Any info on Desert Star Sport Tracker?

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I just received my sport yesterday and will be checking it out this weekend. I have owned and used a scout for about five years. The scout is ok...but somewhat complicated to get used to (understanding the flashing lights) and does have its limitations. I sometimes had issues and frustrations with it (usually low battery or trying to get the magnet on/off to work) and could not use it. When it worked, it did function as designed and got me back to the anchor line more times than not. When it did not, it was usually due to very poor visibility and I swam right by the anchor. The majority of my diving is along the Massachusetts coastline and the visibility is usually not very good. For those of you who are bug hunters or scallop divers, you know what I mean when I say why bother with a compass. The scout, even with it's little hassles and complicated light system, did work for me and I have been pleased with it. For those who cannot afford the sport, the scout is not a bad tracking system to consider.
That said, I've decided to upgrade to the sport model. The ease of turning the units on,the low battery indicators, and the longer range made me decide to upgrade. It has not been in the water yet, but my first impression is how much larger and more robust the units are compared to the scout. I will post next week how the sport model worked in actual dive conditions.
 
I have used the Sport on 6 dives. Thumbs up! As I mentioned earlier, I have used the Scout for about 3 years and was pleased with it but it does have it's limitations and I was not fully comfortable relying on it. The Sport is a more robust system, easier to use, and I am very comfortable relying on it...actually depending on it. I went out Saturday off Childrens Island and due to the offshore storm it was a washing machine with about 1 foot vis. The Sport worked like a charm. I am very pleased with this product.
 
I have the sport and find it very useful in low vis conditions. It's range is great, at about 200 yards across a quarry I was able to get the signal and home in directly to the dive platform.

My only complaint is that the battery closure clips are easy to lose...I need a new one fro the transmitter.

Mike
 
I know a couple of people who use the smaller receiver (Scout) and the longer range transmitter (Sport). Is this a viable option?

I had also heard that if there are multiple users from different boats in the water that the larger unit is the better one in terms of not ending up on the wrong boat. If this is accurate, does mixing and matching the two systems negate this advantage of the larger unit.
 
I know a couple of people who use the smaller receiver (Scout) and the longer range transmitter (Sport). Is this a viable option?

Although I can say it is possible, would I do it? No

Just think about it....Would you run racing tires on a Ford Pinto? No

The reason I wouldn't do it is because you are limited by the range of the Scout. So, having a more powerful transmitter doesn't help if you don't have a more powerful receiver.

I had also heard that if there are multiple users from different boats in the water that the larger unit is the better one in terms of not ending up on the wrong boat. If this is accurate, does mixing and matching the two systems negate this advantage of the larger unit.

The reason the larger one is better is because you can tune the frequency. Without doing so, you could potentially end up at the wrong boat. However, by tuning your frequency then you are only "talking" to that transmitter. If there were 3-4 other people on the same boat then you could just use one transmitter. However, if their are 3-4 other people (with Sports) and everyone is on a separate boat then you would be wise to get together before hand. Then you could also tune yours into a different frequency.


Here is a copy of the full Sport manual, the systems are only shipped with a instruction card: Desert Star Knowledge Base
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/perdix-ai/

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