Spot Personal Tracker and GPS

[Abby]

I was on a deployment...well....we'll just say "somewhere."What do you do when you're in the middle of "somewhere" teaching "somewhere's militia" how to fight and kill

This is crazy off topic, but I've never understood why the military folks not ever talk about where they were.
I mean, you're not there now---so what difference does it make?
Is this a guy thing where making it secret sounding makes it cooler?

 

[kjackbrown]

This is crazy off topic, but I've never understood why the military folks not ever talk about where they were.
I mean, you're not there now---so what difference does it make?
Is this a guy thing where making it secret sounding makes it cooler?

Lol, as I read this I had the theme song from Mission Impossible playing in my head

 

[rww]

I thought he said that they work..........must be the time I spent walking around in the tree's with the Marines ....LOL

 

[RidingDonkeys]

This is crazy off topic, but I've never understood why the military folks not ever talk about where they were.
I mean, you're not there now---so what difference does it make?
Is this a guy thing where making it secret sounding makes it cooler?

It depends. Most of the time, we're not supposed to talk about EXACTLY where we're at. Like I'm in Bagram Afghanistan at the moment, but I'm not going to give you the GPS coordinates for my building. I'm also not going to publish my travel schedule on my Facebook, or post photos with identifying landmarks in the background. If it's happening now, or about to happen, then you won't hear squat from me. After it happens, normally it is all copacetic.

However, sometimes we're in places that you aren't supposed to know about. Not places like Iraq and Afghanistan, but places in which the President may not want to acknowledge involvement. Security clearances, non-disclosure agreements, and politics all come into play. 99% of the military will never have to deal with this. I do. Not because I'm a cool guy. I'm actually a communications geek. But I happen to be a communications geek for a unit that supports the baddest of the badass, and I send teams of my Soldiers to places you'd never dream of. I really have an awesome job.

But to humorously answer your question. A wise monkey once said...

 

[Rob578]

I'm not sure I would use a PLB for riding. I have both an ACR aqualink and a SPOT. I use the PLB for offshore fishing/diving if you activate that beacon it puts in motion a full on rescue scenario complete with boats, planes and helos, it had better be a life threatening situation if you use it. The SPOT on the other hand has been reliable and is more versatile with it's tracking and multiple messages. I was on an ADV ride in the middle of nowhere west virginia and one of the GS riders fell and broke his ankle, they used the 911 button and the ambulance was there in 20 minutes.

 

[krussell]

I don't see pressing 911 on a Spot or InReach any less serious than triggering a PLB.

From the SPOT documentation:

ALERT 9-1-1: Use this function In the event of a life threatening or other critical emergency to notify emergency services of your exact location and that you need assistance.
HOW IT WORKS:Once activated, SPOT will acquire its exact coordinates from the GPS network, and send that location along with a distress message to a GEOS International Emergency Response Center every five minutes until cancelled. The Emergency Response Center notifies the appropriate emergency responders based on your location and personal information – which may include local police, highway patrol, the Coast Guard, our country’s embassy or consulate, or other emergency response or search and rescue teams – as well as notifying your emergency contact person(s) about the receipt of a distress signal.

A PLB 'how it works' example is at http://www.acrartex.com/landing/rescue

For me, when I get to the point of pushing 911 on any of these devices, I'd push it on all of them. My take is I want the best possible chance of response. I think a PLB is that device, and I want it in my jacket. Tracking has it's applications too, and for that I could see having an InReach or Spot AND a PLB. If I had both, I'd likely push 911 on both if the circumstances were dire.

 

[Rob578]

I don't see pressing 911 on a Spot or InReach any less serious than triggering a PLB.

From the SPOT documentation:

ALERT 9-1-1: Use this function In the event of a life threatening or other critical emergency to notify emergency services of your exact location and that you need assistance.
HOW IT WORKS:Once activated, SPOT will acquire its exact coordinates from the GPS network, and send that location along with a distress message to a GEOS International Emergency Response Center every five minutes until cancelled. The Emergency Response Center notifies the appropriate emergency responders based on your location and personal information – which may include local police, highway patrol, the Coast Guard, our country’s embassy or consulate, or other emergency response or search and rescue teams – as well as notifying your emergency contact person(s) about the receipt of a distress signal.

A PLB 'how it works' example is at http://www.acrartex.com/landing/rescue

For me, when I get to the point of pushing 911 on any of these devices, I'd push it on all of them. My take is I want the best possible chance of response. I think a PLB is that device, and I want it in my jacket. Tracking has it's applications too, and for that I could see having an InReach or Spot AND a PLB. If I had both, I'd likely push 911 on both if the circumstances were dire.

You might be served well by having one of each, SPOTs are cheap, last one I bought was $50 bucks at REI

 

[v12gte]

I think all the subsequent posters have managed to talk me into acquiring both, a plb and a spot.

I guess no one gadget solves all the needs (iphone gets close). Which is why i also own 3 motorbikes and 4 cars.

 

[HuskyDude]

I'm not sure of the first or second generation units but if I remember the old ones wouldn't even push a signal through a bunch of trees. You really want to be in an open area.
One of the reasons I never got one. Plus I was always riding with a group .

From their web page.

Spot needs a clear view of the sky to obtain a GPS signal. It is not reliable in very dense forest

Now I find myself doing a lot of solo D/S riding I'm really interested in one.
It's one thing to read the product data sheet with promises and such. But I'd like someone with a new unit to say..."Ya the second generation spot is that much better."
Has anyone had both and care to comment?

 

[Rob578]

I bought mine a couple months ago, doesn't aquire a fix as quick as the Garmin Montana but I haven't had any other issues, pretty easy to tell by the lights if it has a fix or if you need to move to a more open area. I don't have any experience with the 911 button on the SPOT ( I mainly use the check- in button) But I have used the PLB, set that thing off and be prepared for a huge response and lots of questions

 

[socalrob]

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!

I could be wrong but I thought the PLB rescue was not normally charged to the person rescued as long as it is a true emergency.

 

[nev..]

I have a Spot 2 but never had a Spot 1, but a lot of folks on a long distance riding forum I frequent have them (Airhawks and Spot trackers are fitted on about 90% of bikes at a long distance riders meetup) and there have been plenty on the forum who have compared the 1 to the 2 and the 2 is praised for its improved reliability (both getting a GPS signal and sending tracking updates).

I use it mainly just for my own amusement so I can see my tracks for past rides. Spotwalla.com uses the spot updates and gives an enhanced tracking interface.

 

[RidingDonkeys]

Every GPS I've ever owned had that disclaimer in the manual. Forest cover can mess up any GPS, but it doesn't mean it will. They just have to cover their butts. The second gen is infinitely better than the first though. It has a much better receiver.

 

[Johnrg]

I am awaiting a backordered InReach. I was going to purchase a Spot but the DeLorme uses a different network than Spot and allows 160 character messaging for two way communication. You can message anyone, post to Faceplant, etc... Mostly you will know your message for help was received (gives confirmation) and can update the dispatcher on your needs/condition. Subsciption cost are a bit more than Spot especially if you want unlimited Tracking. I could send one or two messages each ride if once a week and still be within my 10 message limit fo the base/safety subsciption. It would send your location and the message, Like "Finally out of the woods... Need a steak and brew at 9pm." Custom messaging/two way messaging is worth the added cost to me.

If I was doing a big trip I'de possible upgrade the subscription for unlimited tracking and more messaging and then change back later (small charge to move back to lower tier but not to upgrade) Both ultimately communicate via GEOS and so your both networks are serviced by GEOS and have the same membership/rescue options.

I normally have a Garmin 310XT on the bars for mapping (after the ride). In the future maybe the DeLorme 60W might be cool to pair w/InReach for better mapping but most reviews prefer Garmin and since pairing simply duplicates some stuff a seperate Garmin GPS might be better to replace my 310xt with.

REI just had it on sale for 20% off and with my dividend there was a no brainer purchase. Will be with me on MTB and the Husky.
http://www.inreachdelorme.com/

Here is a guys tracking on his Mt. McKinley climb...
http://share.delorme.com/daveschaeffer

Feature Comparison:
http://www.inreachcanada.com/inreach-vs-spot/

Pair with DeLorme GPS...
http://shop.delorme.com/OA_HTML/DELibeCCtdItemDetail.jsp?item=31807&section=10460

 

[TE250Guy]

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.

Just checked on Codger's SPOT track on his Terra. He is well into Alaska. I am looking forward to his ride report to see how the Husky performed on this long adventure ride.

There was an interim report here http://www.cafehusky.com/threads/no...50-where-ya-gonna-go.28364/page-5#post-317182

 

[lankydoug]

If you have an I phone you can use Everytrail to track your trip. There's a free version and a $4 "pro" version. I gave it a try and it tracks very accurately even when you're without phone coverage. There might be a way for you to call for help but I'm not sure how, I've only just started to use it. You can add pics to your trips and it will post them to the locations on the trail. I'm not sure if I like it yet because I'm not completely familiar with how to use it yet, I'm kind of hoping to fid someone to help me understand it. I do like that you can see your mileage and total changes in elevation. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/everytrail-pro/id353881166?mt=8

 

[McKay]

An EPIRB is the only reliable way to get saved, the social media Spots and so on are fun but not really reliable enough.

 

[Ignaciob]

An EPIRB is the only reliable way to get saved, the social media Spots and so on are fun but not really reliable enough.

Odd. I know of two different people that were saved using SPOT and nobody with SPOT that wasn't saved according to expectations. I also know of several more that didn't use the 911 portion of SPOT, used "Help" and were helped by watching family members. I've found them to be a very good all-round product and has become an indispensable tool in competitive motorcycle rallies like the Iron Butt Rally. In short, more than reliable enough for me and my family.

http://gearjunkie.com/spot-satellite-device-rescues says there have been 1500+ rescues as of 2011 with SPOT. It doesn't say anything about success rate, but that seems a pretty significant number.

Conversely, I can't seem to find anything about the success rate (or even a number) of EPIRB rescues. I admit EPIRB seems a more narrowed device that *could* leave less question to the holder about a rescue, but do you have any verifiable source of your claim that EPIRBS are the only reliable way to get saved? Or that they're more reliable than SPOT for being saved?

 

[McKay]

Not "could leave less question", it does. Its on the frequencies that the military run and monitor, Spot is on Motorola's consumer paid satellites. I'm in the rescue business and the Spots do work, accurate? that's another topic but accurate enough.

My problem with them is leaving them on all day riding, crashing at the end of the day then find out the battery is kaput.
Better than nothing.

 

[TE250Guy]

Not "could leave less question", it does. Its on the frequencies that the military run and monitor, Spot is on Motorola's consumer paid satellites. I'm in the rescue business and the Spots do work, accurate? that's another topic but accurate enough.

My problem with them is leaving them on all day riding, crashing at the end of the day then find out the battery is kaput.
Better than nothing.

That is something to consider and why I always have a spare set of batteries. The new SPOT Gen3 has a larger battery capacity and can be wired directly to your motorcycle. I think both an EPIRB and a SPOT have their place and are not mutually exclusive. For that reason, I am seriously considering getting an EPIRB to supplement my SPOT. With the SPOT sending out my GPS coordinates and the EPIRB sending out a homing beacon, they should be able to find my remains.