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+--- Thread: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices (/showthread.php?tid=25793)
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - MojaveGeek - 2020-11-17
David, hope you're OK! Obviously as we age, the shit starts to hit the fan. I went in back in February to "rule out heart attack" (which was something I very much wanted to rule out) and ended up diagnosed for pulmonary emboli. Which did not rule out a trip out to the Mojave a few weeks later, but I'm thinking maybe I've hung up my climbing harness for the last time (worry of intra-cranial bleeding - sobering, a friend on the same meds as I died with that cause a few months ago now). It seems a tough balance between doing what you want and not being too unsafe. Not going alone is great. I spend a lot of my time out solo though, and on foot away from the safety of a vehicle, so...
Taco, those are interesting cases you mention. Now I would HOPE that the InReach protocol would be that you hit SOS and the responders message you, so you could tell them the details. That is exactly why I wanted it over the Spot - that we could communicate before they sent the chopper. Good question if that actually happens that way.
But, right. I could see myself in a situation where I am at my vehicle, which is disabled for whatever reason, but have water and maybe food (less essential) and enough gear to survive a random day or two. What I would need is a tow, not a chopper. Now I could simply text my wife directly (via the InReach) to explain, because that message would have the position (I'm pretty sure) and at 10 or 25 cents a message, well worth it
A friend who lives out there uses message 3 to signal his wife "I'm on a road, I'm fine, but please come because I need assistance". Which might mean using a tow strap on the second vehicle or maybe driving him out if he's physically unable to drive, or whatever. Nice to have the flexibility. That doesn't do me much good when my "help" is 3 days or more away
Your two experiences in the Saline were intense. We were once first on the scene when a pickup in the other lane went off the road (no rollover, driver probably had a seizure, was not conscious) but we had cell service. Another vehicle also stopped and smashed a window so my wife, a doctor, could get into the cab and evaluate the driver. With the motor running and fluid draining on the ground we had some concerns about possible fire, but it turned out the liquid was from the case of beer in the back that had been smashed (intoxication did not appear to be a factor, though, based on preliminary investigation).
Those beat hikers must have been SO glad you stopped!
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - Candace66 - 2020-11-17
For emergencies that don't require immediate SAR response, such as vehicle problems, I also have an iridium satellite phone. But that is definitely a more costly option than the ones listed so far on this thread!
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - Desert Fog - 2020-11-18
Roadpost announced this device yesterday...
ZOLEO Satellite Communicator
They also offer a couple other devices...
Satellite Communicators
If you are thinking of a sat phone this one is rock solid...
Iridium 9555 Satellite Phone
I have been using my 9555 for ten years and use Roadpost to connect to the Iridium network. When I did the research they had the best service at the lowest monthly cost...
Iridium Satellite Phone Monthly Plans and Airtime
If you want to field test a sat phone Roadpost does daily rentals...
Satellite Phone Rentals - Daily
The 9505A rents for $8 per day and the 9555 for $10 per day.
The 9555 has better network connectivity so best to test that model.
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - bbbb - 2020-11-19
There are some really interesting thoughts here on bad situation v. helicopter emergency. There's definitely a difference.
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - Sparky of SoCal - 2020-11-19
I like to use my InReach to let my freinds know where I set up camp and what's for dinner while they are sitting on the couch.
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - Desert Fog - 2020-11-20
Article out this morning from Gaia GPS...
Satellite Communication Device Review
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - DAW89446 - 2020-11-20
“MojaveGeek” Wrote:David, hope you're OK!
Thank you for your concern. No, I am mobile, but do have some work related injuries and health issues that make hiking and being roughed up off road painful and not much fun anymore. Age and weight don’t help much. So now I’m more of a soft roader than an off roader.
I don’t knock PLB’s. I think they provide a great safety cushion. I’m just saying I got along just fine without them due to common sense and not taking unnecessary risks.
I think the worse case scenario I was in was back in the early 1970s when I was near Big Bear Lake on the Coxy Truck Trail on my motorcycle exploring in winter. My bike tossed the chain, which snagged a tang on the primary case and busted a big hole in the transmission and jammed the gearsets. I was alone, only a light jacket, in snow, no supplies, at dusk. I did tell my Mom where I was headed so she sent out the neighbor with his big Chevy Blazer, who found me about 2AM huddling up against a pine tree in the dark (left my bike on the road so if someone would come along they’d find me), with hypothermia and frostbite.
It would have been nice to have a PLB or satellite phone, but that was future tech then.
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - trailhound - 2020-11-21
I carry an ACR ResQLink. It is a PLB. There is no monthly fee, but no messaging ability either. As a day hiker, I am concerned about an injury where I can't walk back to the vehicle. At 71, that is a possibility. The PLB will get me a helicopter if I need one.
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - blackturtle.us - 2020-12-25
STARLINK: I wonder if at some point in the not too distant future whether or not StarLink with it's 42,000 satellites will be something which can be accessed with a unit small enough to take hiking. Any predictions?
RE: Satellite Emergency Notification Devices - MojaveGeek - 2020-12-25
I am pretty sure Starlink sats are lower orbit than Irridium or Globalstar. Given that the InReach Mini already works with Globalstar (or is it Irridium?) and that the limiting factor would be uplink radio transmission power, the technology to do so is present day. If you're talking about enough bandwidth to surf the net, etc, no opinion on that, nor is it something I seek.