The new version of the Spot (gen3) has been available in the USA for months but has not yet been released in the EU because of some localised product testing. I've just seen that it has stated to be advertised with a predicted ship date of end of November.

£144 for the kit
£118 for a years service (tracking included)



For those that haven't seen this, the highlight is rechargable batteries and longer life. Product is a bit more smaller too. They have bundled tracking and service so from now on you can't buy service only. One thing I spotted which might be important for long distance rides is that you can't charge the unit even though there is a USB input.

It's says in the blurb that the usb port can be used for line in power, I'm guessing that means you could power it directly from a dynamo hub or a solar panel like a powermonkey? It also says the device is not waterproof when usb power line is connected.

RE the power in, I'm not sure if the dynamo hub would give a constant power output? Do they have enough inteligence to store charge when you dragging the bike out of a bog or generally not moving?

Maybe a system where the dynamo charged a battery and then the battery had a quality USB power out?

Not an issue for most since a full set of batteries will last for days.

Sorry don't understand first you said "the highlight is rechargeable batteries"

Then you said "you can't charge the unit even though there is a USB input"

So how do you charge and re charge the unit?

Does it fit normal batteries or an on board built in battery?

The spot gen3 is the first that can accept rechargable batteries. Gen2 doesn't work well with them and even states on the unit "must use lithium batteries".

So with the gen3 you can charge up batteries at home and make use of them. You can power the unit whilst the unit is attached to a USB port. The offical options are:

• 4 AAA Energizer® Ultimate Lithium 8x Batteries (L92)
  4 AAA Energizer® NiMH reusable batteries (NH12)
  Line power with a 5v USB connection. (SPOT Gen3 is not waterproof when line powered.)

What you can't do is charge the batteries inside a Spot Gen3 from power provided by the USB line in. From the manual: Please note: NiMH batteries cannot be charged within the SPOT unit using line power, and SPOT Gen3 is not waterproof while being line powered.

So in terms of multi day trips you can't make use of a dyno hub easily since it only powers the device whilst the wheel is moving. Unless you bicycle up a system where a dyno hub charges batteries and these are then cycled into the Spot Gen3. The blurb states the gen3 has twice the battery life than the gen2 so for most trips two sets of batteries will be plenty.

Thanks for the explanation.

Just in case anyone is looking into charging USB devices from a dynamo (linked with the spot3 line in power) this article shows a product that might enhance the dynamo experience by storing a bit of charge and outputting a constant USB charge. Therefore, when stationary for short periods you still get power out.

http://tomsbiketrip.com/biologic-reecha ... ones-more/