recommend me a Beacon/GPS

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NeedItCheaper

Joined
Jun 17, 2012
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I'm gonna be out at Yosemite this year on a solo backpacking trip for about a week. This will be the longest biggest trip of my life, and want a tracking beacon of some sort just in case I die and they need to retrieve my body :p


I'm good with maps and navigation and only want a rugged beacon that they could locate me with and maybe has a button I could push if TWO bears attack and I get injured whilst I was putting them down with my Sykco 711 :cool:
 
SPOT allows you to check in with routine updates and permits people you authorize can track your position and waypoints as you check in. They can track your progress and if a problem can follow your exact path or vector to you immediately with lat/long positioning. There is an "I'm okay' button, a customized message button and there are two levels of panic modes with one calling the cops/SAR. For a few bucks more you can get SAR insurance so it covers the cost to find and haul your carcass out!

I use mine even on day trips as well as longer outings and my kids have one they use even if on back road trips when a smart phone can't track em. I like it cuz it is more than "just emergencies" and can be used daily.
 
while the new spot units have really improved performance, I would still rate them in the "non-emergancy" category since they still have some flaws to work out. If guaranteed response is what you need, then you need a PLB. if you only need it for a week, look into unit rentals, you might get a good deal there, since plbs are a self-life product, and if you are not going to be using it much, buying one doesn't make much sense if you have to replace it in 5-7 years.

The Spot and Inreach type units are good, and they do work, but they rely on a less robust system, so you need to really read up on individual units and find out their weak points, and make sure that you are not going to get burned by those limits.
 
gadgetgeek thanks for the insight on SPOT. I am unaware of it being less effective in emergencies. I did extensive research prior to purchase and reviewed case studies of rescues. So I'm surprised its system is less robust or flawed. Please by all means direct me to sources or info on the flaws as my life depends upon this gear (of course I have back ups). If it has issues then I also need to look into a PLB.
 
It has to do with the location of the satellites. The Spot and inreach use the globalstar network if I recall correctly, but they are low earth satellites. PLBs (406mhz) use both polar and geosynchronous sats, so better coverage because the satellites have better view. Plus, to the best of my knowledge, the PLB receivers can do some location sensing even if not getting GPS data, where as the SPOT cannot.

I don't have any data besides anecdotes, and the plural of anecdote isn't data. This may have a lot to do with location, SPOT will have the best coverage in the continental US, since that is where the resources are focused. Where I am in Australia, the SPOT gets much lower reviews, because the angle from the sats is farther. I would also not rely on one in northern parts of canada and alaska as I've used a globalstar phone up there, and it was not at all reliable.

Do you know if your units have a failed send indicator? I've read reports that if it looses GPS while in track mode, it will stop sending updates, but its also a quiet failure, so you need to keep checking to see if its working. Now, I'm not trashing the SPOT, it probably works well. But and that is a big BUT if you need a one button, must work, get me out now button, then a 406 is the way to go. If tracking and messaging are nice things to have, then by all means, the spot can be really handy. This tech has a long way to go yet, and if its working for you where you are, then by all means, go to it. You just have to know the limits of the system.
 
Thanks for the info! This helps. A buddy of mine owns a radio communications business and they sell SPOT (along with PLB and Sat phones) I checked in with him and he said the SPOT uses the GEOS Sat Network which is owned by NOAA (the weather group) and the sats are managed by NASA. Anyway each person must review their specific mission and needs to determine which kit is going to fulfill his/her mission profile. You've made a good point if truly life or death is on the line then a PLB seem to be the answer. While SPOT was originally designed as a tracking and PLB for the owner of the company so he could sail around the world in his yacht and be used to located distressed boats it later was adapted for land use.

In the US it has good to great coverage. Obviously the center of the Sats are focused on the US. As long as I have a clear view of the sky even in deep timber the SPOT has worked. I've been in some really remote areas in the US. Mine is Gen 2 and it has 1 "I'm ok" button, one "Send in the SAR/Cops" button and two customized buttons. I do customized these for each different trip because the message I want to send or the level of rescue may change from trip-to-trip. The last one I went on I thought I might be late for my designated return time so I programed one button to say "I'm running late but I am okay". I actually ran late because of weather and hit it twice in a four hour time period. I've used all three buttons without issue.

I'm not defending this device or technology. This thread has made me seriously rethink my strategy. I'm going to keep the SPOT because it fulfills a specific mission. But I may invest in a Sat phone or rent a PLB next time I go out on a longer term trek.
 
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