Personal Locator Beacons

[tomcat32]

I had the first 2 spots. I sent the first one back as it worked only in a very open area. The second one was slightly better but still was a waste for Northeast hiking. I took it on a Katahdin hike to try it out. Up Abol and down Hunt. Along Abol it didn't pick up anything until I got to the Tableland. It continued to receive to the summit and down Hunt until I reentered trees. Along Tote Rd I didn't pick up once. I again took it back and never was charged.
Has the spot improved? My experience was from four or 5 years ago.
The one feature I liked with SPOT was that you could go to the website and view your track. Of course it didn't plot anything under trees.

 

[Maineman]

I used a SPOT Connect on the PCT and was able to successfully check-in 183 days in a row with zero issues, except in towns where it couldn't find a satelite inside a building. I had heard it wouldn't work in canyons etc but I did not find that to be the case.

I had a map of the trail embedded into my blog that showed my friends & family my location each night which was a pretty cool feature.

 

[Kevin Rooney]

I had the first 2 spots. I sent the first one back as it worked only in a very open area. The second one was slightly better but still was a waste for Northeast hiking. I took it on a Katahdin hike to try it out. Up Abol and down Hunt. Along Abol it didn't pick up anything until I got to the Tableland. It continued to receive to the summit and down Hunt until I reentered trees. Along Tote Rd I didn't pick up once. I again took it back and never was charged.
Has the spot improved? My experience was from four or 5 years ago.
The one feature I liked with SPOT was that you could go to the website and view your track. Of course it didn't plot anything under trees.

Were the SPOTs located on the top of your pack, without obstructions?

 

[tomcat32]

Were the SPOTs located on the top of your pack, without obstructions?

I tried it on the outside of my pack and with an arm band that came with the second one. They worked fine above treeline. The first one I couldn't pick up a signal in the middle of my yard, a good couple hundred feet from the trees. The second one definitely was better but let face it, most hiking in New England is in the trees most of the time with a couple of exceptions.

I would try a newer generation SPOT if I knew it worked better. My other half would certainly be happy since I spend a lot of time alone in the mountains year round.

 

[sardog1]

PLBs also contain a radio beacon to help rescuers home in on your location. And your position can be determined even if the GPS does not work using the Doppler shift of the signal as received at the satellite.

I think the point that Remix was making is different. He's saying that with SPOT's periodic transmission of locations, it would narrow the area to be searched, which is of course extremely valuable should the occasion arise. The PLB will be of no use for this unless it has been activated.

And locating that radio beacon from the PLB with the handheld receiver used by ground teams requires some practice ahead of time (been there, done that), which may or may not be the practice even among some practiced SAR practitioners.

 

[Whiteman]

Echo JCarter on SPOT (#4 above). Can be really slow. But my wife loves it! I am just a day hiker, often solo, and those periodic messages keep her reassured and smiling. Last weekend I could not get SPOT to fire, but since I had amazing cell reception, a great little back-up battery (and kept my phone off a lot), and determination to stay on a clearly marked trail out and back, I was able to muddle through without the little fellow. SPOT and I have since synchronized again, and I'm looking forward to putting him to use this weekend. (BTW, leaving SPOT on top of the car at the beginning of the hike, I have learned, defeats the purpose!)

My other back-up is a little handy-talkie (ham radio) with a couple of extra batteries. Hard to find anybody listening these days, but if needed it would be there.

 

[DougPaul]

I think the point that Remix was making is different. He's saying that with SPOT's periodic transmission of locations, it would narrow the area to be searched, which is of course extremely valuable should the occasion arise.

Maybe, but not necessarily assuming that the emergency is called due to the victim being overdue. The SPOT could have been lost or have failed a while back. Batteries?

If one tries to identify the emergency by examining the track, there is a non-trivial risk of false alarms:
* A SPOT failure could look like an accident.
* If the SPOT is dropped, the track will have the same signature as if the user is suddenly incapacitated with the SPOT operating. And someone has to be examining the track before long to recognize the emergency in time to help the user.
* You can also get false alarms by simply stopping for an extended period at a time not expected by the viewers (who might panic at the user's unexpected (lack of) action).

The PLB will be of no use for this unless it has been activated.

Yes, but when it is activated, you can be pretty sure that the victim believes there is a real emergency. And the GPS location is rated to be within 100 meters of the actual location.


I suspect that in most cases where a hiking victim will live long enough to be rescued, the victim or his companions (if any) will have a very good chance of being able to activate a PLB.

Doug

 

[JCarter]

(BTW, leaving SPOT on top of the car at the beginning of the hike, I have learned, defeats the purpose!)

I've also found that leaving the InReach on top of the car while I drive off to head home is less than effective But amazingly, it seems to work after bouncing across the parking lot (twice).

For the keep-the-spouse-happy function, the long time lag from activation to reception isn't a huge deal, since I don't ever give her a specific time, just that "I'll check in a few times a day".

I looked into the "track mode", and it just seemed way too expensive for what I would get out of it. If there were someone who cared enough to want to track me in real-time, they should be hiking with me, not sitting in front of a web browser. I can load a GPS track into the computer when I get home for free.

Assuming I'm conscious, I ought to be able to push the SOS button. If I'm not, and am way overdue, they can ping it a few times, and if I'm not moving, they might be justified in thinking I need help. If they get no response, then it just sorta puts us back in the old days, of having to decide whether silence mean equipment failure or trouble. If nothing else, the last-known-location should narrow a search area, especially considering how slowly I hike.

I think a PLB is more likely to get me rescued. I think a SPOT/InReach is more likely to avoid unnecessary rescues.

 

[Damselfly]

I own a SPOT, and I have never had a problem with it. I bushwhack a lot, sometimes solo... and I send out a track which my husband and friends can see on Google Earth (it sends a geo-point every 15 minutes or so). I have a programmable message button; mine says "running late, but okay." I had to become familiar with how to set up the unit via their website, but I really like having it, and carry it now on most all trips. I have tested it... and it always has sent the message... as long as the unit is in the brain of my pack facing the sky... no problem at all. While it is not a true PLB, I enjoy the flexibility of being able to send 3 or so different messages (that you set up prior to your hike on the computer).

Beth Zimmer