SPOT replacement

[Matt Herron Jr.]

I recently lost my SPOT gen 3 while mountain biking, and I thought I would share my experience.

First I looked for a tracking signal on the map. There were none. I did notice the device was turned on, on the day I lost it though.

Then I looked for a replacement. I decided to stick with SPOT because the device is half the price of the Garmin Mini, and half the monthly price. Plus Garmin is 10 min tracking, and SPOT is 5 min. So I Purchased a SPOT get 4

The SPOT gen 4 is a little bigger than the Gen 3, and more square shaped. I had a little trouble fitting it in my Chute SmakPak, but I managed. Same basic controls and layout though.

I called the SPOT support line to replace the unit, and was told that had I called BEFORE I purchased another unit, they could have sold me another SPOT gen 3 for about $50. Bummer... I then asked if they could alert me if the lost unit was turned on and showed a position. No, that would be giving out confidential information (sigh). But I did request that the unit be de-activated such that it would be unusable to anyone who tried it. They were able to do that at least...

Matt

[Tango Eight]

You can do Inreach for about $150 a year (Safety plan) plus $0.60/hr of live tracking. Just FYI.

T8

[Randy Acree]

On Thursday, March 11, 2021 at 9:17:29 AM UTC-7, wrote:
> You can do Inreach for about $150 a year (Safety plan) plus $0.60/hr of live tracking. Just FYI.
>
> T8
I rarely had SPOT hits less than one half hour and no altitude read out. Love the Garmin. It also gives you the ability to send and receive text messages via satellite from your phone via blue tooth and the app. That is worth the price to me to guarantee contact if you land out in an area with no cell service. No regrets for switching.

AV8