Personal experiences with emergency locator devices

[sardog1]

I would like to hear from people about their personal experiences with the various emergency locator/communication devices that have been available over the last several years. Not interested in hearsay on this, so it has to be something you have personally observed (including devices owned by someone else).

I'll start things off by saying that I purchased a DeLorme InReach SE this past fall and now carry it routinely on outings. I used it for a week in October while out of cell phone range to communicate with my wife at home, and I was pleased with the experience. It's important to remember that this is a small transmitter with teeny tiny power output, so reaching up to the satellites can be problematic at times in heavy cover. But it still beats the hell out of worrying about the worrying that might be going on back in town.

 

[JustJoe]

I've been using a SPOT for several years now. The better half wanted me to have it her piece of mind. Not sure if it's a gen1 or 2. Never set up the tracking on it as that's another $50 a year. The spot as a locator is or was, not sure right now, $99 a month. I've 2 costume messages set up on it. One for checking in a couple times during a hike. One for hike finished. The messages get sent via e-mail and text. I'd have to say over the 6-8 years I've been using this over several hundred miles, it's sent the message I send during a hike probably 85% of the time. The check in hike finished, probably 95%. Luckily I've have not had to push the emergency signal to get SAR in motion. So I've no idea if that works 100% of the time. I do note to myself where I send the costume messages from and that aspect is SPOT , on. You can look at the map location it sends via e-mail.

As far as messages that did not go through, there's been no consistency to conditions that might be hindering the signal.

 

[una_dogger]

Happy with my SPOT for all the reasons Joe mentions above. Also like that during longer hiking hiatus you can deactivate service and save $$$, then re-activate.

Location plans start at 14.99 month
https://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=103

 

[Brambor]

I generally shy away from monthly payment subscription services so I haven't gone the next step to actually purchase and test one of these devices. Was this a typo when you said $99 per month ?

I think PLB does not require monthly fee and I am considering one day buying one but if there was a device that would accept a reasonable yearly subscription payment instead of holding my card on file and billing me automatically I would prefer trying out a two way communicator.

 

[una_dogger]

Brambor - I'm pretty sure you can pay annually for the SPOT

 

[sardog1]

I generally shy away from monthly payment subscription services so I haven't gone the next step to actually purchase and test one of these devices. Was this a typo when you said $99 per month ?

I think PLB does not require monthly fee and I am considering one day buying one but if there was a device that would accept a reasonable yearly subscription payment instead of holding my card on file and billing me automatically I would prefer trying out a two way communicator.

There is no fee for PLBs other than the purchase price.

DeLorme (recently acquired by Garmin) has a range of plans that allow you to choose the level of service (number of messages per month, etc.) and length of service (month to month, including tailoring of service level by month, or annual): InReach Subscription Plans

You can opt for a bill from DeLorme instead of automatic payment. But if you forget to pay, the worst time to find out is six miles from the road, which is why I have it on autopay.

 

[Remix]

I generally shy away from monthly payment subscription services so I haven't gone the next step to actually purchase and test one of these devices. Was this a typo when you said $99 per month ?

I think PLB does not require monthly fee and I am considering one day buying one but if there was a device that would accept a reasonable yearly subscription payment instead of holding my card on file and billing me automatically I would prefer trying out a two way communicator.

Be aware of the life cycle costs of a PLB...replacing the battery.

 

[DougPaul]

I think PLB does not require monthly fee

That is correct, however the battery is only rated for 5 years and must be replaced by the manufacturer (or authorized company) to retain the certification. (It cannot be done by the user.)

I don't know how much the replacement costs.

Doug

 

[Tom_Murphy]

I have had an Acer PLB, SARLink View PLB which I purchased in 2010. Only tested, never used..
I bought it in case I was immobilized. Also because I learned I am not very good at starting and maintaining a fire in winter. Reading this site had a lot to do with the decision as well.
I self rescued once from a bad sprain and thought I might need it then. But I was able to get back to the trailhead with Ibuprofen.
You have to re-register in the NOAA database every two years and they send you a new sticker.
ACER manual states replace battery (by factory) every 5 years. I have done that once so far.

 

[1SlowHiker]

I generally shy away from monthly payment subscription services so I haven't gone the next step to actually purchase and test one of these devices. Was this a typo when you said $99 per month ?

.

I'm sure it was a typo. Joe prob meant $99/YEAR without continual tracking. I have either spot I or II. I think the newer spot # is more per year and may not have an option for no continual tracking. Didn't know that I could temporarily suspend service like una_dog said. I agree with everything Joe said.

 

[Brambor]

Great info guys. Appreciate it. So was $99 per month a typo? I mean that would be very expensive at 1200 per year

 

[JustJoe]

Was this a typo when you said $99 per month ?

Yes! $99 a year. At least that's what it was when it was first set up. Not sure now. I don't pay the bills.

I should add if it wasn't already mentioned that the batteries seem to last forever in the SPOT.

 

[srhigham]

I had Spot generation 1 and 2 and found them to be useless with regard to transmitting signals in the woods. Have had better luck with the Delorme device, but admittedly I have not tested it extensively.

 

[Remix]

I had Spot generation 1 and 2 and found them to be useless with regard to transmitting signals in the woods. Have had better luck with the Delorme device, but admittedly I have not tested it extensively.

I attempted to send a free message from the Inreach SE. (They have been purchased by Garmin and key email addresses are changing by the way) I put the unit in the middle of the house away from any windows (line of sight) but on the highest floor. Much to my surprise, the message was received hours later. Typical field to sat network to ground and back again is 3 minutes. It has been in the 20 minute range for narrow canyons, although this will depend on the motion and availability of the satellites.

As an aside, the satellite network used by Inreach does not require Earth stations scattered all over the globe. Data traffic is passed from satellite to satellite until being relayed to the ground by whatever satellite is over the earth station(s).

 

[una_dogger]

I had Spot generation 1 and 2 and found them to be useless with regard to transmitting signals in the woods. Have had better luck with the Delorme device, but admittedly I have not tested it extensively.

I've had no problems as long as I am stationary for five minutes - IIRC the User's Manual states this is necessary.

 

[Nessmuk]

When I paddled my first Yukon River Quest race in 2008, use of Spot was suggested, but not yet mandatory equipment. Beginning with the first Yukon 1000 mile (Y1K) race in 2009, and for every subsequent YRQ an Y1K since, Spot is mandatory. According to race rules beginning with the 2009 Y1K, if you did not activate tracking, and also send an OK message when stopping and starting from a mandatory 6 hour "night" rest stop (to verify your stop), you could suffer a time penalty to be added to your finish time. Correctly mounting the device was stressed, and you had to prove you could successfully send a tracking message before being allowed to race. I mounted mine on the bow deck of the canoe, with the antenna pointed skyward, as required. The only period of time it did not send a track signal was a very few instances when we were headed E/W where there were high canyon river banks blocking the southern sky view (latitude was north of 60 degrees, near the Arctic Circle). Those teams who did not mount the device properly, or who had it hanging from a lanyard, or in a pocket or buried in a pack, lost many tracking cycles. Some teams were penalized as much as 9 hours for failing to transmit their location! I'm about to head off in June for my 5th Yukon River race, still with my Gen2 Spot.

 

[sardog1]

Those teams who did not mount the device properly, or who had it hanging from a lanyard, or in a pocket or buried in a pack, lost many tracking cycles.

Kind of makes a person wonder what happens when the user is supine or prone and in extremis ...

 

[Becca M]

I used to have a SPOT but yearly fees were too high. When I told them that, they brought the yearly price down to around $50? I cannot recall exactly, but, it was negotiable. Decided to go with a ResQLink PLB - like it but it is heavy. I'm often out of cell-phone range and I'm pretty confident in the PLB.

 

[iAmKrzys]

I have Spot 3 and I paid 150 + 10 (network upgrade fee or something like this) when I renewed most recently.

 

[alexmtn]

I've got a SPOT2. Cost is $99/yr, and does not include tracking (i.e., automatically transmitting position at a specified interval). The latter costs an extra $50/yr. The SPOT3 package includes the tracking (you can't not get it), which is why its cost is $150/yr. Related thoughts:

- My reasons for having the SPOT are (1) SOS capability, and (2) being able to send my family periodic GPS-coded 'I'm OK' messages as desired.

- I've held off from an upgrade to the lighter SPOT3 despite the company almost giving away the upgrade because I don't need the tracking, and haven't wanted to spend the extra $50/yr.

- I've found that my SPOT2 signals get through 80-100% of the time. I almost always transmit while I'm moving though, and suspect that it would be a more reliably close to 100% were I stationary while transmitting.

- I had one disquieting incident wherein zero of my 5 transmissions got through over the course of a day, even though as far as the SPOT2 unit indicated, everything was fine with the transmissions. It turned out that the culprit was marginal batteries. I did NOT like that the unit didn't tell me that. According to the company, the SPOT3 is not prone to this.

- An InReach would mitigate this because it's 2-way, but it's essentially more than twice as expensive both up front and over time.

- Absent a 2-way capability, my plan in the event of an emergency is to transmit, change the batteries, and transmit again.

- After the Kate Matrosova story, I'm convinced that the SPOT vs. PLB choice can be tantamount to life vs. death. Not good to have the possibility of a locational error as big as a mile. There's real rescue value in the successful transmission of an actual GPS location.

Alex