In a word, yes. Of course, there are the normal limitations associated with any GPS/satphone device. Namely, you have to be outside with a clear view of the sky. What’s more, as with any of these class of 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacons, the communication is one-way only. Your friends are going to know exactly where you are… and that you’re ok… but they’re not going to be able to send you a message that says, “Honey I miss you.” As for dependability, the device has a lot going for it. This same network (GlobalStar’s simplex network, that is) is currently handling ship locator beacons and lots of other tracking devices to the tune of some 6 million messages per month with a reliability rate said to be close to 95%. Just in case, any message you queue up on your Spot Messenger is automatically re-sent 2 extra times for a total of 3 instances (the duplicates are dropped in Milptas if the original got through ok). So… barring any financial difficulties at GlobalStar (Hey, even Iridium had trouble staying afloat), the device should be good to go for years. There are still other caveats, however. Because it’s relying on the GlobalStar satphone simplex network, there are some limitations as to location. For example, forget the southern half of Africa, much of India, regions to the north of India, and even northern Alaska [updated: See “comment” below for more on this]. So if you’re heading to one of those locations, you definitely need to get this device in hand and try it there prior to depending on it for a life or death situation. (If it doesn’t work for your geographic area, my guess is they’d refund your money.)
(Rec’d this from a user in Alaska. Sharing it here so users can be aware of coverage limitations. Mid- and northern Alaska is definitely on the fringe of the GlobalStar network, as can be seen by the map at:
http://www.globalstarusa.com/en/content.php?cid=300
Still, I’ll republish the Brigada reader’s input to show the importance of confirming GlobalStar coverage in the desired area of use, as noted in the original Brigada post, above.
Doug)
Hello Doug,
As a registered Alaska hunting guide for many years I am very aware of the need for emergency communication tools. I have had to rely on them to coordinate life-saving evacuations of injured personnel in remote areas of Alaska. It has been our experience in Alaska that the Spot network is far from adequate at our latitude and farther north from Anchorage. I would assume the same is true in northern Russia. This is due to Spot's use of the Globalstar network of satellites, which lie in a mostly equatorial orbit. The Motorola Irridium constellation of satellites offer much better coverage in northern latitudes because they orbit north to south, providing excellent convergence in the north country. It would not be a stretch to conclude that the same holds true at the other end of the planet as well. Many rescues have been coordinated in Alaska as a result of Motorola Irridium satphone use, while many failure have occurred with the Globalstar system. It has proven utterly unreliable here.
I don't say this to impugn the reputation of the Globalstar system, but simply to say that its limitations should be made clear to potential users who may need reliable communications in northern or southern latitudes.
In addition to my missions commitments, I do a considerable amount of writing on a website called Outdoors Directory, arguably the largest site on the web focused on Alaska outdoor activities. We're currently getting over 200,000 page views a day. Here are a few links to our discussion on both the Spot device and the Globalstar system.
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php?t=33508&highlight=globalstar
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php?t=33345&highlight=irridium
We've discussed this many times on Outdoors Directory and the concensus is that this technology is still too new and inadequate to be completely reliable in many situations.
Just a note that others should know.
Regards,
-Mike …