Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 28, 2024, 02:03:53 AM

Login with username, password and session length

Recent Topics

[March 27, 2024, 12:49:04 PM]

[March 27, 2024, 07:37:59 AM]

[March 26, 2024, 09:10:45 PM]

[March 25, 2024, 05:15:36 PM]

by Spot
[March 25, 2024, 02:39:54 PM]

by PNW
[March 24, 2024, 07:14:07 PM]

[March 23, 2024, 10:59:04 PM]

[March 21, 2024, 06:23:10 AM]

[March 17, 2024, 06:42:23 PM]

[March 17, 2024, 08:44:53 AM]

[March 15, 2024, 06:45:09 PM]

[March 10, 2024, 05:55:18 PM]

[March 10, 2024, 11:20:08 AM]

[February 29, 2024, 07:05:43 AM]

[February 26, 2024, 01:31:23 PM]

Picture Of The Month



SD2OR with a trophy fall walleye

Topic: SPOT to the RESCUE  (Read 3412 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Klondike Kid

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • The Eagle Whisperer
  • Alaska Outdoor Journal
  • Location: Kenai Peninsula, AK
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 488
I'm a SPOT owner for over 8 years having purchased it just months after the launch of the device. It still serves me exactly as it did the day I activated it and even tested the other day at -6°F for two hours with 5 year old batteries. But this year I decided to purchase a spare GEN III SPOT because of the 50% off sale they are having.  If I ever need it to replace my original its just a one minute process on my Spot account page to switch and activate the new device.

During the past TWO weeks I have been on the Spot website and/or my account page every few days. The SPOT folks have a real time running counter displaying how many rescues have been initiated by people requiring emergency help in life and death situations.

15 days ago on a Monday December 5th the Rescue Counter at the top of their page (for just USA) had a count of 4847.

Four days later on Friday 12/9 the count was 4851 and I took a screen grab.


Four days later on the next Tuesday 12/13 the count was 4856 and I took a screen grab.


Today, seven days later the counter was at 4862 and I took a screen grab. (It was actually 4861 this morning and when I refreshed the page it bumped up one more.)



How many lives were truly saved in the last two weeks by a personal satellite tracking device? Well, there are 15 folks out there somewhere that could help answer that question. No doubt the severe midwest and east coast weather may have had some contributions to that rescue number.

Should you wish to monitor the SPOT Rescue Counter and jot down a date and number for later reference, just go to
https://www.findmespot.com/en/.  As of Tuesday December 20th, 2016 the count stands at 4862.

LEARN TO RETURN~!
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

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


boxofrain

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Brookings, Or.
  • Date Registered: May 2006
  • Posts: 1015
Very impressive numbers there young man....makes this old man think more closely at getting one of these.
the memories of a man in his old age, are the deeds of a man in his prime.


Klondike Kid

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • The Eagle Whisperer
  • Alaska Outdoor Journal
  • Location: Kenai Peninsula, AK
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 488
Very impressive numbers there young man....makes this old man think more closely at getting one of these.

In my honest opinion a satellite tracker rescue device is the cheapest life insurance you can invest in. The secondary value is peace of mind of those back on the homestead who will worry much much less when they KNOW you are safe.

  Before I could get out the door to do some shopping today the counter bumped up another rescue. 
I don't plan on being one of those statistics on the counter but as they say....."the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry."

The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

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


Pinstriper

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Outer Southwest Portlandia
  • Date Registered: May 2015
  • Posts: 1043
What do you do when she pings it and shows you were at the growlerie instead of fishing ?

Is there a way to spoof the location ?
Let's eat, Grandma !
Let's eat Grandma !

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


Klondike Kid

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • The Eagle Whisperer
  • Alaska Outdoor Journal
  • Location: Kenai Peninsula, AK
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 488
What do you do when she pings it and shows you were at the growlerie instead of fishing ?

Is there a way to spoof the location ?

That is probably the Achilles Heel of any device that is tracking your location in real time or allowing someone to ping your device to get an updated location. LOL  I guess you could hand off the unit to your fishing buddy to carry around....unless he's buying the next round!  :D
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

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


Pinstriper

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Outer Southwest Portlandia
  • Date Registered: May 2015
  • Posts: 1043
Spot Gen3 is $89 at Cabela's right now. Probably means there's a Gen4 on the doorstep.

I seriously debated the InReach+, but at $450 instead of $89, what I really need is the SOS as a PLB or rescue call, plus a button to push that tells her "I'm OK" and another that says "Got fish, coming home." when there's no cell signal.
Let's eat, Grandma !
Let's eat Grandma !

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


Trident 13

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
I've used it to get ON the water more often. When doing long solo paddles in the sea kayak I could lay out a plan with time dates on a map and give it to my wife.  She watched and if I made it past a checkpoint on time she knew I was heading on, if I missed two points by very much she started making plans to pick me up at the next declared pickup. 
A friend lost one on the Haul Road up in AK.  He knew the last GPS coordinates and next year another friend stopped as they passed, looked for a while and found it after a short search.  Very impressive, especially if it had been pinned to your riding jacket!


Cosmo

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Integrity-It's What You Do When No One's Looking
  • DADventurerNW
  • Location: Tualatin, Oregon
  • Date Registered: Mar 2013
  • Posts: 518
These stats are impressive and scary at the same time.  I've thought about getting one of these not just for kayak fishing, but also for my back woods, no cell phone coverage, down in the canyon salmon and steelhead fishing.  There are also several roads on the way to the Oregon coast where you can go for 30 miles with no cell phone coverage. $89 sounds pretty reasonable, but what does the monthly subscription cost?

Thanks for sharing about this cool device.
Cosmo
2 Hobie Mirage Outbacks 2014


Trident 13

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Kent
  • Date Registered: Jul 2016
  • Posts: 791
I was looking at options a few months ago and there are may posts online, but remembered this offers some options and critiques. 

http://www.supertopo.com/climbers-forum/2791872/SPOT-Messenger-GPS-60-fee-increase

I've not had any problems using tracking with SPOT, but I'm not crawling canyons either.  Mostly on the water.  A friend borrowed it on a move from southern CA to Maine and his friends were able to track where they were most of the time.  Kind of fun to send a text and tell them an exit 20 miles ahead as good pizza.
I am going to look into other options, but, since I'm now rarely out of phone signal, starting to think my phone in a good waterproof case works pretty well for the areas I'm frequenting. Gotta consider each user by what they do and where they go.


crash

  • Salmon
  • ******
  • Location: Humboldt, CA and Ashland, OR
  • Date Registered: Jan 2012
  • Posts: 812
I've had a gen3 spot for a year now, especially useful for checking in with the wife when backpacking and completely out of cell range.  I like the idea of having a panic button that will bring the USCG or local sheriff as the case may be, hopefully I'll never have to use it.


Pinstriper

  • Sturgeon
  • *******
  • Location: Outer Southwest Portlandia
  • Date Registered: May 2015
  • Posts: 1043
These stats are impressive and scary at the same time.  I've thought about getting one of these not just for kayak fishing, but also for my back woods, no cell phone coverage, down in the canyon salmon and steelhead fishing.  There are also several roads on the way to the Oregon coast where you can go for 30 miles with no cell phone coverage. $89 sounds pretty reasonable, but what does the monthly subscription cost?

Thanks for sharing about this cool device.

$20/month if you go monthly, or $199 for the year. I figured I'd probably forget to turn the service on/off so I decided to save the $40 and go annual.

Important to note, the Gen 3 is not the same as the discontinued Spot Messenger, which would bluetooth to your phone and let you send and receive 2-way messages. Right now the only thing I found that would do that is the Garmin InReach, which is $400, and $25/month (I think). I couldn't justify that cost, yet.
Let's eat, Grandma !
Let's eat Grandma !

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


Klondike Kid

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • The Eagle Whisperer
  • Alaska Outdoor Journal
  • Location: Kenai Peninsula, AK
  • Date Registered: Sep 2016
  • Posts: 488
I'm still running my Gen I even though I bought the Gen III last winter on a half off sale for $75. I just don't need to switch to the newer model just for one additional custom message and variable interval tracking....at least for now.  I used the Spot every day for 2 weeks on Kodiak Island kayaking this summer for friends and family to follow me with the 10 minute tracking on every outing. Even though I was alone everyone knew I was safe by just checking my tracking share page and getting my Check In/OK messages. Some days were 10 hours long on the water and on the road. My Spot has never missed a beat in performing exactly as it should and exactly as I expect it to for saving my life after nine years and counting.

On outings lasting many hours my ten minute tracking appears to only miss perhaps one transmission in two hours but I'm very meticulous about insuring the unit always has a visible clear "view" of the sky unless I'm walking in the woods where the tree canopy can not be avoided in some places.  With its built in redundant transmission of Check In/OK messages and Help messages 3 times over 15 minutes I have no doubt one of those sends will reach the satellite. I've never had a failed Check In out of hundreds I have sent. For the 911 Rescue transmission it sends every 5 minutes until the batteries go dead. Would come in handy if I'm in a life threatening situation and went unconscious where wind, waves, and current may be changing my location from the initial spot I activated for rescue.

My payment schedule grabbed the last month of the older $150/yr rate in September  ;D  and I don't need variable interval tracking choices the GEN III offers so for this annual period I'll stick with the GEN I and next fall activate the GEN III to get the added features.

NOTE TO SPOT OWNERS: Watch for any Promotional Program that would offer existing owners a kickback rebate on your next billing cycle if you talk a friend into buying a new SPOT. Its called a Referral Program and last fall I got a $60 deduction off this fall's billing for getting a friend to buy a Spot last year. He also got a $30 discount on his next billing cycle for being a new referred customer. We both won!

So if you have someone in mind that may be thinking about buying a Spot and there is no urgent need for now, watch for some kind of Referral Program enticement between now and Christmas along with a discounted sale price at the same time. This referral discount would have applied for every new customer I referred if I had several more folks. You could save some big bucks.

Potential NEW Buyers: If you are thinking about buying a SPOT and notice there is a referral program offer, DO look for another Spot owner to TEAM UP WITH for both of you getting a kickback. They don't have to be a family, friend, or acquaintance. Just a Spot owner. Heck if there is a program I'll team up with anyone as the Referrer to help you (and me) out. :)  Just PM me if there is a program going.

My Spot resides in a point and shoot camera case on the dashboard of my truck 24/7 so its with me every time I leave the house. And whether I am making a long road trip where there is no cell service or heading out into the woods or on the water, its right there READY to take along. Most owners I know frequently leave it on the dresser or shelf back home. Why? Put it in your vehicle - you don't need it in the house since it is not a rechargeable type of unit.

And lastly, the value of my life is priceless....so don't let the money stand in the way of staying alive or becoming a statistic. Its only a few tanks of gas or a case of shotgun shells as a comparison. Are you worth more than that?
The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese.

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


Dark Tuna

  • Lingcod
  • *****
  • "Dark Tuna?"
  • Location: Redmond / Sammamish, WA
  • Date Registered: Aug 2014
  • Posts: 453
Let me say the warranty service for the SPOT is very good.   Mine Gen3 wouldn't shut down unless I pulled the batteries.
 I had a replacement a few days after calling it in.   Updating the numbers on the web site wasn't working and someone on the support line had me back in business with all the original settings in my replacement Gen3 in about 10 minutes.

2015 Jackson Big Tuna (tandem) (dark forest)
2016 Hobie Outback LE (screamin' orange)
2014 KC Kayaks K12 (the better half's, in camo)
2015 Jackson Kraken 13.5 (bluefin)

Raymarine Dragonfly; BB Angler Aces; Kokatat Hydrus 3L SuperNova Angler Dry Suit; Stohlquist Fisherman PFD


 

anything