On Apr 6, 12:36*pm, glidergeek wrote:
On Apr 6, 11:24*am, vontresc wrote: Hi, I was wondering if anyone else has had problems with their spot
unit not being able to get a GPS signal? Mine was working for about a
month, and now it no longer gets a GPS signal even though it can still
send a help message without location. The GPS light just blinks red
even if I'm outside in the open.

When I called support they were very quick to suggest I make a
warrantee claim to get a new unit, so that made me wonder if this is a
common problem.

Thanks

Pete

Look at this thread.

http://www.backcountrypilot.org/foru...3&t=7089&hilit....

OK I'll play this game. Why should he look at this thread?

0. The discussion on backcountry pilots is about a different product
made by a SPOT partner not the SPOT 2. While they share common
hardware I do not see anything in that thread relevant to the OP's
questions here.

1. The original post was about problems getting a GPS fix on the SPOT.
which you can tell by the LED status. The OP was very clearly not
complaining about the Globalstar data-uplink part of the device.

2. The backcountry pilot thread contains some unqualified/unexplained
comments about Globalstar satellite performance. The poor performance
of Globalstar satellite phones did (rightfully) trash their reputation
but this was due to early degradation in orbit of their S-band system
in the satellite that are used for the voice service. The SPOT simplex
data link operates on the L-Band using different hardware on the
satellites that is/was not affected by their S-band hardware problems.

3. While the posts on backcountry pilots may be genuine there have
been cases of one particular SPOT competitor spreading FUD about SPOT
products on pubic newsgroups and blogs (and I've helped track down
where they were coming from). So be just a little careful when people
criticizing SPOT (or any other) products without backing that up with
any facts or detail. I can pick lots of holes in SPOT and similar
other technology products, but the reality is this stuff works very
well in practice. And I suspect the main issue with SPOT, especially
for our uses, is users understanding a bit about how the technology
works, and especially for the need to obtain a pretty clear sky view
for the Globalstar satellite uplink.

--

To the OP. The GPS chipset in the SPOT 2 unit is pretty good
(technically better than SPOT 1, which was not bad) and should be able
to acquire and keep a fix in lots of situations. Is there something
weird about how you have the unit mounted? Best place is on the canopy
rail or glareshield. From your description I would return the unit to
SPOT for repair/replacement.


Darryl