[pct-l] About my first generation SPOT

[Ned Tibbits]

Hey, Scott (aka, Shroomer)!

Good to hear from you! 

So, no exciting rescues while on the Divide like we had on the PCT??


Ned Tibbits, Director
Mountain Education
www.mountaineducation.org

From: Scott Williams 
Sent: Thursday, October 18, 2012 3:24 PM
To: Edward Anderson 
Cc: Ned Tibbits ; pct-l at backcountry.net 
Subject: Re: [pct-l] About my first generation SPOT

Hey MendoRider and Ned, 

The new Spots that we used this summer on the CDT missed sending several posts even though the sent/received  light had activated.  That happened for Why Not and myself.  We learned that it needs to be left on for 20 minutes after the light has activated to make sure the transmission has really gone through.  That's a bit confusing because when the light comes on showing a signal has been sent and received, you'd think it really had.  In most cases it had gone through, but not in all.  Leaving it on for a longer period solved the problem however, so I would guess that might be the problem for others.  I never found myself camped in a place where I couldn't get a signal, even when there were cliffs all around.  I just left it on till a satellite came across that space of sky.  That may be a real problem in the Sierra, however, when camped in some of the deeper canyons, although I've never used any electronics in the Sierra and don't know for sure.  Most of the time this summer I was camped with great sky expanses on the Divide.  The batteries lasted all hike, even leaving it on for the extended time, which I did from Southern CO, to Glacier NP.  It seemed pretty reliable to me.

Shroomer

   


On Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 2:39 PM, Edward Anderson <mendoridered at yahoo.com> wrote:

  Ned,
   
  I am not at all familiar with the new gen SPOT. Does " - - - real failure-to-transmit stories from the trail"  refer to texting via satellite? I wonder if some SPOT failures might be due to impatience. You have to allow the device time to go through the complete cycle - at least that is true of my SPOT. During my early tests, I discovered that it is necessary to wait until the lights indicate that the cycle is complete and that the OK message has been sent. On mine it is when the OK lights go off and the only light flashing is the on/off one. This can take several minutes.
   
  MendoRider-Hiker