Enthusiast I
Finally got to give the new Spot-X a workout on a recent trip. Here is the review I’ve been promising.
About me and my perspective in this review: I’m a 50 something geek. I’m a career IT pro and I’m a ham. I like gadgets and I build stuff. I travel with a dog in a 2006 Xterra with ~100k mi. In a nutshell, I like gadgets and am very technically capable and communications from the boonies is kinda important.
Executive summary:
Pros:
Cons:
In short this device delivers what is advertised. Everything I was able to test worked. I thankfully did not need to use the SOS feature or SOV feature but I have no doubt they will work very, very well. It has however been the most singularly frustrating piece of technology I’ve had in many years. More on that later.
Hardware and operation: Out of the box your first impression is that it’s a robust orange and black version of an early 2000’s Blackberry. You would be pretty correct in that assessment. As the software and operation is directly out of the late 90’s. The interface is clunky and sometimes makes no sense or makes you click through two or three screens unnecessarily. I’m sure as the software matures it will get better. The software and how you get it is a whole story in and of itself. I’ll cover that below. There is no touch screen - which IMHO is a good thing. You want a tough device. The keys work well but it’s obvious that there is a “waterproof” membrane under the keys as you need to mash them to get them to register. Again, a reasonable trade for a tough device but typing a message is slow and frustrating.
For example, if you make a mistake there are no cursor keys so you need to backspace through your message to make corrections - so go slow and deliberately. Also if you are unlucky enough to get the popup message that tells you to point the antenna correctly while you are composing, well, you get to start all over. But hey. You are texting from the wilderness. That is pretty awesome. You can also turn off that popup message. I suggest doing so.
The other thing is pretty minor but bears mention. The best orientation for the antenna apparently is vertical. (For the hams out there I’m assuming it’s a helical - or some other circularly polarized - design. It’s short and fat) However the device will not stand vertically on it’s own. You need to lean it against something or hang it from it’s (included) tether. Just kinda annoying as the the sat comm process takes a while. Sending or checking for new messages takes 10 or more minutes in my experience. You want to set it down and do other things. I may design and print a stand for it like I’ve done for some of my handheld radios.
The service plans offered are numerous with several options and in my opinion quite reasonable in cost. The reason I chose the Spot over the Garmin is the availability of the SOV (Save our Vehicle) plan. As an old guy and a dog traveling in remote places in an old vehicle this plan is fantastic. The service will tow you from anywhere to the “nearest reasonable repair facility” up to 5 times a year for a couple of dollars a month. I have towing included with my insurance and I have also had AAA. Both are great services but have limits. Basic AAA limits how far off the “main highway” to something like 1000 ft and only pays for (I think) a 20 mi tow. Most insurance plans are better but similar. Plus they only work when you can call them on the phone. Personally I’ve been stranded where my only communication required climbing a mountain with my ham radio and then having to convince the tow driver to come off the main road to where I was. The ensuing tow then cost me several hundred dollars beyond what AAA covered. With this service I could literally have pressed (mashed) a few buttons and been out of there several hours earlier and much cheaper.
There are also options for low cost rescue insurance. If you are on an expedition, or climbing a 14er for example, you aren’t saddled with the cost of a full rescue and/or air evac. I’m not likely to need that but many on this site may.
The rant(s). I am a career IT pro. Not a geek squad guy. The kind that digs around at a low level developing products, software, and hacking networks and their various protocols. I also build electronics and a lot of other stuff. I’ve been a ham for more than 25 years. I’ve been doing this for decades and can bore the pants off any non-geek in moments. I’m not easily frustrated and don’t mind fiddling with gadgets. In fact I rather enjoy it. Usually. This device however is the single worst experience I’ve had with an electronic product in many years. Seriously bad. For stupid, preventable, reasons.
This product is frustrating beyond description. I’ve wasted DAYS messing with it. First of all it’s not usable out of the box. At all. You need to create an account and activate service on the website. Then download software. Install it. Connect the device and install firmware to it. Then sync (using the software) to your account on the website. Annoying even if it works.
The issue arises with the software. It looks nice and seems simple. It has, I think, only 4 buttons. However you need to have a Windows or Mac. And certain versions of said OSs at that. In this day there is no reason -at all- that a single app like this cannot be cross platform. Or even run as a web app. This is again early 2000’s tech.
As a geek I have long ago abandoned Windows and all of it’s pain. I can usually get even odd USB connections and software to work on my Linux based systems. Including weird radio programming software and such. But not this one. After discovering the USB oddity I gave in and pulled out a brand new - totally virgin - Windows 10 system. Literally out of the box.
I installed the software (after the interminable windows updates of course) and then spent the next 6 hours trying to get the device to connect and update. It finally did, and just as I thought I could begin to use/test the device, it decided to just become a brick. I’d blown an entire day. I give myself great credit for not letting my frustration get the best of me. As I was getting ready to return it that night some last ditch button mashing paid off, and the device decided to start magically working again. To say I now have trust issues with it is an understatement.
Fast forward a week or two. The morning of a trip. I unplugged it from it’s included charger and the little door that covers the USB port, and supposedly makes it water tight, came off. I wasn’t rough or anything. The cable just nicked it when I unplugged. It snapped right back on - but seriously? This device is supposed to hang on a pack, get bounced around and be able to save your life in the worst conditions and the USB cover just comes off… Also it’s oddly a USB mini plug. Not the ubiquitous micro USB that we all have dozens of cables for. Weird choice Spot.
The morning of that trip I wanted to make some changes and additions to my setup. Adding a couple of new contacts and changing my preference for where the check in messages were sent. I again hooked up and tried to sync. I was immediately told that I needed to update the firmware on the device before I could do anything. So I downloaded the new version and tried unsuccessfully for the next 2 hours to get it to connect, load and sync. I finally gave up and left on the trip with the existing settings and firmware.
Luckily my son is a citizen of the “Appleverse” and has a Mac. My first stop on the trip was to see him. He (actually his girlfriend) was nice enough to just hand me her mac. As usual, on a non-windows platform, the software and USB connection just worked. I updated and synced literally in moments. I guess if you get a Spot-X you should just order a Mac on the same day.
I have yet had the time to attempt syncing with windows again. I don’t expect much to have changed. I plan on keeping the Spot for now. Wish me luck.
About me and my perspective in this review: I’m a 50 something geek. I’m a career IT pro and I’m a ham. I like gadgets and I build stuff. I travel with a dog in a 2006 Xterra with ~100k mi. In a nutshell, I like gadgets and am very technically capable and communications from the boonies is kinda important.
Executive summary:
Pros:
- Works as advertised. Tracking seemed to work well even inside the cab of my vehicle. Two way messaging works as advertised and “check in” function does what it says. Tracking compares favorably to APRS for the hams in the audience. I ran them parallel for part of the trip.
- Sat comm features worked even when it was inside (in the window) of my camper.
- Wide availability of plans available. (Carefully read what they offer when choosing one - there are differences besides the payment schedule.)
- Awesome SOV “Save our Vehicle” plan that is not available on the Garmin devices.
- Great worldwide coverage.
- Good website.
- Texting from the wilderness - Awesome!
Cons:
- Device is clunky and physically fragile despite it’s appearance and claim of IPX certification.
- Not usable out of the box.
- Need to use a computer (Windows or Mac only *see my rant at the end) in order to set up and make configuration changes.
- Won’t stand on it’s own even though the best antenna orientation is vertical.
In short this device delivers what is advertised. Everything I was able to test worked. I thankfully did not need to use the SOS feature or SOV feature but I have no doubt they will work very, very well. It has however been the most singularly frustrating piece of technology I’ve had in many years. More on that later.
Hardware and operation: Out of the box your first impression is that it’s a robust orange and black version of an early 2000’s Blackberry. You would be pretty correct in that assessment. As the software and operation is directly out of the late 90’s. The interface is clunky and sometimes makes no sense or makes you click through two or three screens unnecessarily. I’m sure as the software matures it will get better. The software and how you get it is a whole story in and of itself. I’ll cover that below. There is no touch screen - which IMHO is a good thing. You want a tough device. The keys work well but it’s obvious that there is a “waterproof” membrane under the keys as you need to mash them to get them to register. Again, a reasonable trade for a tough device but typing a message is slow and frustrating.
For example, if you make a mistake there are no cursor keys so you need to backspace through your message to make corrections - so go slow and deliberately. Also if you are unlucky enough to get the popup message that tells you to point the antenna correctly while you are composing, well, you get to start all over. But hey. You are texting from the wilderness. That is pretty awesome. You can also turn off that popup message. I suggest doing so.
The other thing is pretty minor but bears mention. The best orientation for the antenna apparently is vertical. (For the hams out there I’m assuming it’s a helical - or some other circularly polarized - design. It’s short and fat) However the device will not stand vertically on it’s own. You need to lean it against something or hang it from it’s (included) tether. Just kinda annoying as the the sat comm process takes a while. Sending or checking for new messages takes 10 or more minutes in my experience. You want to set it down and do other things. I may design and print a stand for it like I’ve done for some of my handheld radios.
The service plans offered are numerous with several options and in my opinion quite reasonable in cost. The reason I chose the Spot over the Garmin is the availability of the SOV (Save our Vehicle) plan. As an old guy and a dog traveling in remote places in an old vehicle this plan is fantastic. The service will tow you from anywhere to the “nearest reasonable repair facility” up to 5 times a year for a couple of dollars a month. I have towing included with my insurance and I have also had AAA. Both are great services but have limits. Basic AAA limits how far off the “main highway” to something like 1000 ft and only pays for (I think) a 20 mi tow. Most insurance plans are better but similar. Plus they only work when you can call them on the phone. Personally I’ve been stranded where my only communication required climbing a mountain with my ham radio and then having to convince the tow driver to come off the main road to where I was. The ensuing tow then cost me several hundred dollars beyond what AAA covered. With this service I could literally have pressed (mashed) a few buttons and been out of there several hours earlier and much cheaper.
There are also options for low cost rescue insurance. If you are on an expedition, or climbing a 14er for example, you aren’t saddled with the cost of a full rescue and/or air evac. I’m not likely to need that but many on this site may.
The rant(s). I am a career IT pro. Not a geek squad guy. The kind that digs around at a low level developing products, software, and hacking networks and their various protocols. I also build electronics and a lot of other stuff. I’ve been a ham for more than 25 years. I’ve been doing this for decades and can bore the pants off any non-geek in moments. I’m not easily frustrated and don’t mind fiddling with gadgets. In fact I rather enjoy it. Usually. This device however is the single worst experience I’ve had with an electronic product in many years. Seriously bad. For stupid, preventable, reasons.
This product is frustrating beyond description. I’ve wasted DAYS messing with it. First of all it’s not usable out of the box. At all. You need to create an account and activate service on the website. Then download software. Install it. Connect the device and install firmware to it. Then sync (using the software) to your account on the website. Annoying even if it works.
The issue arises with the software. It looks nice and seems simple. It has, I think, only 4 buttons. However you need to have a Windows or Mac. And certain versions of said OSs at that. In this day there is no reason -at all- that a single app like this cannot be cross platform. Or even run as a web app. This is again early 2000’s tech.
As a geek I have long ago abandoned Windows and all of it’s pain. I can usually get even odd USB connections and software to work on my Linux based systems. Including weird radio programming software and such. But not this one. After discovering the USB oddity I gave in and pulled out a brand new - totally virgin - Windows 10 system. Literally out of the box.
I installed the software (after the interminable windows updates of course) and then spent the next 6 hours trying to get the device to connect and update. It finally did, and just as I thought I could begin to use/test the device, it decided to just become a brick. I’d blown an entire day. I give myself great credit for not letting my frustration get the best of me. As I was getting ready to return it that night some last ditch button mashing paid off, and the device decided to start magically working again. To say I now have trust issues with it is an understatement.
Fast forward a week or two. The morning of a trip. I unplugged it from it’s included charger and the little door that covers the USB port, and supposedly makes it water tight, came off. I wasn’t rough or anything. The cable just nicked it when I unplugged. It snapped right back on - but seriously? This device is supposed to hang on a pack, get bounced around and be able to save your life in the worst conditions and the USB cover just comes off… Also it’s oddly a USB mini plug. Not the ubiquitous micro USB that we all have dozens of cables for. Weird choice Spot.
The morning of that trip I wanted to make some changes and additions to my setup. Adding a couple of new contacts and changing my preference for where the check in messages were sent. I again hooked up and tried to sync. I was immediately told that I needed to update the firmware on the device before I could do anything. So I downloaded the new version and tried unsuccessfully for the next 2 hours to get it to connect, load and sync. I finally gave up and left on the trip with the existing settings and firmware.
Luckily my son is a citizen of the “Appleverse” and has a Mac. My first stop on the trip was to see him. He (actually his girlfriend) was nice enough to just hand me her mac. As usual, on a non-windows platform, the software and USB connection just worked. I updated and synced literally in moments. I guess if you get a Spot-X you should just order a Mac on the same day.
I have yet had the time to attempt syncing with windows again. I don’t expect much to have changed. I plan on keeping the Spot for now. Wish me luck.
