SPOT Satellite Messenger (How many of you have one?)

I'd like to turn this into a poll.

How many of you pack along a SPOT Messenger?
http://www.findmespot.com/en/

Articles like this one make me annoyed:
Doc: Woman stranded for weeks was close to dying
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42953750/ns/us_news-life/

Had they carried a SPOT along, it would've been a non-event. (Well, maybe another write up for SPOT's news letters)

I have a few brackets... one in the Commander, up by the sunroof. One on my bike, another on my Porta-Bote. (I don't need one on the big boat, I have VHF marine etc.) If I leave the Jeep/bike/boat and head out walking, the SPOT is clipped to the day pack or my belt.

There's no excuse to not have one, as it's cheap insurance. The device is about $180 depending... sometimes you can get a better price online. The service is about $120 a year, and that's if you add their insurance policy that covers rescues up to $100,000. One chopper flight out, and that's worth more than its weight in platinum.

All you have to do is see the sky to get help. And, if you update often or subscribe to the ''breadcrumb trail'' mode which automatically updates every 5 minutes, you can still come out ahead even if you end up like the dude in the new movie ''127 hours.'' The SPOT may not work from a deep slot canyon, but the update trail would end at the entrance of the canyon, so when he didn't show up for work on Monday, a fast review of the positions would've pointed out very close to where he was.

I don't have one, but have a friend who does. I agree when wandering off the beaten path solo. So why don't I have one? Cost and I'm generally with someone else or if I'm solo I stick to more traveled areas.

That was interesting. I like the use of your cell phone where there is no signal but from what I've seen on there web site so far you're limited to status updates it didn't say you could make calls or send regular texts. But that would come in handy if you were in the middle of nowhere and got lost or hurt.

If I remember right, my buddies has 3 buttons. One for check-in which sends and update to facebook or whatever and say's I'm at this location and everything is fine.. one for I need help but non-medical emergency, and one for medical help needed immediately.

It also automatically tracks and records location to the spot only link.

SPOT does have a couple new things out now, including the cell interface. The main thing about SPOT is the satellite based messaging. If you can look UP, you can send out.

This last weekend would be a perfect example of how handy one would be. Some buddies and I went to breakfast, then we all headed to the fairgrounds to an antique car swap meet. I found a very nice straight rust-free door for my '67 truck for $35, so now my repaint can go ahead without dumping 8 hours of time/labor into the big dent that's there now. Afterwards, one friend headed off to pick up some Harley parts from a paint shop, and after changing vehicles from the truck to the Jeep, the rest of us went to a gun show.

After the gun perusing, we ended up driving to the opposite end of this area to do some off-roading. I mentioned the gun show before we left the house, so had we disappeared due to wrecking the Jeep or whatever, the search would've started some 40 miles in the opposite direction. Nobody would've guessed where we went. We ended up Jeeping in canyons in the Wallula Gap area by the Columbia river. Forget cell phones out there. Maybe after a thousand foot climb up to a basalt ridge you might get a cell signal. And your climb will be at about a 60 degree angle over rip-rap rock.

Other places we've been that have not even a hint of cell phone signal is Hells Canyon, lots of places in the national forests of WA and OR, etc. At the very least, my series of okay/check in messages are handy to track our route later. Most of the time, there's not even USFS roads on the map. :) And if the Jeep crashed down a canyon or the like, (As in not being conscious to push any buttons on the SPOT) the suddenly ending check-ins and/or last known position from the otherwise long line of them would narrow the search down to probably within 2 or 3 miles of where we bought the farm. (or less)

That same idea would've been great for the guy in "127 Hours'' too.

A) People on your SPOT list would notice the series of okay messages suddenly quit, so the search wouldn't have to wait for days of absence from work to begin.
B) You're not going to be too far away from the last position report. (Down at the bottom of the cliff you fell off of, etc.)
C) Rescuers can see the trend of your direction of travel from the position reports. Had he left an electronic breadcrumb trail, the track line would've pointed right at that slot canyon where he cut off his arm.

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Originally Posted by hoaxci5

If I remember right, my buddies has 3 buttons. One for check-in which sends and update to facebook or whatever and say's I'm at this location and everything is fine.. one for I need help but non-medical emergency, and one for medical help needed immediately.

It also automatically tracks and records location to the spot only link.

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I have one of the first versions. The OK button sends out a check-in message. It actually sends out five times in case the sat's not easy to access. The system ignores after getting a ''good" report, so the final OK message gets sent out only once. The help button can be setup to either send a help message out, or summon road service. Your choice when setting up the service. The 911 button will bring out the rescue teams.

So... the OK and help buttons are set up in your SPOT account. You set up your canned message. My OK is ''This is a check in message and/or position report only." The help button is ''The Jeep/boat/bike is disabled, and I/we are stuck here. Help!" Of course, on a planned trip to the woods or canyons of Moab etc. you set up your list of SMS's and emails that get sent out. Both the SMS's and emails have internet links that lead to maps for where you are. That way, the people at home can call out tow trucks or whatever. They will have a set of GPS coordinates to give whomever is heading out to help out.

There are warnings about the 911 button. They tell you that you better darned well need it before using it. If the sheriff or rescue team gets dispatched because you ''wanted to see if it really works'' it could lead to jail time or paying big $$$ for wasted rescue personnel time. If a chopper flies out to where you are for nothing, you don't want THAT bill! And once the 911 message is sent, it's like a bullet - there's no recalling it. Everyone on your SMS/email list will also get your 911, and the dispatch center will be calling them for more info. (You set up emergency numbers and contact info in your account)

An optional feature (in the service, at a little extra cost) is the breadcrumb trail mode. (At least what I call it) The SPOT will send reports every 5 minutes. Otherwise, you do them manually. The AA lithium batteries will send about 1,900 OK's before going. I tend to do them at forks in a road or trail and another a little after, or some other ''milestone'' as I go.

The cool thing about the dispatch center, is they know exactly where you are due to the GPS in the SPOT. If you're on the side of a highway, they'll assume it's a medical problem or wreck, and dispatch accordingly. If you're in the middle of Canyon Lands nat'l park, they'll assume its a fall from a cliff or the like. If you're off shore, they'll assume a sinking boat and send the coast guard. Whatever, you will get help soon.

Here's a couple of cell-phone snaps of our little foray.

The road leading up the hill behind is typical of the climb we did to get to this place. It's over 25 degrees on the clinometer all the way. That's Jeepin'
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/i...07164019-1.jpg

https://theultimatejeep.com/images/i...07173144-1.jpg

So break down for me what is the cost of using this service. Obviously just break down what parts of the service you're using and what your real cost is. Thanks bro

I saw the story headline but didn't read the story. Am I seeing right, she was out there for 7 weeks ? Why couldn't she just walk out on the road in which she came ? Was she hurt ? Damn, in 7 weeks you could walk cross country.

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Originally Posted by Sal-XK

So break down for me what is the cost of using this service. Obviously just break down what parts of the service you're using and what your real cost is. Thanks bro

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Here's a SPOT in an adventure kit for $149.95. Not a bad deal.
http://www.rei.com/product/784892/sp...-adventure-kit

Last year's renewal was $118 for me. That's a year's worth of service plus a $100,000 rescue insurance policy. One swooped in rescue chopper would cost at least half that, so it's worth the extra expense. Not every place bills the people rescued, but why take a chance for an extra $20 in premiums? I think the auto tracking feature is about another $20.

Quote:

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I saw the story headline but didn't read the story. Am I seeing right, she was out there for 7 weeks ? Why couldn't she just walk out on the road in which she came ? Was she hurt ? Damn, in 7 weeks you could walk cross country.

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Good question, and the same goes for her husband. He probably tried to bee-line cross-country via the GPS. It's a rugged landscape out there, with deep basalt canyons, coulees and loose rock fall at the base of every cliff. It's also rattlesnake infested. I know, because we've been there, done that. It's not that far from here.

On edit:
Here's the page on the new SPOT unit. It has more features than my version 1.
http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=102