[pct-l] see SPOT not run.. :)

[Paul Magnanti]

The SPOT has been getting awful reviews and is failing miserably in the field...

>From http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/spot_satellite_personal_tracker.html

"
The SPOT unit has the potential to be a
breakthrough in backcountry safety. It's lighter, more compact, and
less expensive than Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), which can only
transmit a distress signal to emergency services. It's lighter and less
expensive than a satellite phone and has more coverage than a cell
phone. The SPOT also has a Tracking (breadcrumb) mode, which
automatically sends your location every ten minutes. Unlike PLBs (or
even most cell or satellite phones), the SPOT unit can transmit your
exact location plus one of several messages: 
    * "I'm here and OK."
    * "I need help."
    * "Call 911 and rescue me."

Several of our testers believe that a device like the SPOT unit
would alleviate their family's worrying back home, making it easier for
them to get permission to go on backcountry trips. This is especially
true for solo walkers or people who pursue dangerous endeavors like
technical mountaineering in areas beyond cell phone coverage. However,
Backpacking Light makes no formal recommendations about what safety
equipment any outdoor enthusiast should carry.
On paper, the SPOT unit is an innovative concept for improving
backcountry safety. In the field, it did not deliver "virtually every
message" as the SPOT unit's literature claims, and the unit has
usability problems. As such, we believe is has yet to deliver its
promised functionality and message delivery reliably."


*********

On an ongoing speed hike attempt of the AT, one of  the main sponsors is SPOT.  

Check out http://www.whereskarl.com/?q=node/108

So far it has worked terribly:

"Ok. So see the little Karl icons off the trail time-stamped from
last night? That's me. After I got the guys all lined out with dinner
last night, I drove down the fire road about 7 miles to a clearing by a
lake. I had both the SPOT units we have with me so that I could test them out. I turned them on
and spent about 25 minutes out there, sending signals and trying to get
in touch with someone on my cell phone who could tell me if they were
working. They worked. Karl is carrying a unit on him at all times while he's out there. It is on. But we can't see him.
The Appalachian Trail really is a long green tunnel. A stunningly beautiful, so-alive-you-can-feel-it-breathing, long green tunnel. The SPOT signal obviously is not penetrating the thick leaf ceiling. Backcountry.com is working with SPOT to see if there is anything we can do about this."




Seems like this device ain't quite ready for prime time yet....  Maybe it works better out West than the AT. But the folks at BPL are mainly western hikers; they did not like it.

I'd be hesitant to rely on it myself. 

Sorry for the slight thread drift. I'd just hate to see people pay $$$ for something that is not working very well.




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The true harvest of my life is intangible.... a little stardust 
caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched
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