jd I think In Reach is on Iridium. Just at REI and SPOT is now Free (with some service contract) InReach has $50 off
Spot Tracking services or alternatives?
- Thread starter McIntoshUSA
- Start date
I had a spot, used it frequently on Lake Ontario for races across the lake or cruising. Worked OK when it worked. However always had issues with notices, few people seemed to get the notices and fewer were able to login. Customer service was horrible, rarely answered and never returned calls when they didn't answer. Also they dramatically increased their annual service fee after the promotional service ran out. If you still want one i'll sell you mine cheap!
Bill T
Water Colors
Rochester, Y
Bill T
Water Colors
Rochester, Y
Here is a link to US sailing report on the Agean accident where SPOT was used instead of PLB or EPRIB or indeed InReach
http://www.ussailing.org/wp-content/uploads/DARoot/Offshore/SAS Studies/Ensenada-Report-FINAL.pdf
Around page 77 they start discussing Spot
Took 10 hours for the coast guard to get the message via spot to owners wife etc that there was an accident, by that time they had figured it out and were recovering bodies. Don't know how DeLorme would work in similar circumstance. So this is just a data point.
http://www.ussailing.org/wp-content/uploads/DARoot/Offshore/SAS Studies/Ensenada-Report-FINAL.pdf
Around page 77 they start discussing Spot
Took 10 hours for the coast guard to get the message via spot to owners wife etc that there was an accident, by that time they had figured it out and were recovering bodies. Don't know how DeLorme would work in similar circumstance. So this is just a data point.
I used the spot this summer when I delivered a boat from Los Angeles to Oahu Hawaii. I did a daily update to let my family know our daily status as well as my crews family. You can set up a list for who to send the messages to. So even when we had problems, they were aware, also that everything was under control, we were safe and making progress towards our destination. I was gong for 20 days (at sea) and this really helped with family and friends concerns. They could track our location daily and just know all is well and the crew is safe.
This is the way this was generally reported in the media, and sadly is totally misleading and unfair to SPOT. The Aegean had a SPOT tracker and had tracking turned on, but NEVER sent an valid SOS. During the night under autopilot, they motored straight into an island and all were lost. Its not SPOT's job to watch every tracker for signs that something might be amiss. Heck, the track could have been easily interpreted as them being at anchor.
Now knowing they were in a sailboat race and not heard from for 12 hours, its easy for someone who cares to guess that something is wrong. But again that's not SPOTs job. The next morning several SPOT users (myself included) looked at their track and called SPOT to investigate. They started looking into it right away based on an established protocol.
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I read most of the report pertaining to the Spot and some things of note. As Jackdaw stated the SPOT did track the boat''s position and reported that position regularly except during the times that was interrupted by the owner sending per-recorded text messages at the same time.
There was a 911 (SOS) message sent with no coordinates with it at the time it appears the boat broke up.
"Appendix 19
GEOS CALL LOG
0843 GMT 911 EMERGENCY NOTIFICATION RECEIVED.
Call placed in pending. No GPS coordinates received."
GEOS (not SPOT but the search/rescue organization) then did try calling 4 times within about 10 minutes of the SOS to the registered owner and the primary and secondary contacts but no one answered as it was about 2 in the morning. They left voice mail and I think that is why the owners wife didn't know until hours later when she awoke and checked her voice mail.
The question remains though as to why did GEOS not contact the Coast Guard at the time they received the 911/SOS call. GEOS got the 911 (SOS) data from the SPOT so why didn't they act on it. The SPOT did it's job. GEOS also receives similar data from others including the InReach so would they of acted differently? GEOS is not SPOT but a totally different organization...
http://www.geosalliance.com/what-is-geos/our-mission/
I'll bet the reason the 911 call didn't have the coordinates was because by then the boat had maybe broken up and the device's SOS button was pushed but the device was no longer getting a clear view of the sky and had lost the GPS signal. If so this could of happened with about any device. Still if GEOS could of at that point seen the tracking data (maybe they couldn't/can't) they would of been able to interpolated the position of the boat and given that info to the Coast Guard.
From the SPOT log it looks like someone also pushed one of the other message buttons at the same time that wasn't an SOS button but just sent a recorded message to an email list which wouldn't of been read until people on the list checked their email.
On my Bahama trip a friend, thanks Scott, worried about me and bought a PLB for me to take with me and I think it is a good option if you actually go overboard (especially if single handing) or the boat goes down quickly...
"PLBs (ACR ResQLink)
A PLB does not require a paid annual subscription to send an SOS message. It transmits an SOS message with GPS coordinates via satellite, and in addition to that, emits a homing signal on the 121.5 MHz emergency frequency, at a power level 5 to 10 times higher than a SEND (SPOT or InReach) device. Furthermore, the PLB is much more likely than a SEND device to acquire the satellites necessary for a GPS coordinate lock.
A PLB emitting a distress signal in these two manners absolutely represents your best chance of being located and at this most basic level is a better device than anything operating on Globalstar or Iridium. That is to say, when it comes down to the nitty-gritty and you press that SOS button, a transmitting PLB is far more likely to get you rescued than a SEND device. Don't forget this. ---- http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Personal-Locator-Beacon-Reviews/Buying-Advice "
At the end of the trip I returned it to Scott so he can use it himself in the future.
Sumner
===============================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
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We own two older SPOT devices, one for each of us. It is a personal style device if you want to be found after falling overboard, etc. The tracking feature is pretty cool once you get it set up. They keep improving it, but it is a little work to setup. The evac insurance is nice to have, too.
I picked that up also....
"A Membership in GEOS, including Search and Rescue, underwritten at Lloyds of London, is available to all SPOT subscribers for only $17.95 per year. The GEOS Membership provides up to $50,000 per occurrence ($100,000 total)"
Figured it was worth the $18 in case I actually ever needed it,
Sumner
==============================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
Husband used it crossing the Atlantic from Spain to Puerto Rico. I loved it (being the one at home!). It worked well and we were able to track him during the crossing. There was also peace of mind, knowing that he could hit the distress button if needed. We've also used it during trips around the states, but that was more of a novelty, not really a necessity.
NO just the ONE
unit you take, the data goes to the internet as someone else implied.
This applies to the SPot and the others too if you only want to keep someone on shore informed. If you want to know where the shore party is on their wilderness Hike, yes you would need 2. and 2 plans.
Considering what we spend on our boats why not have an ACR and SPOT device? The ACR is a onetime spend for a device dedicated to rescue.
A SPOT is then religated to a cheap "works most of the time" one way message device for when you are out of wifi/cell/SSB range.
Chris
A SPOT is then religated to a cheap "works most of the time" one way message device for when you are out of wifi/cell/SSB range.
Chris
Chris that is good thinking, especially if you are getting away from the states where the Coast Guard is easier to contact,
Sumner
=================================================
1300 miles to The Bahamas and Back in the Mac...
Endeavour 37 Mods...
MacGregor 26-S Mods...http://purplesagetradingpost.com/sumner/endeavour-main/endeavour-index.html
Mac Trips to Utah, Idaho, Canada, Florida, Bahamas
Woody, no. Technically both them are always on when in use. but the SPOT has two capabilities
1) It can stop sending when the device stops moving; really a way to save battery power and network use
2) Because of the security version of the SPOT, the software allows you to setup a geo-fence abound a location that will send an alarm to you if the device goes outside (or inside) of that box.
Unless you have a special high-value boat, I cannot see the value of putting a satellite alarm on it. Just have good insurance. Most people here have more invested in their car than they do in their boat. How many here have sat alarms on the car? I bet ZERO. Sailboats simply just are not a big theft target. Beyond a few high-profile cases or stupid people doing stupid things, it just does not happen, and probably not in a way where a sat alarm would make any real difference in the outcome.