DeLorme inReach

[Anton Solovyev]

Got new DeLorme. Sounds like they have a little QC problem. Can’t quite yet solder straight the micro-USB port. Would not be a big deal if I had time to wait for an exchange. #firstworldproblem But I guess beware.

[jimmy b]

Bummer. Thank you for posting though. I had to run and check mine as I bought one earlier this year and have a trip coming up to use it on. I had better luck. Will be interesting to see if anyone else has had this issue.

[Lester Moore]

The cover for the USB port on my inReach is a little bit loose, but the port itself seems to work fine. FYI, if you work directly with DeLorme, they have excellent customer service. I contacted them on Tuesday morning due to a “double clicking” problem with the OK/Power button, letting them know I had a big trip coming next week. They sent a replacement that same day via 2-day shipping and it showed up today.

[J R]

Is the port on the inside not properly attached, or is it simply the cover doesn’t stay closed? I’ve found the cover can be finicky but does stay closed when you put it on just right.

[Pedestrian]

I was completely stunned when I first saw the Inreach (the original one) at REI – shoddy and poorly made.

I eventually bought the Explorer more than an year back and have been very happy with its functionality. I still can’t get over just how fragile it looks.

 

 

 

[Anton Solovyev]

The USB cover is not designed (I think) to be watertight. It has a little rubber closure around the port itself. The reason the cover is skewed is that the cover itself is not quite straight and the USB connector inside is slightly angled. I wonder if the PCB inside is not set right, or more likely it is imprecise soldering of the connector.

I do not necessarily think the functionality is compromised, although I do have a mental picture of somebody at the assembly line forcing the case to close. It’s just funny to me that something like this would never pass in the millions of cell phones or cameras at much lower price point. I guess it sucks to not be able to take advantage of the economies of scale… Like I said, #firstworldproblem.

P.S. What I really have hard time believing is that it can survive 1.5 meters submerging for 30 minutes, like the spec says.

[Mercedes Clemens]

The cover on mine is finicky too, but a little fiddling gets it closed.

Like Anton, I have a hard time believing I could submerse this thing and don’t plan to. But if it survives occasional rain, I’m happy with that.

[J R]

The USB cover is not designed (I think) to be watertight.

Actually it is. Whether or not it really is watertight I haven’t tested, but it is at least designed to be. Inside the cover is a rubber gasket the size and shape of the USB port, intended to seal off the port. So the design could allow water under the USB cover but it’s not supposed to allow water into the port itself.

To get it in place what I’ve found works is: the cover has a tooth on the top and another on the bottom that are supposed to go into slots in the body shell to hold in place. I push the top tooth all the way in first (to the right direction in your photo), then I push the cover straight in (onto the USB port), then I slide the cover downward so the bottom tooth goes in the slot (to the left direction in your photo). These directions make it sound more complicated than it is, basically it’s one smooth motion. The key is you can’t just push the cover straight in towards the USB port, and you can’t just slide the top tooth in, you need to engage the teeth on both top and bottom. Even then it isn’t “locked” in real well, but it holds (for me anyway).

Some photos:

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