I went through this a couple of months ago and came up with a decision to go with the PLB.

First off, the Microfix warranty and batteries are good for 5 years so at that point the price of a SPOT vs a Microfix is a wash. After that point the SPOT continues to cost you the service fee of $99/yr but, as we observe the pace of technological advancements in electronics and communications it's pretty likely that both of these things will look like bricks compared to what will be available five years from now.

The tracking and messaging aspects of SPOT sound pretty cool but reviews have demonstrated that they aren't that reliable and in the end, after the novelty wears off, are you really going to be sending out that many messages or tracking yourself on Google Maps? I don't think so.

It boils down to one thing for me - the absolute reliability of the instrument and the chances of it getting me found in a timely manner if the need arises. As has been mentioned the Globestar system has had some problems and you are relying on a private enterprise. What if your yearly renewal fee didn't get processed or updated? There isn't a clear answer to this question. Also the SPOT is relant on a good GPS signal as as well as a Globestar signal as it has no means of deriving your location through Doppler as does the PLB so if the gps unit or antenna fails, or your location is not good for gps signal reception you are pretty much SOL.

So that's how I made my decision but it's by no means a slam dunk for either side.

SPOT works in New Zealand!
Just got a message two days ago from the south island.
I really wanna be a doctor when I get older.

This same thread is going on over at supercub.org right now. A guy from Anchorage wrote in and said SPOT doesn't work worth a damn at ground level in Anchorage. Said he was outside with it for an hour or two walking around Lake Hood, and it never registered a hit. Got one or two hits when it was on the dash of his pickup. Seems that many of the guys getting good hits are up in the air. To me, its more important these things work down on the ground, where you will be when you need the help.

FYI, I was in a pilot supply shop yesterday that carried both products. I asked the salesman which sold better to which he replied the "Spot" by a significant amount.

I bought the Spot. The feature selling it for me is the ability to send okay messages that will effectively show my progress as I fly somewhere. Being as how I don't know exactly how I'm going to go until I am in the air, a trail of crumbs would be a lot more useful than a flight plan. If I crash and can't activate the device, at least there will be some okays along the way to extrapolate from. While a PLB would probably broadcast through a denser cover of trees, it won't do me any good at all if I can't deploy it.

Testing so far shows that at 45 N it works fine from the dash board of my plane. The little status lights even show up in the windshield like a HUD display.

tom

I bought the SPOT from Rob at PreparedPilot.com and have had the opportunity to use it in a number of different states and situations. The tracking from the dash of the airplane seems to work very well. The OK works well if you are patient about keeping the SPOT oriented so it can actually get the message out. I like to go to places that have no cell phone coverage or other communication possibilities. The wife really liked getting the OK messages from the middle of nowhere New Mexico last week. All in all I like it.

That said, the ACR MicroFix PLB -406 MHz PLB with GPS always resides in my PreparedPilot.com survival vest that I wear.

375HandH

silvaire wrote:
It boils down to one thing for me - the absolute reliability of the instrument and the chances of it getting me found in a timely manner if the need arises. As has been mentioned the Globestar system has had some problems and you are relying on a private enterprise. What if your yearly renewal fee didn't get processed or updated? There isn't a clear answer to this question. Also the SPOT is relant on a good GPS signal as as well as a Globestar signal as it has no means of deriving your location through Doppler as does the PLB so if the gps unit or antenna fails, or your location is not good for gps signal reception you are pretty much SOL.

Ditto. Even if I was in the lower 48 I would have same issues. If I want/need to send an OK signal I will rent/buy a sat phone.

Before switching to tree cop I was of the asphalt variety. I'm not that old but back when I started a significant number of the business burglar alarms were still wired directly into the police department dispatch center. Others were contracted through ADT, Sonitrol, etc. (now just about everyone is.) With the occasional exception we almost never caught the bad guys there through the contract monitoring, we quite often caught people still in the building on the direct-wire. Small time delay inherent by having a middleman, yes, but also astounding delays through inefficient staffing, etc. too.
My point is that even in this day and age some things are better left to the government (think LM/FSS.)

BTW thanks Rob for the Microfix, cute little bugger compared to my old ACR.

Used my spot on the trip up from Portland, OR to Talkeetna, AK. Worked in the OK mode every night. Spent 5 nights at the Don Sheldon Mountain House on the Ruth Glacier and OK function worked from there too.