spot

[physicslord]

Thanks Walt.

When I pick up my lonesome hiking schedule again, I'm definitely getting the spot.

[Ellen]

Howdy All,

I agree with Walt -- the SPOT worked quite well for my entire 13 day trek along part of the JMT. My buddy Karin was able to follow our progress each day. The SPOT also reasurred my family that we were safe.
I will carry it on every hike from now on.

BTW -- highly recommend taking a side-trip to Vermillion Ranch if you're doing the JMT. You can also do a loop hike and include Vermillion. They are fabulous to hikers. You can shower, do laundry, and get real food.

I promise a trip report once I get the pictures from my friends. After reading Jim's trip report, now I want to go to the High Sierra trail. So many trails, so little time
Miles of smiles,
Ellen

[zippetydude]

I especially like the idea that your family can track your progress. With a PLB, it's silence or signal. But silence does not necessarily indicate I'm okay. If they can see motion, there's a pretty good chance I'm fine, and only a slight chance that a mountain lion swallowed it whole as it was eating me and is now continuing along the trail emitting a signal.

z

[FIGHT ON]

I especially like the idea that your family can track your progress. With a PLB, it's silence or signal. But silence does not necessarily indicate I'm okay. If they can see motion, there's a pretty good chance I'm fine, and only a slight chance that a mountain lion swallowed it whole as it was eating me and is now continuing along the trail emitting a signal.

z

it would be kinda cool if the lion did eat it. and punched 911. one minute it's at heaton and the next reading 10 minutes later is north of rattlesnake peak.

[Hikin_Jim]

Two men that I work with are involved with Air Force SAR. Both are pilots and one is the local area commander or something. After discussions with them I chose to purchase a SPOT over the beacon. Every message I have sent from the SPOT has gotten thru. I can test it in the parking lot before I depart by sending an I am okay msg and seeing it hit my phone. Once you hit the 911 button your position is updated every 10 minutes for the next 24 hours.

Walt, I'm wondering what the pilot's take on the SPOT is if you wouldn't mind sharing it.

[magikwalt]

I spoke with the pilot yesterday about the unit and showed him the types of messages it puts out. We went over the different options available and then discussed what it would mean to a rescue team. The big advantages that he pointed out were that the team would have a face immediately, they would have family members to consult, and would therefore have a better data set available for making decisions. I showed him several message locations from SPOT and how they compared to my handheld GPS I carried. The difference is meters not kilometers. That means get rid of a search airplane and send in a rescue team via foot, horseback or helicopter depending on terrain.

One of the things some of us would like to help the local SAR community with is the speed to victim time. As I understand it, SAR understandably operates in a safe enviroment to help ensure they are not rescuing the rescuers. No one departs the trailhead on a search team until a person is on hand to operate as the control or command point. After that it is two person teams together moving out/up.

I'll accept a phone call saying there are tired hikers needing fluid on Skyline. I would take a training hike up to 5,000ft or so and if I bumped into anyone needing assistance share some Gatoraide. Make a phone call to 911 or SAR and update the situation.

With the SPOT a person can call for family/friend and/or SAR. Both will get a GPS fix and be able to track if the locator is continuing to move. If so they will know the direction of travel and its location current as of 10 minutes ago. Some of us are lucky enough to go thru life without one of these horrible events ever taking place. Me??? I'll take a backup plan with a few flaws rather than relying on luck.

I could have all 10 of the essentials, hiking in a 20 person group on a NP signed trail and still get bitten by a snake, mauled by a bear or tumbled down a ravine. Nothing gets word of an emergency located at my position to SAR faster short of multiple Sat Phones being carried. It also gives my family some peace of mind knowing that they can log on and see where I am and if I am moving.

[FIGHT ON]

I spoke with the pilot yesterday about the unit and showed him the types of messages it puts out. We went over the different options available and then discussed what it would mean to a rescue team. The big advantages that he pointed out were that the team would have a face immediately, they would have family members to consult, and would therefore have a better data set available for making decisions. I showed him several message locations from SPOT and how they compared to my handheld GPS I carried. The difference is meters not kilometers. That means get rid of a search airplane and send in a rescue team via foot, horseback or helicopter depending on terrain.

One of the things some of us would like to help the local SAR community with is the speed to victim time. As I understand it, SAR understandably operates in a safe enviroment to help ensure they are not rescuing the rescuers. No one departs the trailhead on a search team until a person is on hand to operate as the control or command point. After that it is two person teams together moving out/up.

I'll accept a phone call saying there are tired hikers needing fluid on Skyline. I would take a training hike up to 5,000ft or so and if I bumped into anyone needing assistance share some Gatoraide. Make a phone call to 911 or SAR and update the situation.

With the SPOT a person can call for family/friend and/or SAR. Both will get a GPS fix and be able to track if the locator is continuing to move. If so they will know the direction of travel and its location current as of 10 minutes ago. Some of us are lucky enough to go thru life without one of these horrible events ever taking place. Me??? I'll take a backup plan with a few flaws rather than relying on luck.

I could have all 10 of the essentials, hiking in a 20 person group on a NP signed trail and still get bitten by a snake, mauled by a bear or tumbled down a ravine. Nothing gets word of an emergency located at my position to SAR faster short of multiple Sat Phones being carried. It also gives my family some peace of mind knowing that they can log on and see where I am and if I am moving.

Amen!

[Hikin_Jim]

I spoke with the pilot yesterday about the unit and showed him the types of messages it puts out. We went over the different options available and then discussed what it would mean to a rescue team.

The SPOT definitely has more options, if it can communicate. My concern with the SPOT is that it has a reputation of not being able to communicate under heavy tree cover and deep canyons whereas a PLB with its stronger signal can.

I spoke with the pilot yesterday ... he pointed out that the team would have a face immediately, they would have family members to consult, and would therefore have a better data set available for making decisions.

How does a SPOT give rescuers a "face" faster than a PLB? The Air Force RCC also contacts family members, even before notifying the authorities. Am I missing something here?

Basically, I think it boils down to this: A PLB does everything a SPOT does in an emergency situation*. SPOT beats the pants off a PLB in a non emergency situation. The choice then becomes: Do I go for more options but risk a communications failure or do I go for fewer options but have more reliability?

There are other considerations like cost (A PLB at $300 will be cheaper than a SPOT with tracking after only one year -- two years without tracking) and economic viability (will SPOT still be in business two years from now?), but I see the fundamental choice as being between more functionality vs. more reliability.

HJ

*Actually a PLB does just a bit more than a SPOT inasmuch as it has a homing beacon which the SPOT does not.

[zippetydude]

Succinctly put, Jim.

I think Walt's got his pretty well tested out and is getting good reception, but I also hear what you're saying. If there's ever a time when you're most likely to really need help, it's in the farthest stretches of the wilderness, where you have the greatest chance and the least tolerance for failed reception.

Soon, with the technology advancing, there'll be a cell phone that has full gps function, satellite reception, impact detectors in case of accidental fall, and costs $9.95 a month. After that, I'm hoping they come up with a cordless hose so I won't have to carry water.

z

[Hikin_Jim]

Soon, with the technology advancing, there'll be a cell phone that has full gps function, satellite reception, impact detectors in case of accidental fall, and costs $9.95 a month. After that, I'm hoping they come up with a cordless hose so I won't have to carry water.

Ice machine. It needs to have an ice machine.