My SPOT Gen 3 worked just fine as far north as Tok, for what that’s worth.

I had a SPOT when I first moved from AK to Minnesota. I found that the device dropped tracking points fairly often, most often when I was headed north bound. I had the device mounted on top of the glareshield, and I suspect when headed north, the unit may not have had line of sight with a satellite.

I've never had the In Reach drop a tracking point.

As to length of time to transmit a signal, as Scott says, it can be variable. Both systems' satellites are set up to receive a signal, and transmit that signal to a ground station as soon as that satellite has contact with a ground station. In the meantime, if a signal comes in and that satellite does not have contact with a ground station, the message "lives" on the satellite till that satellite can make contact with a ground station, at which point, it dumps all messages.

So, point is, message delivery time, as Scott says, can vary greatly, depending on where you are, where the satellite is, and where the nearest ground station is.

Iridium, with polar orbiting satellites, has the best coverage up north.

MTV
'

Have friends with Zoleo. They are very happy with it. Used In Reach for years but had a bit of a run in with Garmin over subscription policies recently. I use Garmin products at a minimum now and am always looking for alternatives.

InReach, forget Spot.

steve wrote:InReach, forget Spot.

Spot on, see what I did there

steve wrote:InReach, forget Spot.

Have you used both personally?

StuBob wrote:

steve wrote:InReach, forget Spot.

Have you used both personally?

StuBob, I copied the reply I made on this site in 2019, I stand by my thought on Spot.

"The Spot/InReach debate has been hashed and re-hashed, your geographic location of use makes a lot of difference on how effective the Globalstar sat system is. Globalstar/Spot just does not have as good of sat coverage that Iridium/InReach has, here in my part of Canada Globalstar it's not great, most are using Irdium phones for that reason.

Several years ago I was asked to take a young writer from the Netherlands to a remote lake, it was mid-October, he was going to spend time there living off the land and write about his experiences. This fellow had a Spot device, he was to send me an OK message twice a day, once in the morning, once in the evening so I would know he was alright, if he missed 2 messages in a row, I was to go looking for him. He missed an occasional message, but one day I did not receive a message in the morning, or evening, so I called a couple of people to fly up with me the next morning to look for him, by then I had missed 3 messages in a row. Before I landed we could see smoke from a camp fire, we pulled up to shore and there he was. He had been sending the OK messages from the same open camp area during the whole duration of his stay, but part of the time the messages were not getting out. If he had been in distress and sent out an emergency signal it would not have been seen.

I have a friend that stays at an outpost cabin 4 months in the summer, he has an InReach with him at all times, it works well, we communicate daily to make sure he is alright and it always gets out. I carry an Iridium sat phone when in the bush in case I need to call out, finally broke down last year and bought an additional InReach for others to leave a message for me, as it is easy to carry. Both of these Iridium units always work, I can't say the same for a Spot, would hate to depend on one of those if I was in a tough situation."

Thanks, Steve.

steve wrote:Both of these Iridium units always work, I can't say the same for a Spot, would hate to depend on one of those if I was in a tough situation."

You are unknowingly comparing apples to oranges in how the devices themselves work. The SPOT simply throws up a message and has no idea if the satellites caught it. It was easy to see with the Gen 1 SPOT's. If you looked at anyone's tracking page you would see gaps where the message was not received by a satellite. Follow on generations solved this by sending the current and last three positions. You would only notice a missed point if you were watching the tracking page in real time. After the fact you would always see all points filled in. The user would never know if any particular point or message was received by the system.
inReach works differently. Every point and message is sent until the satellite responds back that the system received it. For those that don't want to rely on their phone and thus 2 devices Garmin has come out with the Montana 700 series. About the size of a phone with the same keyboard you're used to. Also includes road and topo maps.

Bonanza Man wrote: inReach works differently. Every point and message is sent until the satellite responds back that the system received it. For those that don't want to rely on their phone and thus 2 devices Garmin has come out with the Montana 700 series. About the size of a phone with the same keyboard you're used to. Also includes road and topo maps.

Great info on the differences on how different they are in satellite communications.

I’m with you - I don’t want something that requires two devices both to be working. Just one clarification - other then the Mini (I don’t know if it does or not) The other Garmin inReach devices also have onscreen keyboards - allowing you to send messages without needing a 2nd device, not just limited to the Montana series which will cost you about 2x more then a standard inReach SE+ or Explorer . Although the Montana keyboard is a bit easier to use, and in general the ui is a big upgrade making it more user friendly.

Starting with none of them, I’d say there’s a good chance the Montana is the best solution. But once you have something that more or less does what you want, it takes a pretty compelling reason to upgrade

corefile wrote:These devices are a little like VI vs Emacs - nerd translation, there is a little bit of personal taste involved. But I prefer the Garmin inReach, it uses the same network (Iridium), but unlike the Zoleo it does not require an app on your phone to send messages.

+1 Inreach
+10 vi

You *can* send messages with the inReach Mini without using a phone, but it's cumbersome to send anything beyond the "canned" messages. Of course, the "Emergency" button is super-easy to use if needed. But I also have three "preset" messages set up:

"Staring my trip."
"Delayed, but everything is OK."
"Safely arrived at destination."

Those three can be sent with just a few button presses - on the ground or in the air. For anything else, I can use the phone to compose a more detailed message (pretty easy), or use the "scroll the alphabet and select the letter" method on the Mini (slow and cumbersome, but not particularly difficult).

I really like the Mini for the great battery life, convenient size / form factor, and ease of use. I have it set up to start tracking automatically when powered on, so I don't forget to do so. My wife (who doesn't fly) likes it even more than I do... LOL

I've decided to retire my Gen 1 SPOT (at 12 years old it's a bit dated).... I would have replaced it much sooner but the dang thing just kept on working. For several years I have thought I would replace it "when it quits". But it wouldn't die.... so I've decided to retire it with honors and move on.

I'm planning to get one of the inreach models... but I'm having a little trouble choosing which one. Can someone here summarize the differences between the:

Mini
SE
Explorer +

Obviously the mini is smaller so less to carry. But posts here indicate it might be a little cumbersome to use for texting?

Are the SE and Explorer models more user-friendly for texting?

Is there any great advantage to the maps on the Explorer over the SE? I never missed having maps on the SPOT so I don't think I need the maps of the Explorer. I expect to use it for tracking and communication, not navigation.

Are there any other differences between the models that aren't obvious?

I'm thinking of attaching it to a vest while flying so if I evacuate the inreach goes out with me. Has anyone done this and does it provide good tracking like that? Or does it need to "see the sky" ... as in up in the wind screen.... for reliable tracking?

Additionally.... they seem to be out of stock everywhere. Chip shortage?

kg wrote:....Additionally.... they seem to be out of stock everywhere. Chip shortage?

Possibly, but also perhaps due to intro of new inReach Mini 2:

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/c/outdoor-recreation/handheld-hiking-gps/

kg wrote:
I'm planning to get one of the inreach models... but I'm having a little trouble choosing which one. Can someone here summarize the differences between the:

Mini
SE
Explorer +

Obviously the mini is smaller so less to carry. But posts here indicate it might be a little cumbersome to use for texting?

Are the SE and Explorer models more user-friendly for texting?

Is there any great advantage to the maps on the Explorer over the SE? I never missed having maps on the SPOT so I don't think I need the maps of the Explorer. I expect to use it for tracking and communication, not navigation.

Are there any other differences between the models that aren't obvious?

I'm thinking of attaching it to a vest while flying so if I evacuate the inreach goes out with me. Has anyone done this and does it provide good tracking like that? Or does it need to "see the sky" ... as in up in the wind screen.... for reliable tracking?

Additionally.... they seem to be out of stock everywhere. Chip shortage?

I've used them all except for the new Montana series which I will be ordering up this spring. I did not like the Mini, less battery life and you really have to have a phone or tablet paired to it to text. I currently have the Explorer+. Much better battery life and you could text from the device although it is tedious.
I have downloaded a bunch of maps to my phone thru the app, don't really need them though. I have mine up on the glareshield so it can see the sky. It is tethered to the compass so it stays with the plane in a wreck. It's unlikely to work clipped to your vest while you're in the plane.

Thanks! That pretty much confirms what I was thinking.

As it turns out my brother in law works at Sportsman's Warehouse. He just called me and said they have one SE model in stock.. nothing else.... and it's on sale. So he picked it up for me. He thinks they are out because they are switching over to this year's models. Also explains why it is on sale.

So I have an SE.

Thanks again!
Keith

Just wanted to throw my support behind the Explorer. Useable without a tether and better batteries are what sold it to me also.

Garmin recently released the Mini 2. It has a better battery. It also interfaces with the Explore app, which is supposedly better than the Earthmate app.

I’ve not been happy with a Mini or a SPOT X. Perhaps I was expecting the performance of a cell phone, which neither one delivers. Regarding failures, when I ran both side-by-side, they both had the occasional failure to drop a crumb. The Mini missed more. The only tracker I’ve had that reliably did everything it said it would do and was as easy to use as advertised was a SPOT Gen3. But it doesn’t have 2-way comms which, ISTM, would be very helpful in an emergency. It also has been known to interfere with GPS reception, but I never had that problem in a Bonanza or a 172.

A little rambling from a doctor who’s spent some time thinking about crashes, trackers, and rescues:
Sending messages should be easily done with one hand. If you’re interfaced to the cell phone, you can even do voice-to-text. It seems a strategy that relies on the recovery and functioning of two devices is poorly thought out.

A 406 PLB messages straight to AFRCC, eliminating the middle man. It also has a 5-year battery. But it doesn’t leave tracks for the family or allow any conversation with the rescuers.

I’m told that a large fraction of rescues involve getting the last location from a cell phone. Cell coverage is only increasing everywhere.

It’s pretty hard to get away from ADS-B, so I’m tracking all the time, with or without a tracker.

Rescue insurance is probably worth having. Ambulance companies are never “in network.” Air ambulances can only be worse. I don’t know if my airplane insurance would cover such a thing, but I doubt it. Worth checking.

It isn’t completely clear that a tracker adds anything over the combination of cell phone, ADS-B, and PLB, and you should have all of those regardless of whether you have a tracker.

On the one hand, I’m tempted to dump the tracker. It’s just another subscription. On the other, I’ll take a close look if they release an updated Explorer.

StuBob wrote:Garmin recently released the Mini 2. It has a better battery. It also interfaces with the Explore app, which is supposedly better than the Earthmate app.

I’ve not been happy with a Mini or a SPOT X. Perhaps I was expecting the performance of a cell phone, which neither one delivers. Regarding failures, when I ran both side-by-side, they both had the occasional failure to drop a crumb. The Mini missed more. The only tracker I’ve had that reliably did everything it said it would do and was as easy to use as advertised was a SPOT Gen3. But it doesn’t have 2-way comms which, ISTM, would be very helpful in an emergency. It also has been known to interfere with GPS reception, but I never had that problem in a Bonanza or a 172.

A little rambling from a doctor who’s spent some time thinking about crashes, trackers, and rescues:
Sending messages should be easily done with one hand. If you’re interfaced to the cell phone, you can even do voice-to-text. It seems a strategy that relies on the recovery and functioning of two devices is poorly thought out.

A 406 PLB messages straight to AFRCC, eliminating the middle man. It also has a 5-year battery. But it doesn’t leave tracks for the family or allow any conversation with the rescuers.

I’m told that a large fraction of rescues involve getting the last location from a cell phone. Cell coverage is only increasing everywhere.

It’s pretty hard to get away from ADS-B, so I’m tracking all the time, with or without a tracker.

Rescue insurance is probably worth having. Ambulance companies are never “in network.” Air ambulances can only be worse. I don’t know if my airplane insurance would cover such a thing, but I doubt it. Worth checking.

It isn’t completely clear that a tracker adds anything over the combination of cell phone, ADS-B, and PLB, and you should have all of those regardless of whether you have a tracker.

On the one hand, I’m tempted to dump the tracker. It’s just another subscription. On the other, I’ll take a close look if they release an updated Explorer.

Good points, well taken.

That said, there are still many parts of this country where cell coverage is not available. And, crises don’t always rise to the level of calling out the Cavalry (ARTCC).

That’s where an In Reach can provide two way comms for mechanical assistance, etc.

And, one of my frequent uses of the In Reach is to let my spouse know I’m okay at the end of a day of flying, or that i won’t be home on time, but okay.

In my past life, I’d disappear for full days into the hinterlands, with nobody having a clue where I was. Nowadays, I prefer to flight plan, but not be afraid to deviate from that plan, knowing that my tracker may cover that deviation.

Nothings perfect. But, from one who’s spent many days and even weeks with nobody having much idea where I was, im kind of a fan of these things.

I’ll drop my subscription to satellite radio first……just sayin.

BUT, if I lived and operated strictly in the Midwest……I dunno. Then again, people can disappear there as well.

Finally, an example: Three gents from Fairbanks departed to “The Nowitna River” to moose hunt in a Cessna 185. The rest of their “flight plan” to wives was “we’ll be back on this day or that”. Kinda vague, no doubt. They didn’t show up on the “sorta return day”. Or the next or the next.

This was late fall…..everywhere else would be called “dead of winter”: -20s and colder.

One of the wives called Troopers and a massive search effort was begun. This involved thousands of square miles of territory, in tough weather. Think of a triangle 150 to 200 miles on a side, looking for a tiny airplane, in snow covered ground.

Eventually, based on a controllers recollection and ATC tapes, the plane was found a few miles south of FAI, all three occupants had perished in the accident, so finding them sooner wouldn’t have helped them.

But consider their spouses’ angst for a long period, not knowing. Consider the many pilots who risked their lives searching for many days…….

An In Reach could have been an invaluable aid. Of course, a PROPERLY mounted ELT might have as well. But this occurred well before 406 ELTs, and before the recent emphasis on PROPER mounting of ELTs.

If you choose not to carry these devices, at least do us a favor and make absolutely certain that your ELT is properly (as in solidly) mounted and is a 406 type.

MTV