Comments on: Communication technology options: A vendor neutral view

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 20:42:07 +0000

In reply to Stephan.

Excellent point. THx for sharing! (If 911 texting is avail of course. https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/what-you-need-know-about-text-911)

By: Stephan

Stephan — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 20:40:54 +0000

Great article, thanks for summing up all the available options.
A point you made that should be stressed is when using a cell phone send a text message first.
My friend that flys rescue missions for the Civil Air Patrol tells me that not only is it more likely to go through but they can also triangulate your location more accurately off a text message if for some reason you are unable to communicate further.

By: Paul Mags

Paul Mags — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 19:42:48 +0000

In reply to LarryBoy.

Ah…good ole legacy technology! The first gen of SPOT devices, besides being simpler in features, well, were spotty (HA!)
https://www.wildsnow.com/3016/spot-messenger-mod/
Then there’s the well-known issue with the older Delorme inReach devices:
https://andrewskurka.com/garmin-responds-faulty-sos-lock-button-inreach-se-explorer/

Having said that, I should include a quick blurb on legacy technology. Thx!

By: LarryBoy

LarryBoy — Tue, 19 Nov 2019 17:02:04 +0000

Great article! As a point of clarification, many of the older SPOT devices are somewhat of a hybrid between the Satellite Messenger and PLB categories. Quickly: They only offer a few different buttons: “Check-in”, “SOS”, and something in the middle – a “Help” feature. The precise meanings of your buttons are something you should work out with your emergency contact before you leave.

But while they have limited functionality, not much more than a PLB, they are NOT in fact PLBs. They operate on SPOT’s commercial network which while good, is not to the standard of the absolute-bombproof-reliability of NOAA’s network for PLBs. For most folks, this won’t matter, but if you’re in the far northern Arctic, in deep canyons, or in truly lush rainforest, there is a chance that the device may not have connectivity.