My Spot Satellite Messenger has turned up. Yay!

Lee_Shaw

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It sends emails with your position. Yay!

and a link to Google maps. Yay!

I can't seem to get the text messages to work. Booo!

I'll keep you posted about the SMS texts, I'm sure it's something I'm doing wrong.
 

Jake

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Hi Steve

I would be very interested to hear how you get on with it. Lack of texts is a bummer. Looking at the Racetracker system myself - I've been following the progress of the two girls rowing the Atlantic in Barbara Ivy, and you can tell at a glance how they're getting on in the fleet. The Racetracker is about £400 - I think Eric was using one on his Atlantic trip. There's also a subscription fee to pay, but it does keep people at home informed. Mind you, as Roger says, the boat could quite happily be sailing itself for days on end with you suffering from a severe case of death in the cabin, so the position alone in no guarantee that all is well.

Price seems good for the Spot system, though, and I believe the subscription is pretty low too.

Looking forward to your findings!
 

andlauer

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Bonjour
Sterenn is equipted with an Oceanracetrack system.
In my case, family with two childs at home, it is important to keep in touch.
When the situation is "difficult" I know that the family will have the position on the web and that I may don't send an Email...
Otherwise I wouldn't be able to go... Of couse I would prefer to keep silent and in my world for weeks but it would be unacceptable...!
Each family must find an acceptable compromise.
Eric
 

andlauer

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Bonjour Tomato
A vos ordres!!!
There is the french model :
STW
It has the advantage to be connectabled to the Coast guard (French one's off course) via a specific security button (a sort of complement to the Epirb).
There is also the Great Britain model :
Oceanracetrack
As the JC is a GB race I preferred the GB beacon. I think it was right as they took the time to incorporate the Iridium data into the data base to build up a fleet image.
Eric
/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 

Lee_Shaw

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[ QUOTE ]
Hi...Mind you, as Roger says, the boat could quite happily be sailing itself for days on end with you suffering from a severe case of death in the cabin, so the position alone in no guarantee that all is well.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Jake.

With the Spot, on the basic subscription which I have, you have to press a button to transmit to your "shore team". There are two buttone one of them is an "OK" button and the other is an "Help" button. So there is some assurity for people back home that you are actually on the boat and OK because the button was pressed manually. Presumably the "Help" button would be used in pursuits where the user is more accessible than the Jester so I might set it up so that buttopn just sends to my girlfriend. There is a another button on it that transmits a mayday to GEOS.

I'm looking into the SMS, one has to put in a phone number and an address e.g. 12345678976@vodafone.net but I think I'm doing something wrong.

The subscription is $99 and that's for unlimited use.

There is an option which updates every ten minutes, like a Racetracker, but I didn't want that because there is no reassurance for the people ashore that you pressed the button and are therefore on the boat and safe.

It's a double edged sword though because, say it breaks, my people would be even more worried than if I hadn't taken it and may initiate SAR unnecessarily. I've asked them not to initiate SAR in such circumstances of course but having expected a degree of assurance could get frantically worried if it fails. I asked them which they'd prefer and they said they'd prefer me to take one, so I have.
 

080653

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I'm porobably going to go with "Spot". Hope its just a simple problem with the SMS. It seems to offer a good back up to an epirb, especially the ones without GPS. The wife surprisingly prefers the idea of spot to a sat phone. She thinks as we are rarely parted, we might both have a problem with direct voice contact. Typical of a bloke not to think of that one! She can also have a good laugh at my lack of progress!!
I've looked at the ocean tracker and it only seems to work when there is a race on. Any comments on this?
 

Gargleblaster

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[ QUOTE ]
I've looked at the ocean tracker and it only seems to work when there is a race on. Any comments on this?

[/ QUOTE ]
I left Newport last year a day and a half after Eric. When I was saying my farewells at the Newport Yacht Club they had Eric's return journey up on Ocean Race Track on someone's computer. We were all amazed at how far he had got in 24+ hours.
However while I can find Eric's 2006 track still on Ocean Race Track now, I cannot find his 2007 track now.
 

Lee_Shaw

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[ QUOTE ]
Hope its just a simple problem with the SMS.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think I've worked out what I'm doing wrong, the Spot site asks for a 10 digit number and then the server address. I've been including the 0 at the beginning but that makes 11 digits. If I miss off the 0 at the beginning it should work. I'll post again tomorrow with the results.

Steve
 

Lee_Shaw

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[ QUOTE ]
Hi Steve
I've been trying to buy 'Spot' from the web site but It insists on a US address. How did you manage it?
Graham

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Graham

I emailed Patrycja.Lobaczewska@globalstar.com he's the Euro distributer, the Spot turned up exactly 2 days after €189 was taken off my debit card so he/she's not tardy.

As an aside I still can't get my SMS texts to work. Does anybody know anything about "SMS gateways" and "wireless carriers" and such?

/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Steve
 

Jake

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Hi Steve

Thanks for that very useful info. Dick Everitt here at PBO has taken a closer look at Spot and dicovered a large 'hole' in it's coverage in mid-Atlantic and most of the Pacific. Oceanracetracker obviously covers the whole route, and is currently keeping us posted on the progress of the Atlantic Rowing Race in which we have an interest. (Actually, I think it's a compulsory requirement for them - something we manage to avoid on the 'it's your life - your responsibility' Jester.)

I like the idea of the OK button. Saves a lot of hassle. My partner really doesn't want me going on Jester, especially in such a small boat, so I am looking at a foolproof way to keep her informed that I'm ok.

I suppose another beauty of the Spot is that it is fully portable, so you can take it with you should you have to abandon, whereas Oceanracetrack would go straight down with the ship. It could also fold if you have power problems.

'Am OK, but in liferaft' is an option with Spot, but not the more expensive Oceanracetrack.

Do please keep us posted on how you get on with it.

Cheers

Jake
 

Gurzetta2000

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I have purchased my SPOT from www.prscomms.co.uk.
Fair price and quick delivery.

So far, my wife and daughters were glad to have the safety device able to give them the piece of mind and also some fun to send the messages with positions to the friends (up to 10 different e-mail addresses and/of mobile phone numbers).
 

andlauer

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Bonjour
------------------
However while I can find Eric's 2006 track still on Ocean Race Track now, I cannot find his 2007 track now.
------------------
On Ocean race track there is an entry by race "jester challenge" and an entry by boat:
For "Eric's return" fetch in "where is ?" for "Sterenn" after you have to select the date of start "17 july" and there you are:
Eric's (and Patrick) return /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
As there had some communication failure the return is splited into various segment. The first failure was probably due to a new release problem and family had no position for a weekend. Second failure was probaly my fault as when I tored the main sail, I fixed the boom over the antena for three days.
As the satelites are over the equator the signal at 50°North is weak.
Oceanracetrack recommands to place the antena outside at the rear but mine is in a locker just underdeck. I felt it was safer (and easier).
I would not take the Oceanracetrack or any other as an unique system. The stress ashore in case of failure would probably be too high.
I also have the email via satphone which make a total communication system quite safe. For example, I recieved an Email asking to check for any mask above the antena.
I also carry an Epirb (GPS) on board but that is an other story and is not there to assure the family.
Inn JC 2006 Sterenn was probably the most communication equipped boat.
Eric /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

Lee_Shaw

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[ QUOTE ]
Hi Dick Everitt here at PBO has taken a closer look at Spot and dicovered a large 'hole' in it's coverage in mid-Atlantic and most of the Pacific.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey Jake how do?

Yes I was aware of a gap mid atlantic which didn't look too much of an issue for JAC08 or JC10.

Coverage = http://www.findmespot.com/explorespot/coverage.aspx

Are you allowed to let me know Dick's findings or do I have to buy an issue? /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

freelanderblue

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Lee,
I would really appreciate your view on the units worth as I considering a purchase option as opposed to a PLB, I am lead to believe the sms function will arrive sometime in May which you have had a problem with.

thanks

Gareth
 

Lee_Shaw

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Hi Gareth

[ QUOTE ]
Lee,
I would really appreciate your view on the units worth as I considering a purchase option as opposed to a PLB,

[/ QUOTE ]


This product isn't really any benefit to the sailor. It's more for the people ashore. When you press the button a prewritten message is sent by email to the email addresses that you've entered on the website.

I considered a scene:

There I am, a moonlit mid-atlantic, with dolphins dancing in ephemeral beauty of the jewels of luminescence being scattered by my boat's bow wave. For that moment me, the great ocean, and these marvels of evolution and fate share a bond. There is understanding in this dolphins eyes, no? "Da-na-la-na-da-lana-da-da" goes the satelite phone like some Dom Joly Trigger Happy TV sketch and it's my brother, drunk in some nightclub, shouting over the thump of a cheesy bass line. No thankyou. The Spot is a much lesser "evil" than a satellite phone IMO, I can't imagine anything worse than a phone chirping away.


[ QUOTE ]
I am lead to believe the sms function will arrive sometime in May which you have had a problem with.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thanks for the info, where did you get the info from.
 

080653

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I.ve given my spot unit a good testing in recent months. Went over to Holland for a weekend and it faithfully reported to my designated e-mail contacts each time I pressed the button. The link to google earth is especially useful. It takes a little while to find itself if it has been turned off but there should be a little time to do this on our voyage! Doesn't work on the mobile phones in the UK but I am more than happy with the e-mail setup. There are some companies that will retransmit e-mails to mobile at about £15 per 100 messages but I am not going to bother.
 
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