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#164659 - 01/23/09 03:53 PM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: Todd W]
Mike_H Offline
Addict

Registered: 04/04/07
Posts: 612
Loc: SE PA
Originally Posted By: ToddW
I think a SPOT attracts more people because of the "I can use it not in a "OH CRAP" situation"... people are more likely to buy it because they get some usage... not something that would just sit in their pack.



Good point. He did mention he had difficulties with a PLB is some locations, didn't he?
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#164726 - 01/23/09 09:29 PM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: Mike_H]
JCWohlschlag Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 11/26/06
Posts: 724
Loc: Sterling, Virginia, United Sta...
Originally Posted By: Mike_H
Good point. He did mention he had difficulties with a PLB is some locations, didn't he?

I don’t remember him ever mentioning having a PLB. I do remember him having difficulties with satellite telephones, however. I remember him specifically saying that his satellite telephone did not have a signal a great percentage of the time he checked it.
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#165105 - 01/26/09 07:11 PM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: JCWohlschlag]
Mike_H Offline
Addict

Registered: 04/04/07
Posts: 612
Loc: SE PA
Will have to find the specific reference in the book...
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#165788 - 01/31/09 12:18 AM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: ]
ironraven Offline
Cranky Geek
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 09/08/05
Posts: 4642
Loc: Vermont
I think EMS has a similiar deal for those who are in their area.
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#165796 - 01/31/09 02:53 AM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: ]
Lono Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 10/19/06
Posts: 1013
Loc: Pacific NW, USA
Originally Posted By: BigDaddyTX
Just thought I'd bring everyone's attention to the $50 rebate REI has right now. If you buy a SPOT from them before 2/15, you get a $50 rebate if you send it in before 3/15. Not bad, makes the unit only cost $100, and w/ the 1st years service for $99 that's not unreasonable really, especially if you stay pretty urban most of the time.

http://www.rei.com/pdf/rebates/SPOT_REI_REBATE_FORM.pdf


Rebates and low pricing typically precedes introduction of a newer model - maybe SPOT 2.0 is coming out? Or maybe its just economic downturn - its really hard to sell non-essential (or at least non-intuitively essential) devices and services in an economic recession. In which case I would ask, is the SPOT system established such that the locator service that folks depend on can be sustained with a reduced level of subscribers?

Anyway I've been busy and not checking these forums much, but Doug Ritter has posted in his blog a preview of new ACR PLB models coming later this year. I already own a PLB, and will think of getting one of these newer PLBs, and farming out my older model, maybe to another adult leader in Scouts. If I had my druthers I'd rather see some innovation in the PLB space rather than in SPOT - but basically its all good.

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#165803 - 01/31/09 03:39 AM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: Lono]
OilfieldCowboy Offline
Newbie

Registered: 12/30/08
Posts: 40
Loc: WY/AK
My issue with SPOT is the further north you get the less reliably they work...

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#165829 - 01/31/09 02:04 PM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: OilfieldCowboy]
CANOEDOGS Offline
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 1853
Loc: MINNESOTA

Oilfield--how much north??..i was going to get one for canoe trips into northern Ontario

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#165845 - 01/31/09 03:16 PM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: CANOEDOGS]
Yuccahead Offline
Member

Registered: 07/24/08
Posts: 199
Loc: W. Texas
I was just looking at a SPOT at Amazon and then read a few of the reviews. Some were quite positive. Some where quite scary. There are reviewers that say SPOT's response center was inept, others that say the device's performance is never consistent and it doesn't work through tree cover.

There are other reviews that say the people with problems haven't read the manual. One review states that say the unit must always be vertical. Another states that the unit must always be horizontal. Customer service at SPOT doesn't seem to fare well at all.

Worth reading if you are considering one.
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#165846 - 01/31/09 03:20 PM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: Yuccahead]
Doug_Ritter Offline

Pooh-Bah

Registered: 01/28/01
Posts: 2197
Let me say, once again, that I would not bet my life on SPOT. Having said that, if you simply won't spend the upfront money for a PLB, SPOT is much better than nothing, unless having it encourages you to do stupid things you wouldn't have normally done without it.
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#165849 - 01/31/09 03:42 PM Re: Les Stroud Promoting SPOT [Re: Doug_Ritter]
oldsoldier Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 11/25/06
Posts: 742
Loc: MA
Well Doug, in that case, one would hope Darwinism would kick in...hopefully before said person doing stupid things has children.
I personally have not had any firsthand experience with either device, and have never even given thought to carrying one. That being said, the woods I dwell in are comparatively small; 5 miles in any direction would get you to civilization. The only place that I go hiking on any consistent basis that would be considered large tract of wilderness would be the White Mountains in NH; but, again, those are well travelled trails, and I stay on them. I am also familiar with the maps of the areas I hike, if not intimately familiar with the area itself. PLBs & SPOT devices are great for those pushing the limits, bushwhacking, or travelling over hazardous terrain; should I be doing that, I would likely rent a PLB over a SPOT. But, until then, I cannot justify spending the money on something like that, as, for me at least, it simply isnt a practical investment.
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