Spot Price Increase

[bungie4]

So, I got an email from Globalstar (the Spot guys) saying that my CC is invalid and they can't bill me. (thank god)

In the meantime, my buddy tells me he got an email from Spot saying their prices are increasing. I never got it.

I 'might' use my spot once this year so I decide to cancel my service. I log on their website and find that their new pricing is now $199 US for basic service, and $99 US for tracking along with a $15US 'network fee'. With the exchange rate, that puts it at $400 yr Cdn. F.U.C.K T.H.A.T

Trust me, if you call their 800 #, be prepared for a long wait.

I finally got through and they immediately offered to only charge me the same as my invoice from last year ($159US). So if your looking to keep your spot. Call and cancel I guess their losing a crap ton of subscribers and using that as a spiff.

I still canceled mine however with no plans to use it this year, and I'm not spending $200 to use it maybe once. If I travel more next year, I'll reactivate it.

There you have it, threaten to cancel and get a discount. At least for 2017.

[bungie4]

Dupe Deleted. Yes, I am in fact stupid.

[gixxerjasen]

Looks like I have an orange brick in my bag since I figured I'd cancel till I needed it again.

[bungie4]

Looks like I have an orange brick in my bag since I figured I'd cancel till I needed it again.

Make sure you don't have auto-renew enabled in your profile otherwise you're gonna be pissed.

[wheatonFJR]

Thanks for sharing Bungie...I'm.gonna call and "cancel".

[Twigg]

Despite the fact that Bubbler and SWConnect are "not quite there" yet, I am seriously considering canceling Spot after the IBR.

[gixxerjasen]

Looks like I have an orange brick in my bag since I figured I'd cancel till I needed it again.

Make sure you don't have auto-renew enabled in your profile otherwise you're gonna be pissed.

Cancelled earlier last year.

[bungie4]

Despite the fact that Bubbler and SWConnect are "not quite there" yet, I am seriously considering canceling Spot after the IBR.

I don't have a data plan on my phone. A) Its expensive in Canada, B) I'm cheap and C) Wifi is everywhere and free. That being said, what I"d spend on Spot with tracking, I can put a decent data plan on my phone, get all the benefits of that, in addition running SWConnect or Bubbler or Real Rider (psst.. I'm the guy who wrote the custom software that lets Real Rider offer 911 services in Canada. I'll have to post another message about that app).

[Geezer]

I cancelled my SPOT a couple years ago for similar reasons. I dislike the fact that once they get your credit card number they will continue to renew your subscription automatically without notifying you. Other compaines do the same thing, automatic renewal charged with not notification before they charge your card. It seems to be an effective business model, but I don't like it.

Anyway, I also do not have a data plan on my phone. I have not used SWConnect yet, but plan to try it this year. I use an IPhone form Tracfone which has a quantity of data included. I rarely use any data. Does anyone know how much data SWConnect actually uses per hour of tracking?

[Festus]

The problem for some in the Mid-Atlantic region is that there's 13,000 sq. miles of radio free area in some of the best riding of that area. That means no cell phone, no nothing. You break down or need medical help and you'll be waiting for someone to find you or you'll walk/drag yourself to the closest house you can find to borrow their land line.

[Twigg]

The problem for some in the Mid-Atlantic region is that there's 13,000 sq. miles of radio free area in some of the best riding of that area. That means no cell phone, no nothing. You break down or need medical help and you'll be waiting for someone to find you or you'll walk/drag yourself to the closest house you can find to borrow their land line.

For that they sell Personal Locator Beacons (PLBS).

You can get one for a fairly reasonable price.

https://www.rei.com/product/843146/acr- ... oC6Zzw_wcB

[raYzerman]

Depends what you want.... if you want the ability to send OK messages and/or tracking... personal locator beacons are emergency only, I think.

While in Ohio this week, cell service was extremely spotty or nonexistent....... text messages came late, only when you happened to drift into a service area, and IF roaming, depends on your carrier. AT&T coverage sucked.

[LKLD]

Hmm, here I was thinking that they were already expensive. Decisions, decisions.

[Uncle Hud]

I'm reading this a few days afterward, and want to make a couple of points.

First, let's agree that Spotwalla just places data points on a map. Those points come from a data feed from SPOT, SWConnect, Bubbler, or a few other devices or apps. SWConnect and Bubbler depend on cellphone connection and a data plan.

My points are these:

First, if you're riding on pavement, there aren't that many places where you're out of cell phone range, especially in the eastern half of the US. If you're in one of those areas -- deep in the woods, or in a narrow mountain valley -- you're SOL if you crash no matter what comm system you have or how many folks are riding with you. Even the revered SPOT satellite transponder is useless in very steep canyons. If you are in a non-cell area, SWConnect stores your location 'pings' and sends them all at once, accurately placed, when cell service is restored.

(Note: There is a nice riding section of Virginia and West Virginia where cell service is prohibited due to US national security interests. Click here for details.)

Second, SWConnect (and I assume Bubbler) are free to load and free to use. Others are not.

Third, I've used SWConnect with Spotwalla extensively and have noticed no significant increase in my data usage between months with many moto-trips, and months with few moto-trips.
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Before you believe Spotwalla is only semi-useful, you should check coverage maps for your cell provider in the area where you intend to ride. Here are a couple of links: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint.

I can't find any way to estimate my SWConnect data usage, but can guess that it depends on sending pings to Spotwalla every 5 minutes, every 7.5 minutes, or every 10 minutes. Again, I found no significant difference in my data charges during months with heavy and light SWConnect usage. And, most of my non-moto data use is via Wi-Fi connections at home or at the office, which don't show up on my cell phone bill.

Perhaps there is somebody on FJRiders that can provide a quantitative estimate for data usage. (Hello? HELLO??? Is there anybody out there?)

[PJ4863]

I'm assuming that western NC is still the eastern region, as in that I'm east of the Mississippi. There's large sections of road down here where cell coverage is non existant due to national forests. Bubbler/SWconnect won't get your feed until you're back out. The tail of the dragon is notorious for having no cell coverage and large sections of the BRP as well. Upstate NY also had quite large areas with no coverage. My caveat is if you're on or near the interstate you most likely have coverage.
I have a spot that I was thinking of connecting, but not for 200 for the year. I ride currently with a DeLorme/Garmin Inreach. It's worth it for me and the 2 way communication is an added bonus if plans change and I'm in one of the aforementioned areas.

[Burnspot]

SWConnect works fine for me and I don't notice any significant increase in data usage.

[Top_Speed1]

Been using Bubbler Pro since it came out, the cost was minimal (pro ver) and one time fee at that. Does what I want, you do need a smart phone w a data plan. If you're out of cell range whereas the Bubbler cannot send your location, it will just buffer them up until it gets a signal. So Bubbler works with GPS (satellites) as getting your loca (Lat/Lon) but uses the cell towers to transmit this data to mapping (viewing/sources) such as SpotWalla.

A half azzed International work-around could be (with pro ver). Start Bubbler but with phone/device in Airplane mode, let it plot your course as you're going and keep all the spots "buffered". When you come back to your own Country, turn off Airplane mode and all your spots/plots will be sent to Spotwalla. This does no good for realtime info of course, but when you get back home you at least have your routes (including all the goat trails you took!)

[Uncle Hud]

PJ4863 posted: <snip> ... There's large sections of road down here where cell coverage is non existant due to national forests. Bubbler/SWconnect won't get your feed until you're back out. The tail of the dragon is notorious for having no cell coverage and large sections of the BRP as well. Upstate NY also had quite large areas with no coverage.

Pretty much what I said: "... deep in the woods or in a narrow mountain valley ..."

PS: I ride through western North Carolina a lot; a LOT. Never had an issue with my Spotwalla logging at 5 minute intervals. See examples here and here.
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Top_Speed1 posted: <snip> A half azzed International work-around could be (with pro ver). Start Bubbler but with phone/device in Airplane mode, let it plot your course as you're going and keep all the spots "buffered". When you come back to your own Country, turn off Airplane mode and all your spots/plots will be sent to Spotwalla. This does no good for realtime info of course, but when you get back home you at least have your routes (including all the goat trails you took!)

That's a cool suggestion!

[bungie4]

I wonder if any of them will plot by SMS. If not, I could put that on my list of software to write.

I know Jason (Spotwalla) has an API available.

[gixxerjasen]

Just to make something clear, for those reading this that might not be familiar and are looking to tip toe into this..

Spotwalla is not Spot. Spotwalla is an amazing free service provided by Jason who is a really great guy to keep this thing going for everyone out there using it. It can integrate with multiple services of your choosing. It takes data from those services and plots it on the map. Spotwalla is not logging at 5 minute intervals, that interval is set by your device.