SPOT Locator

[tim629]

has anyone used the SPOT locator beacons before? or another product like it?

I'm mainly looking at something to throw in my saddle bags on the horse for the peace of mind of finding her if I become separated. so was looking at the SPOT Trace, but also could find other uses for day hikes, ect... i'm just unsure how the reception would be in the woods.

anyone have any feedback good/bad?

 

[Osprey78]

I have one and love it. They are quite reliable, but are victim to thick brush, deep valleys etc. as is anything with satellite reception.

I will take it with me when I go out fishing or hunting the backwoods. I usually send the wife an ok message when I enter the area I am going, I send her an OK message when I get where I am going and then one when I am leaving. It causes a lot less concern for her and a lot less headaches for me.

My wife works with emergency crews and has had an emergency call from SPOT in regards to some injured backcountry skiers around here. Helicopter and SAR out very shortly and a full rescue. It does work.

They have the option of connecting to your Iphone, however I would advise against this. Your are purely on the mercy of your battery life of your phone instead of the battery life of the SPOT which... last forever!

 

[tim629]

what model do you have?

my plan is to have my phone on me, and the tracker of some nature on the horse. not quite as big of country as you are dealing with.

i guess looking at the plan it's just a matter of if I want to swing an extra $50/year on the service plan. for a full blown Gen3 vs Trace model

 

[Osprey78]

I have the Gen II. And yeah it's just a matter of personal preference for the plans. Here in BC, we don't have to pay for SAR so I didn't get the extra insurance for that.

I like the Gen II. It's simple, it's basic and it works. That's all I ask for in the backwoods. I haven't researched too much on the newer models.

 

[gerry]

has anyone used the SPOT locator beacons before? or another product like it?

I don't have a Spot unit but do have a Delorme inReach Explorer purchased last fall.

http://www.inreachdelorme.com/product-i ... plorer.php

I still have a lot to learn about it but it is nice to be able to text out from pretty much anywhere. The texting function is very basic and slow to do but it works. I haven't figured out how to download maps yet but even without the GPS was still useful in the field. it was really neat to see when I would get home exactly where I had been on Delorme's website. The unit isn't perfect but it works well. We paired it with my wife's phone so she could have texted with it and sent it out with the Delorme from anywhere but never got around to testing that. You can only pair one phone for each unit, I wish we could pair another phone with it but they don't allow that.

You can sign up month to month and discontinue it at any time, you pay for your texts and tracking on top of the monthly fee after a certain amount of each so looking at what they bill for and how much is a good idea before purchasing. There were 4 packages and I chose the second cheapest one which worked well for me.

 

[Anonymous]

I've had a SPOT Gen 1 for several years. Works fine and I never had to whack the "Come get me" button but the tracking and "I'm OK" works really well.


I recently discontinued my service- for the $, there are better technologies out there for what I'd use it for.

 

[HomerOz]

G'Day Fella's,

I've had a SPOT Gen 1 for several years. Works fine and I never had to whack the "Come get me" button but the tracking and "I'm OK" works really well.
I recently discontinued my service- for the $, there are better technologies out there for what I'd use it for.

A group of us from our local Australian Deer Association (ADA) branch, perform volunteer work culling introduced animals (Pigs, Foxes, Deer etc) on a conservation based property, south of where we live. The manager of this property/farm when he was off-site, issued us one of these SPOT locator beacons for our own welfare!
After using it I thought to myself, what a great idea!
As Hodgeman mentioned, apparently there is better technologies now available, so......

Regards
Homer

 

[tim629]

so what would you guys say are the better technologies?

i've tried to find others and either the cost is way to high, or reliability is more line of sight (gps dog collars)

 

[Elkman]

After my injury in late 13, my wife, strongly suggested that my hunting days without a partner were coming to an end. A compromise is the ResQue transponder, which works through the NOAA, satellite system and can be activated in an emergency. It's reasonably priced, has no annual fees, and I think a real bargain. I purchased mine through REI, the registration info comes with it. In my hunting country cell phones are nearly worthless, but weather satellites are pretty common.

 

[Anonymous]

so what would you guys say are the better technologies?

i've tried to find others and either the cost is way to high, or reliability is more line of sight (gps dog collars)

There are a few different options now.

For pure rescue application the ACR ResQ devices use the military 406MhZ PLB system. Very reliable and the PLB signal is considerably more powerful than either the Iridium or Global Star. The only function is the "Come Save My Bacon" button.

GlobalStar is older and works in most spots- not so good toward the poles or without a good shot of the southern horizon in the northern hemisphere. First of its breed and still pretty good. Limited messages on older versions. Tracking is pretty good. SAR is generally very efficient if they have a "last known" location.

The Iridium devices (ie. DeLorme) are similar but the coverage is better and the Iridium gives better 2 way SMS texting capability.

Both GlobalStar and Iridium rely on commercial operators to alert rescue agencies. ACR PLB goes straight into the military USCG system. Maybe not a big deal- but one less link in the chain isn't a bad thing.