Anyone Been Rescued by SPOT GPS?

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Matt M

Trad climber
Alamo City
Mar 2, 2011 - 04:52pm PT
I held off on getting one of the Gen 1 devices based on the reviews I had read and limited functionality at the time. Times have changed.

The NEW Spot Connect really has me interested. It used BlueTooth to connect with a smart phone (iphone etc). You can use your phone to send msgs other than one "I'm OK". Looks to be pretty cool.

So long as people don't abuse it (climbers won't I think) it's a great tool at far less cost than a PLB. When it ABSOLUTE MUST work, (open ocean etc) the PLB is still the way to go but for other uses, I think it's great.

http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=116
em kn0t

Trad climber
isle of wyde
Mar 2, 2011 - 06:29pm PT
checked SPOT website; apparently these devices all require a service plan costing $100-$150/yr

I've heard there's another type of PLB device at higher initial cost, but that doesn't require a yearly service plan. Does anyone know the name of, or have experience with this type?
Fritz

Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
Jul 22, 2017 - 03:22pm PT
This seems a likely place to do a Spot review. I do a fair amount of solo trips in remote areas of Idaho & Nevada, with no cell phone coverage.

In 2008, I talked with a friend who had a heart attack in a remote area of Yellowstone on a solo-trip. He found that he was still alive the next day & then walked out & spent a while in a hospital.

I decided to buy a Generation I Spot Satellite Messenger in 2009. The concept was, I would message Heidi that I was OK at the end of a solo day, or if I was about to do something that might be dangerous, I would also send her a I’m OK message, so rescuers would have an updated location on my wounded-self. Other than that, it of course, can send out a “Rescue Me” message to the 911 folks.

So----I’ve used it off & on for 8 years, and it worked OK, but as mentioned up-thread, it could take up to 30 minutes to send an “I’m OK” message from a high point with few trees. It almost always worked, but Schist it was slow!

Last winter, I noticed the Outdoor Gear Lab latest review of Satellite messenger devices.

https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-personal-locator-beacon

The onetime Delorme InReach device has now been acquired by Garmin & seems wonderful, but retails for $449.00 & just like Spot, requires paying a yearly activation fee.

I instead suckered for a rebate offer on the Spot generation 3 Satellite messenger & a cost of $75.00 after rebate. Yes, there is still the expensive yearly plan, which can get more expensive with the addition of linking the Spot to a cell phone to actually message something other than “I’m OK” or “Save my SorryAss”

So! I used my Spot Generation 3 Sat Messenger last week in darkest Idaho, after a single test at home, in darkest Idaho.

It is very fast! In open to very-forested conditions, messages went out in 5 minutes or less. I sent 7 messages, all 7 were received. It’s light (4 vs 8 oz.), & pretty simple to use.

I’m still waiting for my rebate, but otherwise, I like the new Spot.
Jon Beck

Trad climber
Oceanside
Jul 22, 2017 - 05:33pm PT
ACR Resqlink is 250 bucks, no annual fee, monitoring by professionals who know how to handle a rescue call. Battery lasts 5 years, 120 bucks for a new battery. Works out to 74 dollars a year.

Edit: correction - 50 a year for the first 5 years, 24 dollars a year for the next five years, assuming you are not prone to losing them.

There are people on ST who have been rescued by ACR beacons
Fritz

Social climber
Choss Creek, ID
Jul 22, 2017 - 05:54pm PT
Jon: Thanks for the input. I like the Spot or the Garmin InReach since they also send a "I'm OK" message & current location to friends who just want to know if you are doing fine. You can also upgrade them to send custom messages.

PLB's like the Acrartex ACR Resqlink do a superb job of sending out emergency "Please Rescue ME" messages. Here's a link to their website.

https://www.acrartex.com/products/catalog/personal-locator-beacons/resqlink-plb/#sthash.ddGhzME1.dpbs
nah000

climber
now/here
Jul 22, 2017 - 06:07pm PT
to add to Jon Beck's post two posts up:

more importantly, imo, resqlink's have an emergency transmission power of 5 watts, whereas a spot's is 0.4 watts. spot also uses the globalstar satellite network that, afaik, most consider to be less effective than the international cospas sarsat network that has been around since 1979 and is used by resqlink.

if i wanted a second device for sending messages, maybe i'd get a spot. [i'd prob just get a sat phone, though]



but the spot as a primary emergency rescue device?

you want me to pay regular fees to use a less powerful transmitter to send to a shittier network? /s

only in the west could the spot be as successful of a product as it has been...
Messages 21 - 26 of total 26 in this topic << First  |  < Previous  |  Show All  |  Next >  |  Last >>
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