Replacing ELT, PLB with current tech.

On Monday, October 14, 2019 at 10:27:07 AM UTC-7, Darryl Ramm wrote:
On Monday, October 14, 2019 at 9:27:34 AM UTC-7, Tom BravoMike wrote:
On Saturday, October 12, 2019 at 10:37:36 PM UTC-5, 2G wrote:
On Saturday, October 12, 2019 at 6:32:47 PM UTC-7, Mike N. wrote:
Reviewing In Reach VS Spot, seems the same, however the In Reach service fee looks to be significantly higher.

Comments, or am I missing something.

It seems that the Spot X has capabilities that only inReach had before, namely the ability to send and receive messages, not just tracking points and SOS messages. AFAIK, Spot does not send altitude, which inReach does.

I subscribe to the inReach freedom plan ($35/mo), which you can suspend at any time. I need it for 3 months a year, for $105. The cheapest Spot plan is $15/mo plus $20 one-time activation and $25/year. It would take me about 8 years to recoup the cost of the Spot X ($250), which isn't worth it.. And my wife wouldn't want to sacrifice altitude reporting. Plus, the tracking points are one-way; you don't know if they were received.

It would make more sense if I used it for more months.

Tom

SPOT does report altitude now, at least on the website map (not in the Android app). And the model without BlueTooth is now $199.95. Wait till Black Friday...

But I still hear reports of altitude unreliability. This is supposed to be a safety device, it needs to work reliably. It would be great to hear from folks if they are seeing reliable altitude reports in tracking, and with what model devices.

My Spot X works just fine. Altitude reporting is spot on really.