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Prior to the winter trip I decided up update my SPOT Gen3 tracking device. For some reason it would not accept the update. I called their technical department and they talked me through downloading the logs of my attempted updates and had me email the logs to them. About a week later, while I was sailing south on the ICW the tech adviser called to tell me that the Gen3 had a defect that could not be fixed. To solve the problem they offered to sell me a new Gen4 device for about $50. Sounded like a good deal.
The Gen4 was waiting for me when I returned home. Opening the box it appeared that the device was not new, there was a scuff mark on the cover and the black screws on the battery plates had silver scrapes from someone using a screwdriver to open the plate. Hmmm. Maybe they sent me a refurbished device. As long as it worked, what do I care?
Well I found out testing the last three days that it does not work. I sailed three days in a row with the device mounted on the centerboard trunk where I have long kept my SPOT devices. The device recorded some data points but certainly not all. Yesterday I did about a two hour sail and above is the track the device recorded. It shows a few marks, each five minutes apart, and then there is an hour and a half gap that was not recorded.
I called SPOT last night and they said clearly there is a problem with the device. Interestingly when I described it as a refurbished device they said they do not sell refurbished equipment. Again, Hmmm.
After I described the appearance of the Gen4, the scuff mark and the scratched screws, they said they would send me a new (really new) device in time to test it out for the spring sail. Hopefully it will arrive in a few days and I can give it a test run.
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