Good News on Delorme InReach (2 min tracking and altitude vs. Spot w/10 min tracking and no altitude)

Hi Ramy,

Your note below is correct.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.
_______________________________________

So in sake of deciding how much switching to InReach will actually cost in
annual fee (ignoring the initial cost of the unit which diminishes overtime
comparing to the total cost of few year of subscription) it seems that for
the same annual fee as the Spot service ($150) I can get the aviation
subscription and set it to the same interval as spot (10 min) which will
provide nearly 20 hours per month of tracking, which should be sufficient
for most pilots. Those who fly less may even switch it to higher tracking
rate. And if I understand correct, anyone viewing my shared page can ping me
anytime for real time position. In addition it will provide altitude (very
useful), much better UI and smarphone integration for two way text
messaging, all for the same annual cost as Spot! Did I understand this
correctly? If so, it is almost a no brainer better deal.

Ramy

On Friday, February 22, 2013 2:17:56 PM UTC-8, Paul Remde wrote:
Hi Ramy,



Your note below is correct.



Best Regards,



Paul Remde

Cumulus Soaring, Inc.

_______________________________________



So in sake of deciding how much switching to InReach will actually cost in

annual fee (ignoring the initial cost of the unit which diminishes overtime

comparing to the total cost of few year of subscription) it seems that for

the same annual fee as the Spot service ($150) I can get the aviation

subscription and set it to the same interval as spot (10 min) which will

provide nearly 20 hours per month of tracking, which should be sufficient

for most pilots. Those who fly less may even switch it to higher tracking

rate. And if I understand correct, anyone viewing my shared page can ping me

anytime for real time position. In addition it will provide altitude (very

useful), much better UI and smarphone integration for two way text

messaging, all for the same annual cost as Spot! Did I understand this

correctly? If so, it is almost a no brainer better deal.



Ramy

Hi Paul,

For me, one of the most important features is to be able to be pinged anytime for my exact location at that moment. This will allow me to keep my tracking interval at 10 minutes yet to be able to be tracked instantaneously. As such, I would like to confirm if this is indeed how it works, or, as you suggested, it may only repeat the last track position, in which case it is no difference than the auto tracking feature. Can someone confirm this please?
Also, if I get pinged for my location often, does it eat into my monthly allowance, and if so, how much every ping may cost?
Would be nice if they had a simple low cost fixed plan like Spot, but I guess it is too much to ask...

Ramy

Hi Ramy,

The ping update is the same as the customer set tracking interval. It does
not just send the last track point. It just doesn't send the ping reply
until the next tracking interval comes up.

If you are signed-up for the aviation byte-based plans - every bit of data
sent comes out of your monthly allotment. Each track point and ping is 13
bytes. The 3 pre-defined "inReach" messages are also 13 bytes. Text
messages can be up to 160 bytes - depending on message length.

DeLorme does offer fixed cost plans. They are shown on my web site. If you
want track updates every 10 minutes or more, then the consumer plans make
sense. They include unlimited track points, but limited text messaging.
The recreation plan makes the most sense out of their consumer plans.
http://www.delorme.com/library/hardw...bscription.pdf

I signed-up for their aviation plan. I have it set to the highest plan for
now and will bump it down (using their web site) to the lowest plan during
the off season.

Best Regards,

Paul Remde
Cumulus Soaring, Inc.




Ramy

Hi Paul,

For me, one of the most important features is to be able to be pinged
anytime for my exact location at that moment. This will allow me to keep my
tracking interval at 10 minutes yet to be able to be tracked
instantaneously. As such, I would like to confirm if this is indeed how it
works, or, as you suggested, it may only repeat the last track position, in
which case it is no difference than the auto tracking feature. Can someone
confirm this please?
Also, if I get pinged for my location often, does it eat into my monthly
allowance, and if so, how much every ping may cost?
Would be nice if they had a simple low cost fixed plan like Spot, but I
guess it is too much to ask...

Ramy