Out, damn'd spot! out, I say! Shakespeare, was prescient.
I am only going to talk about the SPOT 2 version.
If you want to give yourself the best chance of having a valid OK message at any point in your journey, you have to watch the indicator lights - the two small light just above the buttons. When you push the OK button, the button will start to blink. Shortly after that you should see the GPS indicator - the left side of the two indicators - start to blink. That means it is acquiring your position. Next you watch for the MSG indicator - the right side - to see when it starts blinking. Sometimes this happens quickly and sometimes not so quick, but usually it will be within a minute or less. When the message light is blinking it means your SPOT is sending your position. At that time it is OK to launch from the beach. The OK button will continue blinking until your position has been confirmed. It will stop blinking after about 15-20 minutes.
All of the above is on pages 9, 10, and 12 of your SPOT User's Guide. Page 14 will tell you how a HELP message works. Page 16 will cover the SOS message.
So how do you use a SPOT for a long derby session?
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Turn it on when you get to the launch site and let it warm up.
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When you are ready to go, hit the OK Button.
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Watch for the green GPS light to flash.
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Watch for the MSG light to flash.
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After the MSG light flashes 4 times, launch into your adventure.
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Wait for the OK Button to stop flashing.
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Put your SPOT in tracking mode.
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When your bow touches the beach at your launch/finish point, hit the OK Button.
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Unload your boat and don't leave until the OK button stops flashing at which time you can shut off your SPOT.
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You can earn maximum points this way. Of course you can hit an OK message at any point to give you some options when calculating your points.
How do you use a SPOT for a short derby session like a hike or short on the water session?
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Turn it on for a few minutes of warmup.
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Hit the OK when you are ready to leave.
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Watch the lights as directed above and don't start until the MSG light starts blinking.
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Hike or paddle in as straight a line as possible.
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Hike or paddle until the OK Button stops blinking or 30 minutes has elapses which ever is longer.
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Hit the OK Button at your turn around, but stay at that point until the MSG light starts flashing.
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Hike or paddle back to your starting point and hit the OK Button. Leave the SPOT in view of the sky until the OK button stops flashing.
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It is relatively easy to get >= 6.5 points this way to max out your weekly score.
Anyone who has problems with a missing OK message or stuff like that should contact me by email. I can fix or recover most things that can happen. Also, you can just put it in tracking mode right at the start. Any tracking message can be converted (by me) to an OK message if one is missing. Remember if you need help with your derby session, I need to know ASAP before the week closes at midnight Sunday/Monday.
Remember that SPOT only tracks your position when you send a message or about every 10 minutes when in tracking mode. You can cover a lot of ground in 10 minutes of walking or paddling so short circular routes will get cut off and not show accurate distance covered. It sucks but there it is. Now that you understand the operation you should be able to plan courses that will get a fairly accurate distance calculation.