SPOT Satellite Messenger: Anyone tried this?

[Yota]

SPOT Satellite Messenger (http://nsiradio1.stores.yahoo.net/spsameandtr.html)

The unit itself is only $149 but there is a yearly subscription cost.

This seems like a very useful little tool for anyone.

We do a lot of SAR in Civil Air Patrol and I can say that something like this would be excellent for locating lost hikers or campers or cyclists or whatever. It would also be good for finding downed aircraft if there are survivors. Aircraft have ELTs (emergency locator transmitters) which almost universally suck (the government has mandated a switch to 406 MHz beacons coming up soon).

GPS-based Personal Locator Beacons are much much better then ELTs, of course, but most PLBs are very expensive - around $1000 so no one carries them. So this unit seems like a bargain - plus you can use it to send non-emergency messages or check-in "All is OK" messages to friends/family or to ask for help from friends/family. You can even have it send tracking messages to people and they can track you on Google Maps. Pretty cool (for a fee, of course).

http://www.colorado4x4.org/vbb/attachment.php?attachmentid=7596&stc=1&d=1196453202

The fact that you can ask for help without raising a big emergency makes it perfect for, say, someone on a trail who breaks a tie rod <raises hand slowly> or a drive shaft or whatever.

Anyone out there tried this product? I'm seriously thinking about getting one. Who wants to be on my "come pick me up cuz I broke" e-mail list? :D

[denverd0n]

Actually, prices have come down and nowadays you can get a non-GPS PLB for less than $500 and a GPS-equipped PLB for $550-$650. Still, this is a lot less. The subscription is $100 a year, so for the price of a GPS/PLB you could buy this and use it for four or five years (assuming the subscription doesn't go up). By the end of five years it is entirely possible that PLBs will have come down even more in price.

I'm not even sure if you can buy one yet. They were supposed to be selling them starting Nov. 1, but last time I checked REI said they were on order but not being delivered yet.

To me, the fact that you can send the "I'm OK" message is a big selling point. My wife would love to get that message now and then when I'm out hunting by myself and can't get a cell signal. On the other hand, you are depending on the response from a private company that monitors the satellite signals, and hoping they'll call SAR quickly, and hoping SAR will start looking quickly, and so on. Not to mention that you're hoping this private company (which has had some financial "issues" lately) will still be in business for several years to come. To me, for a true emergency, a PLB would be much better.

So, like you, I'm debating with myself about this. I'd kind of like to wait a year or two and see how well it is received, but every month that I delay is another month that I could be out of touch and needing to contact someone!

If you haven't seen it already, here is a good review of the SPOT...
http://www.equipped.org/SPOT_ORSummer2007.htm

[Yota]

I want to use it just for crossing the surface of the moon... er Kansas. :D

I get zilcho for cell coverage anywhere between Limon and Salina. Unbelievable.

This is such a useful thing that I can't imagine the service dropping even if that company goes belly up - someone would pick it up I think.