Price: ($149 - $199 plus service costs.)
Pros
- Transmits emergency and "I'm okay" messages and exact position on demand via satellite.
- Reasonable cost, compact size and weight.
- Long battery life.
Cons
- Message status lights require manual, memorization.
- Needs relatively clear "view" of sky to function.
SPOT Fills a Need Between Cell Phones and Emergency Beacons
The SPOT satellite messenger provides a unique set of satellite communication options combined with GPS location capability to permit sending of "I'm okay," tracking, and help messages when you are out of cell phone range. SPOT's Web and e-mail interface provide users with a range of options for setting up communications with pre-arranged contacts. SPOT is a relatively new product, but has already been credited with saving lives in the backcountry.
If your work or play takes you into the backcountry and out of cell phone range at any time of the year, you've probably thought about emergency communication. If you spend extended time in extreme and remote locations, you may have even considered options such as a satellite phone, an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (maritime EPIRB); or personal locator beacon (PLB).
Satellite phones are costly, and emergency beacons such as EPIRBs or PLBs are "all or nothing" devices that bring a full emergency response. SPOT is designed to give you another, more versatile choice, by providing more communication and response options at a reasonable cost. A SPOT unit has a suggested retail price of $169, and the basic satellite subscription service sells for $99 per year. There are some additional service and pricing options I'll discuss on page two of this review.
I used a SPOT satellite messenger during my travels over a few weeks, and was impressed with its overall utility and feature set. It is a valuable tool and "safety net" for the backcountry traveler, but I also found a few areas for improvement.
Four Modes
The SPOT satellite tracker is sturdily built of of a high-impact orange plastic, with a black rubberized grip perimeter. Four buttons and four indicator lights contol all of its functions.
SPOT has four core functions: check-in, (SPOTchecking); tracking (SPOTcasting); help mode, and 911 mode. These are all enabled by a GPS receiver built into the unit, and a transmitter that sends messages to Globalstar satellites. Globalstar is SPOT's parent company.
The check-in feature lets your pre-assigned contacts know via e-mail and the Web that you are okay, and provides your precise latitude and longitude, which are converted to an icon at your location on the SPOT Website mapping utility. You may also include a pre-set text message (you manage this on the Web before you depart) with your check-in alert. You activate check-in by pressing SPOT's OK button.
The tracking feature is activated by holding down the OK button for five seconds. Tracking transmits your coordinates every 10 minutes and messages and maps your location according to your pre-departure setup specs.
Activate help by holding down the help button for 2 seconds or more. Help sends a pre-determined help message and your exact location to your SPOT support contacts, but it does not summon emergency search and rescue services. This is a valuable option to have when you need help, but not full-blown (and costly) search and rescue.
Satellite 9-1-1
The 911 option is to be used "in the event of a life-threatening or other critical emergency," SPOT states. The 911 feature sends your pre-set 911 message and your exact location to the GEOS International Emergency Response Center and to your SPOT contacts.
GEOS is a private alliance, and not a government agency. Here's how SPOT describes the GEOS response: "Once activated, SPOT will acquire its exact coordinates from the GPS network, and send that location along with a distress message to a GEOS International Emergency Response Center every five minutes until cancelled. The Emergency Response Center notifies the appropriate emergency responders based on your location and personal information – which may include local police, highway patrol, the Coast Guard, our country’s embassy or consulate, or other emergency response or search and rescue teams – as well as notifying your emergency contact person(s) about the receipt of a distress signal." If you are moving while transmitting a distress signal, SPOT will continue to update your location with each transmission.
When you activate your SPOT online, you have the option of purchasing search-and-rescue insurance for $7.95 per year, which includes "up to $100,000 of additional search and rescue resources, including helicopter extraction around the world and reimbursement benefits – underwritten by Lloyd’s of London – for any emergency service expenses incurred."
Activation and Field Test
I set up a SPOT account online, and tested the SPOT while hiking, bicycling, and driving.
Online activation and setup of SPOT was relatively easy. Write down the numbers at the back of the battery case before you install the batteries. You will need these unique identifiers when you activate online.
After your account is established, you may log on any time to update your emergency contacts and edit the messages associated with your alerts. It would be smart, for example, to describe the type of trip you are on and the type of response you would hope for under each alert level.
In the field, the SPOT worked as promised, delivering my "I'm okay," tracking, and help messages just as I set them up. SPOT accurately and precisely reported my positions. It can take 10 minutes or more for a message to reach e-mail or the map/tracking utility. I was not able to test the 911 feature, since there is no "test" mode for 911, and I certainly didn't want to invoke a search-and-rescue response.
I rate the SPOT highly overall, but my main complaint (also noted by other reviewers) is the use of the tiny LED red and green light indicators to inform you of SPOT status and message status. The lights blink in certain sequences to let you know message status. You will need to keep the small user's guide with you to make sure you are interpreting the lights correctly. The lights should be replaced by some type of text display in future versions of SPOT.
See page two of this review for SPOT rescue stories, battery life, and other detailed specifications.
