Deconstructing SPOT 
via  Sparfun

The SPOT Connect is a pretty awesome device. Basically, with a clear view of the sky, you can transmit small amounts of data (like text messages or short tweets) across a low-orbit satellite network from nearly anywhere on earth. You can control the SPOT Connect messenger with simple serial commands. This is a great device if you find yourself stranded in the forest and your "Man vs. Wild"skills aren't up to snuff.

They are a bit pricey ($150 for the hardware, $100 a year for the service, $20 for the breakout board, $0.10 per message) but that didn't stop SparkFun CEO Nate from taking one and completely dismantling it. Which brings us to today's post.

The guts that make SPOT go.

Nate created a great writeup all about his SPOT Connect teardown. In this tutorial, Nate takes the SPOT Connect and does a hefty bit of investigating. He breaks it into two parts:  Part 1 covers the serial interface requirements while Part 2 covers the tear down and reverse engineering aspect of this project. Check out the tutorial to see what Nate discovered!