SPOT Satellite Personal Messenger?

[Whiteman]

Though I tend to carry redundant communication gear (the cell phone that probably won't work and the little ham radio that probably will), and do other sensible things such as usually hike with others, read the weather reports, avoid forecasted hurricanes, squalls, and derechos as best as one can, those at home still tend to worry.

So, I'm looking at this little SPOT Satellite Personal Messenger, which is supposed to send some tracking information to curious loved ones, and has help and emergency functions. This is the link to the REI site for product information.

Anybody here have any experience with this relatively inexpensive gizmo?

Thanks.

 

[DougPaul]

Prior thread: http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19748

Doug

 

[1HappyHiker]

Recent Product Review

Prior thread: http://www.vftt.org/forums/showthread.php?t=19748

Doug

In addition to the VFTT thread referenced by Doug Paul, you might also want to take a look at the ‘Pros’, ‘Cons’ & ‘Conclusions’ on page 4 of a January 23, 2008 review article published in GPS Magazine (link below):

http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2008/01/spot_satellite_messenger_perso.php?page=4

 

[Whiteman]

SPOT Update

Although the hike we planned was an easy one, and I was not going solo, I decided to give my loving wife greater peace of mind and went off to REI and bought the little sucker. Here is my single experience update, after an extensive hike, all the way from Crawford Notch to the very top of Pierce (and back).

Test #1, from the trail, in the trees, in a little pouch, message sent. Not sure how long it took.

Test #2, from the top, about 4 minutes to send. BRR it was breezy waiting for that OK signal.

Test #3, from the bottom, no tree cover, about 5 minutes to send.

I tested it on the day before as well. It seems to take, on average, about five minutes to send the signal. The google maps function is very cool; my location was just a click away. You can add a number of people to the e-mail list so the whole family can get the updates.

Bottom line: a very happy spouse, a slightly heavier pack, and a bit more peace of mind all around.

Cheers.

 

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Is this the thingy that Mats lost on the South Tripyramid slide back in December?

 

[sli74]

My family wants me to get one of these and keeps bugging me about it. I have even gotten 2 offers from cousins to buy it for my upcoming wedding, but ya know for some reason, I feel like it's kinda overkill. I don't know why I am having such a strong aversion to it, but I just don't want people "tracking me" or hounding me to keep them updated with every move.

But, I still like seeing reports of people's experiences with it, might be an option in the future if I can get over my initial feelings about it.

sli74

 

[Remix]

-----------------Attn Luddites do not read below this line------------------

More and more cell phones will have GPS as time goes on and there will be software to do all this. The reason is that the cell phone companies need to keep making money, and revenues from voice calls are falling. Naturally the coverage will not be as good as a satellite but if you are up high in the North East it probably will not matter.

One can only hope the 50 callers on Liberty or Lafayette start texting or emailing instead of shouting.

 

[Whiteman]

To Buy or Not to Buy (or be given as the case may be)

Sli74--

The tracking feature, which sends positions every ten minutes or so, is an extra option, $50 per year. The feature I was using was the manual OK message. So I sent one at the top of the mountain, and at the bottom when we were done.

It does feel like overkill, and I hope I never need the help functions. It does make the folks at home happy though (worth its weight in that respect). It would be especially useful if you were a couple hours behind schedule, and your arrival time was going to be delayed. So before people blow their main fuses and start calling out the national guard, they can realize you're just a tad behind schedule.

Cheers.

 

[Mike P.]

I don't have a GPS or any desire to have one but when I saw this recently in a newspaper, I was interested.

Still have not done too much research but left the article with my wife as a possible Christmas present for next year. Satellite technology Vs. Cell towers would provide better coverage in the mountains. Just having the simple commands, okay & help would provide some piece of mind for people at home.

 

[sli74]

Thank you for the clarification, David. The way it was "presented" to me by my family was as a good tracking feature and of course I responded appropriately to be "tracked". The "I am OK" feature sounds a lot more resonable. How much does the service for just that cost? Do you still pay a fee each month or each year?

I am still a little put off at being asked to carry that thing but as long as I am not being tracked it seems a little better. Maybe if I had a husband and kids waiting at home for me, I'd feel differently.

I have a process when I go hiking. I leave my itinerary with my sister . . . the ETA I give her is about 5 hours past my real ETA and even then she is instructed to either call and email my regular hiking buddies or post here on VFTT before involving the authorities. I have told her to wait atleast 12-15 hours past my ETA to contact police, since I am fairly confident that I carry enough gear to extricate myself from most situations.

Generally, I am good at estimating my hiking speed (or lack thereof) and get out well before the ETA I give her. Such a device would only be an assest during a true need for emergency help which I guess is a good thing.

sli74

 

[Whiteman]

$$ Questions

The unit costs about $150. There is an annual fee of $100 for the OK/Help/911 function.

The optional tracking function costs about $50 year.

Dr. Wu, take note: You can also get some rescue insurance (like the Divers Alert Network) for about $8 per year.

I like your overestimation strategy, Sli. My crowd gets nervous way earlier.

 

[Maddy]

Just found this. Nice review on "SPOT" from some pro's.

http://www.traditionalmountaineering.org/News_Spot_PLB-Plus.htm