thx for the heads up... i was thinking about getting one...one of the unaffected ones

got one of these for xmas, when I went to activate the thing it gave me an error. Kinda bummed on it, sceptical about using it in the future. Good news is the new unit is really small.

It is a good product, they just have to iron the kinks on the new unit.
Also, Japan used to be omitted (in the fine print) from the coverage but it has now been added, and anybody who owns a unit in Japan and subscribes to their SAR insurance is now covered (it changed just about a couple of weeks ago).

HH, I know some people complained about the AK coverage, so you may want to double-check on that.

good to hear

do you know the details of how its works in japan: Does the unit call 119 (the number for the Fire Department in Japan)? Does the unit automatically send search and rescue to the scene?

Very good question. I have asked the GEOS SAR team exactly the same thing a few days ago.
They are supposed to get back to me on this. I will post here once they do.

I feel a bit silly with the fact that I had a SPOT and the SAR coverage was not yet applicable in Japan (even though the signal would be sent, including email to your friends), but I feel better with the fact that after re-reading the fine print and writing to them, Lloyds has agreed to activate their SAR underwriting coverage via GEOS to the whole of Japan immediately. These guys have been very forthcoming and willing to push the coverage of their product which is good news.

I also feel a bit silly buying a SPOT not long before the new version came out. I could feel a new one was about to come out as well as they were having promotions on SPOT-1 to get rid of the inventory, but I thought I would go ahead anyway and give it a good testing. The fact that the SPOT-2 has problems makes me feel a bit better although I do feel for those who just bought the new unit.

If you're interested, here is what I have found out on the unit so far in terms of testing, etc:

SPOT Tests (pls note this is for the SPOT-1)

Cheers for this thread Mr Killjoy. Some good stuff in here.

I had the pleasure to test the SPOT-1 unit while camping in a forested area over the week-end and it performed flawlessly. Forrests with thick foliage had been one of the weaknesses of the unit in summer/autumn testing. I am also still waiting for GEOS to get back to me on their Japan-based emergency procedures. Will keep ppl posted when (if at all) I have some feedback on that.

By the way, the SPOT/GEOS team has replied to me with their procedures when it comes to Japan.

They have 11 regional centres spread across Japan to coordinate SAR operations here.
If you are interested, I have put the their procedures and listed their centres in a centralized location for SPOT info there:

SPOT Info Japan

I think once these guys iron out their battery issues with SPOT-2, that will be a great piece of kit to have on the trail, regardless of the season.
Meanwhile I am very happy with the SPOT -1.

Funny SPOT story.

good link pinky. yup some call them yuppie 911s.