Rever

#1
Leaving with a friend for a long distance ride. We are doing an Iron Butt Ride at the 1st leg of our trip. I have the forms and application, I know about the receipts, and odometer photo. As for tracking, I would like to know is Rever accepted? We are leaving in a week, and would appreciate your input.
 

Ira

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#2
Answered in another thread to which you posted the same question.

Ira Agins
Iron Butt Association
 
#3
Hello Ira. I hate to be a bother, but I can't find that other thread. My question is a little different. I have the R-Link installed on my bike. This is a dedicated GPS unit for tracking (kinda like both a SPOT and the old Lo-Jack). Would a track sent from the R-Link work?
 

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Ira

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#4
I'm not sure what you mean by "work."

That said, the answer is the same for any tracking device, whether it be cellular- or satellite-based. And that is, for rides that do not call out a specific requirement for tracking, the submission of such documentation will be evaluated in the context of all your other ride documentation.

Ira Agins
Iron Butt Association
 
#5
I'm not sure what you mean by "work."

That said, the answer is the same for any tracking device, whether it be cellular- or satellite-based. And that is, for rides that do not call out a specific requirement for tracking, the submission of such documentation will be evaluated in the context of all your other ride documentation.

Ira Agins
Iron Butt Association

Apologies for not being clear. In rides that DO require tracking (i.e. any premier ride) would a track given by the R-Link be equal to those supplied by SPOT?
 

Ira

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#6
I refer you to the rules regarding Premier ride submissions:

"- Must use an on-line satellite tracking system (one where the data is written to an independent on-line source), and submit the link to the tracking system. We prefer SPOTWALLA, but other apps may be used with prior approval. Please see the spotwalla protocol requirements."

And from the Spotwalla protocol requirements (https://ironbutt.com/themerides/swreq.html):

"It is a standing rule of IBA ride certification that it is the responsibility of the rider to “prove” completing the ride as specified by the certification protocols. As the complexity of IBA certification rides has grown, so has the need for supplemental documentation to support elements of the rider’s application. Therefore, the satellite tracking device and SpotWalla trip protocols below must be followed when “SpotWalla use is mandatory” for IBA ride certification. These protocols may be followed even if the certification requirements do not make SpotWalla trip data mandatory. [emphasis added)]

You will note that the rules do not address the specific device you are using - only that the track log conform to the protocol requirements and be available through Spotwalla (and perhaps others with prior approval).

Ira Agins
Iron Butt Association
 
#7
Okay, I think I understand. I can use the R-Link device provided I can get the data from the device into spotwalla. It's the "other apps may be used with prior approval" part I was interested in. Would I make my request for prior approval to the usual email address for ride submission? Like I used to get my route pre-approved for the eggsanity?
 

Ira

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#8
When it says ". . . an on-line satellite tracking system . . ." it is referring to Spotwalla, not the underlying GPS device or app.

I'm not familiar with R-Link or Rever, but as I understand it, the R-Link device is used with Rever. Rever stores the track log in Rever cloud storage (and does Rever store them indefintitely or is there a time limit?). I don't think Rever talks with Spotwalla, but does it talk with any Spotwalla-like service (i.e., an independent on-line source) ?

Can you set the R-Link/Rever/independent on-line service to conform to the Spotwalla protocol requirements (device settings, trip settings, etc.)?

Thanks.
 
#9
I've sent an email to the Spotwalla folk asking that very thing. I have all the specs for the R-link. It does provide live tracking to those with the pin code specific to my device, and it does save the tracks. Hopefully something can be worked out. It's always better to provide more options. Until more options makes too much work for the verification teams. No harm in asking though.

And thank you very much for answering in detail for me a question that has to have been asked many times in the past. Greatly appreciated.
 

Ira

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#10
I just asked Mike about Rever. Here's his response:

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The main problem is it is NOT reliable (based on submissions to us - many missing parts of the route), the second is most links sent to us do not work, so while we will use it, it is only successful about 40% of the time to deliver a track. And advanced Premier rides for *** fast track processing *** won't take it because of the high failure rate - they just gave up on it.
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So it looks like Rever is problematic for our use.

Ira
 
#12
It's a shame, because that unit wasn't cheap!
Tell me about it. For real time tracking, and being able to download the saved track later when I forget to activate tracking, the R-link is great. But like too many other things with Rever, everything just becomes clunky. I tried to include a link for the ride I did, and I ended up getting three different links from the app. After that, the links seemed to work randomly depending on device used, browser used, and time of day. Ugh.
 
#13
I getcha. I decided to really play with mine. Took it down the road to the neighbor's house and walked home. The app still said the bike was in my garage. Very disappointing. It never misses an ignition alarm, but the GPS services don't seem to really work very well. Anyone else have any R-Link stories?