Good Deal on a Spot Gen 3

Perry

Formerly Cuberant
.
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Aug 8, 2016
Messages
2,072
Saw this at Sportsman's Warehouse in Riverdale, Utah yesterday. Seems like a pretty good deal...
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The inkjet printer business model. Give them the hardware for free. Charge them for the privilege of using the hardware.
Wayne


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I bought one. Not from there but online. Still need to send in the rebate. Is it a good deal? No. Sat communication is expensive. Does it work? Yes. I did a test yesterday and it did everything is was supposed to do under the conditions under which it is supposed to work. It did not work under cloud cover: Any cloud cover. It did work under clear sky.

is it worth it to you? Depends. Do you solo a lot? Do you have loved ones who worry while you solo? If the answer to those questions us yes then the answer is yes. Alternatives? Of course. Sat phones are by far the most expensive. If you are a big talker with a thick wallet then that may be the best for you. The middle ground would be the InReach. You either arrow key in your message, use one of three preset messages, or connect to your phone by blue tooth and key in your message. Of course this is done under clear sky. Then you can have a long, significant chat with your significant other with each message taking between 10 and 30 minutes to reach each party. At least you can turn off and on the satellite subscription when not in use with the appropriate plan.

Which one then?
Best option is none if you can get away with it
Most economical is InReach if you use the minimum Freedom Plan at $14.95 per month at the lowest level (similar to SPOT level of service).

For myself, if I could swallow the initial cost of an InReach I would go that way (I can't). If you have no GPS, want one, want a full service unit with communication ability, then the InReach Explorer would be the best of all. If I were starting from scratch, that's the way I would go.
 
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I like my simple PLB. No subscription, initial cost only, good in any kind of weather, as long as you have a sat going over, and very lightweight, like a flip phone. But you can't communicate with anyone, it's just for emergency rescue only, which is fine with me. I've found that there's usually enough in and out cell service that I can contact people a lot of the time, and if not, well, nobody worries about me anyway, as I've trained them not to, as they know I have the PLB.
 
I bought one. Not from there but online. Still need to send in the rebate. Is it a good deal? No. Sat communication is expensive. Does it work? Yes. I did a test yesterday and it did everything is was supposed to do under the conditions under which it is supposed to work. It did not work under cloud cover: Any cloud cover. It did work under clear sky.

is it worth it to you? Depends. Do you solo a lot? Do you have loved ones who worry while you solo? If the answer to those questions us yes then the answer is yes. Alternatives? Of course. Sat phones are by far the most expensive. If you are a big talker with a thick wallet then that may be the best for you. The middle ground would be the InReach. You either arrow key in your message, use one of three preset messages, or connect to your phone by blue tooth and key in your message. Of course this is done under clear sky. Then you can have a long, significant chat with your significant other with each message taking between 10 and 30 minutes to reach each party. At least you can turn off and on the satellite subscription when not in use with the appropriate plan.

Which one then?
Best option is none if you can get away with it
Most economical is InReach if you use the minimum Freedom Plan at $14.95 per month at the lowest level (similar to SPOT level of service).

For myself, if I could swallow the initial cost of an InReach I would go that way (I can't). If you have no GPS, want one, want a full service unit with communication ability, then the InReach Explorer would be the best of all. If I were starting from scratch, that's the way I would go.

Wow that surprises me that cloud cover would be an issue.

I have the older model InReach Explorer and really like it. It took a long time to get used to using it for navigation but it has been invaluable for it. Communication with the home base was the deciding factor for me. It is what has allowed me to go solo and not worry my wife quite so much.

Now that the newer model has maps I'm wanting to upgrade but $450.00 is really steep.


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Wow that surprises me that cloud cover would be an issue.

I have the older model InReach Explorer and really like it. It took a long time to get used to using it for navigation but it has been invaluable for it. Communication with the home base was the deciding factor for me. It is what has allowed me to go solo and not worry my wife quite so much.

Now that the newer model has maps I'm wanting to upgrade but $450.00 is really steep.


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I think the Explorer is a full function GPS plus communicator. The SPOT antenna may not be as sensitive as the InReach and the constellation is not as well placed as GlobalStar or Iridium. It is the satellite communication that is generally degraded by cloud cover, not GPS.
 
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