received their scheduled "I'm OK" update from the vessel as expected. Suddenly it became a case of an overdue vessel. Turns out the boater had hit the button on the device, but the message was not transmitted. The CG called SPOT and learned that the company was having difficulty receiving transmissions from multiple vessels. Of course neither the sender nor their recipients was notified of this. CG units from Seattle to California were involved in this case. Something similar could happen inland.

Claim: "Over 50% of the US does not have cell phone coverage. With SPOT you're covered..."

Response: Um, not always (see above). Also, with any 406 MHz beacon, you're covered, as well. Without the yearly fee and extra fees for bells and whistles.

Claim: "Today, SPOT is saving lives all over the world." (Provides several anecdotes.)

Response: Certainly it has played an important role in certain cases. But show me one where SPOT worked and a 406 MHz EPIRB / ELT / PLB would not have.

Claim: (Case study - the Bertsches) So the wife receives an email stating plainly "This is an emergency. Please send help." Followed by a lat/long.

Response: So this is not to be confused with the message sent when you hit the "HELP" button, which reads: "This is an HELP message. Please find my location in this message below and send for help ASAP." Confusing?

Claim: The wife then says she received a SPOT message saying "I am OK." and was very relieved.

Response: What if she had been away from her computer this whole time? Had she seriously not yet been contacted by authorities? In the case of a 406 MHz alert, the Rescue Coordination Center that receives the alert puts a live person on the phone with the family member / emergency contact as part of prosecuting the case.

Claim: "If your loved one is going into the outdoors, you need SPOT..."

Response: No you don't. It's a false sense of security.

While SPOT's a neat tekkie tool for tracking someone's location in the wilderness or at sea, it should NOT replace a 406 EPIRB / ELT / PLB for emergencies.

It also lacks the 121.5 MHz homing signal that all 406s have, with homing equipment already installed on all Coast Guard aircraft. CG boats, civilian air and ground SAR and civil air patrol assets also have this equipment. The CG also has 406 MHz direction-finding equipment installed on many of its aircraft, as well, which can lock in on a signal from over 100 miles away. SPOT has no such advantage, as responding agencies have no way to detect its signal with their aircraft, boats, or ground teams.

SPOT's business model is clearly based on the continued profits generated by its subscription services, and is aligned with the GEOS company, which is in this business for profit (nothing wrong with that).

Contrast that with SARSAT (406 MHz) beacons, which exist to execute the federal mission of inland and maritime SAR. While beacon manufacturers like ACR and McMurdo look to make a profit, they have to adhere to strict federal (and international) standards to market their devices as SARSAT EPIRBS / ELTs / PLBs. The government (NASA / NOAA) funds and maintains the satellites (which are being significantly upgraded again in the next decade), and the Air Force and Coast Guard executes all SAR in the US and our territorial waters (and often beyond).

Another advantage of SARSAT (406 MHz) beacons - NOAA tracks all false alarms, follows up on their causes, and works directly with their manufacturers to minimize their reoccurrence.

And one additional reason the video on SPOT's site leaves me scratching my head: it uses footage of Coast Guard assets that were retired before SPOT was even on the market (44' motor lifeboat / CG HH-65A helicopter [illustrating a case off of AUSTRALIA, and the CG now uses C models with a different paint job]).

My one-star review is specific to its use as a distress beacon. As a fun way to track a friend or loved one via google maps, it's a neat gadget (so long as folks know not to panic if you miss a check-in, since their technology is unreliable). Just make sure you carry a 406 in case you get in real trouble.