SPOT Rate change

[theTallMan]

Bought myself a SPOT Gen 3 in November for what seemed like a good sale price.  Figured I activate in the spring before a trip.....
Started Activating this week and they have raised the rate to $199 US/yr + $14.99 "network maintenance fee".
Their website https://www.findmespot.ca/en/index.php?cid=103 shows a "Basic:" plan at $149.

On HOLD now waiting for customer support.

DeLorme/Garmin looking better all the time.

Paul

P.S. Standby for a new in box Gen 3 in Classifieds.

[theTallMan]

After a 20 minute wait spoke to SPOT "customer service" who advised that $149 is only for older generation units.

Went to DeLorme and had an online chat answer in 1 minute about the plans and rates.  Monthly rates are much higher but I'd get 2 way texting and can suspend the service at no charge when I don't need it.  It is even Prorated so you could use it for 1 week out of a month and only pay 7/31 of the monthly charge...(included messages are prorated too).

"Out, damned spot! out, I say!--One: two: why,
then, 'tis time to do't.--Hell is murky!"  ..... Lady MacBeth

[/i]

[rick miller]

My Spot subscription is coming up for renewal and I got an email from them re the price increase, so I'm looking into changing to Inreach.  I'm wondering if anyone is using these for races and could share their experiences/opinions.  Thanks.

[black_labb]

I saw the title to this thread and assumed the price was going down as there is getting to be more competition. Apparently not. I won't be registering my old Gen II at those prices and will go without or get something else if I feel the need.

[bakerjw]

I love my InReach. They may have changed it, but it used to cost you to put it inactive. I just pay $50.00 a month for it but that gstill only gets me 10 minute pings.

[evdog]

I use an inreach.  It has worked fine for the events I've used it in.  The battery seemed to deplete faster last weekend than it has in the past, but it was quick to charge up from my cache battery. 

I like the fact you can easily change plans depending on how much you use it.  I stayed on the lowest plan for the 300 which means I'll get dinged 10c for each ping, but I just set it to track every 20min which came out cheaper than changing to the unlimited plan for a month.  I haven't sent any messages with it but seems simple enough when paired with your phone. 

If you already have a spot device it may be worth while staying with that for a while.  I'm hoping Garmin will incorporate the Inreach satellite tech into its GPS units so you can just buy one to do the role of GPS and Sat tracker.  Hopefully that will happen in the next year or two, just as my Oregon600 and Inreach need replacing

[rick miller]

I'm hoping Garmin will incorporate the Inreach satellite tech into its GPS units so you can just buy one to do the role of GPS and Sat tracker.  Hopefully that will happen in the next year or two, just as my Oregon600 and Inreach need replacing

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/561269

[the tortoise]

I have had it with spot. Their auto renewal is a bad PR move. Also same with SARS with their auto renewal. They charged me even though I didn't have an active spot subscription.
I use a free smartphone app called life360. It uses cell service but since cell service is becoming better all the time it works for us. Also it is once less thing to remember to bring along, replace batteries in and to turn on.
I figure if I want spot tracking for events I will just rent the unit.

[evdog]

https://buy.garmin.com/en-US/US/p/561269

It doesn't seem like they have changed much yet on the Inreach.  Or, maybe I just need to play with their app more.  I don't use a GPS for most of the cycling functions, pretty much mapping only.  Or get Gaia app or one of the other useful mapping apps that is out there.  Even Trailforks is getting more useful all the time.

[rick miller]

Been playing with the Explorer + for a couple days.  Wife and I do a lot of off the grid kayaking, so I like the 2 way communication.  Only real downside I see so far is a 500 point limit on routes, so it may not completely replace my Etrex.

Pro tip on the Spot:  renewal rates for "long time good customers" are very negotiable.  Just remember that you have to call to cancel before your anniversary date (30 days before according to the T&C, but they seem to let that slide).  Also, the subscription is transferable

[Howard70]

I've used both devices - Spot when I was riding dual-purpose motos and InReach for backpacking / packrafting / biking.  In terms of communication I vastly prefer the InReach.  Being able to send & receive text messages helps me coordinate with my wife who is often in our camper & curious about route changes, altered pick up times, etc.  Because much of our travel is within the white zones of a Verizon coverage map, we actually use two InReach units so that we can exchange information even if both are out of cell coverage.  Monthly rates, suspend when not in use, etc makes them relatively economical.

However - if you want to provide an internet map for other to follow your route / progress etc.  I find the InReach site cumbersome.  For me the SPOT was much easier to use when I thought I wanted to provide tracking.  I don't know if the organizers of races that use TrackLeaders.com would accept an InReach.  I can't find any mention of InReach input on their site

I've found that I'm currently less interested in the web-displayed tracking so I'm overall happier with the InReach.

Howard

[evdog]

Inreach works on Trackleaders, it's just not advertised.