Satellite messenger functions where mobile phones fear to tread...
The
Spot satellite
messenger has been involved in another outdoors rescue,
this time on Dartmoor, the third time Spot has been used to call for
emergency help in the UK.
Spot is a personal satellite device that can be used both to provide
regular updates on your position via e-mail or text to friends and
family using satellite technology or - as in this case - to call for
emergency help at the push of a button.
In this case, the Spot was being carried by Mike Gormley, the leader of
a group tackling the Abbotts Way Walk, when they came across a party of
walkers, two of whom who were dangerously exhausted after being soaked
while wading across a swollen river.
Red pins show SOS call location
With no mobile phone reception, Mike pushed the 911 - American version
of 999 - on his Spot, alerting the main Spot emergency centre in Texas.
He also pressed the local help button, which alerted his pre-programmed
contacts by e-mail or text. He was also carrying a Satmap GPS and used
this to check the exact GR giving the location details to other people
with instructions to contact the emergency services by phone once
reception was available.
The end result was that a full rescue effort was triggered culminating
in the evacuation of the casualties by a Sea King helicopter.
Once Mike was back in mobile range, he was amazed to find missed calls
and messages from his emergency contacts as well as from the Spot
monitoring centre in Texas ' 'It seemed a little surreal as I was on
Dartmoor talking to a chap in Texas on my mobile who had been
instigating the rescue,' he says.
You can see a map showing the emergency call locations at
www.adventuretradingpost.co.uk
where there's also a link to Mike Gormley's account of the incident.
What the incident underlines is that using mobiles for emergency
situations in the outdoors is, as we all know, quite hit and miss, but
the Spot device worked even in a location with no mobile coverage.
Our Experience - Spot On
Test With OM
We have a Spot on test which we've been using with mixed results. It
has a hard to use web-based set-up page that's difficult to understand
and navigate,
but in use it seems reasonably good, though for some reason not all of
the 'okay' messages we've transitted on ours have actually been
received. When one is received by e-mail though, it gives you a link to
a Google map showing you exactly where the message was sent from, which
is a nice touch. Full
review to follow once we've tried it a bit more...
Spot costs £129.95 plus £5.00 delivery, plus 99
euros per annum for unlimited airtime. You can also request a Spot for
trial from
www.adventuretradingpost.co.uk
