Hey v12, Have you looked at the SPOT tracker? I always have one with me, especially on solo rides. People can follow your journey, you can let people know you're OK, ask friends for help, or if the bone is sticking out you can press the SOS button and you will be airlifted pronto. Nice peace of mind to have.
this is a really good idea, thanks for the suggestion. It sounds like it works with iridium low orbit satellites, just like a sat phone. Price of the gizmo is $150 for the one that pairs with my iphone, and $100 for the standalone, but it also requires a $100 a year subscription. I think it could be worth it, particularly since I actually like going solo (own pace, direction, and time limitations). The breadcrumbs feature alone would be worth it, since I currently stop and write down my turns and road numbers. Battery life seems decent, with 2AAs providing of 5 days of connected standby. Very cool....and REI are offering a $50 rebate until 09/2013 http://www.rei.com/content/dam/documents/pdf/Rebates/spot-connect-reb.pdf
I have been using a SPOT for years. It gives the family piece of mind knowing where I am and that I can get help at the press of a button. We use it for all kinds of things other than motorcycling. (kayaking, fishing, hiking, hunting, remote RV travel, etc) My kids track my wife and I on our travels across the country. We have a system where we send out an OK message at the start along with tracking. When we safely arrive, we send out another OK message. Remember, you can also press the 911 button and get help for a downed rider you may encounter on the trail as well, as long as it is a life threatening situation. Helicopters may show up. A Personal Locating Beacon (PLB) is also an option. No tracking or message sending, but no annual fee either as well as more powerful and many more government monitored satellites. Commercial aircraft as well as rescuing air and ground assets can pick up the locating signal on the emergency channel to home in on your location. BTW, there is a new SPOT 3 out now that has longer battery life and many improved features.
Very interesting, thanks for this. It appears that the PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons) use military satellites (stronger signal, more of them), while the Spot device uses commercial satellites. There appears to be no subscription fee with the PLBs. The function is purely: "Oh, crap". I will have to figure out if I really need to "check in" and send messages. The tracking feature on the Spot Connect is only useful when I get back. It can record GPS coordinates every 10 minutes, but you can only see the map of these breadcrumbs and find your way back AFTER you connect back to the internet (where the app pulls in google maps data). All very interesting... A PLB example http://www.rei.com/product/815753/acr-electronics-resqlink-406-gps-personal-locator-beacon
I've got the original spot, but didn't renew the service. It was OK, but I had a lot of trouble with it tracking in the places where I wanted it to track. It sort of worked, but wasn't as reliable as I hoped. I hear the later models are better. I think there are three common options: 1) spot - tracking, messaging, oh crap - send SAR pay for unit, and pay for plan 2) delorme in reach - tracking, TWO WAY messaging, oh crap pay for unit, and pay for plan, more expensive than spot, but uses iridium sats, in theory and reportedly, better coverage 3) PLB, the ACR resqlink seems to be a great choice. - oh crap only, but more likely to succeed in that scenario that the spot/delorme pay for the unit, no other cost, batteries every five years. As I primarily ride alone the most important feature for me is to get the help I need (or someone else needs) in dire circumstances. I figure in those circumstances I'm likely to be separated from the bike, may not be able to move very well, and may not be thinking well. For the highest change of success I'm going to go the PLB route, specifically the ACR ResQLink, and keep it in my jacket pocket 100% of the time. With that covered, I may add a bike mounted spot or delorme at some point, but I consider that a ways down the line in the recreation budget. There's currently a $50 rebate on the ACR ResQLink, or a bundle of extra goodies if you want them. Net price should be just about $200, or given a five year life, about one less beer a month. http://www.acrartex.com/products/catalog/personal-locator-beacons/resqlink-plb/
PLB's are the cat's pajamas for pure rescue situations but remember you have to pay for your rescue...that's what is cool about spot etc is you can designate a "help" message to friends. That way if the bike breaks or something non life threatining happens, you can wait for a FR or sherrif and not pay the air cavelry to jump start your bike! All are better than nothin!
My buddy Kevin took off today from Houston on his marathon trip to Prudhoe Bay, the Canadian Tar Sands, the Trans Canada and Trans lab, and back. Projected to be 21,000 miles and 84 days on his new Terra. He has been working like a dog for several weeks now prepping the bike; Wolfman racks and bags, heated grips, Rox Risers, extra power outlets, Heidenau tires front and back, skid plate, Seat Concepts high seat without the bump, welded on cross bar, and more that I can't remember. One oil change done and another when he crosses the Canadian border before heading on north. He has one riding partner for this, and will be camping virtually all the way. I have his SPOT site and will text him for permission to post it. He will not be able to do any posting from the road, but talk about a test of the Terra!
OK, Kevin (I'll just call him Codger) is OK to post his spot link. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0TLiDp5vhjn6n9pp7QKS2Nf2FdeM0mIk5 Maybe this should be a separate post, but I'll wait to see if there is any interest to do it.
The tracking feature is really more for others to track you and know your whereabouts real time. If nothing else, they can enjoy you adventure real time. Mine sends a message with a link to my track to Facebook which I have allowed limited access to friends and family. If nothing else, it gives a starting point for a SAR if you are unable to activate the 911 button. My wife gets nervous when the track is stuck too long in one location. I get nervous if she looks up the satellite view and sees I am in the parking lot of a motorcycle place buying farkles....busted . For a track of where I have been, I keep the Garmin 76 CSx GPS track breadcrumbs turned on. I can and have used it to backtrack. When I am home, I use that detailed track to export to a gpx file for posting on my ride reports. Some of you have seen them on my blog. That is where I get the elevation profiles, route, speeds, etc. I probably will end up with both a PLB and a SPOT. On the very risky trips, I will rent or buy a satellite phone, and split the expenses with my riding buddy. Out here in the US West, you are often not only far away from a cell tower, you are far away from anything. The Utah Backcountry Discovery Route, for example. I am a geezer doing too many risky things solo or with loved ones both on land and water. For example, if caught offshore with a life threatening problem, I will fire a flare, VHF call the Coast guard, send out a PLB message, send out a SPOT 911 message, and make a cell phone 911 call, and hold a St Christopher dash statue up while having a conversation with the Big Guy in the Sky. They can sort it out. Ditto on land, except no Coast Guard. I don't care about me, but somebody needs to rescue my cool stuff! I also have the SPOT extra protection that pays for the rescue, even if private if need be. Seriously, I have no delusion that these devices are 100% effective, but they are better than nothing, and certainly better than restricting my activities or making loved ones unnecessarily worry about me when I am fine. It works for me. YMMV.
I've been using SPOT for about 5 years and has been indispensable for me when I ride competitive long distance rallies on my FJR (and fun for people to play and watch from home). Using the Spotwalla.com service (I know the creator personally....very cool motorcycle dude named Jason Jonas) on top of it makes it indispensable when embedding in my blog. The truth is also that one need not get a "SPOT" tracker or PLB. If you have a SmartPhone with a GPS embedded (i.e. Android or iPhone) you can use something like Google Latitude for free with the aforementioned Spotwalla.com for free and get tracking....when you make contact with cell phone towers. I wrote up a detailed comparison of SPOT and iPhone.
If you live or go to a location that doesn't have great cell/mobile phone coverage then I reckon you're crazy not to have something like the Spot tracker. I have used the Spot for a while now & haven't had a problem with it. It provides a measure of comfort to my family while I'm out riding. I've used it whilst travelling around Cambodia (great riding btw) and, before I went, I paid the cheap fee for the SOS insurance which (from memory) covers the fees involved in emergency services getting to you etc. The messages & tracking all went through to the family as hoped. As Harder1 says, the ability to customise your messages is great, but so is the tracking feature. I like tracking because in the case you crash & can't press the SOS, when your family/friends raise the "missing" alarm, the emergency services can work out your last known position. Emergency beacons can't tell anyone where you are if they are not activated. The Spot has assisted and possibly saved 2 lives in our local area in the last 6 months. Bushwalkers taking a walking trail (www.bibbulmuntrack.org.au) got into difficulty, activated their Spot, and were easy found by emergency services who subsequently used the media to appeal to everyone heading off the highway to carry such a device. Having broken bones & punctured a lung from an off deep in the forest, I can tell you that you want people to know where you are asap when you need medical attention. I always carry spare batteries.
I have read 3 of the guides below, and i am starting to lean towards a PLb with an "i am ok" feature. I would also want a plb with a gps, since it is more precise in locating you (within 100 meters, versus kms for non-gps models). It appears that in a real emergency, the 406 mhz signal is stronger and that there are more satellites. And while i do not usually like to say relying on the government is good....in this case....having a national dispatch and multiple agencies might be useful. The rescue will be expensive, but i can try to do some solo riding in Canada, where rescues are free! Plbs are also small enough to stash in your jacket pocket, for when i get separated from the bike on a ride to Alice's or in the Sierra woods. http://forum.delorme.com/viewtopic.php?f=181&t=22083 http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/personal-locator-beacons.html http://desertexplorer.wordpress.com/2010/02/05/revisiting-the-spot-versus-plb-question/ Info about the "i am ok" feature (requires $50 a year subscription with the plb) http://www.406link.com/gps.html
I have/ride with a spot tracker. Used 911 button once. And while it did bring me help, it was not reassuring to whether my signal was getting out or not. Consequently, I will be buying the Inreach. This is the unit my friends carry when they race the Baja 1000. Behind every inReach is GEOS. Behind GEOS is the IERCC — formally known as the International Emergency Response Coordination Center. Send an SOS message through inReach, and it goes directly to the IERCC. More specifically, it goes to a secure underground bunker located north of Houston. It has redundant electrical grids, generators, and a potable water supply from an underground well. In short, complete self-dependence if the outside world “goes away.” The team at the IERCC is staffed and ready 24/7, 365 days per year, with SAR Mission Coordinators and Duty Officers. As soon as they receive your message, they’ll track your device and notify emergency contacts and responders in the area — they’ll also stay connected to provide updates on your location or to communicate with you. As soon as you activate your inReach, you have full, free access to the IERCC through GEOS SOS monitoring and emergency dispatch. How’s that for comforting? Yea, that's pretty comforting.
Inreach is from delorme, so it is in the spot category. I am looking at this plb model: I think acr seem to have a decemt reputation. http://www.rei.com/product/815753/acr-electronics-resqlink-406-gps-personal-locator-beacon
I will be fun to follow Codger and the Terra and I wish him well for a safe adventure. I didn't see how to subscribe, but I have bookmarked his link.
The Inreach is a plb. Johnrg is a good person to contact on here for more questions about plb's and spots. On a side note, most spot and plb's must be laying flat and in open sky to work. If you find one with a helical wound antenna, these will transmit through foliage and in narrow canyons.
From another thread, Kenneth Webb said: ↑ OK, Kevin (I'll just call him Codger) is OK to post his spot link. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0TLiDp5vhjn6n9pp7QKS2Nf2FdeM0mIk5 Maybe this should be a separate post, but I'll wait to see if there is any interest to do it.This is as great chance for those who have not experienced the SPOT to see what is sent and received. By changing to satellite view, you can see the campground where he is staying tonight at Lake Meridith and know he is safe for the evening. If he had hit the OK at his campsite, you could see exactly where he set up his tent. If he sends out another OK in the morning, you will know he is underway again. Up to 10 people designated will receive an email or text message with his location every time he sends the OK message. And he could have it posted automatically on Facebook or Twitter as well. He is not using tracking, but is sending out an OK message at intervals. This is part of the basic fee and avoids the $49/yr tracking fee. The OK message is also more reliable and sends multiple times if necessary to get through. The tracking will try once to send every 10 minutes, but if you are in a bad place then or you obstruct the SPOT antenna with your body, it might not go through then. He could also have sent a custom message too as part of the Basic fee.
2 guys are alive today because a friend of mine had the spot on him and hit the button for help. Every one should carry one ONE YOUR PERSON....if you get away from the bike and you are able to move at all, help will be on the way.......and all the people at home and at work feel warm and fuzzy when they get an update........
SPOT is amazingly versatile. I have some interesting experience with it. I first came to learn about it on ADVrider. Fast forward a few years, and I was on a deployment...well....we'll just say "somewhere." We use a system called Blue Force Tracker (BFT) that can be equipped to planes, trucks, and even individuals. We can track friendly (blue) and enemy (red) forces anywhere on the battlefield. It's great stuff. So back to SPOT. What do you do when you're in the middle of "somewhere" teaching "somewhere's militia" how to fight and kill terrorists, and you need to track them on the battlefield for training and battle coordination purposes? You can't give them BFT technology, and even if you did they can't afford to maintain it. In walks the commo geek fresh from surfing ADVrider with the most ingenious, cost effective idea ever: SPOT. "Yep, just buy a metric shit-ton of SPOT trackers. I'll come up with a way to multicast all the locators into one mapping program." The room got quiet. Officers hate when you start talking about things that they don't understand. Next thing you know, I'm showing them rtwDoug's SPOT tracker page as he's riding around the world. They bought off on the idea, and it's still working today. The idea caught on in quite a few other countries too. I had never owned a SPOT before, but executing this setup completely sold me on them. They are amazingly rugged, and they just plain work.
