Modern Vespa

For quite a while, support for Spot Messenger emails has been broken. They changed their email format, and I was too lazy to fix it.

Just in time for Cannonball, though, I've gotten it working again. Starting now, you can get an email token for any MV topic and configure your Spot Messenger to send any of its standard messages (OK, Help, or Custom) to MV by email. For topics in the Ride Reports section (or specially-configured topics like this one) your location will be pinpointed on a Google map at the bottom of the page, so don't use it unless you really want to be found (i.e. don't do it from home). For OK messages, only your location will be shown on the map -- nothing will actually be posted in the thread. For Help and Custom messages, the full email from the Spot Messenger service will be posted so that people are aware of your situation.

I know a number of Cannonballers are going to be carrying Spots with them on their upcoming lunacy trip, and I'd like to encourage them all to send us their OK (or even Help and Custom) messages so we can share the adventure from back home.

Got all that? Well, it's a little complicated, so don't feel bad if you don't. Ask any questions you have here in this thread, and I'll try to answer them as best as I can.

Interesting and very nice for those intrepid MVers who ride coast to coast. I don't see the icon on my IPhone though. Any chance of tweaking the mobile version of the site? Is there a way to force Safari to display the regular site?

If you turn your iPhone 90 degrees clockwise Safari will show the regular site. At least it does on mine.

It's definitely there in the iPhone interface, in the upper-right corner (next to the topic title).

I read these msgs trying to understand. Could you put a reference to a chinaman in the first message so I can remove my wooden leg, I need it.

For some background on the Spot Messenger, see this thread: New Spot II Satellite Messenger

For some background on the post-by-email feature, see this thread: New Feature: Post By Email

Now put the two together and you've got the ability to show your location on a map and even ask for help from the MV community.

wait, how does the regular one do a "custom message"? I only have "OK/checkin" "help", "I'm dead"

Only the newer Spot II models have the custom message feature. It's basically just one additional message that you can designate with any text you want. I'm still not quite sure what I'm going to use mine for, but I've seen references online to people using it as a "Reached my destination" button.

Dammit. Oh well. That's life I guess.

I gotta figure this thing out pretty soon heheh. I've just done manual check ins at this point. Maybe that's fine for CBR even. But I think having progress on certaindays could be cool.

Btw, uh, how long does the battery last normally? I have like 10 other lithium but it'd be good to know about continuous usage.

I don't ever use mine in continual tracking mode. On the old one (and maybe the new one, I'm not sure) there's a conflict between continuous tracking and the OK check-in: as soon as you do an OK message, tracking turns off. So if you want to keep tracking on, you can't do check-ins, which means your SO won't get the text message saying "I'm not dead yet". One set of lithium batteries will last the entire CB and then some.

My "SO" will murder me if I put her on the I am not dead yet email list after the last Cannonball. ha.

They claim the batteries last 1 year in check-in mode, they will def last longer than 10 days. I could never get tracking to work right, gave up.

Thanks Danny, Jess, I must be both dull and blind, but it's all clearer now