Spot 2 problem

Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete

On Apr 6, 11:24*am, vontresc wrote:
Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete
Look at this thread.

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/foru...=spot&start=20

On Apr 6, 12:36*pm, glidergeek wrote:
On Apr 6, 11:24*am, vontresc wrote: Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete

Look at this thread.

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/foru...3&t=7089&hilit....

OK I'll play this game. Why should he look at this thread?

0. The discussion on backcountry pilots is about a different product
made by a SPOT partner not the SPOT 2. While they share common
hardware I do not see anything in that thread relevant to the OP's
questions here.

1. The original post was about problems getting a GPS fix on the SPOT.
which you can tell by the LED status. The OP was very clearly not
complaining about the Globalstar data-uplink part of the device.

2. The backcountry pilot thread contains some unqualified/unexplained
comments about Globalstar satellite performance. The poor performance
of Globalstar satellite phones did (rightfully) trash their reputation
but this was due to early degradation in orbit of their S-band system
in the satellite that are used for the voice service. The SPOT simplex
data link operates on the L-Band using different hardware on the
satellites that is/was not affected by their S-band hardware problems.

3. While the posts on backcountry pilots may be genuine there have
been cases of one particular SPOT competitor spreading FUD about SPOT
products on pubic newsgroups and blogs (and I've helped track down
where they were coming from). So be just a little careful when people
criticizing SPOT (or any other) products without backing that up with
any facts or detail. I can pick lots of holes in SPOT and similar
other technology products, but the reality is this stuff works very
well in practice. And I suspect the main issue with SPOT, especially
for our uses, is users understanding a bit about how the technology
works, and especially for the need to obtain a pretty clear sky view
for the Globalstar satellite uplink.

--

To the OP. The GPS chipset in the SPOT 2 unit is pretty good
(technically better than SPOT 1, which was not bad) and should be able
to acquire and keep a fix in lots of situations. Is there something
weird about how you have the unit mounted? Best place is on the canopy
rail or glareshield. From your description I would return the unit to
SPOT for repair/replacement.


Darryl

Hi Pete,

My SPOT 2 worked great even when strapped to my parachute harness (down low)
and pointing forward (not up).

I'm sure you've thought of this, but make sure the logo (front face) is
pointing up.

It does sound like a defective unit. I believe that SPOT will support you
well.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde

"vontresc" wrote in message
...
Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete

On Apr 6, 6:39*pm, "Paul Remde" wrote:
Hi Pete,

My SPOT 2 worked great even when strapped to my parachute harness (down low)
and pointing forward (not up).

I'm sure you've thought of this, but make sure the logo (front face) is
pointing up.

It does sound like a defective unit. *I believe that SPOT will support you
well.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde

"vontresc" wrote in message

...







Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete

I had mine replaced under warranty after having the same problem.
Service was expeditious and courteous. No complaints with the brand
new replacement unit.

On Apr 6, 10:15*pm, " wrote:
On Apr 6, 6:39*pm, "Paul Remde" wrote:









Hi Pete,

My SPOT 2 worked great even when strapped to my parachute harness (down low)
and pointing forward (not up).

I'm sure you've thought of this, but make sure the logo (front face) is
pointing up.

It does sound like a defective unit. *I believe that SPOT will support you
well.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde

"vontresc" wrote in message

...

Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete

I had mine replaced under warranty after having the same problem.
Service was expeditious and courteous. No complaints with the brand
new replacement unit.

Well that explains why the service rep was so quick to suggest a
warranty claim :-)

Pete

On Apr 6, 5:08*pm, Darryl Ramm wrote:
On Apr 6, 12:36*pm, glidergeek wrote:



On Apr 6, 11:24*am, vontresc wrote: Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete

Look at this thread.

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/foru...3&t=7089&hilit...

OK I'll play this game. Why should he look at this thread?

0. The discussion on backcountry pilots is about a different product
made by a SPOT partner not the SPOT 2. While they share common
hardware I do not see anything in that thread relevant to the OP's
questions here.

1. The original post was about problems getting a GPS fix on the SPOT.
which you can tell by the LED status. The OP was very clearly not
complaining about the Globalstar data-uplink part of the device.

2. The backcountry pilot thread contains some unqualified/unexplained
comments about Globalstar satellite performance. *The poor performance
of Globalstar satellite phones did (rightfully) trash their reputation
but this was due to early degradation in orbit of their S-band system
in the satellite that are used for the voice service. The SPOT simplex
data link operates on the L-Band using different hardware on the
satellites that is/was not affected by their S-band hardware problems.

3. While the posts on backcountry pilots may be genuine there have
been cases of one particular SPOT competitor spreading FUD about SPOT
products on pubic newsgroups and blogs (and I've helped track down
where they were coming from). So be just a little careful when people
criticizing SPOT (or any other) products without backing that up with
any facts or detail. I can pick lots of holes in SPOT and similar
other technology products, but the reality is this stuff works very
well in practice. And I suspect the main issue with SPOT, especially
for our uses, is users understanding a bit about how the technology
works, and especially for the need to obtain a pretty clear sky view
for the Globalstar satellite uplink.

--

To the OP. The GPS chipset in the SPOT 2 unit is pretty good
(technically better than SPOT 1, which was not bad) and should be able
to acquire and keep a fix in lots of situations. Is there something
weird about how you have the unit mounted? Best place is on the canopy
rail or glareshield. From your description I would return the unit to
SPOT for repair/replacement.

Darryl

Daryl
I was not playing a game only trying to be helpful eat ****.
Russ

On Apr 6, 8:55*pm, glidergeek wrote:
On Apr 6, 5:08*pm, Darryl Ramm wrote:









On Apr 6, 12:36*pm, glidergeek wrote:

On Apr 6, 11:24*am, vontresc wrote: Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete

Look at this thread.

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/foru...3&t=7089&hilit...

OK I'll play this game. Why should he look at this thread?

0. The discussion on backcountry pilots is about a different product
made by a SPOT partner not the SPOT 2. While they share common
hardware I do not see anything in that thread relevant to the OP's
questions here.

1. The original post was about problems getting a GPS fix on the SPOT.
which you can tell by the LED status. The OP was very clearly not
complaining about the Globalstar data-uplink part of the device.

2. The backcountry pilot thread contains some unqualified/unexplained
comments about Globalstar satellite performance. *The poor performance
of Globalstar satellite phones did (rightfully) trash their reputation
but this was due to early degradation in orbit of their S-band system
in the satellite that are used for the voice service. The SPOT simplex
data link operates on the L-Band using different hardware on the
satellites that is/was not affected by their S-band hardware problems.

3. While the posts on backcountry pilots may be genuine there have
been cases of one particular SPOT competitor spreading FUD about SPOT
products on pubic newsgroups and blogs (and I've helped track down
where they were coming from). So be just a little careful when people
criticizing SPOT (or any other) products without backing that up with
any facts or detail. I can pick lots of holes in SPOT and similar
other technology products, but the reality is this stuff works very
well in practice. And I suspect the main issue with SPOT, especially
for our uses, is users understanding a bit about how the technology
works, and especially for the need to obtain a pretty clear sky view
for the Globalstar satellite uplink.

--

To the OP. The GPS chipset in the SPOT 2 unit is pretty good
(technically better than SPOT 1, which was not bad) and should be able
to acquire and keep a fix in lots of situations. Is there something
weird about how you have the unit mounted? Best place is on the canopy
rail or glareshield. From your description I would return the unit to
SPOT for repair/replacement.

Darryl

Daryl
I was not playing a game only trying to be helpful eat ****.
Russ

You provided a link in reply to a pretty specific question being
asked. I and probalby others spent time reading the stuff you linked
to an trying to understand why. I tried to provide both accurate
information to the OP and clarify that nothing was relevant in the
stuff you linked to. "being helpful" is not linking to random stuff on
the web that has no relevance to the question being asked. Since you
want to throw around insults here. You either did not read what you
linked to or were not able to understand how unrelated it was to the
question being asked. Either way you look clueless. Trying to be
helpful maybe, but clueless.

Darryl

On Apr 6, 9:10*pm, Darryl Ramm wrote:
On Apr 6, 8:55*pm, glidergeek wrote:



On Apr 6, 5:08*pm, Darryl Ramm wrote:

On Apr 6, 12:36*pm, glidergeek wrote:

On Apr 6, 11:24*am, vontresc wrote: Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete

Look at this thread.

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/foru...3&t=7089&hilit...

OK I'll play this game. Why should he look at this thread?

0. The discussion on backcountry pilots is about a different product
made by a SPOT partner not the SPOT 2. While they share common
hardware I do not see anything in that thread relevant to the OP's
questions here.

1. The original post was about problems getting a GPS fix on the SPOT..
which you can tell by the LED status. The OP was very clearly not
complaining about the Globalstar data-uplink part of the device.

2. The backcountry pilot thread contains some unqualified/unexplained
comments about Globalstar satellite performance. *The poor performance
of Globalstar satellite phones did (rightfully) trash their reputation
but this was due to early degradation in orbit of their S-band system
in the satellite that are used for the voice service. The SPOT simplex
data link operates on the L-Band using different hardware on the
satellites that is/was not affected by their S-band hardware problems..

3. While the posts on backcountry pilots may be genuine there have
been cases of one particular SPOT competitor spreading FUD about SPOT
products on pubic newsgroups and blogs (and I've helped track down
where they were coming from). So be just a little careful when people
criticizing SPOT (or any other) products without backing that up with
any facts or detail. I can pick lots of holes in SPOT and similar
other technology products, but the reality is this stuff works very
well in practice. And I suspect the main issue with SPOT, especially
for our uses, is users understanding a bit about how the technology
works, and especially for the need to obtain a pretty clear sky view
for the Globalstar satellite uplink.

--

To the OP. The GPS chipset in the SPOT 2 unit is pretty good
(technically better than SPOT 1, which was not bad) and should be able
to acquire and keep a fix in lots of situations. Is there something
weird about how you have the unit mounted? Best place is on the canopy
rail or glareshield. From your description I would return the unit to
SPOT for repair/replacement.

Darryl

Daryl
I was not playing a game only trying to be helpful eat ****.
Russ

You provided a link in reply to a pretty specific question being
asked. I and probalby others spent time reading the stuff you linked
to an trying to understand why. I tried to provide both accurate
information to the OP and clarify that nothing was relevant in the
stuff you linked to. "being helpful" is not linking to random stuff on
the web that has no relevance to the question being asked. Since you
want to throw around insults here. You either did not read what you
linked to or were not able to understand how unrelated it was to the
question being asked. Either way you look clueless. Trying to be
helpful maybe, but clueless.

Darryl

Darryl
Your reply was arrogant, insulting and rude so, eat ****. As I stated
before I was trying to help. So you wasted your time reading a thread
you didn't invent your loss not mine. And so you continue to waste
more time reading this. "While they share common hardware I do not
see anything in that thread relevant to the OP's questions here".

Whether relevant or not my contribution was meant to enlighten not
attack anybody's intelligence such as yours (soaring community needs
more with attitudes such as yours). But seeing that's not the problem
with the OP's Spot he can eliminate that from his list of possible
problems with his Spot. You now must solve the problem with his Spot
or now you will be deemed to be clueless also.