New SPOT - Gen 3

[CT4ME]

The newest SPOT (GEN 3) is out... I guess... I can't find it on their website, but numerous vendors seem to have it for sale... The choice of SPOT vs PLB vs InReach gets tougher. The InReach SE has more features, but costs a bit more. Waddyathink?
Key Differences: SPOT 3 vs SPOT 2
Longer battery life - more reliable
Smaller size - easier to travel with
Internal vibration sensor to only send tracking messages while moving - more efficient
Vibration sensor also enables us to provide the new Unlimited Tracking service - ability to transmit indefinitely
New Movement Messaging - theft alerting capability
Variable rates in Track Mode (30 min, 15, 10, 5, 2) - more customizable
Inserting OK or Custom messages into a Track session no longer blocks Track Messages from being sent for ~30 minutes - more reliable
USB connection for FW upgrades as well as feature manipulation (enabling Unlimited Track, varying the rate, etc.)
USB connection for line power - indefinite life span
Device will run off of Energizer NiMH rechargeable batteries (USB power will NOT charge the batteries, they must be removed and charged separately)
LEDs visible while pressing the buttons - more confidence in the functions
Easier to press buttons with tactile feedback - more user-friendly
Loops on top and bottom provide mounting options instead of requiring a carrying case - easier to travel with/carry
Features
Compact and light weight; Weighing only 3.2 oz. (with batteries), it packs easily for traveling.
Long Battery Life: choose from Lithium or rechargeable batteries; or line-power the unit through its USB port.
New Tracking Options: now you can choose the rate of tracking that suits your adventure (2 ½, 5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes).
Motion Activated Tracking: now your SPOT knows when you’re moving and when you stop to make camp. When SPOT Gen3 senses you’ve stopped for an extended period of time it will stop sending track messages until you start moving again.
New Contoured Shape: the new design allows you to easily attach your SPOT to your bag, boat or vehicle allowing SPOT to go wherever you d
Specifications
Height: 3.43”
Width: 2.56”
Thickness: 1”
Weight: ~160g / 5.64 oz
Battery Life: 14 Days in Track Mode (net net is that it’ll last longer since it only transmits while moving
Requires 4 AAA Lithium Batteries
-More Info-

 

[airdale]

... The choice of SPOT vs PLB vs InReach gets tougher. ... Waddyathink?

With all due respect, if you don't know where you're going, any road will get you there.

If you're looking for a really great toy and rescue device wannabe, the consumer* products are a good choice as long as you're willing to pay for a subscription.

If you're looking for a backup to your ELT and a device for non-airplane emergency situations, a PLB that's directly interfaced to the Cospas-Sarsat system and is built and tested to third-party quality and performance specifications is your only option. Supplement it by filing or getting flight following whenever possible, of course.

Costwise, too, as rescue devices the consumer products are non-starters. Initial cost is attractive but you basically have a paperweight if you do not maintain a subscription. A year of two of subscription and the PLB clearly has the cost advantage.

But it's definitely fun for the folks at home to follow your flight and even see where you're parked after you land. I've flown with both, but if I was limited to one it would be the PLB.

Belt and suspenders, carry both.

-----------------------------------------------------
*April 2011: http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Recalls/2011...-Loss-of-Emergency-Communications-Capability/

*July 2012: http://www.findmespot.com/replacement/

The phrase "plb recall" produced zero hits on the CPSC site and didn't show me any recalls via Google.

 

[Silvaire]

I think it boils down to this: if you are sold on the notion that you need to have constant tracking anytime you travel and that you want to repeatedly send messages to someone telling them that you are okay then you need to pay for it. My only beef with SPOT is the way it is marketed which kind of suggests that this is indeed what you should be doing and that this constant tracking is such a useful feature. For one thing, if you are constantly sending messages saying "I'm okay" and your batteries go dead or the unit fails or the signal is lost or you just forgot you might needlessly cause a panic at the other end simply because the expected "I'm okay" message didn't get through. So you've introduced another variable into the equation that might fail and cause problems.

In the end it's up to you, if that's what you want then who am I or anyone else to tell you otherwise. It's your money, spend it as you see fit.

 

[Bob Noel]

I think it boils down to this: if you are sold on the notion that you need to have constant tracking anytime you travel and that you want to repeatedly send messages to someone telling them that you are okay then you need to pay for it. My only beef with SPOT is the way it is marketed which kind of suggests that this is indeed what you should be doing and that this constant tracking is such a useful feature. For one thing, if you are constantly sending messages saying "I'm okay" and your batteries go dead or the unit fails or the signal is lost or you just forgot you might needlessly cause a panic at the other end simply because the expected "I'm okay" message didn't get through. So you've introduced another variable into the equation that might fail and cause problems.

In the end it's up to you, if that's what you want then who am I or anyone else to tell you otherwise. It's your money, spend it as you see fit.

sidetrack: how hard would it be for the system to send out battery status messages? If the last few "I'm okay" message include "low battery" warnings, then there might be less panic.

 

[CT4ME]

If the last few "I'm okay" message include "low battery" warnings, then there might be less panic.

Excellent Idea! The new SPOT3 has user-upgradeable firmware, so changes like that are a possibility.

 

[CT4ME]

BTW... there are always some who insist that SPOT is a toy, and somehow not powerful or reliable enough for real rescue situations. Those folks need to be reminded that SPOT are used, officially, by the FAA in Alaska as an adjunct to filing flight plans. This, after a full year of extensive testing on the reliability of the system.
Doug Ritter, one of the World's authorities when it comes to aviation safety, rescue, and survival, wrote a nice piece explaining why consumer devices (like SPOT) will likely cause PLBs and the COSPAS-SARSAT system to quickly become dinosaurs. READ IT HERE

 

[airdale]

READ IT HERE

ROFL! Did you even read the piece you linked to?

In the second paragraph he says: "Without a standard in place regulating minimum performance, consumers might be enticed into buying a distress signaling device that might well not work under many circumstances." and refers to "the many issues that developed as a result of [SPOT]’s introduction into the consumer marketplace."

Farther down, he says: "Right now there are no standards for commercial emergency response coordination centers. Theoretically, someone could set up something in their basement and be perfectly legal, even if it did not provide the quality of service that a consumer would expect."

There is nothing to say that the design and operational concepts for these toys could not be executed at a professional level, but the point of my post and Ritter's opinion in the piece you linked to is that SPOT and its brethren are not now at that level.

ROFL again ref your implication that the FAA is an unassailable font of good judgment. Some here would disagree with that theory. But regardless, did the FAA tell those guys they didn't need to carry ELTs? Did the FAA tell them they wouldn't need to have ADS-B Out in 2020? I didn't think so.

Technology changes and the market changes. It is entirely possible that a high quality SPOT-type device and infrastructure will emerge some day. But the announcement of yet another incarnation of the current SPOT does not signal the arrival of that glorious day.

Will the COSPASS/SARSAT system go away? That's really beyond the scope here but I think the increasing penetration of 406mhz aviation ELTs, marine EPIRBs, and PLBs make it unlikely. ADS-B Out will also become an increasingly important asset for aviation SAR, as GPS beacons are for commercial shipping.

In case you also missed reading the pieces I linked to, here are a couple of clips:

July 27 2012 SPOT Voluntary Recall: "In certain incidents, intended messages may not be transmitted, including requests for help or emergency assistance, when the SPOT Satellite Communicator is used at temperatures below 40 degrees Fahrenheit/4.44 degrees Celsius.'

April 19, 2011 CPSC Recall: "Hazard: The internal voltage regulator can stop working, resulting in the inability to transmit messages and tracking information in emergency situations."

If you want to see how the professionals do it, here is the spec: http://www.cospas-sarsat.org/images/stories/SystemDocs/Current/CS_T001_OCT_2012.pdf

 

[CT4ME]

Yes, I read the piece and noted the pros/cons. I also noted that it was written before the current generation of SPOT and InReach, and only can assume that the newer generations are addressing the issues. As much as I like the SPOTS and InReachs of the World, I was unaware of the movement in the market towards these devices replacing PLBs. I've always felt they were different devices, with considerable overlap in mission. This statement is what got my attention the most...
"Consumer uptake of these new SENDs will only continue to accelerate, for all these reasons. That poses a considerable threat to the established COSPAS-SARSAT organization, its structure and the manufacturers of the beacons that function within it. Some of these traditional COSPAS-SARSAT beacon manufacturers are already working on SENDs, seeing their future headed in that direction.
Given that COSPAS-SARSAT seems to be mired in bureaucratic morass that has gotten even worse in recent years, resulting in extraordinary bureaucratic delays in approvals and additional unnecessary expense, it is only a matter of time before they become irrelevant in the consumer world. "

The information you posted on recalls doesn't change my position at all, and may make the point that you can actually test and use a SPOT more relevant. So there was a manufacturing glitch and a small number of devices were defective... because SPOT is actually used every day, they were alerted to the problem and took corrective action quickly.
Is it possible that a similar thing could happen in the PLB world, but we'd never hear about it, because only 1 out of 1,000 PLBs ever get activated???

 

[Clip4]

We are at a crossroad with the various devices. Not only from a technology stand point, but from a regulatory one as well.

AOPA is steadfast in not requiring an upgrade from TSO C91-a. The FAA newest 406 standard is TSO 96C, which are being installed as a dual 406/121.5 unit. And the FCC would like to decom 121.5 for ELT use.

Then you have a mandate for ADS-B coming, which easily could provide a passive crumb trail for ADS-B equipped aircraft should they be overdue on a VFR flight plan.

 

[airdale]

The information you posted on recalls doesn't change my position at all ...

Well, that's why Baskin-Robbins has 31 flavors. People like different things. You asked for opinions. I gave you one.

... a manufacturing glitch ...

Just for clarification, though, IMO both of the recalls were almost certainly due to design, not manufacturing problems. As a long-time project manager in the hi-tech world (I have product on the Cassini bird.) I would expect to hear of more problems if the device were to be carefully examined.

There are two likely issues. One, the design guys undoubtedly had some kind of operating temperature specification for the device. Strong odds are that it was nowhere near as demanding as the requirements shown on page 4-1 of the PLB spec. Like all good engineers, they calculated design margins and ran their simulations based on the temp spec they had. So unless they really did design to a -20 deg. C design spec, it will only be through luck if the gadget operates at very cold temperatures. The fact that some SPOTs did not work below 40 deg C is highly indicative that this issue exists or at least existed.

Second, commercial components are specified for an operating temperature range of 0 to 70 deg. C. There are broader specs but the components are more expensive. Given the price and market for the device, I think SPOT is probably rolling the dice on component temp spec. and using commercial components. Some batches will work fine at colder temperatures, other batches from the same or an alternate source may be marginal or may not work at all. And, if 100% of the SPOT gadgets don't receive a cold-soak and test at the end of the line, no one will know what flavor is is being shipped on a given day.

Since users will rarely try to operate SPOTs at low temperatures in normal use, the users-as-testers theory kind of goes out the window too. But your Alaska FAA guys might be the ones to find out.

Temp issues are just one of the reasons for having third party standards like the PLB spec and the SEND spec that Ritter alludes to. When and if developed to meet these specs, a professional SPOT will be much more trustworthy than what is currently being sold.

 

[tinerj]

121.5 available on radio
7700 available on transponder
ELT required on most aircraft (single seat homebuilt exception)
PLB (in my case rather than SPOT)
cell phone
Flight Plan (sort-of: I provide my wife with route and airports I'll fly over or land at for fuel, and I text her when I arrive and depart)

Seems that's enough belts and suspenders