Quote:
Even if SPOT cannot acquire its location from the GPS network it will still attempt to send a distress signal


What part of the word "attempt" is not clear? I can "attempt" to shout from San Francisco to Los Angeles. I can "attempt" to jump to the moon. The truth of the matter is that if the signal path to the sky is so occluded that a GPS fix cannot be made, SPOT's "attempted" transmission to the satellites will not make it either.

You keep referring to the "usage model" for SPOT. The model as you describe it is obviously flawed if SPOT made the tracking service an option that you have to pay an extra annual fee for, then you have to reactivate the function every - I forgot how long each activation lasts? You can't tell me SPOT intended for tracking to be on all the time if they made it an option and then deactivate it when it's left on for a certain period.

Face it. SPOT was a great idea that suffers from a not-so-great implementation. Maybe in a few more years we'll get a unit that does what SPOT fails to deliver on. As SPOT says on it's site:

Quote:
The SPOT Messenger really represents the next-generation of satellite-based solutions for consumers. This product is just the first in what we expect to be a series of innovative SPOT satellite products for the everyday consumer.


I'm waiting for one of those products to be what SPOT should have been. Until then I will provide my brand of product feedback on every forum SPOT's development team might read.