[pct-l] SPOT

[Wayne Kraft]

No, SPOT is not a miracle device that will make an ER suddenly appear  
in a remote forest or cause water to gush forth in the desert.  It is  
a fairly inexpensive GPS device that allows the user to employ  
satellite communications to signal friends and rescuers. It needs a  
clear view of the sky to hook up with satellites.  It won't work in  
dense forest in a canyon and it won't work in the house.  In most  
houses, though, I could just pick up a phone. I used it recently to  
send OK signals to my wife from the Oregon High Desert where I was on  
a solo trip.  My wife got every message I sent and was able to locate  
me on a Google map.  She said it was very reassuring.

I haven't tried to use it to transmit a continuous track. I suspect  
it would work fine for that purpose in a treeless desert.  It  
shouldn't be surprising that the track would be intermittent in a  
continuous "green tunnel."  This is how I've used it, so far.   
Whenever I find an open area at about the time I need a break from  
whatever I'm doing I lay the device out on a flat surface and turn it  
on, then I lay myself out on a flat surface and turn me off.  After a  
while, I hit the OK button.  I continue to hit that button every few  
minutes during the rest of my break.  Then I turn it off and I'm  on  
my way.  My OK message recipients have received all or nearly all of  
the messages I've sent in this fashion.

This device does not allow me to behave recklessly or take  
unnecessary risks and I am not in the market for a device that does  
so.  SPOT does markedly improve my wife's peace of mind and adds  
somewhat to my ability to get rescued should disaster strike. It's  
probably better than a signal mirror, but I carry one of those, too,  
anyway.  I'm sure a much more expensive device could be offered that  
would do more than SPOT does, but wouldn't one just get a SAT phone  
instead?

Wayne Kraft