Spot-Sending times
- Thread starter Tuesday
- Start date
D
duchunter
Member
I have found with my spot that if you are in the trees alot it sends a tracking location any where from every 10 mins to once an hour and if you are in the clear averages about every 20 mins, but over all I have been very happy with having it along, I keep mine in my top pouch of my back pack and it gets the signal out just fine. My wife likes it also
It's not just you, mine seems to take 10 to maybe 20 minutes, I've never timed it but it sure isn't instant. Thats using it in the bush west of Sundre, AB.
where do you keep your spot while sending out signals? It is supposed to be exposed to the sky with words on the device facing up. This makes a big difference in signal reception.
Mine hits every time while doing the tracking feature. And every ok blip I send hits within a few minutes as well.
Mine hits every time while doing the tracking feature. And every ok blip I send hits within a few minutes as well.
J
Jkinzer
Well-known member
just a heads up too the spot system works great but as far as the 911 calls they only get sent to dispatch if the county your are in is part of the program. had a life flight incident a couple weeks ago in mccall and we set off three different spots all in a wide open area and they showed the signal was sent.... made a cell phone call about 10 minutes later just to make sure and the 911 dispatch hadnt received anything. the spots did send messages to family members but nothing to the 911 dispatch center.
C
cobbycat
ACCOUNT CLOSED
had the same issue earlier this year at the avalanche in sicamous. 2 spots were used to call for 911 and I phoned (had reception for some reason) 911. pretty sure my call was the only one that got through. kinda scarry when a device doesn't do what they say it will. I will buy one for the wife to know I'm O.K. but as far as 911, I will still carry the phone and hope I don't have to use it. hopefully they get it sorted out.
I've read that in a couple of avalanches this year RCMP/Search and Rescue were informed by a call center in I think Colorado, is that where the SPOT is based or was that signal sent from a transceiver signal??
Well thats NFG.....anybody know what the answer is to this?
J
John
ACCOUNT CLOSED
Sat phone!
I'd like to hear a SPOT rep's take on this. I carry one myself, mostly for the wife but after seeing too many posts like this am wondering if I should apply the coin I spend on the SPOT towards a Sat phone. I was lucky and able to find cell reception when my buddy broke his neck. Glad I didn't trust the SPOT, we would have had to do a hole in his windpipe or he would have been dead in another hour...
well thats frigggen comforting
Anyone have an email for a spot rep?? When the 8 guys died in the huge sparwood avy they said the spot was used and it sent in the help....that was one major reason I bought one....I never carry my cel phone. If someone can find a email we should forward this thread link onto them.
D
darkeyes
Member
Seriously consider purchasing a Personal Locator Beacon:
http://www.acrelectronics.com/product2.aspx?sku=2898
The PLB is not a messaging tool like the Spot, but in a survival situation I would trust nothing less. My riding buddy and I each carry one (snowmobiling, dirtbiking, hiking, etc).
Check out a schematic of the anatomy of a PLB rescue from ACR's website:
http://www.acrelectronics.com/terrafix/anatomy.htm
The price of a PLB unit is more than a Spot (not sure how it compares to a sat phone), but a benefit is that there is no annual fee.
Not to mention you (or your buddies) will be guarranteed to be found. I feel it's a small price to pay. It is not life insurance by any means, but carrying a PLB does provide some level of reassurance. It really makes me nervous (and disappointed
) to read all the threads about our fellow sledders having problems with Spot's intermittent signals and missing 911 calls. While I can't "advertise" these units, it is my intention to get the word out to the people in our sport that there is a superior product out there. Please PM me for details.Really nothing to do with Sending Time but I think everyone should consider the following;
My two pennies from first hand S&R operation attempt with my own injury;
Did not have a SPOT, had an analog cell phone (marginal reception even with a digital phone, 35 miles back), after two attempts reaching 911 (both attempts went to different adjacent Counties), described the situation (Broken Leg near knee), first comment back from 911 was is the break life threatening, compound fracture, femur? Since we did not have our portable x ray with us....who at that point could determine if it was life threatening! In our area S&R is dispatched by the Sheriff, 911 said the Sheriff needs to call us back to evaluate the situation and then will dispatch S&R, we were doing good to get a phone signal out and calling us back was out of the question. After approximately 2 hours we got 911 to dispatch a Helicopter, the comment back from the Sheriff was "Just don't send the bill to us". Since S&R would have been 4 hours minimum to our location (this was at approx. 5 pm) we chose to have a helicopter get there without assistance from S&R and the Sheriff.
I have been on several threads recently regarding SPOT and Sat Phones...it seems that if you have communication with the Emergency Agency and possibly the Sheriff your chance of swift recovery is better. My money is going into a Sat Phone, big bucks but the assurance of being able to communicate seems to outweigh the chance of not knowing when a rescue may occur.
Also if the SPOT sends out a distress and is received I believe it goes to 911, as I indicated above the first 911 call went to a county agency 70 + miles away, second attempt went to another county the same distance away I am pretty sure that S&R will still have to be on scene to evaluate the severity of the situation, communicate back to the Sheriff and then determine how to get you out.
My two pennies from first hand S&R operation attempt with my own injury;
Did not have a SPOT, had an analog cell phone (marginal reception even with a digital phone, 35 miles back), after two attempts reaching 911 (both attempts went to different adjacent Counties), described the situation (Broken Leg near knee), first comment back from 911 was is the break life threatening, compound fracture, femur? Since we did not have our portable x ray with us....who at that point could determine if it was life threatening! In our area S&R is dispatched by the Sheriff, 911 said the Sheriff needs to call us back to evaluate the situation and then will dispatch S&R, we were doing good to get a phone signal out and calling us back was out of the question. After approximately 2 hours we got 911 to dispatch a Helicopter, the comment back from the Sheriff was "Just don't send the bill to us". Since S&R would have been 4 hours minimum to our location (this was at approx. 5 pm) we chose to have a helicopter get there without assistance from S&R and the Sheriff.
I have been on several threads recently regarding SPOT and Sat Phones...it seems that if you have communication with the Emergency Agency and possibly the Sheriff your chance of swift recovery is better. My money is going into a Sat Phone, big bucks but the assurance of being able to communicate seems to outweigh the chance of not knowing when a rescue may occur.
Also if the SPOT sends out a distress and is received I believe it goes to 911, as I indicated above the first 911 call went to a county agency 70 + miles away, second attempt went to another county the same distance away I am pretty sure that S&R will still have to be on scene to evaluate the severity of the situation, communicate back to the Sheriff and then determine how to get you out.
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John
ACCOUNT CLOSED
Similar deal with my "worst day sledding". Called 911, told them my location (just east of Scott Mountain lookout) and requested Life Flight. They called Boise county who called me back and said that they were dispatching Crouch ambulance. No, I told them, we are 14 miles up an ungroomed trail and there is no way he'd make it. An hour later Life Flight showed up. The 911 system is (in the backcountry) tough to negotiate sometimes but sure beats carrying all of the numbers for local authorities. That may be the way to go though since it seems to be them that you need to convince of the need for a chopper.
Sorry to hijack the thread...
M
M-niner
Active member
We use Irridium sat phones at work. I wanna say the phone itself is upwards of a $1000 for a refurbished. Basic service is around $40.00/month and that gets you only 3 minutes. Each additional minute is in excess of $1.00/minute. I have been all over and have not found an area where this phone will not work. I also have a SPOT and have had great luck around the Black Hills with OK messages and the tracking. I wanna press the 911 button really bad to see what happens. Has anyone used the 7.95 S&R insurance policy yet, because I am thinking about going out and getting "lost". J/K
I had my spot on 2 different times now for over 15 minutes and no message went through. Seems like way too much wait time to get a message sent IMO. 15 minutes could be the difference between life and death. For what I paid for this and having to pay big $$$ every year to keep it active I expected more out of it. Thankfully I carry a Sat phone as well...
Guys...check this thread out, Avalanche and Survival section
http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144739
Iridium has the best phone and service available, what I have looked at phone wise is about $1200 - $1300 and $45 + - monthly, by the minute it adds up.
http://www.snowest.com/forum/showthread.php?t=144739
Iridium has the best phone and service available, what I have looked at phone wise is about $1200 - $1300 and $45 + - monthly, by the minute it adds up.
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