On Feb 3, 12:07 pm, JS wrote:
SPOT enthusiasts:
I have made a few flights with SPOT in Australia, and it works there
too. Just using the OK feature so far.
Tom (5Z) set up a database for me, so the messages read distance to
home base of Lake Keepit and the nearest point in the database. That
worked very well. The Google maps link was accurate.
There seemed to be no interference with the radio, GPS or FLARM.
Unfortunately, getting information on e-mail addresses of cell
phones in Australia proved difficult. In the USA I send messages to a
couple of Verizon phones ). Telstra weren't at all
helpful.
Have not yet subscribed to the "Spotcasting" service, waiting for
them to get their act together on that.
Until Spotcasting is able to be monitored as suggested in this
thread, I'd suggest clubs and FBOs set up a retrieve e-mail address
and monitoring it, for example or
something similar, which can be on the recipient list of OK and HELP
messages..
Jim

G'day Jim

I think SPOTcasting (automatic position reports) is still very
useful. Having to give open access to your account, having to have
one web login/session active for each flight, the manual selection of
messages and pressign a button to generate each map, the session
timeouts, etc. are all poor oversights and a pain but I'm still hoping
they are workable for this coming season. And I don't have a problem
giving select
FBOs my personal account info for now. We all need to keep bugging
SPOT on usability of SPOTcasting.

The saftey value of SPOT to me is largely about the automated position
reporting - esp. where you can't get a message off on the ground after
a crash. Even at 10 minutes the last known position/search area can be
pretty large. I'm not going to be sending manual messages anything
like every 10 minutes.


Darryl