Spot Satellite Messenger
Some years ago, my son and I found ourselves in a situation in which we would both have felt a whole lot better if we'd had one of these. We were riding in a state park in the spring. The trails were not trails yet, but they were muddy and very slippery (we spent a lot of time having face time with the earth). He kept wanting to go deeper into the park, until we came to the realization that our ride back to the car would be at least an hour, and darkness had already begun to fall.
Having no lights, we knew we could not find our way out in the dark. This was, by the way, a very hilly terrain, with some steep slopes and a number of pretty dramatic drop-offs. My thought was that if we tried to ride out the way we came in, if we could avoid colliding with trees, we'd be very unlikely to make it out uninjured, if not worse. Another option was to camp out, but we had no gear, and the temperature was dropping. It did not matter that we did not have cell phones with us. There was no cell phone coverage in the area.
It's at that moment that, if I'd had a Spot satellite system, I'd have pushed the button. The fact is, we needed assistance. If that benefit was all the Spot provided, it would certainly have been worth it that day. In fact, the Spot does so much more that it's almost a no-brainer of a product.
Here's the deal. Basic subscription costs $99.99 per year, and provides emergency notification, GPS location, and unlimited usage. It enables your contacts to know where you are and that you're ok. It enables you to request help from friends and family and your location. For an additional $49.99 per year, you can send and save your location during your journey, and allow contacts to track your progress using online shared pages powered by Google Maps. An additional $7.95 per year buys you $100,000 in search and rescue resources around the world, including helicopter extraction, and reimbursement benefits for any emergency services incurred. Wow.
So if you're road touring on a motorcycle (or car for that matter), people who you want to know your whereabouts can track you on their computers. If you're hiking, biking, or snowmobiling in the wilderness, not only can you be tracked, but you can be located precisely and instantly in the event of an emergency. Want to tour South America? Venture out into the Andes? Even if you're in an area outside the United States, almost anywhere in the world, you can be located and even helicoptered out .) Hmm. It kind of seems like something to keep on you when traveling abroad, whether or not motorcycles are involved!
The Spot system can even function as a tracking device if your motorcycle is stolen, and an instant messaging system. With it, you can push a button and tell whomever you wish that you're at your destination and ok, or that you need assistance. How can the Spot system do all this reliably?
Spot is a subsidiary of Globalstar, Inc, a world leader in personal satellite and emergency communications. Globalstar provides high quality satellite voice and data service (satellite telephone) across North America and to over 120 countries worldwide. Their satellite network is extensive, and utilizes Low-Earth orbiting satellites to minimize transmission delays and echo effects. The Spot system is a very much simplified application of the company's widely deployed telephone and data communication systems, optimized for high reliability.
Needless to say, at Oncycles, we're excited about the the Spot system, and consider it one of the top mobile electronics products of the year.
