SPOT pricing going up again...

On Wednesday, April 5, 2017 at 6:12:56 AM UTC-6, Sean Fidler wrote:
You also get (with Delorme/Garmin) altitude, speed and heading as part of the tracking for those following you. With Spot, those following don't know if you are circling at 500 ft. AGL or cruising at 17.5 MSL. You also have the option of increasing your tracking interval to 5,2, or even 1 minute with InReach/Garmin. Finally there are enterprise pricing plans that allow for much more data and less texting, encouraging 1 minute tracking in the main flying months. This can be rolled down to $5 per month maintenance plans when not flying.

Sean

First....what Sean said....

Also, over the years I have found that the tracking with the inReach has been more reliable than with the SPOT. I flew with both units for a season and often noticed that it was not uncommon for the SPOT to miss a 10 minute update and sometimes it missed tracking hits for as long as 20 or 30 minutes before a "hit" registered. I am sure that it is possible, but I do not believe I have ever seen the inReach miss a 10 min tracking hit. At the end of the day it all depends on "what" you really want a device to "do," what level of reliability is acceptable and of course, how much you want to spend.

Whatever you decide to do, always be sure you carry your device and turn it on. A few years ago we had a missing pilot (this was a different incident than Mark's earlier post) and we had no hits from SPOT or inReach or any other device. It turns out he had bailed out in a remote area (with no cell service) and fortunately, although injured, was able to walk to a road and was found. The reason we could not track him......his SPOT had been left in the hangar...

Now, be safe out there and ALWAYS carry your "device" of choice, your survival kit, a cell phone, etc, etc, etc. Thx - Renny