SPOT Personal Satellite Tracker?

Howdy All,

Wondering if anyone has tried, or carries one of these:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/links/link.jsp?id=0051330518244a&type=product&cmCat=Search_Results_NYR&returnPage=search-results1.jsp&QueryText=SPOT+Satellite+Messenger&N=4887&Ntk=Products&Ntx=mode+matchall&Nty=1&Ntt=SPOT+Satellite+Messenger&noImage=0

Interesting concept, wonder how well they work.  Good for boats and in the back country?  In a real emergency just push two buttons and 911 can track you via Google Earth/GPS?  Hmm.  I wonder if the coverage is as complete as GlobalStar claims.   Just curious.  -Matt

On my Christmas list.  Looks like a great product for us.

Rumor is I'll have one to play with soon. My wife worked on Globalstar. I'm confident the coverage is as good as advertised, just don't take it down in any coal mines. It won't save your keester in an avalance either.

Definitely much more inexpensive than a personal EPIRB.

Hmmm...$99 per year for the basic service subscription.  Still, it looks like a very cool (and possibly life-saving) investment.  Lots more info here: http://www.findmespot.com/

In-depth review: http://www.equipped.com/SPOT_ORSummer2007.htm

Usagi, thanks for posting that extremely informative link. A lot of careful testing and consideration went into the review. The service limitations are eye-opening. I'm not planning to paddle in Africa anytime soon, but Hawaii, that's another story. I'll ask my wife about it.

Great info sensei.

  Glad to help!  I thought the concept was cool so I did a little searching.  Google is our friend! 

Thanks Usagi-san.  Too bad about the $100 per year subscription though.   Would that be per person/ per unit, or for a family or group?   -Matt

Thanks Usagi-san.  Too bad about the $100 per year subscription though.   Would that be per person/ per unit, or for a family or group?   -Matt

Just to be clear, I don't have the unit.  I just saw it mentioned here and did a little research.  My guess is that it's a per-unit charge though...

    Hi All,

I emailed my son this morning to ask about SPOT and Globalstar.  He works with a company involved with GPS tech.  Here is what he wrote back:

Warning: Have wikipedia handy before reading;)
Preface:
SIRF III and MTK MT33XX are GPS receivers that listen for GPS
satellites and convert the GPS signal to usable coordinates.
WAAS and EGNOS are GPS satellites that are not run by the military,
and are used in conjunction with GPS to make coordinates more
accurate.
Globalstar is a satellite phone system (Globalstar owns the subsidiary
that makes the SPOT).
 
The SPOT consists of two pieces (both inside the same plastic
housing). The first is a Globalstar transmitter, which is like a
cell-phone, except that it uses satellites instead of cell towers.
This is how SPOT talks to the outside world, and why you pay $99 per
year. The second unit is a GPS receiver, which simply listens to
another set of satellites and figures out where you are.
 
Judging by the "16ft" accuracy of the SPOT's GPS, the "dual frequency
GPS" just means that it has a SIRF III or MTK MT33XX receiver built in
that can use WAAS/EGNOS. This is fairly standard consumer fair for
GPS, and should be sufficiently sensitive (should get a GPS fix as
long as you can see the sky, even in the forest). Assuming that you
can get any kind of decent GPS signal, you may even get a more precise
fix than that 16ft.
 
All in all, $150 doesn't seem like a bad price for the package,
especially when considering that there aren't any other options for
consumer satellite-distress-signal devices.
 
This article might be slightly more informative:
http://www.equipped.com/SPOT_ORSummer2007.htm

-Matt   

I emailed my son this morning to ask about SPOT and Globalstar.  He works with a company involved with GPS tech.  Here is what he wrote back:
<snipped>

Good info, Matt!  It's always nice when you can get first-hand knowledge from someone in-the-know. 
 

This article might be slightly more informative:
http://www.equipped.com/SPOT_ORSummer2007.htm

-Matt   

And here I was thinking that I was the only one who has "senior moments"...  Or is it deja vu?  

   Sure enough Usagi-san.   My son's a true electronic genius.  He sure didn't get it from me.  It's just that I got him a Macintosh when he was eight years old and it snowballed from there. 

Now then; everybody buying a SPOT tracker please do my family a favor and buy it and all the other cool gear at great prices from Cabelas'.   Why Cabelas'?  Because I just bought some stock in the company.      Seriously though, check out the current low stock price and look at the insider buying.  CAB:NYSE. Invest in what you love and understand. 
https://trading.scottrade.com/quotesresearch/ScottradeResearch.aspx?symbol=CAB
-Matt

I asked my wife about the Globalstar coverage area. She works in the Telecom industry and was part of the huge team that launched Globalstar several years back.

Globalstar has a rocky financial history. I can't confirm it, but she said the coverage area was much larger in the past. Several Globalstar satellites have gone out of service since without replacement.