Oh and BTW, my phone DOES have built in GPS!

(and I have a heavy duty battery, but it can remain switched off until needed, admittedly, I can do nothing about the lack of coverage in certain areas!)

Spot already does that - it has 3 buttons (plus on / off) - you can configure the messages you send from each (and they can be sent by email / SMS etc.) - but the idea is that:

1. 'Ok' button is for checking in - i.e. to tell a pre-determined contact (or contacts) you have arrived and are 'ok' - could be useful in reducing potential false call outs (see my previous message).

2. 'Help' button is to send a 'I need help' message to your pre-determined contact (or contacts) - the idea so they can come and assist you or judge if an emergency response may be required.

3. '911' button (also recessed) is to send a message to the Spot control centre who (I believe) will try and contact you / your nominated contacts to determine that the unit has not been lost / activated in error - but is designed for (near) life or death / emergency use and should hopefully mean the emergency services come to help you.

From memory both 'Help' and '911' have to be held in for 5 seconds for them to activate to reduce the risk of false activation.

Realistically someone who is going to invest in a Spot or PLB type device is very unlikely to take it 'instead' of a mobile phone - people would prefer to speak to someone where possible but Spot can help where a phone cannot.

Sound advice Barking.

I just feel that "we" are missing the opportunity to research and set up something specially suited to the UK and once again it is a case of something that may identify a need being allowed in through the back door and "tolerated" rather than becoming a standard for summoning aid in such circumstances.

There has got to be a potential for a bespoke UK system that does more than just give a location and a "standby" telephone number for a contact who  probably doesn't have a clue what is actually going on either.

The irony doesn't escape scrutiny too that the centre attempts to verify that it is a genuine call, presumably by contact on the mobile that has no cover necessitating the use of the device in the first place!

A parallel with this harks back to the 80s when people were attempting to get CB radio legalised on the same " it's handy in a emergency situation."

The UK government resisted to the point that it became farcical and were forced to hash together a not ideal set up due to the pressures of the illegality, instead of intelligently researching the need, and setting up a proper UK system.

The further irony of course is that CB has been largely replaced by the very mobile phone technology now so common.

The excuses too that satellite phones are impractical through being too bulky could soon be addressed. Anyone remember the "city slicker" with two house bricks stuck to the side of his head showing off his latest technology?

It is not really an irony - the point is if you click the 'emergency' button Spot will try and verify that the call is genuine by trying to call you and another contact - the point being if your unit had been stolen or the alert was coming from somewhere you were not - then most likely it is a false alert. This addresses at least one of your previous concerns.

Spot is more than just for the UK - quite a lot of people travel abroad and it is a (fairly) global system. The Spot satellites are already there - it would probably not be cost effective to setup a UK only system - especially when it would involve duplication of systems already there.

Ideally we would have 100% mobile phone coverage across the UK and all mobile phones have GPS on-board - but the reality is it is never going to be cost effective to put up phone masts in remote areas and get coverage everywhere (especially in hilly / mountainous terrain) so it probably would not get done.

Satellite phones have already come down in price - but again the take up of satellite phones has probably been harmed by the popularity of very cheap 'normal' mobile phones.

Basically the choice is either:

1. Take nothing (apart from your mobile phone and hope nothing happens while outside a coverage area).

2. Buy a satellite phone for the best option but highest cost.

3. Buy a PLB or Spot device for when your mobile phone does not work.

The problem is as soon as a system is only 1-way you are limited with what you can send - PLB's are very good but can only send the 'emergency' signal (with GPS co-ordinates if your PLB is GPS enabled) - at least Spot can send 3 different messages (2 non-emergency) with the GPS co-ordinates.

I see Spot very much like a PLB with 'extra' features - the cost is similar (over a 4-5 year period) - I would think only more 'responsible' people would think to buy something like this anyway and they do have to be registered, they do try and verify emergency alerts - so overall I would hope the likelyhood of abuse would be minimal but with the definite posibility of saving lives.

Cameron McNeish has a video interview with the TGO challenger who used the SPOT:

http://www.cameronmcneish.co.uk/blogs/304

I wonder how many people on the TGO challenge have SPOT units? The TGO challenger, Niels Vinther, bought his, but The Adventure Trading Post, the UK distributor does offer a try before you buy option. Publicity wise, it looks good for them.

(Edit: just noticed - 100 posts )

Well,

Having taken the time to read the full specs, especially on the excellent link provided above by Chasrle, I have to say that I quite like the "help" and "OK" buttons.

The OK button in particular is a cracking idea and no different in concept to the "pre-alert" overdue system currently employed. For example, when caving, we always give an ETA for the surface, and if overdue, our surface "contact" will report the "overdue" nature to the Cave Rescue organisation. At that point however, it is not considered a major call out until it has been investigated by an appropriate rescue warden.

The response therefore is proportional to the nature of the call at that time, and it does not escalate into a full blown rescue until further facts are known.

This is where the SPOT system falls down in my view, the fact that once activated, the authorities have no choice but to instigate a full rescue call out.

It will only take one or two of these calls which are made inappropriately for the statutory authorities to treat the system with contempt, which after all is NOT an officially sanctioned method. That is my fear.

I would like to see a more comprehensive "911" (999) employed on the device with appropriate pre-stored message capability. Then I think the system would be accepted for what it is. After reading the blurb, the capability would be there.

This is what I mean by a "UK system." It would still work in the rest of the world, but it could be tailored for specific use in the UK and prevent the triggering of inappropriate calls to the hard pressed emergency services.

The US, which has far better resourced emergency services than the UK might be able to shoulder the burden of inappropriate calls, but in the UK, funded as we are by general taxation, we cannot!

Chasrle wrote (see)

............................ The Adventure Trading Post, the UK distributor does offer a try before you buy option............................

cysgod-du (Grand Slam 2008) wrote (see)

The US, which has far better resourced emergency services than the UK might be able to shoulder the burden of inappropriate calls, but in the UK, funded as we are by general taxation, we cannot!

Again Wayne, I am referring to the statutory bodies here.

As you know, if we receive a call in the Ambulance service involving a mountain incident, we HAVE to respond an ambulance to a rendezvous point to await investigation by the MRTs which could take hours on end. an ambulance that at the material time might be desperately needed elsewhere.

Now it is not quite so bad if we have to stand by, knowing the nature of the incident, but can you imagine us having to have an ambulance at the rendezvous point for three or more hours waiting for an update from the MRT, only to be told that the call is NOT life threatening or serious enough to warrant the depletion of Ambulance cover in the area, but that the person using it considered it to be an "emergency at the time?"

Oh and not to mention the fact that it also takes already stretched rural Police resources away from their primary role for hours on end, for what could be a wild goose chase!

(You know what I mean - from manning the speed cameras!)

I dont need to imagine Tony as you know 'im in the know' so to speak

I have seen Ambulance crews turned out to incidents that they simply cannot attend because of the precarious position of the casualty, or where as you say after 2 hours the 'casualty' walks off under thier own steam.

You know you can cancel the 911 if you press it accidentally?

Anybody but me and TGOC rescue boy used one yet?

Mike (No to the fence) wrote (see)

Please don't take this the wrong way Barking, but are you involved in this company? You seem VERY enthusiastic about it, and determiined to counter any negative aspect to it's use, whilst singing it's praises. It has been known to happen before.

Not really sure how to take that - the simple answer is NO - I have no involvement other than I own and use one myself. My comments are my own and purely intended to balance up what I saw as a lot of very negative comments / concerns.