New Delorme Sat. Communications

[sheepguide]

Might be one hell of a good idea depending on how reliable the coverage is. May just have to get me one of these! Uses Irridium Sat. Network so shouldnt be to bad.

http://www.inreachcanada.com/inreach-overview/

[badback]

They are nice but I wonder what will it cost per text and or monthly fees be?

[sheepguide]

They have a couple plans but the one I would use is 29.95/month It gives me 100text messages and 25tracks. With any texts over being 50cents and any tracks over being 10cents. One time activation fee of $30. There are some other plans as listed on the link below. And to purchase I found them for $249.99 in Red Deer. Im probably picking one up next week.

http://www.inreachcanada.com/service-plans/

[badback]

That is not bad then...For the line of work you are in and your back country adventures, that would be a handy tool to have...

[Weste]

I have a SPOT that seems to have the same abilities with lower fees.  What the advantage of this one?

[sheepguide]

It has all the same options as the spot but it has two way comunication via android phones or the one Delorme GPS.  You can send and receive texts, emails, post on face book etc.  Where as the spot can only send a few preset messages with no confirmation they are sent and no two way comunication as it can not allow you to receive messages.

Right now I pay around $160/yr for my spot plus $400-$600 for my Sat. phone. I can run this unit for $359.40/yr. Wouldnt leave home without a unit like a SPOT but also will never leave without some sort of communication device either the iReach or a Sat. phone. Spot is good for emergencies but in the case of breakdown and other such problems communication is key. When my sled left me stranded 2 winters ago way up in the mountains with just a SPOT I could have sent a help signal home but they would have had no clue what to bring, what exactly was wrong and if I was personaly ok. I could just imagine my house hold after receiving a help message late in the day way up in the mountains. But instead I could communicate the scenario, line up what was needed and confirm that the message was received and that help was on the way which with a SPOT all you can do is sit and wait and hope someone got the message.

[JIMMY 808]

Sheep Was just going to ask you about a sat phone I thought they had the cost more down then that. 

[sheepguide]

Sat. phones run about $1 a minute on mine as a pay and talk unit(which most guys run). Same as with all the Outfitters ones ive used  You have to update your minutes a couple times a year and if I remember right thats around $200  each time. Initial activation is $350 gives you 200 - 250min(cant remember but in there some where) then every 6 months you must renew for the $200 and that gives you around an additional 200min. Minutes can vary depending where you buy them.

[HarvestMaster]

Isn't the new spot coming out with the text message app for smart phones?

[HarvestMaster]

http://www.modernhiker.com/2011/01/10/spot-beacon-coming-to-phones/


I saw this in a outdoor life magazine a few years ago. would be cool to see a comparison hey

[sheepguide]

Isn't the new spot coming out with the text message app for smart phones?

Ya the do right now but not as convienient and your messages cant be sent to individuals just your group. The other draw back is you can only send 41 characters instead of 160. Couldnt find on the web site where it says that the SPOT communicator can be used on its own either so if it can as I see no buttons on it you are in total reliability of your phone battery.


Quoted from the SPOT web site,

Use Type & Send to create custom messages:
•Send up to 41 characters in a message
•Messages will be sent directly to the contact groups you select via email or SMS
•Post custom messages on Twitter, Facebook – and with the DeLorme PN-60w with SPOT Communicator, even post to Geocaching.com
•If you encounter problems, you can send SOS messages describing your situation

Type & Send Message Delivery
When you send a Type & Send Message, you are sending one message to a Contact Group. Whether you have one person or 50 people in that contact group, you are only charged for one message. In other words, you only get charged for each time you send a Type & Send message, not by how many people it gets delivered to.

[Skinnydipper]

One other advantage that I noticed with the new inReach/Iridium system is that a person could put your account in a sleep mode for a moderate rate rather than paying full price for the entire year if you're not using it all the time.
Kind of appealing as a whole. Makes me wonder a bit whether the new sat phone I bought was the best choice.

[sheepguide]

System seems to work very well. A buddy in BC bought one and just finished a sheep hunt there where he updated me daily and He was able to ask questions about the area as he had never been in there and I had some knowledge of the trails and such so then  I could text him back with places to check and best ways to get to spots they wanted to check out. Each of his texts also had a location link so i was able to monitor whete they were at. Overall I'd say it a very usefull unit.
I decided against getting one over my sat phone just for the fact that it's nice to talk to someone on long trips and when/if my gets him first big game animal he will be able to call and tell his mom. But if I did have to choose between the spot and Ireach I would for sure be carrying the Ireach.