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Picture Of The Month



SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye

Topic: Homer kayaker found dead?  (Read 6016 times)

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easyyakker

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Soldotna, AK
  • Date Registered: May 2016
  • Posts: 229
Thanks for the comparisons between the Spot and the inReach. You've saved me some money.

I thought a lot about my use case scenario and decided the SPOT wouldprobably be more than enough. My friend, who preferred the DeLorme, and her friends do a lot of back country skiing, and hiking/backpacking. They go into some pretty remote areas where there is no cell phone coverage. They like the ability to send a message like, "We're fine. We're going to wait out this storm. Will probably be a day late." These types of messages are important to friends and family. (Sometimes their adventures span several days, up to a couple weeks.)

For my use, I'm almost always in cell range. I'm looking for the ability to call in the cavalry if I get in trouble. Also, the ability to send an I'm o.k. message will be nice if I follow through on some interior bike trips next summer. In reality, I'm likely to have cell coverage on most of those trips as well.

Anyway, I'll probably head to the man store this weekend and pick up a Spot.

Thanks for helping me analyze my needs..


Klondike Kid

  • Lingcod
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  • The Eagle Whisperer
  • Alaska Outdoor Journal
  • Location: Kenai Peninsula, AK
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 488
Thanks for the comparisons between the Spot and the inReach. You've saved me some money.
Thanks for helping me analyze my needs..
Hey easyyaker, good choice. For the vast majority, and I will go out on a limb and say actually for 100% of people, the SPOT will be a perfect companion. But for those that just need to add their real time personal comments in a text the Delorme alternative will make them happy and perhaps justify the annual bill they rack up.

You will find the SPOT is actually fun to have. When I go on a road trip, hunting or fishing trip, or a combo I've got a half dozen people that can monitor me and my whereabouts during those outings. You can save all your route waypoints and then convert them to the SPOT Adventures online (http://www.findmespot.com/spotadventures/) and add photos and commentary to specific locations in your trek so others can actually enjoy re-living that experience. You will find that fun to do with your bike trips that folks can follow in real time as well as see your SPOT Adventure trip with photos and captions for key points along the way after you return and upload.

And remember, cell phone coverage is only good if your battery is charged and/or you haven't dropped the phone in the water. I guess except for the Samsung "waterproof" phones now. SPOT is there all the time...and waterproof. One last point I will mention that applies to your Delorme friends: their unit has a built in rechargeable battery. When its dead, they might be too. It means taking along some means of recharging, perhaps a USB battery brick or $300 solar panel with enough wattage to actually charge the battery. For the SPOT, you use two AA Lithium disposable batteries. I ran 4 years without hitting the red power light indicating 30% left. Changed out the batteries anyway. I carry a new set of 2 batteries in my SPOT case if I ever need them. I'll never be without power that way. The unit is said to run for a year turned on in stand by (no signal transmission) on one set of batteries.

You made a great choice.

Oh BTW, Kardinal_84 and trobak are out there trolling off the Spit today with 4 other power boats too. No action for anyone yet!
« Last Edit: November 24, 2016, 01:58:45 PM by Klondike Kid »
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~


easyyakker

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Location: Soldotna, AK
  • Date Registered: May 2016
  • Posts: 229
I haven't even looked at the weather yet. I'm hoping maybe I can go one day this weekend. Turkey is in the oven today. So I'm a little tied down. That's what I get for having the family at my house for Thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving everybody.

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Dan_E

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • Formerly known as Indyflyer
  • Location: McMinnville, OR
  • Date Registered: Dec 2010
  • Posts: 345
Hey easyyaker, good choice. For the vast majority, and I will go out on a limb and say actually for 100% of people, the SPOT will be a perfect companion. But for those that just need to add their real time personal comments in a text the Delorme alternative will make them happy and perhaps justify the annual bill they rack up.

Not trying to cut that limb you're out on, but having the ability to receive acknowledgement that a message was delivered would give me peace of mind if I'm in a bad situation.   The SPOT probably claims 100% delivery of every message every time but really, it is technology and can experience failures.  Sending a message and then sitting back waiting without knowing anything further would raise my stress level even more.

I do want the ability to converse with the home front beyond emergency messages, even if it is short text messages.  And having the ability for them to contact me should there be a problem crop up back at home or work is important.  Too many family members with medical concerns and sometimes only the owner/boss can handle a situation at the office. 

So a single purpose tool like the SPOT isn't 100% perfect for everyone.  ;)  I put the DeLorme on my wish list at Amazon.

Dan E


Low_Sky

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Anchorage, AK
  • Date Registered: Oct 2015
  • Posts: 521
Some folks will probably find the text messaging capability of the Delorme to be worth the expense, though it's certainly not for everybody. Honestly, I'll probably be one of those people when I make my mind up. Things you can't say with a Spot...

Bear got into my food, have the transporter send more.

Found another hiker/hunter/whoever that needs help.

I'll be X days late but everything is okay.

I'm having X medical emergency, rescue personnel need to bring Y special equipment or drugs.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
2016 Hobie Revolution 16
2014 Perception Triumph 13


Low_Sky

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Anchorage, AK
  • Date Registered: Oct 2015
  • Posts: 521
For anybody in the market for an InReach SE, Cabela's has them on sale for $229 right now.  The price isn't advertised in the store, but as long as that's the price on their website it's the price that will come up at the register.  That's the lowest price I've seen them at for as long as I've had my eye on one. 
2016 Hobie Revolution 16
2014 Perception Triumph 13


Pinstriper

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Outer Southwest Portlandia
  • Date Registered: May 2015
  • Posts: 1043
Ooof.

I just went to the Delorme website to look at their plan options, and a more convoluted pile of jibberjabber has rarely been written, even on the internet.

I have no idea what this thing would cost after purchase, or what I would get in return.

Let's eat, Grandma !
Let's eat Grandma !

Punctuation. It saves lives.
........................................................................


Low_Sky

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Anchorage, AK
  • Date Registered: Oct 2015
  • Posts: 521
The plans are a little overwhelming at first glance, but if you give them a thorough read and just Google the terms that you aren't familiar with they aren't too complicated.

The first place to start would be how you want to use it. If you'll only use it for a few big trips each year, get the freedom plan and only activate the device when you need it. If you'll use it throughout the year, get an annual plan.

I signed up for an annual recreation plan to get a useful number of text messages (40 per month) and unlimited tracking.

After using this thing for just one day, I'm kicking myself for not getting one earlier.  I drive a ton of miles on dark, icy roads haunted by moose to engage in outdoor pursuits almost exclusively solo in areas with no cell reception. What the heck was I thinking?

And yes, a Spot is way cheaper. A Spot also isn't a two-way communication device. The two really aren't even comparable.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
« Last Edit: December 12, 2016, 12:25:40 AM by Low_Sky »
2016 Hobie Revolution 16
2014 Perception Triumph 13


Klondike Kid

  • Lingcod
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  • The Eagle Whisperer
  • Alaska Outdoor Journal
  • Location: Kenai Peninsula, AK
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 488
Just placed my order for the SPOT GEN III unit. Couldn't pass up $75 and free shipping from the Spot website store during this holiday sale.

I won't be activating or using this unit though. I have and use my SPOT GEN 1 device since August 2008 on just about every outing and road trip out of town I have made.  It has performed flawlessly. I am only on the 2nd set of Lithium Ultimate Energizer batteries installed in June 2011 after driving up the Alcan to my home in Soldotna....tracking every minute on that road system without a single glitch in 2000+ miles and I never reached a low battery alarm or failure over the ten day journey with the original batteries which were 3 years old.

Although my present battery set is 5 years old I've still not reached the 30% remaining power alert yet. And to test that further the other night for a friend who just purchased his new SPOT in my same order, I set the unit outside at 6 BELOW ZERO for two hours while activating the Check Ins and ten minute tracking. Frozen solid and never missed a single transmission. And still at six below zero temp on the batteries no low battery level alert.

Why did I buy the GEN III?  It's going to sit in the box on my closet shelf. IF I ever lose my Gen 1 or have it malfunction in any way in the future, I can log into my SPOT Account online and in exactly one minute transfer the account to the GEN III and activate it immediately. One minute of downtime in my "life insurance."

I won't debate anyone who chooses an alternate personal satellite tracking device. I'm just here to "testify" that I have logged several thousand ten minute tracking waypoints with 99% transmission and many dozens of Check In transmissions with ZERO missed deliveries on that unit. I'm paying $150 a year for that peace of mind. I carry it to save my life. For no other reason.

P.S. I have been in contact with the Homer Police Chief to see if the autopsy of the kayaker was completed so we would know if there had been some medical condition that contributed to this accident. He said the preliminary assessment was death by drowning but the final results will be in later this week and he will let me know if that finding changes.

I hope everyone reading this puts some kind of personal satellite tracking device on their own Christmas shopping list and use it religiously. It won't save your life if its back at the house. In just the past week 3 people have died on the ocean in Alaska (not counting the kayaker in this thread) who may have been saved if they had a tracking rescue device.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~


Low_Sky

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Anchorage, AK
  • Date Registered: Oct 2015
  • Posts: 521
I hope everyone reading this puts some kind of personal satellite tracking device on their own Christmas shopping list and use it religiously. It won't save your life if its back at the house. In just the past week 3 people have died on the ocean in Alaska (not counting the kayaker in this thread) who may have been saved if they had a tracking rescue device.

Great message, KK.  At the sale price, a Spot and a year of service costs about what some of us will spend on a weekend trip from Anchorage to Homer (gas, meals, lodging, bait). 
2016 Hobie Revolution 16
2014 Perception Triumph 13


Klondike Kid

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • The Eagle Whisperer
  • Alaska Outdoor Journal
  • Location: Kenai Peninsula, AK
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 488
Great message, KK.  At the sale price, a Spot and a year of service costs about what some of us will spend on a weekend trip from Anchorage to Homer (gas, meals, lodging, bait).

That's hitting the nail on the head and putting it all in perspective from a financial point of view. One or two weekend trips from the Valley or Anchorage to the Peninsula and you have spent the equivalent of purchasing either the Delorme or Spot.

I'll put it this way L_S, after 46 years here in Alaska and seeing literally countless senseless deaths on the back country trails, rivers, and ocean that this satellite personal tracking technology would have prevented and knowing the reliability of these devices marketed now days my conscious won't allow me sit back without speaking up and encouraging others.

As a new owner of an inReach, you will find the more you use it and the more thankful your family and friends are to know you are safe, the more you will become a spokespeson for this technology too. Its literally pocket change in today's dollars for so much insurance. I don't have anyone I need to text on my outings so my arrangement is a perfect fit. Family people with spouses and kids, those with complicated lives involving a need for keeping an electronic connection will find alternatives a better choice.  But the bottom line is no one should "leave home without one of some kind."

I'm glad I know someone now with an inReach so I can get some firsthand scoop on them. The only SPOT owners I know are my family members who I either bought one for or they were convinced on their own. I now have one of my best friends getting his this week and I know his wife is going to love keeping track of him because he is always out doing something somewhere year round.
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

Take a Kid Fishing and Hook'em For Life!  ~KK~