SPOT Satellite Messenger

from what i have read on here after discussions its best to stick with the EPIRB as its officially supported by SAR were as the SPOT isnt. not saying that they arnt great, but i do remember someone saying to make sure that its a NZ supported/registered one so if you do get into a spot (pun not intentional) of trouble then the SOS signal goes to some place in nz instead of heading off to the states where you have to rely on them contacting SAR. also raises the point that you have to rely on a private company to get hold of SAR for your safety, and rescue if needed. but on the plus i have herd it keeps worrying wifes happy!

I think it depends what you want the unit to do. The advantage of SPOT is not for use in emergency but as a way of keeping friends and family informed at home of your progress on a trip. The main thing to be aware of is that SPOT and EPIRB are entirely different systems and use different satellites. SPOT uses the satelite phone system which are low orbit satellites and you need to have a subscription to use them. EPIRB uses a satellite system that is specifically designed for emergencies. I almost wonder if a satellite phone might be a better option than SPOT, at least you can then have a 2 way conversation.

http://www.ja-gps.com.au/spot-satellite-tracker.html This is where i could get one in brisbane for $285 i think it was and ths is the basic price and to use it and activate it it seems to cost $99 US I would sooner rent a PLB from TeAnau Mobil Service Station and know that if i had to use it it would go straight to SAR and not to the US and back again as it could be a life or death suitation take a look at the above web site Lindsay

Thanks for the tips, it's making things somewhat clearer. On a tangent, do the iridium sat-phones not actually have voice coverage 100% of the time? If voice calls are available the entire time (which I assumed they were), I've found it confusing why it could take up to 20 minutes to have sufficient coverage to send a text message.

The phone system uses low orbit satelites they are only 100kms or so above the earth's surface, whizzing over at great speed. There will be many of them to give coverage but I guess in theory there could be times when there is no satellite above you. The advantage of this system is that it would take a relatively small power output from the phone to reach the satellite and also 1 satellite covers a small area of the earth's surface so is unlikely to be swamped by inwards calls. The geosychronis satelites used by the EPIRB system are many thousands of kms up and orbit at the same speed as the earth rotates. So from the earth the satellite will appear stationary. The advantage here is that in theory 3 satellites can cover the whole globe. I know the GPS satellites are about half way between and circle the earth in about 12 hours.

Our tramping club (PTC)tried out the SPOT from the summit of Mt Rolleston and was unable to transmit a message. They decided to stick with the PLB's.

I have one of these and it works beautifully. There are a couple of things that you have to be aware of. One is that you have to have a decent view of the sky and you need to leave it on while tramping. If you just switch it on and press "OK" that's not going to work so well as it will take 10-20 minutes the first time to get a signal. I've never not had it send a signal. Have had messages sent out under light tree cover and inside "near" a window. It works quite well and has been 100% reliable for me. Really not sure why some people have issues with messages not getting out, and I know people do. It can take "up to" 20 minutes to acquire and send a message if it hasn't been on for a while.

Forgot to add, have used the SPOT on the Queen Charlotte, Heaphy, Abel Tasman and Pouakai Circuit with 100% success, every OK message was received by my family.

""izogi said... RE: SPOT Satellite Messenger Thanks for the tips, it's making things somewhat clearer. On a tangent, do the iridium sat-phones not actually have voice coverage 100% of the time? If voice calls are available the entire time (which I assumed they were), I've found it confusing why it could take up to 20 minutes to have sufficient coverage to send a text message." The Iridium satellite system has coverage globally all the time. Two way data messages on Iridium take tens of seconds to be delivered. The reason SPOT has the time issue on is to cope with its drawback of being one way only. One way devices have no way of knowing whether the message was successfully received or not. So it is just fired off into the ether on a wing and a prayer. That is why SPOT sends the message three times separated by 5 minutes. Two way systems have acknowledgments that allow you to know immediately if the message was successfully sent or not. What can affect the ability to send on SPOT is if the GPS has not been able to lock on to the GPS satellites because it has moved a significant distance since it was last used, significant time since last use or you are in a poor location for receiving GPS.