Talking About Adventure In Small Boats
Scareman
Member
I had a fun evening training session in the big winds and flooding creek.
I was pulling hard with a nice bow wake for my 1.5 hour training paddle.
I was hoping SPOT2 would capture my speed and OK messages, but very few of my tracking signals went through. my OK at my turnaround did not make it through.
I was surprised that more tracking signals didn's make it through. It was quite windy with clouds and a bit of spitting rain at times, but i thought SPOT2 would have had better performance.
Please verify placement of your SPOT. Some like to attach it to their arm or shoulder and I have noticed some issues with that even though they provide a nice armband. I'm not saying that this is the issue, but it is one possibility. I have never had problems with signals getting out in bad weather. Dense tree cover or other obstructions can block the signal.
The best place is on the deck in front of you with a clear view of the sky. If you don't have a PLB in your life jacket (and why don't you?) you can have a short tether to you incase you get seperated from your boat. If you do have a PLB (like me) then I prefer to have the SPOT with the boat so I tether it to the boat.
If you had issues with your signals, please contact me by email.
DonKeyHoTey
Member
In last year's EC, our SPOT didn't transmit for a 3.5 hour period -- at a particularly bad time when we were offshore, rounding the Captiva/Sanibel cape in the midst of and following the monstrous Sunday morning line squall. Had the squall hit a few hours earlier, it would have caught us about 8 miles offshore.
Very possibly the heavy weather was responsible for the transmission gap -- but that's a very big gap and it included a spell when our SPOT's emergency capabilities could have been most critical. Our experience with that SPOT is an important reason why we'll have two SPOTs onboard this year. After next month's events, it will be very interesting to analyze whether there were any SPOT transmission gaps; what were the weather etc circumstances at the time; and, if they involved boats with multiple SPOTs onboard, whether both SPOTs gapped at the same time, etc.
Scareman
Member
SPOT2 was on deck, unobstructed, no other electronics used, in a waterproof bag.
I normally have 2 GPS working beside SPOT2 without issues, but that was not the case yesterday - No GPS beside SPOT2.
My last several paddles, I leave the GPS at home and just go work on technique and watch my bow wave.
Whale
Member
Had my SPOT on the deck in a waterproof box that I have used. I have never had this problem before so I wasn't watching the lights. I was too busy trying to navigate in the heavy sea fog. My SPOT was 12 " away from my Garmin 78 SC. Out of concern that the GPS may have effected it I did a test today where I put the GPS right next to it to see how it worked. It worked fine but the skies were clear. Go figure. First time I have had a problem like this.
Whale
I would suspect heavy water content in the air was the problem. We all know that SPOT doesn't work that well in heavy tree cover and it is because of the water content in the trees. The problem has to do with the ability of the high frequency radio waves to penetrate different materials. Non conductive materials like plastic are not a problem. Metal is conductive, and very little will block the signal. Sea fog is somewhere between these two, so that is my guess for why no signals got out. I also suspect the problem was not in getting a GPS fix; you probably noticed your GPS was working fine. However, SPOT also transmits at a very high frequency so the transmitted signals could possibly be suppresed by the fog. Again, I'm just guessing based on a few known facts...
Incidentally, the lower the frequency, the better the radio signals can penetrate different materials. In the case of submarines, they need to receive communications while submerged, so "Extremely Low Frequencies" (ELF) are used: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communication_with_submarines
Leaving your SPOT at home? I hope you have a PLB. If there is one lesson I would like to get across to all WaterTribers is that anything can happen to anyone. The SPOT isn't perfect but it is better than nothing.
Also this period is for practicing and getting practice with SPOT in all conditions is part of it. Take it with you and use it during this period leading up to the race.
Anyone who has problems with a SPOT signal when the SPOT is located correctly should contact SPOT and get it squared away. I have not had those problems with mine. Fog and rain should not cause a problem.
Hmmm, I wear mine on the shoulder of the PFD all the time (where it faces forward at a slant) and it seldom gives trouble there, coast or lake. I have also left it on deck in a small Pelican case, and it worked. The main time troubles have occured have been when first turned on at the launch site with tree cover as I set up; then it takes some time to establish itself after I launch. -- Wade
Scareman
Member
Whoa Chief, I left GPS at home, not SPOT2 I always carry my SPOT2 on deck in a bag with my Garmin 76 CSX (keeping it off), but left my Garmin 400C at home.
I always keep my PLB and VHF radio tethered in my right PFD pocket every time on the water.
I even went back the other night to get batteries because my Spot2 was not working when I was unloading.
I hope you just read my post wrong and confused GPS and SPOT2.
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