Spot Messenger – EPIRB like emergency radio device

Correcting and answering parts of my own post:

Purchase price is US$170 not US$200.

Satellite coverage map

Doesnt it use Globalstar as a providor so that should answer 95% of reliability questions

A couple of the above questions answered:

Purchase price can be as low as US$134 (off e-bay)

Alert 9-1-1(don't get hung up on the 9-1-1 bit - it is only a label) signal goes to Canbera (the same group that receives EPIRB signals)

The "Help" and "OK" messages are not fixed in the sense that you can set them up via your website to say whatever you like. But when the button is pushed that is the mesaage that is receieved. You can change the message via your web account.

The "OK" and "Help" messages cannot be sent via SMS Txt in Australia (other countries you can) that is because the Australian Telcos will not allow free access to the SMS system. I have discussed this with SPOT technical and they say that thye have run into this attitude in some other countries and they are trying to come up with an alternate way to send the SMS Txt message. Until that is sorted your messages are sent via e-mail.

The contact list for "OK" and "Help" are not supplied to the Spot people they are created by you in your SPOT web account. I have set up 6 different people to recieve my messages. The "OK" message goes to a different group of people to my 'Help' message. My "OK" basically goes to my friends and family, whilst my "Help' message goes to my mates who have 4x4 and are mechanics or electricains :-)) both of these message also tag a Googlemaps URL which shows your location (lat/long) actually on the map.

Nothing is 'tailored' from the handset it is all done from your own SPOT account on the web.

Yes - all of australia is covered - wherever the Globalstar sats reach is where spot reaches. - check the SPOT website COVERAGE to see coverage

Quote
Alert 9-1-1(don't get hung up on the 9-1-1 bit - it is only a label) signal goes to Canbera (the same group that receives EPIRB signals)
Unquote

Not quite, it goes to the GEOS International Emergency Response Center who will then pass on the details to Australia.

Earlier this year a kayaker off Tasmania needed assistance and used his Spot Mesenger, it took many hours before the details were passed on. Since this, some arrangements have been put in place to have a contact point in Australia who then pass it on to the relevant state authority

Kiwiangler,
How have you found SPOT. As mentioned in a thread I ended up getting one with the tracking option.

I have managed to sort out the SMS issue so that when a message is sent a number of people will get SMS messages by setting up GMAIL to forward to a SMS service provider - not straight forward.

However my first impressions of SPOT are not good.

I tested the tracking option today in basically it was useless. In 7-8 driving trip around a NP near Canberra I only received 6 notifications of where I was (one is supposed to be sent every 10 minutes) and of the 6 4 were at the location I was having lunch ie there were 4 in the same location.

I also sent an OK message which never got through to any one, even though the lights were flashing in unison and then went to one light after it was supposed to ahave sent it.

It appears that if you stay still when you press the message buttons. I can understand this for 911 ans may be HELP but not for OK as a message can take a long tome to get through (up to 20 minutes).

I bought this thing for two reasons one was for my father to carry when he goes out driving as I am worried he may break down in areas where a m-phone want work and for my own use while 4wd and/or touring.

Over all testing has not been good. I will continue to test it. I will not subscribe to the tracking next year though - only did it this year for a bit of fun - no fun so far!

I would appreciate how you have found it - do you have to remain still while sending OK message - I suspect you don't but seems to work better if you do.


Richard