I must commend you Paul. You really went out of your way to lay out all of the costs in as clear of a way for pilots that I've seen. Delorme should just link to your website for their Aviation plans. Great breakdown.

Morgan



On Wednesday, July 3, 2013 10:31:52 AM UTC-7, Paul Remde wrote:
Hi,



After delays of a few months - I finally have DeLorme inReach SE units in

stock.

http://www.cumulus-soaring.com/delorme.htm



I played with mine a lot yesterday and I'm very impressed. It is very easy

to send one of 3 pre-defined messages. it is also possible to send text

messages to email addresses or cell phones using the unit's virtual

keyboard. It can also be connected to a smartphone if you want to view

detailed maps. Using a smartphone also makes it easier to send messages.

But a smartphones is not required at all.



Below is a list of the advantages the inReach SE has over competitive

products.



- Track points include not only GPS position, but also altitude,

groundspeed, and heading - making it easy for your friends to see whether or

not you are still flying.

- With the optional "Aviation" data plan, the tracking interval can be set

at 1, 1.5, 2, 5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 60, 120 or 240 minutes. Using the 1 minute

tracking interval would make flight following at a soaring contest a lot of

fun. It would enhance safety by reducing the search radius in the event of

an emergency in which the unit stopped transmitting.

- Friends viewing your shared page can "ping" your location (if enabled)

using your MapShare page - even if the unit is not in tracking mode. That

would be handy in an emergency. The unit only needs to be turned-on.

- The tracking can change automatically to a long interval (up to 4 hours)

when not moving and change back to the standard (fast) tracking interval if

you move more than a user-defined distance of 20, 50 or 100 meters (66, 164,

or 328 ft). That reduces the data rate when not in flight - which reduces

the monthly byte usage fees (with aviation data plans).

- Having the antenna on top makes it easy to get a good connection with the

unit in a pouch on your parachute strap.

- Better satellite coverage than competitive products - 100% of the world is

covered

- Friends viewing your shared page can send you a message (if enabled) - If

your inReach is on it will alert you to the reception of the message.

- 2-way messages can be sent to any email address or cell phone (text

message)

- The inReach SE works great with, or without a smartphone connected to it.

Free-form messages can be sent using the virtual keyboard on the inReach SE

or using a connected smartphone. It is easy to put into track mode and send

one of 3 pre-defined messages using the buttons on the front of the unit.

Download free detailed topographical maps to your smartphone (at home) and

navigate using the inReach SE as your GPS data source when out in the field.



Good Soaring,



Paul Remde

Cumulus Soaring, Inc.