Spot Satellite Messenger with GPS Tracking

Saturday, August 30, 2008 | | |

Spot Satellite Messenger with GPS Tracking

Spot Satellite Messenger with GPS Tracking

Features :
  • Satellite messenger with GPS tracking for keeping users safe on adventure trips
  • SpotChecking feature alerts friends and family of your precise location
  • SpotCasting function lets friends and family follow your progress in real time
  • Sends GPS coordinates and distress message to Emergency Response Center
  • Satellite technology works around the world; measures 2.75 x 4.38 x 1.5 inches (W x H x D)
Product Description
Stay in touch via satellite technology â€" whether you're just checking in, allowing others to check your progress, or calling for help.
  • 100% satellite technology works where cell phones don't
  • Vital line of communication with friends and family
  • Emergency service when you need it
  • 4 key functions for sending messages to friends, family or emergency responders
  • Works around the world
  • Satellite service subscription required
  • Waterproof to a depth of 1 meter
  • Floats in water
Communicate with friends and family and get emergency assistance where and when you need it.
Amazon.com Product Description
Give your loved ones full peace of mind when you're on the mountain with the Spot Satellite Messenger. Whether you're just checking in, allowing others to track your progress, or calling for help, Spot gives you a vital line of communication with friends and family when you want it, and emergency assistance when and where you need it. Spot employs a GPS satellite network to acquire its coordinates, then sends its location to the recipient of your choice, complete with a link to Google Maps and a pre-programmed message. Unlike personal locator beacons, however, Spot does more than just call for help. The SpotChecking feature, for example, lets you notify your SpotTeam--the friends and family you've chosen as your contacts--and tell them all is well, notify them of your location, or save waypoints so you can review your route at a later date. You can also activate the SpotCasting feature to let friends and family follow your progress in real time (every 10 minutes). Anyone with access to your account information can log on and view your route, complete with virtual views provided by Google Maps. SpotCasting is a terrific feature for mountain climbers looking to celebrate their accomplishments with their loved ones.

The most important feature, however, is Spot's ability to call 911 in the event of a life-threatening or other critical emergency. Once activated, Spot will acquire your exact coordinates from the GPS network, and then send that location along with a distress message to a GEOS International Emergency Response Center every five minutes until cancelled. The Emergency Response Center will then notify the appropriate emergency responders based on your location and personal information. Responders may include local police, the highway patrol, the Coast Guard, an embassy or consulate, or other emergency response and search-and-rescue teams. Even if Spot can't acquire its location from the GPS network, it will still attempt to send a distress signal--without your exact location--to the Emergency Response Center, which will still notify your emergency contacts of the signal and continue to monitor the network for further messages.

Spot works around the world, including in virtually all of the continental United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe, and Australia, and portions of South America, Northern Africa, and Northeastern Asia. And provided you're in a good coverage area, Spot offers a 99 percent probability of sending a successful message within 20 minutes. As a result, Spot is ideal for anyone with a taste for outdoor adventures, including boaters, kayakers, sailboarders, archaeologists, skiers, climbers, pilots, business travelers, snowshoers, and just about anyone else.

Spot requires two AA lithium batteries, with a battery life of up to one year in standby mode, 14 days in SpotCasting mode, or 7 days in 911 mode. And thanks to the water-resistant housing (safe in 1 meter of water for up to 30 minutes), you needn't worry about using Spot in adverse conditions. Spot measures a compact 2.75 by 4.38 by 1.5 inches (W x H x D), weighs 7.37 ounces, and carries a one-year limited warranty.

Communication Functions:



    Spot employs a GPS satellite network to acquire its coordinates, then sends its location to the recipient of your choice, complete with a link to Google Maps and a pre-programmed message.
  • Alert 9-1-1 dispatches emergency responders to an exact location
  • Ask for Help sends a request for help to friends and family with your location
  • Check In lets contacts know where you are and that you are okay
  • Track Progress sends and saves your location and allows others to track your progress using Google Maps

Battery Life:

  • Power ON, unused: Approximately 1 year
  • SPOT casting continuous tracking mode: Approximately 14 days
  • 9-1-1 mode: Up to 7 consecutive days
  • HELP mode: up to 1900 messages
  • SPOT check OK up to 1900 messages

Specifications:

  • Weight: 7 ounces
  • Waterproof to a depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes
  • Operating Temperature: -40ºF to +185ºF
  • Operating Altitude: -300 feet to +21,300 feet
  • Humidity and Salt Fog Rated


Customer Reviews

STILL TESTING (2008-08-04)
I have tested this product and it seems to work great. much lower price than similar items and seems extremely durable. It hasn't saved my life yet but I'll be sure to post another review if it ever does!

Search and Rescue able to find lost party who was using SPOT (2008-08-02)
I am a deputy with a county Sheriff's Search and Rescue patrol and had my first experience with the SPOT unit today. We had two motorcyclist lost in the back country for two days. Once they ran out of gas and food, they activated their SPOT unit. We kept getting messages with their exact location. We were able to locate them quickly and get rescuers to their remote location within hours. They were so far off of their "planned" route that it could have taken us days to find them without the SPOT unit. I wish all of our rescues turned out this good and were this easy to find! I plan on buying units for my loved ones.

First Try at sending OK Locations worked well (2008-08-01)
I have had the Spot Messenger for about a month now and have traveled remote areas in Canada and was able to send OK messages with no problem. They do take about 20 minutes from the time I turn it on to be completed however, so one should be aware of the time it takes to send messages three times, which is the standard pattern. The LED's are Quite adequate for letting one know what is occurring.

the daughter's perspective (2008-07-29)
i don't know all the technical stuff, but as the person sitting at home getting the messages, i LOVE this thing!! it was SO much fun to watch Dad get to different points on his hike, and to know that he was safe! as far as we could tell after the fact, i received each of the messages he sent along the way, a couple twice, i think.

for anyone who spends a lot of time in the middle of nowhere, with loved ones at home, this is great peace of mind!!

Works well IF you are in a clear area (2008-07-27)
The Spot works well if you have a clear area to send a message. I've found that if I'm in a heavily wooded area or in a valley with mountains close on either side the message does not go through. However, in the clear it works well. Be advised that you must turn it on and leave it on for about 20 minutes after your message is sent to make sure that it goes out. If you also have a GPS it will usually work where ever the GPS will. It's a good emergency backup where there is no cell coverage.



Spot Satellite Messenger with GPS Trackingat Amazon.com Now
tags : a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q,r,s,t,u,v,w,x,y,z

1 comments:

  1. Anonymous says:

    I know 5 people that have one and they all say the same thing, don't get one. The tracking feature is sketchy and hardly works. If that hardly works what happens in an emergency since it uses the same satellites and GPS.
    Plus after 5 years of owning it, this product costs over $900 bucks, ouch.