I do not have one yet. They are having a special right now so I may. My question is this. I went to a seminar that Sparky and the Prepaired Pilot put on. Both touted the Spot. When Sparky went missing, why did they not start the surch at the last point of the Spot track? If this cannot be done then what is the point?

Tim

If Sparky had been using his SPOT in track mode it would have narrowed down the search area considerably. In track mode the SPOT sends out a message every 10 minutes. If it had been able to send out a message after the crash it would have been easy to find him. If the SPOT ended up being destroyed or in a position that it was unable to transmit after the crash then searchers would have to rely on the last transmission up to 10 minutes ago, direction of flight and speed of flight to estimate where he was. After checking the most likely area based on that data searchers would increase the search area to account for the possibility that some one could by chance change direction after right after a tracking message is sent. And of course, a user may have turned off the tracking during flight making the last known position much less valuable. Even with these limitations the SPOT would have narrowed down the search area and Sparky likely would have been found sooner.

Unfortunately, Sparky was not using his SPOT on the day of the accident.

One more important point about depending on the SPOT tracking mode to help you when incapacitated after an accident. It is only of value if someone who knows you are missing also knows you have a SPOT and knows how to access your tracking data. It is easy to set up a "share page" where you can share your tracking data with anyone you chose. In the absence of a "share page" only someone with complete access to your account or a law enforcement agency is able to access the data. SPOT is new enough that law enforcement agencies are not apt to think to look for SPOT tracking data unless some one suggests it to them.

It is a different story when you are able to press the 911 button on the SPOT. In that case the local SAR resources do not even have to be aware that SPOT exists because the SPOT rescue coordination center will be calling them within minutes to let them know that you need help and where you are.

SPOT is just one tool to have in your bag of tricks. There are a number of circumstances where SPOT will get you the response you need and there are others where another resource (like a MicroFix PLB) would be better. I routinely carry my SPOT while flying and while skiing, biking, and hiking in the backcountry, but I don't routinely have it on. If I get hit by an avalanche I'm not counting on my SPOT to get help, that's what my avy beacon is for. Break a leg however and SPOT would get powered up riki tik.

I vote yes on SPOT. However, having already said, someone has to know you have it and you have to use it. If you want to rely on someone else, get a 406 ELT. But, it will not track you it will only aid in finding you.

If weather would not have intervened I was going to be at Sparky's 10,11,12 of March 2009 -after the Montana Aviation expo. I was going to be working on putting on a firewall mounted battery , adding a angle of attack indicator ,doing a rigging and weight and balance . If I would have been there the SPOT
would have been Velcro'd to the glare shield and active whenever the engine was running. The track feature needs to be activated by pressing the Check button and holding for 5 seconds -exactly -,I have to time mine with my watch . When I first heard Sparky was missing first thing I wanted to see was his
SPOT tracking ( we HAD talked about this several times ) I called the SPOT company and was sad to say that you are not on the account,family member or Law enforcement they will not give out that information. I blame myself for not being there early enough to correct whatever happened. I wish that Sparky would send me some more jokes or rustic wit. He was a Great man and supreme aviator in any environment.

RIP Sparky

Blue skies and tailwinds.

That is some help. I think we all have an individual circle of friends a bit smaller than this forum. They will know when I am leaving and when I am supposed to arive. They will have the share page. How long before the share page is purged from the system. I am assuming it does not stay for too long?

How many have a link to the share page in their member profile.

Tim

182 STOL driver wrote:The track feature needs to be activated by pressing the Check button and holding for 5 seconds -exactly -,I have to time mine with my watch .

I don't know that it has to be 5 seconds exactly. On mine I just hold down the check btn until the light starts to blink - which takes 5 seconds. Never had to time it just right though.

Here's my vote:

I have BOTH a SPOT and a 406 PLB.

I do not trust the emergency feature of the SPOT to get me help. On the other hand, the PLB will alert RCC, who has ALL the resources appropriate to SAR. If I need rescue, I don't want someone calling the local sheriff's office. I want someone who has ALL the resources, and knows who to call. No offense to the SPOT people, mind you--my point is specifically that this is RCC's job, and they do it well in my experience.

On the other hand, the SPOT offers TRACKING, which as noted by another poster, could help to locate you if you DIDN'T activate the 406 beacon. If that's the case, it might just help to expedite the carcass recovery, but that would make things easier on loved ones in any case.

I also like the "I'm okay" message function of the SPOT, though again, I would NOT rely on that as any kind of guarantee...just a "makes my spouse feel better" kind of deal.

So, in my mind, the SPOT and the 406 PLB serve two quite different functions, and both have value. The SPOT is relatively inexpensive.

If you're going to have one or the other, though--buy a Rescue-Fix PLB from these folks: http://www.life-raft.com/product.asp?Pr ... =12052&l2=

MTV

question?

you don't have to pay a monthly fee with a 406 PLB but you do with a SPOT right?

TrevDog wrote:question?

you don't have to pay a monthly fee with a 406 PLB but you do with a SPOT right?

Correct.

Well, not exactly. The SPOT fee is an annual fee. It's about $150 a year for all the features, and around $100 for just the emergency feature, no tracking, I believe. You don't get to pay by the month.

There is no FEE for the PLB. Sorta. Actually, we ALL pay the fee for the 406 system, as taxpayers.

You purchase the PLB, register (no fee) and renew your registration each year (no fee).

The PLB is substantially more expensive, but there's also no chance the company will go out of business, or ???

As I noted, I think the SPOT has some nice features. But it's not a PLB.

MTV

i pay my spot bill 1 time yearly 150$$ complete

SPOT is not very good. I've used one for three months and have done a bunch of experimentation with it on long car trips. The unit's ability to contact and then maintain contact with the GPS satellites is marginal. Sometimes it makes sporadfic contact, in which case there is intermittent tracking, but other times it'll have no contact at all. As a device that I might someday find of considerable importance, I'd suggest it's a zero. I intend to buy a PLB and will do so as soon as Mr. Ritter posts an opinion on the new, small McMurdo PLBs (or any other, for that matter). http://www.equipped.org/blog/

pitfield wrote:SPOT is not very good. I've used one for three months and have done a bunch of experimentation with it on long car trips. The unit's ability to contact and then maintain contact with the GPS satellites is marginal. Sometimes it makes sporadfic contact, in which case there is intermittent tracking, but other times it'll have no contact at all. As a device that I might someday find of considerable importance, I'd suggest it's a zero. I intend to buy a PLB and will do so as soon as Mr. Ritter posts an opinion on the new, small McMurdo PLBs (or any other, for that matter). http://www.equipped.org/blog/

Here is a thread about those McMurdo PLBs http://backcountrypilot.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=3604

pitfield wrote: I intend to buy a PLB and will do so as soon as Mr. Ritter posts an opinion on the new, small McMurdo PLBs (or any other, for that matter). http://www.equipped.org/blog/

I am working to do some preliminary testing of the new McMurdo Fast Find. We have finally settled some of the critical issues. The logistics are complicated and involve multiple FedEx-ings across the Atlantic. Between the logistics involved and my own busy travel schedule this time of year, at best it will be a month or two before we can compete these tests. Wish it could be done faster, but with limited resources, that's the best we can do.

I'd vote a qualified yes on spot. As many other have said on this thread, it's one item to have in your bag of tricks.

Most of the time, it's great, and works exactly as advertised. Sometimes (twice for me - but , wouldn't you know it, at the worst of times -- scooting over passes in marginal wx, or otherwise doing things I probably shouldn't...), it drops out for 30-60 minutes in the track function.

So - better make sure your loved ones aren't counting on seeing the track reports (as others have said), and if spot is your only trick in the bag, better hope you run into trouble in that 95-98% of the time when it's working great.

Combining spot with filing, ammending in flight when I change my route (when/where I can), and a PLB (gotta get one of those, one of these days...), and it would seem I'm bulletproof. They'll find my smokin' hole fast.

But all said and done -- when it comes to SPOT - this sucker is cheap, and more than worth it for the 95-98% of the time that it's "spot-on". Just make sure you've got other outs.

--Tony