Check in technology is great and maybe fun, but I have some questions about signaling a distress. 1. What if you stop sending a signal? Should it be assumed that you are in distress? 2. It seems that the "911" button is only activated manually, unlike a 406 EPIRB which is usually activated both manually and when submersed in water. Should you then rely alone on SPOT to be your distress signaling device? 3. Finally, what about the "Private Search and Rescue Benefit" the website advertises? Can I expect SPOT to mount a search and rescue effort if I am in distress offshore? I just don't know if I would rely on this unit to act as a distress beacon and wonder what the rest of you think about that.
I think I would save the monthly fee an opt for one of these: http://www.acrelectronics.com/product2.aspx?sku=2797.2
Hi, I would tend to agree with this statement. Does the Spot thing actually have any water resistant rating?
Water resistant to 1 meter for 30 minutes ~ from the spot people. So if you MUST have a spot on your boat, I suggest combining it with Ziploc technology
I don't see an external antenna on the SPOT device so my guess is, if you're in the water, the signal is going to be negatively affected.
Looking at the findmespot site, they do say 'used by boaters, fishermen, etc.' so my guess would be waterproof. I couldn't imaging one not being waterproof or resistant. Their coverage map also looks to be more land base driven, versus a traditional EPIRB.