plant
New Member
Posts: 15 
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Post by plant on Mar 28, 2015 19:15:51 GMT -5
I was hoping someone could tell me the specifics on how a spot device is used to verify a fkt attempt. I've never used one and I am not a tech savvy person. So though this might seem like a dumb question but I would really appreciate a response from anyone who has any knowledge on the subject. Thanks, Plant
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Post by Peter Bakwin on Mar 30, 2015 22:09:56 GMT -5
I was hoping someone could tell me the specifics on how a spot device is used to verify a fkt attempt. I've never used one and I am not a tech savvy person. So though this might seem like a dumb question but I would really appreciate a response from anyone who has any knowledge on the subject. Thanks, Plant I think the answer is clear once you understand the operation of the spot, which you can learn about on their website. Use the unit in track mode, which sends your location every 10min to a website in real time. Announce the website address publicly in advance. |
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Post by treefrog on May 5, 2015 14:06:06 GMT -5
spot really isn't that accurate in terms of verify timing or even sticking to a defined route esp if corners are close knit. it 'attempts' to send a beacon every 10-20 min (i guess units types vary), but some do not go through, and can lead to look like you were not on the route intended.(not a big problem if there are no other trails/roads in the area, but often there are)
the best you could do to improve a start/finish time is to push the units 'ok' button and it will have a timestamp on it,,,,but depending on transmit time it can be off by up to several minutes sometimes....from my experience using both trackers and gps, it would be much easier/accurate to verify both time and route using a gps track log.
if you wonder about seeing an example of route tracking, go to trackleaders.com, click on an active tracker, on the terrain map will be a 'replay' button, hit replay and watch the race in a slower motion. you will see sometimes someone looks off route but they most likely are still on it. I am not sure how much more accurate your own private spot page would be compared to this.
also, the spot private account will only save your trip markers to view for i think 7 days(?) after that the info is not available to you anymore.
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Post by Peter Bakwin on May 5, 2015 18:05:58 GMT -5
Good comments by treefrog, which help clarify some of the limitations of satellite trackers such as SPOT (& Delorme). I have a couple of comments on this: (1) A gps track file (gpx) would be easy to fake, while a SPOT track, which is displayed on the web in real time, would be harder. I'd be surprised to find that someone had gone to the trouble to fake a gpx, but it could happen. (2) SPOT saves your track for 7 days, but you can download and store the data for posterity. For a long trip consider having someone get into your account every week (or less) and download the data.
The way things are falling out in practice, it seems like a lot of people are using GPS track files to verify shorter FKTs (< 12-24hr), while SPOT / Delorme units are more commonly used for longer efforts.
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Post by oysters on Jun 7, 2015 5:34:15 GMT -5
We have a Spot Gen 3 for work and I've used it in South Australia and Indonesia so far. Not very impressed with it to be honest. Seems to be very unreliable in getting transmissions through. Literally never been able to get tracking to work, maybe 20% at best messages get through...despite it telling me they are going through! I've followed the instructions with great care and had other's try it too. I'll be sending it back. Maybe its our unit.
However this all leaves a bad taste in my mouth with the Spot.
I have a Garmin Fenix 2, and if I have a go at an FKT, I'll definitely be wearing it, and recording every step of the way. The battery life on it is good (better than most) but I'll still be recharging it and my android phone every night and downloading the day's file. It will have HR in it too (I want to look at it post trip).
Given that sometimes on the FKT I could get 3G reception, when I do, I'll update my Garmin online. Anyone following could look at it there and then. This isn't as rapid as a spot (assuming spot is normally reliable), however it will have much more accurate data, and have my personal HR tied to it.
Of course I'd do other things like take photographs, sign log books, etc on the trip too. Perhaps a nightly campsite photo, or a regular photo each day of the sky in a certain direction (tied with location, fairly straight forward to check this against satellite cloud data. Pretty hard to fake, especially if they are uploaded fairly regularly during the trip).
I'd rather save the weight and hassle and not have to worry about the Spot too.
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Post by wyoming on Jun 12, 2015 11:39:56 GMT -5
I have had the opposite results with my Spot Gen 3.
It can be set to send a tracking signal every 2 1/2 minutes (time selections are 2 1/2, 5, 10, 30 & 60 mins). I 'mount' my Spot on the top lid of my pack so that it receives maximum exposure to the sky (do not hang it off your chest strap). If one is not under trees I almost never miss a transmission.
An FKT'er using a Spot on max tracking might need to carry a set of spare batteries but they last for quite a while (I have not gone through the process of determining battery life).
There is also a site (http://trackleaders.com/) to which you can have your Spot track points automatically sent which creates a real time track for folks to look at and which keeps the data permanently (Spot only keeps points for 1 week). This tracking site is perfect for recording and verifying as an FKTer could just leave the Spot on 24/7 (at the 2 1/2 min interval) and observers could verify the hikers location 24/7. That would be pretty strong verification.
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