Walt Mossberg has had a look at the SPOT satellite messenger, a GPS gadget aimed at adventurers and thrill seekers. Not only does it call in the emergency services if you’re stuck and there’s no phone tower for miles, but it also sends out position updates to keep friends back home updated on your expedition. It locates you via GPS, and transmits data by satellite to a control centre, which routes messages on for you, and its three buttons couldn’t be simpler—”OK/Check,” “Help” and the one you’ll hopefully never click, “911.” More juice below.
Waterproof, floating, altitude-proof to 21,000 feet and freeze-proof to -40 degrees Celcius, its bright orange case is about the same size as a BlackBerry, and it’s powered by two lithium AA batteries.
Its simplicity rests on an annual service charge and front-end website: through this you can send an unlimited number of GPS position updates to a list of buddies for US$100 a year, though you have to pre-arrange the messages since all SPOT itself has is those three controls. If you do need to call in assistance, it prioritises that alert and repeats the message until its battery is dry (about seven days). But since there’s no way for a message to get back to you, it might be a long, hard wait.
SPOT will cost you US$170 for the unit, and US$100 a year for the support, with an optional US$50 automated 10-minute position update service. [Findmespot via Allthingsd]
Bec Veitch
Friday, April 25, 2008 at 8:04 AMI have a SPOT tracking beacon and it’s great. All my friends and family can track me where ever I go. I have been travelling throughout Australia with it and it’s never missed a beat. I would recommend them as a cheap way of communicating with the outside would. I was going to buy an EPIRB distress Beacon but this is heaps cheaper with more functions. I got mine from http://www.piplus.com.au
Bec
Ian
Thursday, May 1, 2008 at 11:56 PMWe are the authorised SPOT distributor in Australia. It works well in Australia with 9-1-1 activations being relayed to AUSSAR (asutralian Search & Rescue) in Canberra and then to state police SAR resources. It’s affordable and works flawlessly in almost all conditions. Although desisned for use in the open we still had a good hit rate in the bush, under tree canopy and in veicles. The 911 button is recessed a bit into the housing of the unit and must be pressed for 2 seconds to be activated. During all of our testing of this product, we’ve never had a false 911.
When the unit is SPOTcasting, it will continue to send updated positions to your account, so your family or friends can see your current or last known position. It weighs only 210 grams so it’s about as much as a digital camera.
The OK and HELP buttons can both be pre-configured with custom messages and can be sent out to different email addresses so you could set one up to say that you’re “Having a good time and are OK” to your wife, and set up the HELP button to go to your friend saying “I need more beer” or “I need help or supplies.”
The price and the ability to send custom messages are what sets this apart from a EPIRB, ELB, PLB, and you can send the message anywhere.
Please contact u if you have any questions. By buying from Australia any warranty issues for Australian purchased SPOT’s are dealt with locaally through us. Units purchased overseas must be returned to the place of purchase. More info can be seen on our site http://www.piplus.com.au
Marion
Wednesday, September 10, 2008 at 9:53 AMWent wilderness hiking in Stone Mountain Provincial Park near Yukon border British Columbia Canada. This unit did not sucessfully send ok message via email set up. How do we know if the 911 would have worked in the event of an emergency? Don’t waste your money.
Gionno
Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 3:00 PMAs a matter of fact, it’s little more than a toy. I would not rely on the Spot for an expedition.
There are better trackers out there, based on the new Iridium 9602 SBD chipset, those are usually reliable in the most adverse conditions, plus their coverage is global.