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In another thread the "SPOT Satellite Messenger" was brought up. I am curious if anyone on here has used it and what they think about it....
I've been tempted a few times to buy one, but then I read reviews like this on REI.com:
I've been tempted a few times to buy one, but then I read reviews like this on REI.com:
Save your money for a real 406MHz beacon! You'll spend just as much once you add the cost of the annual subscriptions and extra services!
As someone with Coast Guard Search and Rescue experience who is very familiar with SPOT, (also an AT and PCT alum) I wanted to add my review from the perspective of someone who has responded to distress beacons. I am a fan of any device that enhances safety, and I first learned about SPOT with an open mind.
However, I have since found many reasons to dissuade mariners and others from using the device. I can't stress strongly enough the need to go with a 406 MHz beacon, such as an EPIRB / ELT / or PLB as the distress-alerting device of choice. As a reference, I'll point to SPOT's own web site.
Unfortunately, it is full of half-truths and other misleading information.
Below, I've included a transcript of their online video about its "Alert 911" function.
A point-by-point discussion/rebuttal:
Claim: "Every year, emergency authorities conduct 50,000 rescue missions. Many of these people are not found in time. Now there's a way to make sure that they are: the SPOT messenger is the first and only product that combines GPS technology with Satellite-based communication..."
Response: FALSE! Such technology has been available for many years: SARSAT-based 406 MHz EPIRBs / ELTs / PLBs. When synced with a GPS, they embed and transmit their coordinates to a satellite, giving the Coast Guard (and for inland positions, the Air Force) an immediate "E" (electronic) solution where they can send boats / aircraft / search teams.
Claim: "Whether you are snowmobiling, hiking or sailing, it is your personal connection to loved ones and emergency authorities, with the simple push of a button, from virtually anywhere, worldwide..."
Response: Not always true. You CANNOT depend on it! In Seattle, the Coast Guard had a case in September where a boater's loved ones hadn't received their scheduled "I'm OK" update from the vessel as expected. Suddenly it became a case of an overdue vessel. Turns out the boater had hit the button on the device, but the message was not transmitted. The CG called SPOT and learned that the company was having difficulty receiving transmissions from multiple vessels. Of course neither the sender nor their recipients was notified of this. CG units from Seattle to California were involved in this case. Something similar could happen inland.
Claim: "Over 50% of the US does not have cell phone coverage. With SPOT you're covered..."
Response: Um, not always (see above). Also, with any 406 MHz beacon, you're covered, as well. Without the yearly fee and extra fees for bells and whistles.
Claim: "Today, SPOT is saving lives all over the world." (Provides several anecdotes.)
Response: Certainly it has played an important role in certain cases. But show me one where SPOT worked and a 406 MHz EPIRB / ELT / PLB would not have.
Claim: (Case study - the Bertsches) So the wife receives an email stating plainly "This is an emergency. Please send help." Followed by a lat/long.
Response: So this is not to be confused with the message sent when you hit the "HELP" button, which reads: "This is an HELP message. Please find my location in this message below and send for help ASAP." Confusing?
Claim: The wife then says she received a SPOT message saying "I am OK." and was very relieved.
Response: What if she had been away from her computer this whole time? Had she seriously not yet been contacted by authorities? In the case of a 406 MHz alert, the Rescue Coordination Center that receives the alert puts a live person on the phone with the family member / emergency contact as part of prosecuting the case.
Claim: "If your loved one is going into the outdoors, you need SPOT..."
Response: No you don't. It's a false sense of security.
While SPOT's a neat tekkie tool for tracking someone's location in the wilderness or at sea, it should NOT replace a 406 EPIRB / ELT / PLB for emergencies.
It also lacks the 121.5 MHz homing signal that all 406s have, with homing equipment already installed on all Coast Guard aircraft. CG boats, civilian air and ground SAR and civil air patrol assets also have this equipment. The CG also has 406 MHz direction-finding equipment installed on many of its aircraft, as well, which can lock in on a signal from over 100 miles away. SPOT has no such advantage, as responding agencies have no way to detect its signal with their aircraft, boats, or ground teams.
SPOT's business model is clearly based on the continued profits generated by its subscription services, and is aligned with the GEOS company, which is in this business for profit (nothing wrong with that).
Contrast that with SARSAT (406 MHz) beacons, which exist to execute the federal mission of inland and maritime SAR. While beacon manufacturers like ACR and McMurdo look to make a profit, they have to adhere to strict federal (and international) standards to market their devices as SARSAT EPIRBS / ELTs / PLBs. The government (NASA / NOAA) funds and maintains the satellites (which are being significantly upgraded again in the next decade), and the Air Force and Coast Guard executes all SAR in the US and our territorial waters (and often beyond).
Another advantage of SARSAT (406 MHz) beacons - NOAA tracks all false alarms, follows up on their causes, and works directly with their manufacturers to minimize their reoccurrence.
And one additional reason the video on SPOT's site leaves me scratching my head: it uses footage of Coast Guard assets that were retired before SPOT was even on the market (44' motor lifeboat / CG HH-65A helicopter [illustrating a case off of AUSTRALIA, and the CG now uses C models with a different paint job]).
My one-star review is specific to its use as a distress beacon. As a fun way to track a friend or loved one via google maps, it's a neat gadget (so long as folks know not to panic if you miss a check-in, since their technology is unreliable). Just make sure you carry a 406 in case you get in real trouble.
. The tracking feature of SPOT is *very* good at giving peace of mind to family members when you are far off shore. 
