Bushwalk Australia

spot sat phone review
http://www.engadget.com/2013/06/16/spot ... #continued

Hu, well, what do you think about that Wayno?

um nothing, i havent had time to read it yet...

hmm, US$30 a month subscription, no coverage in a canyon, needs open sky to connect...
not a good emergency evice if you frequent canyons, and we cant tell what its like under forest canopy from this review, cant send sms..
ceratinly not a replacement for a PLB under all conditions...
but handy as another communication alternative on remote trips. if a group is chipping in for a sat phone and its subscription, its a handy form of communication on long trips.. unles you can stump up for the US$500 yourself pllus the subscription...

I used both Globalstar and Iridium extensively, and in my experience Iridium wins hands down.

Sat down and had a good read. I honestly think it's overpriced.

Saw a tiny little PLB the other day (it most likely has been reviewed here somewhere) it is the rescueME PLB1 by Ocean Signal. OK it is for boaty types of people but at 116 grams and only 75x51x32.5mm in dimension about twice as big as a box of matches. Just need to get a Sat phone small enough and I will ditch the old GME PLB as I would have 2 types of 'Oh Hell - Come and get me NOW' devices.
http://www.oceansignal.com/product.php?id=22

be interested to hear how easy you think it could be to accidentally set off the rescueME it just seems to have a sprung flap over the transmit button.... i wonder how easily thae flap can be pushed back if there is nothing reestraining it unless there is some extra cap over it i havent seen , i've only seen photos of it

As indicated in the other thread, I have one of these rescueME PLB1 unit. I don't think it'd be easy to accidentally trigger the unit as the flap spring is decently tense and the button takes a pretty deliberate action to press in, and has to be held for a second. Yes, it's definitely a unit that I would have no hesitation in throwing in the bag or pocket.

there are still scenario's , if its stored outside your pack, you fall, it scrapes the ground the flap comes oopen you roll on it and a it gets set off, those scenarios do happen, or people dropd them down a mountain and some models can be set off if theres enough damage to the unit,
all depends what you're using it for.... if i was climbing steep terrain i'd want something pretty robust

Given the feel of the button (assume it's the same as its test button), I'd say it's a highly hypothetical scenario. And without the antenna extended, you'll have time to switch it off and not disturb the rescue organization.

there are scenario's i've read about in nz, where the person takes a tumble. gets seperated from the unit as they watch it disappear down a mountainside, even without the antenna extended the unit still makes contact with the satellite and sar have to go searching for the unit

I think there'll always be the inevitable and events that one only read about. For all practical purposes in choosing a PLB, I don't think these are of concern and I am confident that rescueME will do a good job. Given how light rescueME is, its own weight won't be enough to depress its activation button, let alone holding it for 1 second.

yup different courses for different horses.

personally I dont do anything that gnarly to worry about problems with accidental activation, so i'd consider the ocean PLB one, doing something like taping over the flap to make sure it can flip back by accident could help or put it in some kind of bag that isnt too loose,,
its a good price and size.

When purchased in Aus, it comes tethered to a neoprene floatation cover. When encased due to the imperfect fit, it'll also keep the flap closed. But a tape or even a rubber band are simple solutions should one be concerned about it. Not so hard after all.