I purchased the SPOT 1 last Spring, and started using it right away. We used it at the house, and it worked great! I almost pinpointed my exact location in my house. Then we tried to use it while hiking.......not so good.
The first hike we used it on was a qucik little hike down to the Lewis river in SW Washington. Once we got to the river bank I turned it on and sent an "OK" message. None of the contacts on my list received it. I thought I should have let it transmit longer (I let it go for about 10 min). So, on our next hike near Silver Star Mountain, I tried again. This time giving it about 15 min of transmit time without moving it. Still.....no one got the message. On our third attempt to use the SPOT, my wife and I hiked up to the top of Silver Star Mountain in SW Washington. Once we got to the top at (about 4,300 feet), I tried again. This time I left it transmitting for 20 min, sitting up on a rock, on a clear day, and without a tree in sight. Still, NOTHING!
After this last attempt, I called spot and told them I thought I had a defective unit. They had me test it right then and there from home, and guess what...it worked great! I got my location in just a couple of min. The guy on the phone told me to try everything I had been doing, and that my unit was okay. So, I think my spot will be going on ebay.
When I was looking at SPOT, I also looked at the ACR line of emergency satellite beacons. I chose SPOT due to it's price compared to ACR. I work in the maritime industry, and am very familiar with ACR products...they are solid and reliable! But, at the time they did not offer the "I'm okay & tracking function" as SPOT did, so I went the cheap way......and got what I paid for. Not to mention the $100 a year subscription fee.
I can't say SPOT is no good, because there are many wonderful success stories. All I know is that it has not worked for me in the wilderness, and I do not have faith in it when I'm out hiking/camping. So, peace of mind being one of the main attractions, I think I'm going to go with the more expensive ACR. They have just introduced their own "I'm okay/tracking service" now, for about $60 a month.
As far as SPOT 2, they just cut some weight, and moved the buttons around. The electronics are the same.Get more detail about SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger unit, Silver/Black.
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