DeLorme inReach SE announced, ships mid to late April

Yes, it's like the initial SE roll-out all over again!
(Even took five rounds of phone calls with DeLorme tech support to get my Explorer to realize it was indeed an Explorer and not some sort of Explorer/SE hybrid, although that could have been only because I transferred over my service plan from the SE to the Explorer.)

The reaction of DeLorme tech support to all this has been amusing in a way, as they sure are good at keeping a "poker face" (well, the telephone equivalent) even after a loooong hold during which they must have had a very interesting conversation to verify that they are indeed chewing up their own Iridium bandwith (and Explorer battery power) with constant updates of every single Explorer-created waypoint…

The latest invoice just arrived: even though I'm supposed to get 10 freebies per "monthly" billing cycle (7th of each month through to the 6th of the following month), DeLorme is now charging me for every single message I send . . . which for this past cycle consisted of a test message (which isn't even supposed to count against my 10/month allotment) plus two track points (inadvertently sent while trying to figure out the new tracking options with the Explorer).

The fun side of those incorrect charges is that I can determine how much free satellite upload time I received from the Explorer's undocumented and apparently unintentional (and unalterable) constant uploading of all navigational data to the DeLorme website map page.
(I see from the usage that this must include not only waypoint creation and navigation, but also track *logs* even if track *points* are not being sent.)

Based on the average rate DeLorme charged me for the "units" attributable to the test message and track points, I received almost $19 worth of free (yet utterly worthless to me, and also battery-draining) satellite upload time.
And that was for maybe just a couple hours of so of navigational time.
For the current billing cycle when I'm actually use the Explorer in the field later this month, a quick calculation shows that DeLorme will be giving me (unless they fix it soon) over $500 in free satellite time!

It took me two tries to install 2.6.1

Seems there is some Explorer-like behavior now on the SE. In History I can View a bunch of points plotted. Not exactly sure how to do anything with them, however. There's a Navigate button, which suggests the SE could direct me to a selected point. Not that I care. (But, who knows?, maybe I might someday.)

The updated Help had nothing to say on the topic. Probably reading the Explorer User Guide would tell.

The dates are still maddeningly stated as days of the week. Sometimes I've got real dates, but now it's all days of the week. Different weeks, though. Can't tell which. I've talked to DeLorme about this. They agree it's a problem. This is one problem that has to be easy to fix: Always use dates.

I posted a detailed review here:
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2JLBBG6VLZGUD/ref=cm_cr_pr_viewpnt#R2JLBBG6VLZGUD
… which prompted a follow-up from DeLorme (with gpx support coming soon, yeah!).

"It took me two tries to install 2.6.1"

I was having the same sort of trouble, so I complained to Delorme. Their answer: Do it twice!

–B.G.–

Nothing on the DeLorme support web site about what’s in 2.6.2, but that’s what got installed today (eventually) while trying to sync.

https://support.delorme.com/kb/articles/44-inreach-se-explorer-firmware-update-release-notes

Update took three tries. Before third try, I reset screen lock from ON to OFF, and reset display timer from 30 seconds to 5 minutes, because it looked like the install bombed just after the screen locked.

After the update, I had to reset a bunch of settings again, including Bluetooth, Time Zone, and Coordinates. Other inReach SE owners don’t have this problem, guess I’m lucky.

And the icons on the home screen have changed positions.

Added: No plotting in History, no Navigate button. Maybe those features were removed? I skipped the 2.6.1 update.

Added: Owner info finally shows up on lock screen!

— Rex

I tried several times to install 2.6.2, but it always hung. I gave up since I didn't need to sync. Will try again when I'm desperate.

UPDATE: Just checked the SE itself, and apparently the firmware is 2.6.24021. Somehow the update worked despite appearing to fail several times. The Explorer-like behavior is gone.

"2.6.24021"

That's what I've had for over a month now.

I don't think that the thing actually fails, but it does several things that make the user feel that it has failed in the update process.

–B.G.–

"I don't think that the thing actually fails, but it does several things that make the user feel that it has failed in the update process."

Sounds like a failure to me. If success looks like failure, it's not success . . . in the realm of updating firmware, anyway. Historically though, success comes in many guises.

Took a little work, but you can import track points into Google Earth, and get an elevation profile.
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=90733&nid=791123

— Rex

After 2 failures to update, I shut of my virus scan and firewall (always a good idea) and it finally worked. I doubt the issue was the firewall though because the errors I received when it failed suggested that it was a lost connection to Delorme's site.

Strangest thing is that my firmware version is different than what you guys are seeing. My unit is running 2.6.25624. This makes me think that Delorme is doing minor tweaks to their software as they go… a bit concerning.

"This makes me think that Delorme is doing minor tweaks to their software as they go… a bit concerning."

Mike, I raised that same concern to the tech support staff last month, and they claimed that it was all necessary. Yes, it might be necessary, to put one patch over the error that they made the month before.

–B.G.–

Nice that the track export feature has returned — migrated to a new spot, which also has just the right amount of available real estate to its left to allow for an "import" button (please…).

And my Explorer now also shows 2.6.25624 after a sync.

I got my InReach SE yesterday. Activated the safety plan, synced updates, and got the Delorme App on my Android phone.

I'm spending the weekend with wife and grandson in Red River Gorge, KY this weekend. I'll be bringing the unit with me to test its send/receive capabilities.

No other trips planned for July, so I can burn a message or two and still be under my monthly limit.

Thanks to you guys for continuing to update this thread with information. It's been great to monitor the discussion. It gave me much more confidence in picking the InReach SE over a SPOT or a PLB.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/93357/index.html

A link to separate thread on a new communication device. Curious what more folks think.

"No other trips planned for July, so I can burn a message or two and still be under my monthly limit."

You will want to pay attention to when your month starts and ends. It is not the end of the month. For you, the month will start about when you activated it.

–B.G.–

So let's see:
– DeLorme inReach can send and receive messages with any SMS or email address anywhere in the world
vs
– goTenna can send and receive messages only with another goTenna-linked phone via two-watts on MURS within a range of . . . well, take your pick:

http://www.androidpolice.com/2014/07/17/gotenna-looks-like-pricey-cool-way-stay-connected-signal-available-now-pre-order/
"Under normal circumstances, expect to be within a mile or two of someone instead."

http://www.cnet.com/news/gotenna-creates-cell-network-out-of-thin-air-anywhere-on-earth/
"[…] around 1 mile in skyscraper-filled urban areas, but up to 9 miles in most outdoor situations like hiking and camping. If you're climbing or, say, out skiing, it shoots from 9 miles to as high as 50 miles once you start ascending to higher elevations."

https://www.yahoo.com/tech/gotenna-makes-smartphones-into-walkie-talkies-sort-of-91994621824.html
"GoTenna says its devices will transmit up to three miles in the woods or eight miles over open water."

http://www.fastcompany.com/3032791/most-creative-people/gotenna-lets-you-text-when-theres-no-service
"Perdomo says in a city the low-frequency radio waves reach about a mile, but in an open field it can reach about 50 miles."

http://www.examiner.com/article/gotenna-allows-you-to-send-texts-when-you-have-no-service
"For example, at the top of a mountain, a GoTenna could find devices up to 50 miles away. But when in the center of a forest, it might only be able to reach three to four miles away."

The first month for the inReach is prorated — or at least mine was last year.
And the month is not a calendar month, but a 30/31-day period that starts on the 7th and ends on the 6th . . . or at least that's what mine was shifted to.
So depending on exactly when you activate, you might have only a single message of the normal ten allowance.

"And the month is not a calendar month, but a 30/31-day period that starts on the 7th and ends on the 6th . . . or at least that's what mine was shifted to."

There are others of us with a month starting on the 15th. I suspect that everybody has a different date. It might not be a 30/31-day period, either. February is shorter.

–B.G.–

"February is shorter."

When did that happen? Are the Feds messing with the eternal verities again?

Explorer model update: gpx file import is now supported!

Waypoint total is currently capped at 200, but "We are working to remove the limit in the coming weeks."
Also, each imported tracklog is limited to 512 points/nodes. But since the number of separate tracklogs/routes appears to be unlimited, if you want to retain the original detail of each tracklog, then you can just split it into however many separate components are necessary to stay within 512.

Export to gpx still seems to capture only the Explorer-created tracklog.
But that's not a big drawback for me personally, as the limited number of waypoints I anticipate creating with the Explorer can be copied over manually to other software.
(By contrast, I have many hundreds of previously created waypoints I want to import into the unit, and probably some new tracklogs/routes too so as to compensate for the unit's lack of a basemap.)

I'm trying to frame this as a complaint, but it's not easy.

The last couple of months the fees added onto my monthly Safety Plan invoice are adding up to about seventeen cents. So, instead of paying the advertised rate of $11.95, I'm being soaked for $12.12! A few months ago, as I recall, the fees were two or three dollars extra.

Those were the days!

You want to watch your DeLorme invoice closely for mistakes.

I caught them at one last month. Strangely enough, the mistake was in their favor.

–B.G.–

Jonathan – thanks for the Explorer update info.

When my inReach SE gave up on me a few weeks ago I replaced it with the Explorer. I picked it up a day before a week long trip in the Rockies, so not much time to test it before heading out. Your review was very helpful.

The GPX import is great news for me as well, but unlike you, the lack of support for an all inclusive GPX file export is very frustrating for me. I want to (and did) leave my Garmin GPS at home on my recent trip but since I used the inReach Explorer to mark waypoints for trail intersections etc, I was disappointed to see the waypoints weren't in the GPX export file. Having to transfer them manually is too time consuming.

One of the main reasons I went with the Explorer was to be able to capture (and export) waypoints. The capturing part works well and the map screen worked well for me too, which was a pleasant surprise since it's so small. I like the fact that you can pan on the map screen (unlike my Foretrex, which doesn't pan on the map screen… Very useful).

"You want to watch your DeLorme invoice closely for mistakes."….yeah, 50¢ for Test Message this month.

Edit: Acc't says they're fixing the system.