The following is a description of the new SPOT satellite messenger and a comparison of it to personal locater beacons (PLBs). I bought a PLB when the first ones with a built in GPS became available in 2004 and have learned a lot about them since then in part from regular meetings with the manufacturer. I managed to get a SPOT satellite messenger even before they were offered for sale and have been testing it for about 6 months now. I have sent hundreds of SPOT messages and have been impressed with its usefulness and reliability. I now carry a SPOT whenever I fly and have bought them for several friends and family members. I hope that after reading this you will be better able to make a decision about whether a PLB or SPOT satellite messenger would work best for you.
When you activate a PLB it sends out a distress signal via satellite with the PLB's identification number. This number is used to look up who you are and the contact information that you entered when you registered the beacon. The PLB sends out distress signals every 5 minutes until the battery runs out or until you turn it off. Once the PLB has determined where it is by using its built in GPS (if it has one) then it sends the location with your distress signal. A PLB is an all or nothing device. Most people will never use theirs. SPOT can do much more and, unlike a PLB, most people will use theirs frequently.
The SPOT satellite messenger can function like a PLB when the user presses the 911 button. It uses a different satellite constellation and the message goes to a different dispatch center but the end result is the same. SAR knows who you are and where you are within minutes. SPOT's help messages are resent every 5 minutes to help guarantee that your distress call gets out even when in an area with less than ideal satellite coverage. SPOT uses the Globalstar satellites. You probably have heard about the problems Globalstar has had with their satellite phones in recent months. Fortunately, the problem does not affect SPOT. The failing component on the satellites that has caused a severe problem for two way communication does not affect the one way communication that SPOT uses.
SPOT can do several things that a PLB cannot. For example, SPOT can let your friends or family know where you are and that you need help with out alerting the authorities. Say you are at a back country airstrip with a mechanical problem or an incident and no one is hurt. You don't have a responsibility to notify the FAA and NTSB. All you really need is a ride home or a new part so instead of pressing the 911 button you press the request help button. Your friends get a text message on their cell phone with your GPS location or an emailed message with a link like this http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=40.8648,-111.9282&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1 which brings up Google maps showing exactly where you are. They can switch to satellite view on the upper right and zoom in using the slider on the upper left for more detail.
You can also use your SPOT to let friends or family members know where you are and that you are safe by pressing the "OK" button. It sends text messages and/or emails just like the help message. This can be used to let a spouse or other concerned person know you arrived safely at a back country airstrip and at each stop you make or can be used to "rub it in" when you are out playing and your friends are stuck at work.
It is easy to change the message sent out when the different buttons are pressed and who the message goes to from any internet connection. By choosing a different message profile you can change the contacts and message text with only a few mouse clicks. I make use of this to change the contacts depending on the type of trip I am going on. For example, I want different people notified if I need help when flying to the back country than I do when going skiing or hiking.
Another feature not available on PLBs that is optional on SPOT satellite messengers is tracking. For $50 extra per year you can have tracking. With tracking you can put the SPOT in tracking mode and set it on the glare shield and it will automatically send out a position report every 10 minutes until you turn off the tracking mode. You can let someone back home access this tracking feature so they can see your progress as you fly across the country or you can use it once you get back home to see if you were where you thought you were. If you use the tracking feature like this even if you are incapacitated and unable to press a button, SAR would have a good idea of where to look for you if you were reported missing.
In addition to being able to request help from friends, check in with family and do tracking other advantages of the SPOT are that it weighs 3 ounces less than the smallest PLB and is a little smaller. It also has user replaceable batteries. A single set of AA lithium batteries will send out about 2000 messages. AA alkaline batteries can also be used in an emergency but do not have the same shelf life and can not send as many messages before being depleted.
I think that cost of PLB and the SPOT satellite messenger are very comparable. Even though SPOT has a lower initial purchase price at $150 vs $650 it makes up for it with a $99 yearly subscription fee. At the 5th year mark both will have cost the same. You have to keep paying the SPOT satellite subscription fee but it is also recommended that you replace the batteries in the PLB after 5 years which probably costs close to $200.
The biggest advantage of the PLB over SPOT is coverage area. PLBs have worldwide coverage. They even work in the middle of the ocean and at the poles. SPOT has limited coverage. As you can see from the coverage map SPOT will not work in most of the ocean, in southern Africa or north western Alaska. The BLM in Anchorage has tested SPOT and found that it works well. In fact, they ordered quite a few units. I have not tested it in Alaska yet but would not count on it to save my life even while in parts of Alaska that are supposed to have good coverage. The problem is that the coverage map assumes you have a full unobstructed view of the sky. The SPOT satellites never get further north than 52 degrees latitude as they go around the earth. So if you are much farther north than about Calgary Canada you will need a view of the southern sky to use your SPOT satellite messenger. When North of 52 degrees latitude just sitting on the north side of a big boulder would be enough to keep the SPOT from working. The farther north you go the lower in the southern sky you need to be able to see. In Anchorage the satellites never get above about 45 degrees from the horizon. This would not be a problem for someone on a boat with pretty wide open views of the sky but certainly could be on land.
Although I do not think a SPOT is the best choice for someone living in Alaska the very first life SPOT saved was in Alaska. Mike Brady collapsed in minus 30 degree temperatures while working in a remote outpost in the Wrangell St. Elias National Park. He summoned help by pressing the 911 button on his SPOT and a National Guard helicopter came and picked him up. You can see a video about it here.
My advice to people is that if they are only concerned about travel in the lower 48 that SPOT works great and will give more utility than a PLB. If traveling to Northern Canada, Alaska or anywhere else with limited SPOT coverage you may still want to use SPOT for checking in, tracking , requesting help from friends etc, but I would not travel there without a PLB too. In the recent case where a BCP member had a disabled aircraft in Utah but was not significantly injured he could have used a SPOT to get help from his friends before his wife and the BCP community even had a chance to worry about him. He also would have likely been able to avoid the media attention and been able to retrieve his airplane without notifying the FAA.
I hope you find this a valuable comparison. I would be glad to answer any questions you might have. I also want to let you know that I have recently set up a coupon code for all BCP members to use at www.PreparedPilot.com. During the checkout process if you enter "BCP" where it asks for a coupon code you will get a 10% discount off anything you order. That means a up $65 discount on some items.
Here is a link to a Survivor Man Video about SPOT that has a lot of information.
Sincerely
Rob Hunter
Prepared Pilot, LLC
(8Ol)455-527l
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