Just ordered a SPOT II

[yellowcanoe]

Ok second try. I wrote a post on the phone and it only transcribed three words to the site.. aaagh
Red Langford and others that are bothered by auto renewal as I was. Make noise. Email SPOT
I did not want to renew my subscription and was very annoyed at them feeling entitled to charge my credit card each year. I started an email battle. I told them that when my subscription expired they were NOT to charge that card and if they did I would deny the charge and meanwhile wrote to my cc issuer not to honor their future charges. If they did I was ready to fight in court.

They backed down.. As long as I reminded them within 30 days of the expiry of the current membership renewal date they would not charge my card and my membership would be ended.

That was five years ago. It worked. I have never reconsidered SPOT

 

[martin2007]

I've been using SPOT since 2013 and was also quite miffed a couple of years ago about its auto-renewal process. I spoke to a helpful rep on the phone who explained that auto-renewal protects users who, typically and unintentionally, forget to renew, but continue to carry their device assuming they are, indeed, "protected". An emergency develops, and__surprise!__the device they were counting on for emergency evacuation is inactive, subscription unpaid and terminated. For liability and "fail-safe" reasons they structure their renewal system as they do. Like car insurance, there are strict protocols in place when terminating coverage due to non-payment of premiums. What had annoyed me especially was the lack of an email message prior to renewal. That message would have reminded me of my window for terminating or renewing the service. Turned out, though, that I'd not updated my account with my new email address, and that error, I was told, is a very common occurrence. Upon initializing the subscription and messages we mortals often neglect to update the info and carry on happily believing all is well. Like many, I have a built-in distrust of auto-payment and auto-renewal systems as they are wonderful income opportunities for corporations. Fitness clubs survive on auto-renewal. The SPOT rep's explanation, however, placated me sufficiently that I opted to continue with their service. The one-way messaging does limit its usefulness for sure. Other options, i.e. Delorme and SAT phones are considerably more expensive, though probably better.

 

[sweeper]

I've also heard that it's very hard to get them to stop the auto-pay. I'm about to find out, last year I was charged $175 and will look at a possible better/more reliable system. I've had trips where 50% of my OK's didn't make it.

 

[goonstroke]

I've had a SPOT Gen3 for a few years and am in that in between state where I'm annoyed but haven't cancelled. It serves a purpose and seems to make my wife worry less, although as sweeper says it can be hit or miss, especially in thick woods, which is where problems are likely to arise. Also, they've raised the price twice in the limited time I've had it, so there's a BOHICA factor. Why do they all have to act like cable companies?

I'd be interested in hearing about anyone's experiences with other devices, one way or two way. I mostly like not knowing what's going on in the world, but there are exceptions, like the ones YC mentions.

 

[sweeper]

I go to great length to find open sky and let the SPOT send for an hour or more and I still get very poor results. Most trips I'm only seeing 60-70% of my marks.

 

[Guest]

Never had my spot fail to send a message. In more treed area it takes longer to send, but always does. I only use it in the adks and for canoe tripping,so there is always a good chunk of open sky if i go to the shore.

 

[yknpdlr]

I've rarely tested my SPOT in the woods when under heavy leaf cover, but it has worked in most of those cases when I had a good sky view.

Back to the Yukon, all racers are required to have an operational SPOT on during the race and are strongly advised how to carry it, as It must be mounted with the patch antenna pointed skyward. During the first 1000 mile race in 2009, several racers simply threw it into a pack, a pocket, or otherwise did not heed the mounting directions. If their SPOT did not send a signal for an excessive amount of time, or failed to send an "I'm OK" message at pre-directed times, the racer would be assessed a time penalty. One delinquent racer had their official finish time increased by a whopping 9 hours due to accumulated SPOT signal failure penalties, several other racers less so. I mounted my SPOT on the bow deck of my canoe with full view of the sky and my team finished with a zero time penalty.

Another little known quirkiness of older SPOTs was, when you press the OK button, it may take many minutes for the signal to actually go out. If you press the OK button again before the previous message has been sent, then the clock is reset and the first message is cancelled. If you keep pressing the button every few minutes then no message will ever get sent.

 

[memaquay]

I had a spot, and it sometimes took an incredibly long time to send. The cheapest delorme is 299 Canadian on amazon. My current plan is 14 bucks a month. That's just for basic texting. For tracking and other GPS work, I use my dedicated GPS. The inreach sincs with my cell phone, so you are basically enabling your cell phone to be a sat device (for texting). With school trips, I used to have to phone in every day, no I just send a quick text. I have also arranged a medical fly-out evac using the inreach. It's a pretty good unit.

 

[Erica]

Part of the point of a remote trip for me is to, as Christy said, go dark. I don't want to hear what is going on in the world and I don't want to have to "check in." That is the point of remote tripping, or at least one of them. I want to be on my own; it changes my whole view of myself and the world and the perspective is a valuable one. I don't think of that as b*tchy. Surely we can have some alone time in this crowded world.

That said and don't tell my husband, but if he asked me to carry a sat phone or other device, I would do it.

Erica

 

[Robin]

Ok second try. I wrote a post on the phone and it only transcribed three words to the site.. aaagh

Unfortunately, the site is not cell phone friendly at this time. Thanks for pointing that out, very helpful.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Unfortunately, the site is not cell phone friendly at this time. Thanks for pointing that out, very helpful.

It really doesn't matter. I should stop peering at that little screen.. and use my laptop big screen,
You know why they are called cell phones? Cause they trap you..

 

[Marten]

Part of the point of a remote trip for me is to, as Christy said, go dark. I don't want to hear what is going on in the world and I don't want to have to "check in." That is the point of remote tripping, or at least one of them. I want to be on my own; it changes my whole view of myself and the world and the perspective is a valuable one. I don't think of that as b*tchy. Surely we can have some alone time in this crowded world.

That said and don't tell my husband, but if he asked me to carry a sat phone or other device, I would do it.

Erica

I have a different way of looking at this. If you carry one of the devices you are truly on your own and can make contact for a rescue if needed. If you have no device a lot of people have their lives disrupted when you do not return as planned.

 

[Guest]

When they first came out I had a conversation with an ADK ranger about them. I asked if they weren't concerned about a lot of unnecessary rescue messages? He said no because when a SPOT message was received one or two rangers could go quickly right to the persons location and evaluate it. This is opposed to a blanket search of a wide area with many people and vehicles often for nothing.

 

[Robin]

Years ago I would not have carried one, or I never did, but as I get up there in age and my body has lost some of it's strength and agility, having that SPOT in my pocket is keeping me out there. Whether it's a local hike, hunting a 1/2 mile from my house here in Ct., or a solo crown land trip in Ontario, I'm glad I have it.

I still try to be careful and watch my step, I except being wind bound and don't push on because folks expect me home on a certain date and staying in camp an extra day to fish, relax or cause I'm worn out is an easy option when I carry the SPOT. With the SPOT it's I'll be home "whenever" and they know I'm headed home as I use the SPOT while driving. My cheap Trac Phone does not work in Canada.

I send two or more messages a day to my wife and daughter. My daughter checks my location on a map and then tells my wife the results...dad stayed in the same spot for 2 days but is fine, or dad made some mileage today and is camped on a point in Oldandcrankyguy Lake.

I have had messages not go thru, but they expect that sometimes and I guess if I was in trouble I would be sending constant messages hoping one would go thru.

As for auto-renewal, I had heard about that when I read up on SPOT before committing. Mine renews in April, so I keep that in mind but I will renew for at least another year then

 

[memaquay]

Part of the point of a remote trip for me is to, as Christy said, go dark. I don't want to hear what is going on in the world and I don't want to have to "check in." That is the point of remote tripping, or at least one of them. I want to be on my own; it changes my whole view of myself and the world and the perspective is a valuable one.

I'm not sure I have ever thought like that, although I know several people who do. Back when I first started out, we were "dark" anyway, because other than flagging down float planes with signal fires or compass mirrors, we were on our own. I always brought a small radio though, as one of my guilty pleasures was to lay in the tent at night and scroll through the hundreds of whacky AM stations until something came through, more or less, for five minutes or more. Also, back in the day when CBC radio was still good, it was always nice to listen to some interesting programing in the evening.

My current wife is a worrier, and would have a tracker attached to me if possible. Some of the other wives were probably happy to be out of contact for a couple of weeks. Out of respect for my wife, I usually send her a message every day, just to prevent her from worrying too much.

Lastly, I got nuthin left to prove, I'm all proved out, my hair shirt days are over. Gonna learn to sniff the flowers and take more pictured, bring more food, less liquor, and always send my wife a at the end of the day.

 

[Iskweo]

Robin...I have stayed at Grumpyoldwomanbay on Oldandcrankyguy Lake...it's a magical place.

I used to refer to Karin as the Rainbow Worrier ( you Greenpeace folks will get that one). As with all the other issues, worrying about me when I am paddling is not productive. We tackled all the wilderness problems by getting her out there and facing them, not catering to it. I mean, there is such a thing as common sense so we dont intentionally go out in heavy winds etc but if we had to, we are ready now. It is the same with the whole constant contact thing. If you cater to it, it just gets worse. So I do the old school thing. I tell her and Laurel where I am going, intended length of stay, what I plan to be doing, and what is my " crap got real " date whereupon they need to contact the RCMP. This way I inspire confidence in them that I am ok, and will be taking care of myself. They have gotten used to it.
This in turn, allows me to relax and enjoy myself and do pretty much whatever I feel like. It makes for a good trip. The day that a bear stumbles over my canoe and bumps a tree which then falls down and knocks over my stove, breaking the whiskey bottle, THEN ....HA!!!....yes I will be sorry that I am out of touch.

I guess I just grew up in a different world where nobody worried about this stuff.

Christine

 

[Marten]

Having a way to provide for your own rescue is job #1 for these devices. What they do the most though is give peace of mind to those back home. On another forum last fall a spouse was frantically seeking info on her husbands fate. Watching the weather she knew his route had been impacted. He was fine but she suffered needlessly.

Friends of mine headed into WCCP for a few weeks. One called his wife each night and found out she was not feeling well. Then he called twice a day and her condition worsened. They spent two exhausting days to hurry back to their vehicle. Once he got back home things were worse. A trip to Mayo Clinic confirmed a fatal brain disorder. She passed away within 90 days of that Satellite call saying she was not feeling well.

My wife sleeps well at home knowing I have that phone. I sleep well in camp knowing all is going well there.

 

[yellowcanoe]

Having a way to provide for your own rescue is job #1 for these devices. What they do the most though is give peace of mind to those back home. On another forum last fall a spouse was frantically seeking info on her husbands fate. Watching the weather she knew his route had been impacted. He was fine but she suffered needlessly.

Friends of mine headed into WCCP for a few weeks. One called his wife each night and found out she was not feeling well. Then he called twice a day and her condition worsened. They spent two exhausting days to hurry back to their vehicle. Once he got back home things were worse. A trip to Mayo Clinic confirmed a fatal brain disorder. She passed away within 90 days of that Satellite call saying she was not feeling well.

My wife sleeps well at home knowing I have that phone. I sleep well in camp knowing all is going well there.

I think the same thing. The solo trip or any trip is not all about us.. Bad things can happen at home. I was on a solo trip with SPOT while a daughter was in the hospital with pancreatitis.. Somehow trip and being with family in time of need is not on the same level of importance.

Its all well and good to get disconnected but the reality is sometimes we ARE connected simply by family.

Marten I remember that thread. There is training involved for those who are at home inclined to worry. What seems to be helpful is to also get them used to using the best weather information available.. That puts the pieces of the puzzle together better than OMG!

 

[Abenakiregion]

I have the Inreach by Delorme/Garmin. I like the price of the lowest level plan and the fact it is so easy to deactivate/reactivate during the year. The ability to send either pre planned messages or composed ones helps prevent inadvertant worry by those left behind. I have also been able to get a message out when the sat phone was unable to make a connection.
Dave

 

[jazzman1161]

I'm considering getting an InReach Mini so that I can let my family know when I am changing my plan from the float plan I leave behind. Leaving behind a float plan is still the best way to manage a trip. Too much information and immediate response can cause all sorts of concerns when information and response is unavailable or delayed. The cell phone has been the culprit in the shortened time to panic mode. My interest in obtaining a satelite communications device is in response to my most recent trip off the grid where I made the mistake of saying that I might get back in time for a brunch with a few guys. When I didn't get back for the brunch, there was great concern for my wellbeing and a few calls made to alert others of my absence. Long story short, the brunch was postponed and I didn't realize that my family expected me back in time for the brunch. Thankfully, my son defused the situation by reminding everone that I was was in good company and one of us did have a Spot to use if there was a problem. There was no Spot on that trip as it was in a well used park. My daughter then used my cell phone tracking to determine where I was when my phone was turned on--smart lil millenial girl.
When I go fishing I have set the rule that I am not to be called unless there is an emergency which only I can manage. Otherwise, I will be home shortly after dark. With the InReach there will be similar expectations and messages from me will be as I enter the wilderness, when I exit the wilderness, and if I need crucial information or need to share from my end. And, I like having weather info for decisionmaking. Again, lack of immediate contact can heighten concern and anxiety--I don't want this device to do that. It would be a comfort for my wife and me to know that in the event of something going terribly wrong, there is a way to get help. But if I die in the backcountry, other than being quite inconvenient for my survivors, I can't think of a better way to go as go I eventually must. This device may open up more opportunities to solo trip when I am unable to share tripping with others, too.
I am concerned, though, that having this device could end up more intrusive than liberating. If an "I'm okay" one or two times a trip would be sufficient, l could do that. But every day without fail--I think I'd leave it at home.