Anyone Using Spot Devices???

[Waterford]

The InReach has worked very well for email and weather. It uses an app to connect to your iPhone or iPad to make writing and reading easier. Perpetual track posts to online map for friends to follow. Excellent product.

[Captndave1]

I have a Spot Trace, when I am home, it sends me an email each day to inform me they the boat is where it should be. When I am out on the boat, it still sends email once a day as well as marks my position which anyone that I give permission to follow my track. Haven’t crossed oceans with it, so don’t know how well it works offshore. Back in my delivery days, I used a Spot to track in the Atlantic and Caribbean and it worked just fine.

[Cpt Mark]

My personal experience with spot was that it is slow and took forever to acquire satellites. I used it for my airplane and on my final backpacking trip where I fell, was paralyzed from the neck down for a while and helicoptered out to trauma the next day. We pushed the SOS button and they launched into rescue mode immediately. It's a good enough unit but the In-Reach unit is so much better and has more functionality and is worldwide. On the other hand, SPOT is cheap per year vs In-Reach.

[charris]

As usual you get what you pay for. InReach costs more but has so much more to offer. I have a Spot and an inReach, and the InReach offers accurate weather for anywhere in the world, and perhaps most important - two way communication. In the event of a medical emergency, this along justifies the added cost. You can tell the doctor where it hurts but if he can't tell you what to do it doesn't help much. And just getting a reply at all gives one a feeling of confidence. When you send out that SOS you want to know you've been heard. The display on the new SpotX is tiny - my 69 year old eyes almost need a magnifying glass. I do all my work on the InReach using my iPhone and have no troubles with it. So IMHO the InReach beats the Spot hands down. Unless Spot gets cracking and catches up with InReach I wouldn't be surprised to see them go under.

[Joyful Noise]

My oldest son bought one for me when I purchased my boat on Shelter Island New York. He and others in my family were able to trace my voyage home to Salt River St Croix through Newport RI and Bermuda. They were pleased to have the ability to follow Joyful Noises's progress to her new Home.

[davenrino]

Originally Posted by charris

As usual you get what you pay for. InReach costs more but has so much more to offer. I have a Spot and an inReach, and the InReach offers accurate weather for anywhere in the world, and perhaps most important - two way communication. In the event of a medical emergency, this along justifies the added cost. You can tell the doctor where it hurts but if he can't tell you what to do it doesn't help much. And just getting a reply at all gives one a feeling of confidence. When you send out that SOS you want to know you've been heard. The display on the new SpotX is tiny - my 69 year old eyes almost need a magnifying glass. I do all my work on the InReach using my iPhone and have no troubles with it. So IMHO the InReach beats the Spot hands down. Unless Spot gets cracking and catches up with InReach I wouldn't be surprised to see them go under.

I have Inreach Explorer for sailing and backcountry motorcycle trips. I also bluetooth my non-cellular ipad to it for Navionics. One of my friends was killed in a motorcycle crash in Mexico where there was no cell service. All 3 of our friends with him hit SOS on their Spots but never did find out if anyone received it. They switched to Inreach.

[svmobert]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Forgot to say.. Spot now has a new toy, the SpotX..
I did enquire about it but was told its currently only available for the US market which was a bit of a bumma as I would have upgraded..

Spot X - 2-Way Satellite Messenger

It's not US only.. Though the two-way messaging has a smaller footprint compared with the tracking functionality. If you upgrade to SPOTX from A SPOTGen3, the tracking coverage will be the same..

You can see the coverage map for one-way (send) vs two-way coverage here: https://www.sea-tech.com/product/glo...ite-messenger/

[rbk]

Been using spot for as long as they’ve been around. Still use my gen 1. Big difference is memeberhsip cost but Spot keeps uping the price but offerning no further services. So I’ll be moving to inreach after this years spot expires.

[svmobert]

Originally Posted by rbk

Been using spot for as long as they’ve been around. Still use my gen 1. Big difference is memeberhsip cost but Spot keeps uping the price but offerning no further services. So I’ll be moving to inreach after this years spot expires.

Have you seen the SPOTX?

[FlyingScot]

I have the inReach Explorer+. I recommend it. More than just sailing usefulness. I wish I could get slow internet through it for GRIB files. One thing to keep in mind is they do not work at all without a subscription. So plan on $13/month for the rest of your life for the minimum package.

[Caribsailors]

I use the Spot for about 6 years, and have had no issues with it. The reason I got it was twofold.

First to let my darling, who does not go offshore with me. It lets her and family know where I am with regular updates, and custom messages if weather delayed.

Second is the PanPan and SOS feature. My EPIRB need to be recertified. I removed if from it's original mounting place and sent it off. Was contacted that it could not be recertified because of a cracked housing....it never left the mounting from the day it was installed, til I sent it off for recertification.....I think I was being played, as I know I packed it properly for shipping, on their recommendations.

So I elected to go with the SPOT.. same authorities are contacted for SOS as with the EPRIB.

I have been considering the Garmin product .... the main reason is the message confirmation feature....not all that concerned with the two way messaging.

Cheers

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by Sea-TechSystems

It's not US only.. Though the two-way messaging has a smaller footprint compared with the tracking functionality. If you upgrade to SPOTX from A SPOTGen3, the tracking coverage will be the same..

You can see the coverage map for one-way (send) vs two-way coverage here: https://www.sea-tech.com/product/glo...ite-messenger/

I contacted Spot directly to ask if I could transfer my current account Gen3 to the SpotX if I bought one..
It was them who told me not available for Europe..
I am based in Portugal.

[Glacier Crews]

We have used Spot for 5 years. It is extremely cheap to own and use and is its “own thing.” It is not connected to anything else on the boat.

We live in Alaska. . We operate away from a port throughout the year. We use our spot as a part of our Cruise plan. We send an email or text to our children; giving them our general itinerary and the date of departure and places we plan on visiting during our cruise.

We turn on spot each night so they can follow our progress.

They enjoy following along and more important we know that 6 adults are out there making good decisions about or state of wellbeing.

We send a spot message saying where we are and that we are enjoying ourselves. There is an option to say “hey we need some help, here is where we are, but it’s not an emergency.” Or we can send a message out that says “help come now.”

6 adults we trust, smart capable people who know us are out there talking to each other. “Hey! Did you get their last spot? Looks like they decided to spend a couple of nights fishing”. Or 6 adults can make a decision about “what to do” if they haven’t received anything for 5 days or 3 days or 1day if it looks to them like we may need help.

It’s cheap insurance that brings us great confidence as we take adventures.

We do not use any of the fancy stuff. The simplistic model does it all for us.

We used the spot at least 10 years ago when we kayaked around Chichagof Island with no support boat. It was perfect.

Alaska, BC, and Washington State are on the Pacific. Of all places on the Pacific Ocean, Alaska has the least number of satellites traveling overhead, the worst weather, and mountains that can interfere. Conservatively we are at sea, away from any port, 180 days a year and in all other days we are still on the boat snd in a port. We have not been able to send a message by satellite twice in 10 years.

We like several aspects: (1). It allows us to be tracked as we travel and reaffirms our whereabouts via a gps check that is completely separate from whatever systems on our boat (radio, furunos x2), etc (2). We trust our adult children to make good decisions and allows us freedom to be very general on a float plan. (3). If we take a hike, travel by kayak, spend time in a forest service cabin ashore—then everyone still knows exactly where we are.

More than you wanted to know?

All complex decisions that involve one’s safety and confidence as a seafarer do require you to learn more than you thought. Yes?

[StuM]

Originally Posted by FlyingScot

I have the inReach Explorer+. I recommend it. More than just sailing usefulness. I wish I could get slow internet through it for GRIB files. One thing to keep in mind is they do not work at all without a subscription. So plan on $13/month for the rest of your life for the minimum package.

I only use it for passages and long trips - most of the time it's in "suspend" mode and costs $AUD5.95/month (approx $US4.20)

[JimJohnston]

If you are prepared to acquire your Amateur radio licence, an HF radio allows you to send a position report with text message using your computer, some dedicated software and a Pactor modem, to an internet site.