SPoT Satellite Tracker Tested

SPoT Satellite Personal Tracker - Tested

Price: £149.95 plus 99 euro annual subscription. (£129.95 current special offer price)

Weight: 206g (complete with batteries)

Features: Satellite Personal Tracker devices, NemeriX chipset,  approximately one year battery life with twin lithium AAs, 14 days in tracking mode, operates between -40C to +85C, drop tested, waterproof to one metre for up to 30 minutes, floats, high vis colour, grippy side things for easy handling.

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What's It For?

SPoT is a satellite personal tracker - that's what the S,P and T in SPoT stand for. Effectively it's an emergency beacon that operates independently of the mobile phone network and can call in help if you need it at the press of a button. That, in a nutshell, is its mission in life.

On top of that, you can also use it to send 'OK' messages to pre-selected contacts by e-mail or text messages just to confirm that you're still in one piece. And, for an additional subscription, you can use it as a tracking device that will mark your position on an online Google map.

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The Techy Bits

SPoT uses GPS satellite technology and chip-set - a NemeriX one, if that helps - but where it differs from GPS is that while it knows where you are, it won't tell you. Instead it keeps the information to itself unless you choose to either alert the rescue services with a single button push or to tell your mates that you're having a lovely time, again with a single button push.


Because it does this by communicating direct with the Globalstar satellite network, you don't need mobile phone coverage and SPoT should work anywhere with Globalstar coverage. According to the UK distributor, that now includes the Himalaya and SE Asia, with Africa in the pipeline.

If you press the 911 - '999' - button, an alert goes via satellite to a control station in Texas, which in turn, alerts the emergency services local to you. Your other options are an 'okay message, one that says 'Help, but it's not an emergency' and finally there's also a tracking mode which costs extra.

All the messages you send are stored for a month on a web account.

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How It Performs First off, in its first year, SPoT has been responsible for some 80 rescues including three in the UK. Primarily that's what it's all about, for our money, the secondary features are neat and quite handy - you can reassure your family that you're okay from the middle of nowhere, even when there's no mobile coverage - but ultimately this is an ermergency device. That's born out by its no-nonsense physical spec - chunky, bright orange, buoyant and with a no frills button interface.

It's a shame the configuration web site isn't as clean-cut. We found entering e-mail addresses for alerts and setting the unit up unnecessarily complicated and it really needs an overhaul.

Once you've stumped up your 90 euro subscription, entered a list of e-mail addresses and mobile numbers you're good to go. Just stick two AA batteries in - lithium are suggested, but any AA will work - and switch the unit on.


Here's another gripe. You never know whether the unit has a definite fix on the satellites, which is annoying. You can tell, but only by sending a pre-programmed 'okay' message then watching the flashing indicator to make sure it goes solid for five seconds, showing that the message is sending.

We potttered round the Peak District with ours sending the odd 'okay' message. When we got home, only about two out of ten had actually transmitted. The trick, we discovered, is to stop and wait patiently for the three or four minutes it takes for the unit to talk to the satellites. If you're impatient and permanently on the move, it simply won't send, partly because your body is an excellent blocker, so ideally you want it at arm's length when transmitting.

The interface was quite annoying too. The 'okay' button doubles as a tracker button, but you can't tell which mode it's in, because in either, it just flashes. And given the problems we had with consistent message transmission when moving, we'd be surprised if the tracking were effective for fast movers.

If you do want to use the unit for okays and tracking, we'd suggest stopping and sending an okay message before starting off and then waiting patiently for each okay message to be transmitted. When you do get a successful alert sent, it gives your pre-selected contacts a Google Map link showing your exact position, which is nice, particularly if you have family waiting at home for you.

The good thing is that in an emergency situation, you are likely to be stationary and while we couldn't send messages on the move reliably, our static hit rate was much better. Not only that, but the unit worked just fine where there was no mobile network, which is what it's all about really. A recent Dartmoor rescue involving SPoT bears that out.

Verdict

Gloves off, we found the SPoT a bit clunky - physically, in web interface terms and in use - but arguably, what matters is whether it will work or not in an emergency situation and the evidence suggests that it will. It also seems rugged enough to survive outdoor use and battery life is excellent with replacement AAs readily available worldwide.

If we were going to buy a SPoT we'd do it purely on that basis. The additional features are nice, but you need to be aware that they won't work well for fast users, so you have to be prepared to wait and be aware of factors like cloud and tree cover which seem to slow down message sending.

Having said that, use it during rest stops and you should be fine and it is nice to be able to let people know that you're okay and exactly where you are at the press of a button and we think it would work well for travellers who want to keep the folks back home reassured.  If you're going to use it as a travel device, you'll also need to make sure the geographical area is covered.

In an ideal world we'd like SPoT to be half the size and weight and have an interface which gives a little more feedback, but to be brutally honest, in a real emergency situation, that would be the last thing on our minds. Potentially it's priceless, but you need to understand its purpose, its limitations and how to use it.

Could save your life in an emergency, some neat additional features.  Clunky interface, effective use requires some thought and patience.

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Adventure Trading Post web site

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