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Anybody have any experience with these ? How are the distress frequencys monitored ? Supposed response times, etc.

I have seen 2 or 3 diff types....

the one I have and use is "SPOT" They have a team that monitors and alerts authorities. I went ahead and spent a few extra bucks and got their insurance too... covers alot...

http://www.findmespot.com/

I have a SPOT (http://www.findmespot.com/en/) but I havent used it yet.

It is pretty cool, and the features on it are top notch. Check them out at their website.

~Jake

I as well have a SPOT, but I wish I had an ACR Terra Fix 406. The SPOT is known for not being able to send a single in places in the back country like if there is significant tree cover (Not that any GPS would, but the ACR seems to generally have better signal acquisition in tighter places). The ACR gets much better reviews although I've never been able to try it myself. When I use the SPOT, I send a lot of OK signals to keep people posted, and the GPS position that it gives is incredibly accurate, so long as it does actually send the signal...

If you're looking for a GPS, I would def recommend looking at the Terra Fix, its more expensive, but whats that matter when it comes to your life. The only thing I dont know is if it can send the OK messages like the SPOT (although I'd imagine it would). When you're hiking in the Backcountry and get lost, you're alive and concious to press the HELP button, but when you have a 180, hit a cliff and are unconcious, its the absence of the OK messages that means something is wrong.

The time between sending the OK signal and receiving has been around 3 minutes for me.

And to answer specifically how the distress signals are monitored...

When you buy a Spot, (along with any other GPS Beacon) you open an account and on the Spot specifically you put up to 10 people on the account. You put their cell phone numbers and emails in the account. Now, when I send an OK message they get a text message on their cell phone like this:


This is Kevin, I'm OK.
ESN:0-7477162
Latitude:37.7907
Longitude:-79.4354
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:02/24/2009 17:27:58 (GMT)

Here is a copy of the email:
This is Kevin, I'm OK.
ESN:0-7477162
Latitude:37.7907
Longitude:-79.4354
Nearest Location:not known
Distance:not known
Time:02/24/2009 17:27:58 (GMT)
http://maps.google.com/...F8&z=12&om=1

That link takes you straight to Google Maps and you can get a satellite image of where you sent the signal from. Now if you press the emergency button, the Spot sends a signal to the satellite, satellite sends message to the people on your account with a Help message and directly to the Air Force Rescue and Coordination center in Florida. They get an emergency message and call the people on your account. They ask if they know where you are, and if you were indeed jumping in the backcountry solo then they know to send the nearest rescue team to you. If you're sending the signal from the mens' bathroom, they know its probably a false alarm but they investigate anyway.

If you have any other questions I'd be happy to try and answer em

 
I was on a back-country jump when a friend was pretty seriously injured on landing and hiking out was not an option. We had a SPOT with us and we used it to call a heli-rescue. It worked just as promised. When the search and rescue people got to us they told us that they would have never been able to find us if it wasn't for the GPS coordinates that they received from the SPOT device. Apparently you can also pay a nominal fee when you register it to get a Search-n-Rescue insurance which covers all costs of a rescue operation!
As far as response time: We had a cell-phone with crappy service and we received a phone call from SPOT headquarters almost immediately. They told us they had received our coordinates and that the local search and rescue was on it's way. They monitor from a central location and contact the local rescue crews in the area of the signal received to give them the coordinates.

Worth every penny i'd say!

sounds like spot saved the day! that and the well prepared team leader, most likely

 
Hell Yea! Who was that masked man?

Anyone know how well it goes getting a signal in somewhere like a narrow-ish 900' gorge?

A little while back me and some mates were talking about getting something like this or an EPIRB for our local.

not good at all man, not a good signal at all