Spot, Yellowbrick and other tracker systems

[pcatterall]

We have used our SPOT Tracker for a month now so I thought I would 'report in' for those considering buying a similar device.

I think this is a great system.

SPOT is the simplest and cheapest of at last 3 similar devices ( Cost sub £100 plus £60 per year) IT obtain your GPS position and will send this and a prewritten standard message via satellite to any email address you specify.

We used it every day to check in with our nearest and dearest and to let friends know what we were up to.

We could switch on the tracker mode which would allow any invited party to follow our course ( on foot bike or boat) on google mapping.

As a 'toy' just to keep friends informed of you whereabouts it was great

As a tool to reassure family that all was well it was very useful; no worries about getting phone cover or wifi.

The device also has a emergency button which will send a distress signal to the 'device HQ', we never had to use this but it could be very useful indeed. because we were using the system every day and getting feedback that it worked we had good confidence that the emergency signal would be sent ( we thought that confidence was better than with many emergency transmitters that are not in regular use) What we are less sure of is the rigour around the 'HQs' response, the user guide cites examples of rescues performed following SPOT activation but it would be good to understand the level of coordination between them and our own rescue services. (My own contact with our Coast Guard agency suggests that they 'know of' these devices but have no specific link to the 'device HQ' This seems a pity as with ( confidence in) a robust response set up the value of these devices would be enhanced.

Even so.... we think it's great !!

 

[ShinyShoe]

How good is the battery? How often did you upload data and how often didu recharge?

Waterproof?

Do you tell them your plans? I.e. when you hit the SOS button and the contact an MRCC can they tell them what they are looking for? First thing an EPIRB activation does us gets a phone call to your shore contact to exclude false alarm. Would be good to understand how that works... Can it communicate back to you?

Size? Could it replace a PLB?

Can I charge it in an open boat or is the charge point not waterproof?

When SOS is hit does it constantly send signal or just once?

 

[Jabs]

I have one and it is a super piece of kit.

Mine is three years old and is on its second battery now!

Can't find anything better.

Tony.

 

[pcatterall]

How good is the battery? How often did you upload data and how often didu recharge?

Waterproof?

Do you tell them your plans? I.e. when you hit the SOS button and the contact an MRCC can they tell them what they are looking for? First thing an EPIRB activation does us gets a phone call to your shore contact to exclude false alarm. Would be good to understand how that works... Can it communicate back to you?

Size? Could it replace a PLB?

Can I charge it in an open boat or is the charge point not waterproof?

When SOS is hit does it constantly send signal or just once?

Waterproof? Yes. Size?3x3x1 inches. No charging uses throw away batteries ( mine have been in use for 2 months)

constant repeat of SOS Next of kin( emergency contact) details logged with HQ.

You can download the spec.

 

[prv]

Waterproof?

Do you tell them your plans? I.e. when you hit the SOS button and the contact an MRCC can they tell them what they are looking for? First thing an EPIRB activation does us gets a phone call to your shore contact to exclude false alarm. Would be good to understand how that works... Can it communicate back to you?

Size? Could it replace a PLB?

Can I charge it in an open boat or is the charge point not waterproof?

When SOS is hit does it constantly send signal or just once?

You seem to be mostly thinking of the distress-beacon side. I think it's important to realise that this is not really what a YellowBrick is for. The main purpose is day-to-day tracking, originally for competitors in races. The distress function is a useful bonus, and I think it would be unfair to criticise the device as a whole for any but the most egregious shortcomings in that bonus function.

It's not meant to replace a PLB.

Pete

 

[testmonkey]

Do you tell them your plans? I.e. when you hit the SOS button and the contact an MRCC can they tell them what they are looking for?

You can pre-configure on their website the messages that will be sent. For the pre-configured SOS message you could include your MMSI, description of the vessel like make and model, lenght, beam, hull and deck colour, sail number and key safety equipment on board like whether you carry a liferaft with a hydrostatic release mounted in a float-free position, what other communications equipment you have etc. You could also include a link to a website where you have a couple of pictures of the boat among with other details and equipment list. This information might be beneficial if you ever need to hit the SOS button and actually could be more than what the MRCC gets from a PLB activation..

 

[pcatterall]

You can pre-configure on their website the messages that will be sent. For the pre-configured SOS message you could include your MMSI, description of the vessel like make and model, lenght, beam, hull and deck colour, sail number and key safety equipment on board like whether you carry a liferaft with a hydrostatic release mounted in a float-free position, what other communications equipment you have etc. You could also include a link to a website where you have a couple of pictures of the boat among with other details and equipment list. This information might be beneficial if you ever need to hit the SOS button and actually could be more than what the MRCC gets from a PLB activation..

Thanks testmonkey for adding the sort of details which can pre configured. We feel that the kit itself would make a good distress tool and that using it daily and knowing it will work adds confidence, its just the 'link' between SPOT HQ and the correct emergency service which has uncertainty. The SOS has also to be manually triggered.

 

[ShinyShoe]

Don't know that I was planning to replace a PLB, but PLBs are fairly limited in my opinion. In fact apart from the how the MRCC gets the call the only thing I can see that a PLB does this doesn't is provide local homing signal. But they suffer from slow position capture during first on, testing killing the battery, limited test function.

I've seen yellow bricks before but certainly older ones only had about 24hr battery and the charging mechanism wasn't waterproof so no good on a relatively open boat to recharge.

I rarely am out of VHF range so a PLB becomes a backup for VHF failure or occasionally being out of range. But I can see the advantage of being able to give tracked position and limited loss of function compared to a PLB.

From what I've read the latest model uses AAA batteries and they last about 1000 messages. I'd think 10 or 30minute updates would suit most sailors. So about a week of 10 minute updates (24/7 assuming moving all the time) or 3 weeks on 30mins. Probably enough for most adventures but if its running on AAAs its easy enough to swap them. If I was feeling green I could use rechargables and swap them over and have a little solar powered charger for replacements...

I think yellow brick were designed as trackers and added SOS as an added feature. I think SPOT designed for both.

So the only downside I'm seeing is the annual subscription cost. So a PLB with a 5 year life cost c£200. A SPOT over 5 years will cost c£400 based on the prices above. Still thats the cost of a yellow brick for a year! But those prices seem far cheaper than what I see it for.. I'm seeing £150 to buy and simillar for the annual contract? What am I missing?

 

[pcatterall]

My Amazon SPOT 3 was £130 but I have seen them for less. SPOT 2 is under £100 and does most of what SPOT3 does.
My 'licence' was around £65.

 

[geem]

We have the delorme Inreach sat coms. This gives us tracking and unlimited 160 char texts/emails to anybody for $65 per month. A pal provided weather routing info for us across Biscay and we have found it great for keeping in touch. it has an emergency button.
It bluetooths to our ipad so you can sit down below and text with the delorme on its bracket under the sprayhood. it lives on a charger but has 100 hrs battery life and it waterproof. very happy with it.