> http://www.findmespot.com/
>
> an it appears that you can only send three messages, OK for check in, a
> customizable "Help", and "911". These go by email and it says the
"Help"
> message is customizable. However, the site says nothing about how it is
> customizable and the downloadable manual says nothing about it. I'm
sure
> it is only customizable ahead of time when managing the account with
> Internet access and not in the field. Still, being able to use "Help"
for
> something like a medical emergency or major breakdown where you are in a
> stable and relatively safe situation vs "911" when you are sitting in
your
> dinghy or liferaft watching your burning boat slip under the waves would
> be good.
>
> The service also comes with $100,000 of insurance coverage for private
> rescue such a chopper extraction. Under 8 bucks with purchase, $150.00
a
> year thereafter.
>
> I also like that it is not totally marine oriented. For the kinds of
> things I plan to do that would be useful. I wouldn't be likely to lug
an
> EPIRB on a hike inland in Newfoundland and, if they got a boat EPIRB
> signal from on shore, it might take a while for them to figure out what
> was going on. The SPOT is intended to be used by hikers so I expect
they
> would respond more quickly if they got a "911" from 5 miles inland.
>
> --
> Roger Long
>
I just bought one last week to replace my mini-B in my tender (Main boat
still has a 406 GPS epirb).....so far it gets an A-
-I'm OK work fine. Takes 5 min or so to get to me, and it seemed
reliable.
You can customize the email and send it to as many people as you want but
change only when you have internet access.
-Help me works fine. Takes 5 min or so to get to me, and it seemed
reliable. You can customize the email and send it to as many people as you
want(different group if you want) but change only when you have internet
access.
-911.. can't test it but it keeps sending till the battery dies even if it
can't get a GPS signal.
-tracker... not a huge fan so far. It sends one signal every 10 minutes
and I tested it 3 times so far:
1st time in the back yard it worked fine and sent the updates as
advertised.
2nd time in a car it missed a couple points but not terrible. 50
min drive it got 3
3rd time I gave it to my son when he went for a kayak ride. it
suggests leaving it in open sky for a while before putting it close to
your
body... I forgot to do that and we got no response for 45 minutes. He had
it clipped to his life jacket and must of been leaning over it. Our
fault
but it highlights the limitations of a low power sat device.
One person mentioned this is a less expensive alternative to an Eprib...
not
really BUT it does more than a 406 EPIRB.
Spot with tracker:
Year 1 $300 (or 250 w/o trcker)
Year 2-5 150/year = $600 (or 100/year or 400)
5 Year cost $900 (or 650 w/o tracker + batteries)
Next X years cost 100 or 150/yr
406 Epirb 5 year cost $ 600-900
Next 5 years costs $300 (battery update) or 60/year
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