Anyone Been Rescued by SPOT GPS?

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gunsmoke

Mountain climber
Clackamas, Oregon
Topic Author's Original Post - Feb 27, 2011 - 03:33pm PT
Any Supertopoian ever pressed the SOS button on a SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger? Is SPOT worth the money?
http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=102
jamatt

Social climber
Asheville, NC
Feb 27, 2011 - 03:51pm PT
when I worked first response for a therapeutic adventure program, we had a couple of scenarios where field staff used them to call for support.

when they worked they worked well, but sometimes in the rain or fog or in a deep holler they couldn't pick up a satellite.

the best feature was that when i'd receive a "help" page, i'd know exectly where to go because the pages were linked to google map. we once had 20 students on a backpacking trip when a surprise rain-then-sleet-then-snow system came in with sub-zero windchills. the groups were in an area without cell coverage, and with the spot pagers and text pagers, we had all students/instructors pulled from the field in 5 hours, and that included a 3 hour drive to the site. this was due in large part to knowing exactly where to go.

Clint Cummins

Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
Feb 28, 2011 - 12:48am PT
A friend of mine has twice wished she had one, but members of the party were able to climb to other locations and get cell reception in time on both occasions.

http://sites.google.com/site/stephabegg/home/tripreports/washington/northcascades/pickets/southernpickets2#day4

http://sites.google.com/site/stephabegg/home/tripreports/washington/northcascades/vesper
Mungeclimber

Trad climber
sorry, just posting out loud.
Feb 28, 2011 - 01:05am PT
wild story Clint, thx for that. (only had a chance to read the first link)

j-tree

Big Wall climber
bay area, ca
Feb 28, 2011 - 01:28am PT
My summer camp purchased some for our backpacking program. The reports from the field around the Tahoe Rim were that it would often take up to 30 mins to get a signal, was pretty much a no go if there was tree cover, and would even have trouble time to time on ridges.
The function that allows you to send a message to preset friends was positive when it got through. Apparently, the device did not have a way to signal whether the message connection was completed by the device.

From my co-workers reports across 8 trips in 6 weeks, I would expect that in a situation where you can climb up to get cell reception, the spot would have had trouble getting a signal before getting to the top of that climb anyways.
John Moosie

climber
Beautiful California
Feb 28, 2011 - 02:48am PT
A friend backpacks solo on extended trips and she bought one last summer. She is a little bit technically challenged, but thought she had it dialed in. We stayed in T meadows for 5 nights before her trip, and then I drove home while she headed out for an 18 day solo trip. There was a lot of snow last summer and she was going to be crossing a few passes and a few creeks. She didn't have a lot of experience with snow, so I was concerned for her. The spot has a button you can press which gives the signal that all is okay. The company then sends an email out to those tracking her. So each day she was suppose to press the okay if she was okay.

When I got home from T meadows I became violently ill, so I became concerned that she might have gotten the same thing as we ate the same foods on our trip. Then we didn't get the okay signal from my friend. So we became concerned and started talking to SAR. They suggested waiting one day as there was a ranger in her area who could perhaps check on her the next day. I had a detailed map of where her first two nights were suppose to be. We waited but the ranger didn't find her. Eventually after 2 days without a signal, we finally got an all is okay email. So we called off the SAR.

Once she got out of the back country she said that she had religiously pushed the button every day. There is a light that tells you if you have a satellite hookup and that your message is sent. She says she got that light every day. So we don't know what happened. We called the company and they basically said she made a mistake. It left us less then happy with spot. We still don't know what happened and don't know how to trust that the thing works. We had tested it before the trip and it worked, and it worked most days on her trip, missing 3 out of 18 days. 2 in a row, then a 3 about midway through her trip. So we just don't know and spot was blaming my friend, which is sort of possible since my friend is technologically challenged. But she swears she got the green light each day, and she is a very dependable person. Plus I checked her process out when she got back and was doing correctly.

So what happened? Any one have any experience with this?
John Moosie

climber
Beautiful California
Feb 28, 2011 - 03:18am PT
Hey Stzzo, I'm not certain because its been awhile, but I do know that we tested it out in the days just before she left, including while we were staying in T meadows. We tested the okay button and the track progress button. It worked before she left. Now I can't remember if she was using the okay button and the track progress button, or just the track progress button during her trip. I will talk to her this week sometime and see if she remembers. She got the device only a few weeks before she left and I checked it out while we were in Wawona and Tuolumne, but I can't remember everything that went down. I just know she says she got the green light each time she sent a message, and yet we didn't always get the signal.
bhilden

Trad climber
Mountain View, CA
Feb 28, 2011 - 03:19am PT
Maybe people already realize this, but besides the "Spot" there are a number of Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) already out there on the market that do the job quite nicely. Unfortunately, they cost upwards of $500 for the ones that transmit GPS data as well as an emergency signal.

My guess is that the buzz over the "Spot" is because it is significantly cheaper than the competition.
John Moosie

climber
Beautiful California
Feb 28, 2011 - 03:23am PT
The cost was definitely a factor. We looked at SAT phones for her, as her family is concerned about her long solo trips, but the cost was prohibitive.
cleo

Social climber
Berkeley, CA
Feb 28, 2011 - 11:36am PT
I def. dig the track progress and okay messages - I've seen folks posting the okay messages (and GPS coordinates) to their facebook account, which is a great way of letting worried family members know where they are, and that they're fine.


I think, if I were to take on a long solo voyage (e.g. skiing in the Sierra in winter), that I would get one.
D Moore

Boulder climber
San Jose, Ca
Feb 28, 2011 - 03:11pm PT
I work at SPOT and want to provide some information and facts which I hope are useful. The SPOT Satellite Messenger products send your location-based message over a global satellite network to your personal contacts or an international emergency response center. It has an SOS message function but also has no critical message modes for letting others know you're safe or to track your progress on Google Maps.

The SPOT Personal Tracker was introduced in 2007. It allows users to send the following messages(Check-in/Ok, Help, Track Progress and SOS/911). This device can take up to 20 minutes to obtain a location fix (as posted above) the first time it's being used or if the user travels up to 600 miles. It is always recommended to send a Check-in/OK message before each trip and let the message mode complete its message cycle to help ensure your message was transmitted successfully. (Important Note: If the device has not acquired a GPS fix, it will not transmit the message in Check-in/OK or Track Progress modes. It will still transmit a message in SOS/911 and Help. In both SOS/911 and Help, a new message is transmitted every 5 minutes so new messages will be updated with new location information or once a fix is acquired.)

The new SPOT Messenger products offer some enhancements including an advanced GPS that acquires it location fix faster, usually with a minute or less with an unobstructed view of the sky. The newer devices including the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger, SPOT Communicator (for Delorme's PN-60w GPS) and SPOT Connect - now have LED lights to communicate message mode, GPS fix, messaging sending and low battery.

Like any GPS device environment blockage such as deep, narrow canyons or very heavy tree canopy may affect performance. Rain and fog will not. Users of the new SPOT products report better performance in these environments. That said, the satellite antenna is under the SPOT logo so position of the device is important to help ensure successful message transmission. Try and position the SPOT logo on the device up towards the satellites when transmitting versus sitting on your belt or in the bottom of your pack. SPOT has been successful in initiating rescues from narrow places like Utah's slot canyons, the Grand Canyon, etc. as well as thousands of rescues around the world. You can find additional information on the emergency rescue coordination process here.http://findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=104

The SPOT website has a useful FAQ section as well. http://findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=1700

Hope this helps.
Seamstress

Trad climber
Yacolt, WA
Feb 28, 2011 - 05:29pm PT
My daughter gave me one for Christmas 2 years ago. Technology and I don't get along. After much dillying about, I activated it last summer. I used it in the back country a few times. Most of the time it worked as advertised. My family was a tad confused when it showed me going back to camp each day. They thought I was lost and going around in circles. Guess the person on the other end needs to understand your iternerary. I am planning on using it when I go to Alaska this spring so they won't be worried about me.

I know a few rescue teams are putting this or a similar device on their teams in the field. They are using it in tracking mode and keeping close tabs on their position. It keeps the airwaves clear of the routine - "what is your position" traffic and helps them coordinate resources more effectively. I hate reporting my position to keep SAR base happy and like that functionality. My team doesn't use this yet.
hoipolloi

climber
A friends backyard with the neighbors wifi
Feb 28, 2011 - 07:28pm PT
I have heard that every season in Tuolumne Meadows the SAR team goes out to look into some Spot type device that had the SOS button pushed. Not sure any of them have actually been hurt/lost/injured/emergency situations. Usually some idiot hoping for a burger delivery, so I have heard.



In theory they are a good idea though, right?
Stewart Johnson

climber
lake forest
Feb 28, 2011 - 07:55pm PT
been testing my new spot out in tahoe and it seems to work quite well here, picking up a gps signal and sending im ok emails quickly. and best part of spot is the extra rescue insurance for 13$ a year.dont really want to ever press the sos button though.
Anxious Melancholy

Mountain climber
Between the Depths of Despair & Heights of Folly
Feb 28, 2011 - 09:37pm PT
Yup, SPOT saved me. Solo adventures have been a huge part of my life , but the wife rightfully has long expressed reservations. Now, using the tracking function, even if I'm dead she can know where to send them for the body recovery. Yup, now she let's me go without any grief and so saved me and my solo trips and my 28 years of marraige at the same time!
Teresa Gergen

Mountain climber
Boulder, CO
Mar 1, 2011 - 12:15pm PT
Yes. I'd likely be dead without the helicopter rescue from the Winds last summer that was initiated by the Spot Messenger SOS. A ground rescue with my crushed broken leg from 20 miles in would likely have taken 4-5 days. I was already hypothermic and had very low vitals by the time we dragged me to where a helicopter could land as it was.

How I usually use the Spot when I'm solo for easier mountains in CO, which is most of the time:
 Send an OK at the car while I'm getting ready so my emergency contact knows where I'm starting from and when
 Send an OK at the summit(s)
 Send an OK at the car when I'm back
 If I'm backpacking, send an OK each night from camp

What we've figured out works to make sure the message gets sent (because otherwise it often doesn't):
 Place the Spot face up where it can get a signal
 Hit the OK button
 Watch that the GPS light flashes green
 Watch that the Send light and the GPS light flash green together
 Watch that the GPS light goes off but the Send light keeps flashing green
 At this point, you can stick the GPS in a pocket and start hiking, but don't turn it off
 Wait the 20 min or so, and the OK button will stop flashing green, the On button and the Send light still flash green
 At this point, you can turn it off

In addition to the obvious benefits of the SOS button in an emergency, the OK messages are a relief for my emergency contact, especially now that I'm out trying to climb hills again with a marginally working leg.
xtrmecat

Big Wall climber
Kalispell, Montanagonia
Mar 1, 2011 - 12:32pm PT
I have never been rescued or needed the Spot. My regular climbing partner has one and uses it regularly. We take it with us on most outings, always when out of town. Never needed it, and I don't even think about it's presence. He checks in with his family regularly, my wife never checks the e-mails.

It would seem like a sense of security would come with having it along, yet I notice none. Maybe I have been solo so much here in all seasons and activities, that it just doesn't enter into my or my wifes thinking.

I hope we never need the SOS button, and I am sure self rescue will be seriously looked at if not attempted first. I also can see us getting into something similar to the above post, and be screwed without it.

Burly Bob
WBraun

climber
Mar 1, 2011 - 12:33pm PT
What hardware in SPOT is used for the uplink?

What GPS chipset is used in SPOT? example (SiRFstar III)

The uplink goes to the low earth orbit satellites?

Seems like it's just a stripped down sat phone.
roadman

climber
Mar 1, 2011 - 12:46pm PT
I don't think they make the surf star 3 any more, though that is the best. it's in 76 garmin's models. But at the low price for a spot i don't think they have a very good chip set?

With the old spot I've had problems at wawona and carlon in the park those are not areas I would think i counldn't get a signal, but? The new model seems better and I'm keen to get the little text box thingy they just came out with..

these things could save your bacon, but really it's your grey matter you should be trusting.
D Moore

Boulder climber
San Jose, Ca
Mar 2, 2011 - 01:03pm PT
Responding to WBraun, SPOT utilizes an internal GPS chipset and satellite transmitter. The GPS is uBlox Amy-5m chipset. TX circuitry transmits data via an L Band uplink to a LEO network of global communications satellites.
SPOT is a one-way satellite messenger and cannot receive messages.
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