SPOT Phones

[powder Head]

Just a stupid question. If you have a "help" message or a pre-programed personal message. Does it go to pre-programmed cell phone numbers, or do the folks you are sending the message to also have to have SPOT?

 

[KFD070]

I've been looking into these a bit more lately too. From what I understand the person/people you designate to receive your message do not have to have the Spot. They receive the message via cell phone or e-mail. The spot has no way of delivering the message to the receiver. No print screen or voice message. When you transmit on the 911 button I believe your distress message goes directly to an professional emergency service providers indicating your location. Go to findmespot.com for all the details.

 

[newmy1]

SPOT is not a phone or anything like a phone. It send help/ok or 911 messages via the GPS network.

They don't need a spot. You can send a help message to up to 10 phones or email addresses.

www.findmespot.com has all the details. If you ride the backcountry buy one!

 

[powder Head]

Thanks guys, just need to find the right deal and then decide if I want to persue it.

 

[slash]

If you are lucky lucky lucky your spot will send a message,or you can crawl out like I did,oh ya they called me 2 weeks later and told me I sent a HELP MESSAGE!!

 

[darkeyes]

Steve - I really really really recommend looking into an ACR PLB if you are serious about carrying a beacon. We each carry one year-round, for both winter and summer adventures.

Check out the differences between SPOT and a PLB here (scroll down for text): http://www.acrelectronics.com/faqs/spotvs.aspx

Contact me if you are interested or have any questions!

-Cedar

 

[minet]

another option

i just bought a mcmurdo fastfind 210 for like 340ish,, have to sign it up with noaa 406 to activate , but you can do that online, just another choice ,, i didnt want a subscription, and im not going to call some one ,, who the hell would i call in the mountains to get me,, im from the midwest.. so it was basicly an all or nothing shot for me ,, small pocket sized unit to

 

[deschutes]

We offering a good deal on the all new SPOT 2 via the following website:

www.sledsafe.com

It is 149.99 with free shipping and 1 year of the free tracking option (for a limited time). We are selling these as cheap as we are allowed to by the company. With credit card fees, shipping, etc. it is not far off of cost. Anything extra will go back out to the snowmobile community.

Sledsafe is really set up just to get good gear out to snowmobilers at the best possible price. It is more of a cooperative effort between sledders and manufacturers, we are not a business or in business. We are working on getting avalanche beacons next.

Please visit the site to get more info or to order.

 

[powder Head]

Steve - I really really really recommend looking into an ACR PLB if you are serious about carrying a beacon. We each carry one year-round, for both winter and summer adventures.

Check out the differences between SPOT and a PLB here (scroll down for text): http://www.acrelectronics.com/faqs/spotvs.aspx

Contact me if you are interested or have any questions!

-Cedar

Were you blinking your purdy eyes at me when you wrote that.

I just did a quick read through, looks pretty impressive. Now that I think about it, the amount of time we spend in the sound on the boat, it could be very usefull as well. I would like to here a little more of Slash925's story.

Is it a one time buy with no yearly few. All I know if you get stuck once. It will pay for it's self, and it darn well better work.

Need more research. Thanks lady

 

[backcountryislife]

I have a spot & have all the best riders I know programmed into it.

If I'm truly in trouble where I ride it's unlikely that S&R will get to me & be able to help, if we couldn't double out on a sled, S&R isn't getting there.

I carry mine on track nearly all the time now & it's rare that more than 1 track point in a row doesn't go through. I could see that being a problem in places like WA where the growth is HUGE & could easily block a signal.

I can't see how you could send a help message by accident, but even if you did I would hope that the people that were programmed into the spot to receive the message would call 911 if they couldn't help (my message says something to this effect).

I prefer to call people that know the terrain where I'm likely stuck/ broken down, etc, as this is my best chance of survival IMO.

 

[darkeyes]

Is it a one time buy with no yearly few. All I know if you get stuck once. It will pay for it's self, and it darn well better work.

Yep - purchase the PLB, register it online, that's it - NO yearly fees or subscription. I hope never to have to use mine, but if I do I can rest assured that it WILL work, regardless of where I am...or anyone else with me, for that matter.

And like you mentioned, for you and K boating - definitely a good thing to have.

Here's some more reading material:

http://www.acrelectronics.com/default.aspx

Shoot me a pm if you'd like more info.

 

[John]

SPOT upgrade?

We offering a good deal on the all new SPOT 2 via the following website:

www.sledsafe.com

It is 149.99 with free shipping and 1 year of the free tracking option (for a limited time). We are selling these as cheap as we are allowed to by the company. With credit card fees, shipping, etc. it is not far off of cost. Anything extra will go back out to the snowmobile community.

Sledsafe is really set up just to get good gear out to snowmobilers at the best possible price. It is more of a cooperative effort between sledders and manufacturers, we are not a business or in business. We are working on getting avalanche beacons next.

Please visit the site to get more info or to order.

I have the original SPOT and am not thrilled with it. Have they improved the signal any?

 

[TIM]

spot is defiantely not fool proof.


I have used the help feature to let people know things. You can program any message you want to go any email or cell phone text. the reciever will get 3 texts\emails with the help. where with the ok they get one.

When solo hunting you can program help to be : I got my buck come help pack. or just : i got my buck. I think you get the idea.

tim

 

[deschutes]

I have the original SPOT and am not thrilled with it. Have they improved the signal any?

Here are some of the new features in SPOT 2:

* 30% smaller and lighter than the original model at 5.2 ounces
* New enhanced satellite antenna for improved performance in foliage
or canopied environments
* Advanced GPS performance chipset
* GPS Acquisition light
* "Message Sending" indicator light
* Dedicated GPS Tracking button
* New, dedicated pre-programmable Custom Message button
* Protective covers over S.O.S and Help button to prevent inadvertent
message transmissions
* Illuminated buttons
* Choice of orange or silver
* Included case and neoprene fastening band

 

[deschutes]

There are definitely some pluses and minuses of SPOT vs. a PLB. I was going to go with a PLB myslef until I talked to some paragliding people. They use SPOTS because they can purchase the tracking feature and leave it on all the time. That way if they get in a situation where they are unable to activate the PLB, which is highly likely for them, people will at least have a rough idea where to start looking for them. If they can activate the SOS at some point, even better.

This type of a scenario is not as likely while snowmobiling, but I figure the tracking is an added layer of safety. As for PLB's in general, I think the ACR is a good model. We may look at making some type of PLB available at some point via sledsafe.com. ACR so far has not even responded to our emails, so I am not that impressed with their customer service.

I have done some research and I do want to address one of ACR's main points. They say:

"Power: SPOT is powered by 400 milliWatts while ACR 406 MHz PLBs and EPIRBs use 5 Watts. Think about the Total® cereal commercial where they show you how many bowls of the other cereal you need to eat in order to get the nutrition from one bowl of Total. In our example, you would need 12.5 SPOT units to equal the POWER of one ACR PLB or EPIRB. When your signal has to travel 22,000 miles to reach a satellite, you want to make sure you have more than enough power to get it there!"

The interesting part that they don't tell you is that SPOT uses the globalstar satellite network which is only 876 miles high, not 22,000. This silly 400mW vs. 5W marketing spooge is not a good comparison and means nothing. If you use their own analogy and compare 876 miles to 22,000 the SPOT unit actually has a much more favorable power to distance traveled ratio, which again means nothing. Two totally different systems with different architectures and different power requirements.

Anyway, do your research and evaluate your needs and wants before you make a purchase. I would not base my decision, or trust my life, on a comparison or marketing materials from either company.

Steve - I really really really recommend looking into an ACR PLB if you are serious about carrying a beacon. We each carry one year-round, for both winter and summer adventures.

Check out the differences between SPOT and a PLB here (scroll down for text): http://www.acrelectronics.com/faqs/spotvs.aspx

Contact me if you are interested or have any questions!

-Cedar

 

[darkeyes]

I agree, it is imperative that we do our research when choosing our type of survival gear.

That being said, I would like to reiterate a couple points regarding the differences between a PLB vs. SPOT:

Coverage -
PLBs use the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system which contains 2 different satellite systems (LEOSAR– Low earth orbiting, and GEOSAR– Geostationary). These two systems cover every inch of the planet. SPOT tracker is part of Globalstar and uses the Globalstar (Nasdaq: GSAT) satellite system which only covers a certain percentage of the earth, but has quite a few locations that are undetectable.

Satellite Monitoring -
406 MHz signals are monitored by a governing agency in each country. In the U.S. that’s the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and in Canada its The National Search and Rescue Secretariat. These agencies maintain the registration, and alert search and rescue of any activation. SPOT has hired a company called GEOS to monitor and alert search and rescue of an activation. The Cospas-Sarsat and NOAA have had over 26+ years of experience monitoring these frequencies and alerting Search and Rescue. GEOS is relatively new and not well known to the SAR community and does not have authorized use of the SAR system.

What does Search and Rescue (SAR) say about the differences?
A 406 MHz signal coming from an EPIRB/PLB is recognized by SAR as a true emergency, and they act immediately. By law, search and rescue is required to find and turn off any 406 MHz beacon once activated. Search and Rescue has made it very clear that SPOT and other tracking gadgets are to be treated as a missing persons report: until they get more information regarding the distress message, they are going to wait and see, and not deploy their forces for the possibility that someone simply has a flat tire on the side of the road and needs help. Additionally, if the SPOT unit is unable to download and retransmit a GPS position, SAR has no idea where the transmission has come from.

PLBs have multiple ways to contact SAR in order to get you rescued. SPOT has one single transmission method. PLBs and EPIRBs can contact SAR via 406 MHz, which locates your beacon using Doppler Shift, it can contact SAR using GPS data and it also has a 121.5 MHz homing frequency so when SAR forces get a few miles away from you, they can home in directly on your beacon and find you faster. SPOT uses GPS only to send its location. If you cannot download GPS, SAR will have no idea where you are.

So, there's a few things I've gathered from doing my research. I realize we all have different priorities when it comes to survival equipment. GPS tracking happens not to be the highest on my list.

 

[powder Head]

After carefully reading about both, I have another question. The SPOT will allow you to send a "Check In / OK" message to familly and friends. I didn't see that with the PLB. We have been stuck until 11:00 at night before, in no real danger because we are pretty prepared. We were out of town so no friends close by to contact. But if we were at home family would have been worried because we tell them where were at, A SPOT message saying we are alright would have been a good thing. Does the PLD have that capibility. I didn't see it.

Thanks everyone, this is very good info.............

 

[newmy1]

After carefully reading about both, I have another question. The SPOT will allow you to send a "Check In / OK" message to familly and friends. I didn't see that with the PLB. We have been stuck until 11:00 at night before, in no real danger because we are pretty prepared. We were out of town so no friends close by to contact. But if we were at home family would have been worried because we tell them where were at, A SPOT message saying we are alright would have been a good thing. Does the PLD have that capibility. I didn't see it.

Thanks everyone, this is very good info.............

No on PLB.

 

[darkeyes]

The SPOT will allow you to send a "Check In / OK" message to familly and friends. ... Does the PLD have that capibility.

PLB's are purely a life-saving device, and are intended to be used only in the event of a life threatening situation. They are monitored by NOAA, a governing agency, and therefore messaging to family and friends is not a feature.

 

[TIM]

I tend to do a lot of solo backcountry stuff. Cell phone service is very spotty in the mountains. I have used the spot to let my wife know, that i am ok. The ok feature makes her sleep better at night.

The spot does need a clear line of sight though. IF you are in valley bottom with alot of trees, i am not sure how well the signal would get out. Kind of like satelite radio always losing signal.

tim