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.

How spot on does altitude reporting need to be for this? If your buddy sends you a link to follow their track and they are stationary for an unusual period of time, regardless of altitude reported it means something is up. It's a SAR device not a an igc recorder.

Oudie Live is an app that Bluetooths to your Oudie and sends position data packets to SeeYou Cloud, Soaring Spot or Livetrack24, whichever you choose to use. Works great as long as your phone can see a cell tower.

I use Oudie Live as a backup to my PLB in case I am unable to operate it. You also need an extra battery to avoid depleting the phone battery.

XCSoar offers a similar facility.

On Tuesday, October 15, 2019 at 10:18:09 PM UTC-4, George Haeh wrote:
Oudie Live is an app that Bluetooths to your Oudie and sends position data packets to SeeYou Cloud, Soaring Spot or Livetrack24, whichever you choose to use. Works great as long as your phone can see a cell tower.

I use Oudie Live as a backup to my PLB in case I am unable to operate it. You also need an extra battery to avoid depleting the phone battery.

XCSoar offers a similar facility.

The IGCdroid app (for Android phones) both generates a backup IGC flight log file and sends the logged data every couple of minutes to glideport.aero (where cellphone data service is available, which works well enough around here). This works for real-time tracking for fun and some S&R value. Almost free, runs independently of all other systems in the glider, and only uses about 1/4 of my phone's battery on a 5-hour flight. With that *and* a PLB I feel reasonably covered.