Monday, May 1, 2023

refurbished, or not


I received my replacement SPOT GEN4 today.  SPOT had contacted me during my winter sail down south to say my GEN3 had a defect and they would send me a new GEN4 for around $50.  When I got home the device was waiting for me.  I opened the package to see it was not a "new" device.  There was a scuff mark on the case, finger prints on the buttons and scratch marks on the battery plate screws.  When I tested it out this past week I found it did not record data consistently.  So I called SPOT to say the item was defective and also used, not new.  Both the tech and the manager told me they did not distribute refurbished devices.  I will take them at their word that this was what they were told.  But the final line on the packing slip for the GEN4 I rec'd today tells a different story.  This is in fact a new device.  I will test it out over the next few days.


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Having been caught in an unexpected storm on the winter trip I decided to upgrade my Storm Radar app.  I had been using the free version which gives a forecast radar image for about the next four hours.  The paid version, in addition to having multiple layers to apply to the map, forecasts out about eight hours or so, which would cover basically entire sailing day.  A good investment at about $10 for the first year, $20 per year after that.




 

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