Bushwalk Australia

I have the original Spot plb/messenger device. Works fine, though I havent used the tracking much and it is seeming like an expensive luxury. With the price of everyday plb coming down all the time i'm thinking these are not the best value.

Seems to me we are pretty much drip fed satellite technology. Narrow bandwidth aside, i cant see why a gps enabled smartphone cant just also operate its communication permanently on the satellite network without huge added expense (different networks perhaps? (i'm no techead..))

Anyhow... For those with a smartphone, you can at least access the Spot network and at least send SMS now. I guess if you carry the phone this would be a bit more convenient and a way to get plb backup anywhere perhaps (or course there is the obligatory $100+ per year):

http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=116

Looks very interesting.
Some people use iPhones and it seems that is what you would need.

Note: GPS uses positioning satellites which are not setup for message communication.
SPOT uses the GPS satellites to get position details, but then uses a completely different satellite network to send messages.
see http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=108

I was relieved to read that the Spot Connect has an on-device stand-alone SOS button still, so it doesn't rely on the phone's battery to still be running in order to send an SOS signal.

The issue I see with these Iphones is battery life.
My daughter bought hers on a recent walk and using the tracking device (inbuilt GPS) it went flat before the day was over.
Once away from the telecommunications network I understand they rely on the GPS and not the network to deliver the location.
I realise we are talking about another device as the GPS but Bluetooth would also consume more power.

I wouldn't like to rely on one for my safety over an extended walk.
Thats the beauty of those dedicated devices I expect as they will last a lot longer.

taswegian wrote:The issue I see with these Iphones is battery life.
My daughter bought hers on a recent walk and using the tracking device (inbuilt GPS) it went flat before the day was over.
Once away from the telecommunications network I understand they rely on the GPS and not the network to deliver the location.
I realise we are talking about another device as the GPS but Bluetooth would also consume more power.

I wouldn't like to rely on one for my safety over an extended walk.
Thats the beauty of those dedicated devices I expect as they will last a lot longer.

Or take a solar charger. Not that I have ever had any luck with mine, but I am going to conquer the beast and have a fully charged phone for a whole weeks walking

taswegian wrote:The issue I see with these Iphones is battery life.
My daughter bought hers on a recent walk and using the tracking device (inbuilt GPS) it went flat before the day was over.
Once away from the telecommunications network I understand they rely on the GPS and not the network to deliver the location.
I realise we are talking about another device as the GPS but Bluetooth would also consume more power.

I wouldn't like to rely on one for my safety over an extended walk.
Thats the beauty of those dedicated devices I expect as they will last a lot longer.

Agreed... the phones don't have good batteries. And particularly for the iPhone which does not have a battery that is easily replaceable.

HOWEVER, this device does not rely on the phone for sending out an emergency signal. The phone is only used for sending short texts, or emails, or similar non-emergency functions. The Spot Connect has the SOS button built into it, and the phone is not required for that.

Having said that, with careful use, an iPhone (and other phones) can last a very long time on a bushwalk. I've had mine use about half of it's battery power over a 6 day bushwalk by switching off all networking (including phone cell network) apart from GPS, and using the GPS only when I wanted to take a waypoint or verify my position. I also had the entire device switched off completely overnight, or at times when I knew I wouldn't be using it for several hours. If the bluetooth was disabled most of the time (apart from when you wanted to actually send a message), the phone would still last for several days.