artcat900 Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 I just picked up a spot emergency locator / tracker . So far is seems pretty neat and accurate . Does any one here also have one/ and what have your experiences been with it. riding in Quebec. In theory this seems to be a great tool in the event of an emergency or just for general tracking purposes. I'm just not sure yet as to how well it works in the remote areas that we often ride in. Here is a link to the tracking page that I set up. I have only done a little driving around in the truck with it but it sure seems spot on so far. http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0ZL8x0gp106yRrE9ixqdK77r68EbmEvr7 I'm planning on heading up this weekend and will be trying it out for sure. You can if you wish check back on that link for updates as the where I am in near real time hopefully.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Seems like a cool thing for following the progress of the trips online.Should work fine everywhere even remote areas There is no replacement for a sat phone.Priceless piece Everybody who tours should rent one per group.That and a GPS so you can give a co-ordinate if you need to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artcat900 Posted December 16, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 BTW Here is a link to the spot site.. .http://www.findmespot.com/en/. The main reason I bought it was for the sos and check in ok features that it has. They are explained on the website Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 (edited) like you propably seen on my pics, I have one and really like it. It got the same accuracy near home or when I was really remote. It would be great to have a sat phone, but it is unfortunately not in the same price range... maybe this one with text message option can be an affordable option ??? And you have the GPS in bonus with this one...I don't know the annual fees ??? http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=219 Alain Edited December 16, 2010 by towing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGutz Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 I have one and think it is great. You can look back on the day and see where you went and how fast, the faster you go the farther apart the auto updates are. My wife has it set to go off if I approach the Ballet. I would like one I can send a Text Message, but they don't do that yet. Later GutZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BOBLER Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 Ran with one all last year throughout quebec, coverage everywhere Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowcross1 Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 I have one and it has always worked through out Quebec. My friend just bought the model that can text message and so far so good on that one also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyman Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 I have one and think it is great. You can look back on the day and see where you went and how fast, the faster you go the farther apart the auto updates are. My wife has it set to go off if I approach the Ballet. I would like one I can send a Text Message, but they don't do that yet. Later GutZ Check the post above yours as they are available with one way text now. Very cool. Timbo owns one and we used it on a trip to Ontario 2 years ago, a very neat way to let everyone at home know you are safe and sound and making progress! Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowa Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 I just started looking into them 2 days ago. I wasnt totally sold about the message usually going through within 20 minutes but for the price($170 for unit and $100 for annual service)I think it is well worth the alternative of hoping your cell phone works or nothing!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 (edited) For those who are not used to the Spot services, there's the basic services that enable you to manually send "OK" ,"help" or "911" messages for around $100/year and there is the tracking option that enable you to use the tracking mode on the spot that automatically send a tracking point each 10 minutes that can be seen on a their goggle map link. This last option is around $150/year including the basic services. In my case, I always left my spot in tracking mode so my family can always follow the progression of my ride on-line and know in which area I am if I ever failed to give news in time. As for the text message option with the Delorme GPS combo, it is only one way so you can text messages but you can't receive message. If they ever offer a two way text message option, I will step on it right way, it would be very nice... Alain Edited December 16, 2010 by towing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGutz Posted December 16, 2010 Report Share Posted December 16, 2010 (edited) Check the post above yours as they are available with one way text now. Very cool. Timbo owns one and we used it on a trip to Ontario 2 years ago, a very neat way to let everyone at home know you are safe and sound and making progress! Andy You are right, but 550.00 is a little steep right now.... But I Like It! Thanks GutZ Edited December 17, 2010 by MrGutz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGutz Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 How much for a used SAT-Phone? and plan? I've rented one for 100.00 a week, nice insurance. GutZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 You are right, but 550.00 is a little steep right now.... But I Like It! Thanks GutZ considering it's also an outdoor GPS at the same time, the price is not so high... for those who don't already have a GPS... Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
artcat900 Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 This is the part that really sold me on the idea. http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSnowCruiser Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Satellite phones ($1000 + subscription) are too expensive for such a short snowmobile season and I have no real need for one the balance of the year, so it's difficult to justify the expense. SPOT has a better success rate (99 %) than Global-star who currently has poor and failed satellite system in place and Iridium which has good satellite system in place is very expensive. In Canada, unless you live in a big urban center it’s difficult to rent a Sat phone for a week at a reasonable price. So SPOT is a compromise at a cost of ~$120/year. I used the old version for 3 years without any failures and recently purchased the Delorme/SPOT combination. Although it sounds expensive at $550, it’s a high-end GPS compared to others on the market and the topo maps (US/Canada) which come with it are high quality and superior to the GPS stuff you find in a car GPS. The maps you download to your home computer are good for planning trips, finding city streets, exit numbers, hotel, MacDonald’s etc, so on a net-book in a car it would be excellent tool (I print paper maps for travel trips, as I don’t have net-book). The unit comes with computer software and you can download maps (and manipulated maps) to the GPS. You can only send text messages one-way (typed it on GPS) and then connects and transfers it to the SPOT, It gives me the added convenience of being able to tell my contacts if I have sled/engine problems or an injury so they can determine the seriousness of my problem and how quickly they need to respond. It removed the panic factor for the contacts by having more information than “help needed” Besides the ability to type messages on the GPS, you can also write a list of standard messages at home on the computer and download to the GPS unit, making it much quick to send various messages. When you send messages you can also send to whatever group or groups you sent-up on-line. So you can have family group, help group etc. I hope to never use SPOT for search/rescue purposes, as I do the best I can to be prepared, but it feels good to have something when you're on an off-the-beaten path trail on the Gaspe. Some significant advancements with Delormes/SPOT combination, however for the cost of a regular SPOT (~$160) and a subscription of ~$120/year it’s pretty cheap insurance to getting help if you’re in trouble out in the middle of no-where. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iceman Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 If you need help fast i would hate to wait for the spot to get it to me or anyone i ride with. The rental of the sat phone is the only way. Iridium no globalstar bullshit. You can rent by mail and split the cost among your group. Take turns renting the thing each season. No need to be cheap snowmobiling is pricey and whats a few hundred more for someones life. The life you save could be your own. You never know. Like i said when you got someone with their bones showing outside their body, you better have a sat phone and more important you better have the emergency numbers for the region you are in. There are different numbers yes. Think 911 will work on sat phone? Hmmmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
towing Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Satellite phones ($1000 + subscription) are too expensive for such a short snowmobile season and I have no real need for one the balance of the year, so it's difficult to justify the expense. SPOT has a better success rate (99 %) than Global-star who currently has poor and failed satellite system in place and Iridium which has good satellite system in place is very expensive. In Canada, unless you live in a big urban center it’s difficult to rent a Sat phone for a week at a reasonable price. So SPOT is a compromise at a cost of ~$120/year. I used the old version for 3 years without any failures and recently purchased the Delorme/SPOT combination. Although it sounds expensive at $550, it’s a high-end GPS compared to others on the market and the topo maps (US/Canada) which come with it are high quality and superior to the GPS stuff you find in a car GPS. The maps you download to your home computer are good for planning trips, finding city streets, exit numbers, hotel, MacDonald’s etc, so on a net-book in a car it would be excellent tool (I print paper maps for travel trips, as I don’t have net-book). The unit comes with computer software and you can download maps (and manipulated maps) to the GPS. You can only send text messages one-way (typed it on GPS) and then connects and transfers it to the SPOT, It gives me the added convenience of being able to tell my contacts if I have sled/engine problems or an injury so they can determine the seriousness of my problem and how quickly they need to respond. It removed the panic factor for the contacts by having more information than “help needed” Besides the ability to type messages on the GPS, you can also write a list of standard messages at home on the computer and download to the GPS unit, making it much quick to send various messages. When you send messages you can also send to whatever group or groups you sent-up on-line. So you can have family group, help group etc. I hope to never use SPOT for search/rescue purposes, as I do the best I can to be prepared, but it feels good to have something when you're on an off-the-beaten path trail on the Gaspe. Some significant advancements with Delormes/SPOT combination, however for the cost of a regular SPOT (~$160) and a subscription of ~$120/year it’s pretty cheap insurance to getting help if you’re in trouble out in the middle of no-where. Thanks for your post NSnowCruiser, feel free to let us know how the combo does during the winter. I am somewhat interested because I don't have GPS yet, and will maybe make a move on that next year. Alain Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGutz Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 X2 GutZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackstraw Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 X2 GutZ Would the spot gps be able to accept the sd card with the quebec trails loaded on it like garmin? X2 GutZ Would the spot gps be able to accept the sd card with the quebec trails loaded on it like garmin? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrGutz Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I don't know, that would be a good reason to hold out for a Wide Screen Garmin Version. GutZ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSnowCruiser Posted December 19, 2010 Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 If you need help fast i would hate to wait for the spot to get it to me or anyone i ride with. The rental of the sat phone is the only way. Iridium no globalstar bullshit. You can rent by mail and split the cost among your group. Take turns renting the thing each season. No need to be cheap snowmobiling is pricey and whats a few hundred more for someones life. The life you save could be your own. You never know. Like i said when you got someone with their bones showing outside their body, you better have a sat phone and more important you better have the emergency numbers for the region you are in. There are different numbers yes. Think 911 will work on sat phone? Hmmmmm Although I agree a satellite phone would be a nice addition, having it for a week or 2 doesn’t offer me much value, with a couple of week saddlebag trips, weekend saddlebag trip and daily riding I would need a rental for 3 month at a cost of $815.81 plus any air-time used. Having SPOT I’m able to let family contacts know where I’m (ie. on goggle maps) on a regular basis and on bigger trips I’ve given them emergency contact numbers. For those dire emergency SPOT has SOS/911. The message goes to a SOS/911 service which I believe can do a better job than myself on a Sat phone coordinating and convincing someone on the other end of the phone line that I need help and where I am. You can also purchase insurance coverage at time of activation should any search and rescue fees be billed back to you, depend on what country you’re in. There are no guarantees when sledding in back country, you assume a certain risk so always best to be prepared for the little things….fixing a broken leg in the field and prepared for the big issues…heart attack or spending the night in the woods at -20 C. I looked at buying Iridium phone at ~$1926 + annual plan of ~$700 and couldn’t justify/afford the repetitive expense, so compromised with SPOT which is economical to operate, and its better than 95 % of sledders who carry nothing, sometimes not even a tow rope. I’ve been fortunate, sledding over 40,000 miles without issues…..but at least I have some sense of affordable security. Globalstar was much more affordable, however not very reliable in my opinion. SPOT is also useful in summer for canoeing/hiking as it’s lightweight and compact to carry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSnowCruiser Posted December 19, 2010 Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 Would the spot gps be able to accept the sd card with the quebec trails loaded on it like garmin? Would the spot gps be able to accept the sd card with the quebec trails loaded on it like garmin? You can overlay various map formats over the Delormes map system, so it my be suitable/possible. This is something I will be working on when I have time. The Delormes gps has good storage capacity and if you exceed it, you can add SD cards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSnowCruiser Posted December 19, 2010 Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 I don't know, that would be a good reason to hold out for a Wide Screen Garmin Version. GutZ I'm not sure if a Garmin version will happen anytime soon. The Delormes gps is designed to talk to SPOT and I suspect they have a licensing agreement with SPOT. Delomes has taken time to develop the Delormes/SPOT product, other than pair with SPOT communication service, SPOT has no involvement with Delormes as far are design and marketing of product. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowcross1 Posted December 19, 2010 Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 No it does not accept the sd card with trails. That is the major downfall of that model. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NSnowCruiser Posted December 19, 2010 Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 No it does not accept the sd card with trails. That is the major downfall of that model. The unit is able to use SD cards, but format might need to be changed on the software provided with the unit. The software provided is much more extensive than other units/brands. I would be interested in learning or finding how to get the trail system so I can see for myself what can be done. Can you help me out with this information? Thanks I use a trail map, so not sure how I woud use or need a gps on the trail, but it would be interesting anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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