amorley
Site Supporter
Just heard from GPSCity that my pre-ordered SPOT III will be arriving on or before July 29th. Going to Europe next week on business but will activate and post an evaluation after I return.
SPOT III
- Thread starter amorley
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amorley
Site Supporter
My SPOT Gen 3 arrived yesterday. I will start a full review this weekend.
I have activated the SPOT Gen 3 with unlimited tracking set to every 5 minutes. I still have the SPOT 1 Personal Tracker activated as I still have much of my annual tracking plan prepaid. So as part of the review I will try and run the two devices at the same time. This page shows two embedded Spotwalla Trips, one for the SPOT 1 Personal Tracker, and one for the new SPOT Gen 3.
I have activated the SPOT Gen 3 with unlimited tracking set to every 5 minutes. I still have the SPOT 1 Personal Tracker activated as I still have much of my annual tracking plan prepaid. So as part of the review I will try and run the two devices at the same time. This page shows two embedded Spotwalla Trips, one for the SPOT 1 Personal Tracker, and one for the new SPOT Gen 3.
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amorley
Site Supporter
Here are some pictures of the SPOT Gen 3 and some first impressions
The SPOT Gen 3 has eight lights that assist in understanding what is working and what has failed. It goes through a self-test of all of these lights when it is powered on.
The SPOT Gen 3 is significantly smaller than earlier models. Below is a comparison with my first generation SPOT Personal Tracker. It is bit out of focus but you can see the difference.
The Help/SPOT Assist and SOS buttons are covered to prevent accidental activation by a rubber cover. Here I have pulled back the cover over the SOS button.
The rear of the SPOT Gen3 allows access to the batteries via two stainless steel screws with ring pulls so they can be undone by hand.
The SPOT Gen3 uses 4 AAA batteries. Energizer Ultimate Lithium 8x or Energizer NiMH Rechargeable batteries are recommended. Note the waterproof seal around the battery enclosure. The SPOT Gen 3 is IPX7 waterproof and can be submerged to a depth of 1 M for 30 minutes.
The SPOT Gen3 can also be line powered via a micro USB cable. Note that when line powered NiMH Rechargeable batteries will NO recharge and the SPOT Gen3 is NOT waterproof. This picture shows the micro USB plug on the rear of the SPOT Gen3.
The SPOT Gen3 comes with a webbing strap that runs through the top and bottom slots and has a carabiner fixed for attaching the SPOT Gen3 to your clothing or a backpack.
I have ordered the new RAM mount for the SPOT Gen3 so I can attach it to STA5 or ST10.
The SPOT Gen 3 has eight lights that assist in understanding what is working and what has failed. It goes through a self-test of all of these lights when it is powered on.
The SPOT Gen 3 is significantly smaller than earlier models. Below is a comparison with my first generation SPOT Personal Tracker. It is bit out of focus but you can see the difference.
The Help/SPOT Assist and SOS buttons are covered to prevent accidental activation by a rubber cover. Here I have pulled back the cover over the SOS button.
The rear of the SPOT Gen3 allows access to the batteries via two stainless steel screws with ring pulls so they can be undone by hand.
The SPOT Gen3 uses 4 AAA batteries. Energizer Ultimate Lithium 8x or Energizer NiMH Rechargeable batteries are recommended. Note the waterproof seal around the battery enclosure. The SPOT Gen 3 is IPX7 waterproof and can be submerged to a depth of 1 M for 30 minutes.
The SPOT Gen3 can also be line powered via a micro USB cable. Note that when line powered NiMH Rechargeable batteries will NO recharge and the SPOT Gen3 is NOT waterproof. This picture shows the micro USB plug on the rear of the SPOT Gen3.
The SPOT Gen3 comes with a webbing strap that runs through the top and bottom slots and has a carabiner fixed for attaching the SPOT Gen3 to your clothing or a backpack.
I have ordered the new RAM mount for the SPOT Gen3 so I can attach it to STA5 or ST10.
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Louie Louie
Great review, thank you.
Woodchuck
(Lyle)
I'm thinking of getting one. I didn't know there was a gen.3 out there. I was told that there is a site for sevice that is free or at least a reduced fee? What sevice do you guys us?? and $$$
Lyle
Lyle
+1 great report
I have the spot gen 2. I pay $150/year for basic service + 10 minute tracking. (Sends a track point every 10 minutes) this service is through spot. I believe they are the only ones who can activate a spot transmitter. Before spot I tried an app on my iphone once on an iron butt ride but I blew a fuse in my phone charger and had to shut down the tracking since it was eating my battery too quickly. It was an ok service but kind of inconsistent. My spot works every time, every where!
I saw the new Gen III's on display at a Bass Pro Shop over the weekend. They are not only smaller in width & length as shown in Andy's pics, they are also thinner.
I'll be very interested in seeing how this new unit performs over time. I've got the Gen I and it works just fine but it would be nice to have the ability to get location updates every 5 minutes as opposed to 10. Wonder how the increase in positioning frequency affects battery life?
I'll be very interested in seeing how this new unit performs over time. I've got the Gen I and it works just fine but it would be nice to have the ability to get location updates every 5 minutes as opposed to 10. Wonder how the increase in positioning frequency affects battery life?
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Tks for the quick review... keep us informed as to battery life
Woodchuck
(Lyle)
Thanks for the info. I didn't realize that it was that much for the year. Any more info that would be good to know, how user frendly is it at the home front for the tracking.
Lyle
Lyle
You can get basic spot service for around $100. To add basic tracking its an additional $50. If you get a spot 3 and want to have increased tracking times (every 5 or 2 minutes) that costs more.
At the home front its super simple. Whenever I push one of the buttons on my spot, it sends a text and/or email to whoever I put on my contact list that contains my location and my pre typed message. My friends and family can see my whereabouts by checking my spotwalla page. Its linked to on the left of the page over there <-----. Spotwalla is an independent site that you link to from your Spot. Spot also has its own page like spotwalla but its not as user friendly so most people use spotwalla.
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amorley
Site Supporter
The SPOT Gen3 is a lot more user friendly than the first generation. A lot of people had problems with the first generation SPOT Personal Tracker but unusual for me I did RTFM and have not had any problems in the last four years of use. The biggest issue was that you had to turn the SPOT Personal Tracker off between changing modes and it had multifunction rather than dedicated buttons.
With the SPOT Gen3 it has none of those issues. Turn it on and it does a self check of all functions. Power on indicator light shows it is working by flashing green. SPOT recommends that you then press the Check In button before starting any trip.
As soon as it has a fix on the GPS satellites, the GPS indicator light turns green. If it loses contact with the GPS satellite it will flash red. As soon as the SPOT has a GPS fix, the Check In message will be sent and the Message Sending indicator will turn green. If it turns red, the message has failed to be transmitted.
Changing function is easy. Just press the Custom Message, Tracking or Check-In buttons. The selected mode is clearly visible with the indicator lights above the buttons. There is no requirement to power cycle between modes.
The SPOT Gen3 does have a more powerful GPS receiver than the SPOT Personal Tracker but there is no indication from the literature that it is more powerful than the SPOT 2. It still will not work without a clear view of the sky while my Garmin GPSmap 62s will easily pickup the GPS signals from inside my house.
I like the smaller size of the SPOT Gen3 and the easy controls. The 5 minute unlimited tracking probably costs more than it is worth. I know the battery life is not going to match the SPOT Personal Tracker but more testing is required.
Here is a link to the SPOT Gen3 User Guide (PDF)
and here is a link to the basic service plans, note that tracking is included in the basic service plan for the SPOT Gen 3. Here is a link to the advanced plans.. The unlimited tracking adds another $49.99 to the basic plan for the Gen3 which means you are at $200 pa. If you need tracking at every 2.5 minutes, it is an additional $149.99 pa.
With the SPOT Gen3 it has none of those issues. Turn it on and it does a self check of all functions. Power on indicator light shows it is working by flashing green. SPOT recommends that you then press the Check In button before starting any trip.
As soon as it has a fix on the GPS satellites, the GPS indicator light turns green. If it loses contact with the GPS satellite it will flash red. As soon as the SPOT has a GPS fix, the Check In message will be sent and the Message Sending indicator will turn green. If it turns red, the message has failed to be transmitted.
Changing function is easy. Just press the Custom Message, Tracking or Check-In buttons. The selected mode is clearly visible with the indicator lights above the buttons. There is no requirement to power cycle between modes.
The SPOT Gen3 does have a more powerful GPS receiver than the SPOT Personal Tracker but there is no indication from the literature that it is more powerful than the SPOT 2. It still will not work without a clear view of the sky while my Garmin GPSmap 62s will easily pickup the GPS signals from inside my house.
I like the smaller size of the SPOT Gen3 and the easy controls. The 5 minute unlimited tracking probably costs more than it is worth. I know the battery life is not going to match the SPOT Personal Tracker but more testing is required.
Here is a link to the SPOT Gen3 User Guide (PDF)
and here is a link to the basic service plans, note that tracking is included in the basic service plan for the SPOT Gen 3. Here is a link to the advanced plans.. The unlimited tracking adds another $49.99 to the basic plan for the Gen3 which means you are at $200 pa. If you need tracking at every 2.5 minutes, it is an additional $149.99 pa.
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I see that... and I guess it's at the ten min rate just like the SPOT 2.
One thing I also note is that the SPOT 2 basic plan for no tracking is $99 and it looks like yr forced to buy tracking in the V3 for $159 ( same price as V2 with tracking) .
BUT, many of my friends DON'T buy tracking with the SPOT2... they just hit the OK at every stop/gas up or even while just riding. They are quite happy to get about a ping per hour as opposed to 6 pings... and save $50! It still gets the extra insurance of the SOS and 3 messgs buttons.
Woodchuck
(Lyle)
All great info. thanks . I'll have to look at the pressing the button thing every hour or so. I'l read the manual and see how this thing works.
Well I just joined the Gen 3 group. We shall see how this one works compared to the Gen 2.
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amorley
Site Supporter
Here is a comparison of the tracking from my SPOT Personal Tracker (Generation 1) and the new SPOT Gen3. 300 mile circuit of Houston taking in Surfside, Galveston and the Bolivar peninsula. Very flat and few trees to obstruct access to the GPS satellites. The SPOT1 is set at the default tracking of every 10 minutes, while the SPOT Gen3 was set at the 5 minute unlimited tracking. The SPOT1 was mounted below the windshield on the ST1300 while the SPOT Gen3 was in my top box.
SPOT Personal Tracker (Generation 1) tracking every 10 minutes
SPOT Gen3 5 minute unlimited tracking
SPOT Personal Tracker (Generation 1) tracking every 10 minutes
SPOT Gen3 5 minute unlimited tracking
There's no doubt the 5 min track is nicer...
I have the V2, which is ten mins... But come next renewal, I'll prob drop the tracking option ( something you can't do with V3 ). I find that the trip logs are stored in my GPS when I want them and the wife is happy with me having the SOS option AND pinging her every hour or so ( esp at start and end of day ).
I have the V2, which is ten mins... But come next renewal, I'll prob drop the tracking option ( something you can't do with V3 ). I find that the trip logs are stored in my GPS when I want them and the wife is happy with me having the SOS option AND pinging her every hour or so ( esp at start and end of day ).
steve3b3
Retired
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the rebate form.
I just bought a Gen 3 at REI in Framingham. The SPOT site showed that they had Gen-2 units, but the REI site showed that store had Gen-3's.
My wife worries when I ride alone, and this will put her worries to rest.
I set up my account, but haven't done more with the Spot than install the batteries and turn it on to see the blinking lights. No GPS light, but I never pushed the message or track buttons, since I hadn't set up my account yet.
I'll get to try the unit out during my ride to ONSTOC on Thursday.
Steve
Thanks for the rebate form.
I just bought a Gen 3 at REI in Framingham. The SPOT site showed that they had Gen-2 units, but the REI site showed that store had Gen-3's.
My wife worries when I ride alone, and this will put her worries to rest.
I set up my account, but haven't done more with the Spot than install the batteries and turn it on to see the blinking lights. No GPS light, but I never pushed the message or track buttons, since I hadn't set up my account yet.
I'll get to try the unit out during my ride to ONSTOC on Thursday.
Steve