--- Judy Ryder <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > The Spot is a personal locator beacon, very useful > for trail riders who ride > in places with not much cell phone reception. > > More info?
I thought I responded to this, but I guess it didn't go thru. We have a "Spot" because even 1 mile from my house there is no cell reception. The "spot" has three different buttons. One is for 911- a life threatening emergency - all search and rescue will come get you and they know where you are because of your GPS coordinates. The second one is a help button that sends out an e-mail and a text message to up to 10 people. This would be for help, but not the life threatening kind. The third button is a tracking button. It sends out a signal every 10 minutes and allows someone (who knows the password) to see where you are on a google earth map. So if you are in the exact same spot for several hours, maybe it IS an emergency, but they have your GPS coordinates. Bruce and I also like to take vacations out in the middle of nowhere on our quad, so this way we feel safer knowing help is only a button away. It costs $125 thru Amazon, and the satellite service is $99/year, but that is cheap for the peace of mind it gives you. I have used the tracking button and we've tested the friends help button, hopefully I will never have to use the 911 button, but it's nice to know it is there! Susan in NV read my blog to see why I ride my horse in pink: http://desertduty.blogspot.com/
