One thing you have to remember is this is a life saving device not a cellphone. SOS first, messaging secondary. I've had one for 3 years and its has been more reliable then the sat phone I carried. I have had very few times a message hasn't got out and back quickly. I pay $30 a month for unlimited and $100,000 in medivac insurance. The spot goes everywhere I go along with an ifak and cat 3 tourniquet.
I use the SPOT Gen 4 and I’ve had success testing text messages getting signal in my back yard, but, thankfully, I’ve never had to use it in the wilds. Hopefully it performs better than yours has so far. I did purchase the search/rescue insurance that they offer. Thanks for the review. Looking forward to part two.
I have this unit and set my fetching timer to 2 1/2 minutes. this uses some more battery but time between texts is faster. I wish someone would come up with some kind of light weight backpacker special antenna an insulator then a wire and an aligtor clip so you can stretch out an antenna or take the spotx antenna and stick it to a soda can , dunno, just would be nice for a better antenna for like a base camp setup.
I’m not going to count it out yet. I’ve been playing with it all weekend and all messages have gone through so far🤷♂️🤷♂️. I’ll keep testing and playing with it for a while.
good stuff man, I like the new Dirtbike content, ive got the 2 wheel bug myself after buying an old TTR250. Now i want a more modern bike! Good info with these gadgets too
Hi. As a Spotx user for a year I can share this two things: 1. They have greatly improved message hit and speed since October/November 2021. I am now getting messages back within 10 minutes of sending or less. 2. It is not reliable when it's in movement. If you want to keep a conversation it's better to leave it at an open area and use bluetooth to communicate. If not, mountain tops are great. Thanks for your honest review.
That's good to know. I haven't used mine since probably September. I need to charge it up and do more testing. I used it quite a bit more after this video with great success
The trouble with any of those devices is that they have low transmit power. They are all unreliable, and if your stuck in a valley or dense forests forget about getting a signal out. I’ve used all of them and the only dependable one with high transmit power and guaranteed rescue is with a Epirb beacon using Sarsat network. Unfortunately you can’t message but you’ll be rescued.
The way I look at it is you've got zero chance if bring nothing at all and a greater than 0% chance if your bring some kind of satalite sos/communication device. Old rules still apply such as telling somebody where you're going and what time to send the calvary if you don't show up by a certain time.
Man mine works perfectly still in 2024 used it on the entire Appalachian trail twice with no issues, its slow but its using a satellite its slower than cell towers . I notice that nobody ever mentions if they updated the firmware or learned how to use it prior to taking it into the field. I Mean this isnt a communication device like a cellphone 😂 man
I hate using it as messaging, but I love it for 🆘. The trees cause interference sending messages. The satellites 🛰 comes in at an angle with the earth spinning 66,000 mph. I use same their sat phone too and it’s the same in trees. Try it wide open and you’ll have a different experience. Also check your fetch rate.
If you understand how sat communication systems work you will understand why this happens any why all sat devices are like this. Sat phones are the same.
LOLz @ those saying that "This isnt a cellphone" and that 20 min message times are "to be expected". This may seem normal if you've never actually had a REAL device thats ACTUALLY reliable. My zoleo blows this thing out of the water and it's cheaper to boot. Sends AND receives messages inside of 1 minute. Sometimes 2 mins if the sky is cloudy. So ya, get a real device before saying 20 mins is "normal".
I have the Inreach and its nice but there is no keyboard and its horrible to send messages. It takes a very long time to write a message because you have to use a silly arrow to select letters. It would take people 40 minutes to type 3 sentences. So neither is fast. The spot x had two advantages over Inreach. It has a keyboard and has an insurance package..if you use inreach you could end up with a $300,000 bill if you have to be saved. Youd wish you were dead after getting those bills. That's why im considering the switch. Want to trade devices?
Sounds like a reference to the new iPhone 14 pro’s satellite SOS capability. iPhone doesn’t give you the ability to send text and location data to phones though, just SOS.
One thing you have to remember is this is a life saving device not a cellphone. SOS first, messaging secondary. I've had one for 3 years and its has been more reliable then the sat phone I carried. I have had very few times a message hasn't got out and back quickly. I pay $30 a month for unlimited and $100,000 in medivac insurance. The spot goes everywhere I go along with an ifak and cat 3 tourniquet.
I use the SPOT Gen 4 and I’ve had success testing text messages getting signal in my back yard, but, thankfully, I’ve never had to use it in the wilds. Hopefully it performs better than yours has so far. I did purchase the search/rescue insurance that they offer. Thanks for the review. Looking forward to part two.
I have this unit and set my fetching timer to 2 1/2 minutes. this uses some more battery but time between texts is faster. I wish someone would come up with some kind of light weight backpacker special antenna an insulator then a wire and an aligtor clip so you can stretch out an antenna or take the spotx antenna and stick it to a soda can , dunno, just would be nice for a better antenna for like a base camp setup.
You can actually use a yaggi antenna to make the signal better
I am always out by myself, I was thinking about this unit, not so much any more. Thanks man.
I’m not going to count it out yet. I’ve been playing with it all weekend and all messages have gone through so far🤷♂️🤷♂️. I’ll keep testing and playing with it for a while.
Did you update it man? Mine works fine
Garmin costs too much.
good stuff man, I like the new Dirtbike content, ive got the 2 wheel bug myself after buying an old TTR250. Now i want a more modern bike! Good info with these gadgets too
Very helpful review. Thanks
Hi. As a Spotx user for a year I can share this two things: 1. They have greatly improved message hit and speed since October/November 2021. I am now getting messages back within 10 minutes of sending or less.
2. It is not reliable when it's in movement. If you want to keep a conversation it's better to leave it at an open area and use bluetooth to communicate. If not, mountain tops are great.
Thanks for your honest review.
That's good to know. I haven't used mine since probably September. I need to charge it up and do more testing. I used it quite a bit more after this video with great success
The trouble with any of those devices is that they have low transmit power. They are all unreliable, and if your stuck in a valley or dense forests forget about getting a signal out. I’ve used all of them and the only dependable one with high transmit power and guaranteed rescue is with a Epirb beacon using Sarsat network. Unfortunately you can’t message but you’ll be rescued.
The way I look at it is you've got zero chance if bring nothing at all and a greater than 0% chance if your bring some kind of satalite sos/communication device. Old rules still apply such as telling somebody where you're going and what time to send the calvary if you don't show up by a certain time.
Man mine works perfectly still in 2024 used it on the entire Appalachian trail twice with no issues, its slow but its using a satellite its slower than cell towers . I notice that nobody ever mentions if they updated the firmware or learned how to use it prior to taking it into the field. I Mean this isnt a communication device like a cellphone 😂 man
Great review! Thanks for posting.
I hate using it as messaging, but I love it for 🆘. The trees cause interference sending messages. The satellites 🛰 comes in at an angle with the earth spinning 66,000 mph. I use same their sat phone too and it’s the same in trees. Try it wide open and you’ll have a different experience. Also check your fetch rate.
If you understand how sat communication systems work you will understand why this happens any why all sat devices are like this. Sat phones are the same.
Another person tested the Spot X and the Garmin. Both had 70% success rate texting.
I've since tested mine out over the last few months and it's been 90% or better.
Has anyone tried receiving messages on the spot x from a cellphone sms?
In my mind, that unit is not reliable enough for me to depend on. I would like to get some type of satellite device, but don't know which one.
I need one of these gps’s but no one won me over yet
LOLz @ those saying that "This isnt a cellphone" and that 20 min message times are "to be expected". This may seem normal if you've never actually had a REAL device thats ACTUALLY reliable. My zoleo blows this thing out of the water and it's cheaper to boot. Sends AND receives messages inside of 1 minute. Sometimes 2 mins if the sky is cloudy. So ya, get a real device before saying 20 mins is "normal".
The trees are the problem, satellites cruise by, they don’t hover over you between the trees.
I have the Inreach and its nice but there is no keyboard and its horrible to send messages. It takes a very long time to write a message because you have to use a silly arrow to select letters. It would take people 40 minutes to type 3 sentences. So neither is fast. The spot x had two advantages over Inreach. It has a keyboard and has an insurance package..if you use inreach you could end up with a $300,000 bill if you have to be saved. Youd wish you were dead after getting those bills. That's why im considering the switch. Want to trade devices?
Apple destroyed this device too
Please explain?
Sounds like a reference to the new iPhone 14 pro’s satellite SOS capability. iPhone doesn’t give you the ability to send text and location data to phones though, just SOS.
@@DerangedOffRoad eventually it will. When 2 year free period is over. They will team up with the SOS providers.
Interesting. I don’t keep up on this tech stuff too much like Joe does. My opinion, I’d rather have one device that does it all than two.
-Dave
@@DerangedOffRoad SOS comes on phones will give option people to go anywhere than ever before.
Go to forest, mountain, oceans.... You're covered.