Goodbye Spot!

Thought I'd add even though I have the equipment; my backup GPS (Montana 700i) has inReach capability: I still rely on cell data for tracking... :cool:

Tom
 
I like life360 a lot, I have to admit one of the Toms tole me about it a few years back....

It's nice when you're planning a ride with several friends and you can create circle in life360 and see where everyone is... now, they will freeze in a location if they loose cell service until they get back into a cell tower range.

It's free and easy to use.. even the low volume plans I've looked at end up being too expensive especially since I don't ride as much as I'd like to.
 
Last week I did a shakedown run on my VStrom to Northern Ontario, riding in some pretty remote areas, no cell coverage for the most part. I’m on the Freedom plan and can activate it for a month at a time. This month I chose the recreational plan allowing free tracking at 10 minute intervals, unlimited messaging. It cost me $52 Canadian for the month. ( the month includes tracking my trip to OHSToc). I plan to use the basic plan for July and August as I won’t be riding long distances or I will be in Cell coverage. I will do the Recreational plan for ONSToc in September then deactivate it till Riding season in 2025 when I head up to Tuktoyaktuk.
I sent out a link to a few family and friends….my parents loved it! My dad sent a text welcoming me home before I even got off the bike in my driveway. They can zoom in on the track and depending how much they zoom in, will change from a topical map to a satellite view.
I have it BT to my phone, like Tor, it allows me to compose a text on the phone and send it via the InReach when I don’t have cell service.
In my case I’m looking at 4-5 month’s tops per year that I will require the full tracking plan $300 Canadian. I will find a way in my budget to cover this. ;)
Thanks to this thread I got some info on how to make the best use out of this device, for what is a reasonable price for me to pay.
 
I just got Garmin Messenger, I just seem to end up in a lot of areas with no cell coverage. I got their Freedom plan so I can cancel in the off months. I got the basic plan $14.95 month until I start going places then can easily switch over to unlimited everything plan and also heading to Alaska and Tuktoyotuk next year. I like it cause I can still text back n forth with my wife. Every plan has unlimited check in’s and texting is limited/unlimited depending on plan.
 
kiltman said:
Last week I did a shakedown run on my VStrom to Northern Ontario, riding in some pretty remote areas, no cell coverage for the most part.
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Doesn't matter as much as you think it does. As I said my wife often is able to track me when I have "no bars/ no cell" connection and can't call. Granted I also can't message her, but she pretty much knows where I am. :)

"Life360, not having a reliable connection can potentially pose some problems with a few of the system's features. However, the most important part of the platform, location sharing, still works since the app relies on the phone's GPS capabilities to provide the location."

Off the grid ain't what it used to be, all it takes is a ping.. ;)

Tom
 
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TPadden said:
still works since the app relies on the phone's GPS capabilities to provide the location
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GPS can tell the user where he is but is unable to share that info without a cell signal, the GPS satellites only send out a time code that your device uses to calculate your position but your device can’t send data to the satellite.
 
Gerhard said:
GPS can tell the user where he is but is unable to share that info without a cell signal, the GPS satellites only send out a time code that your device uses to calculate your position but your device can’t send data to the satellite.
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You're missing the point; GPS can tell where the user is and your phone can transmit that info with a weak ping to a single cell tower; without it a location had to be determined through triangulation with several towers. Again there are very few paved roads I've traveled in the last couple of years where my wife wasn't able to track my cell phone. During my recent trips to Big Bend TX, and around west Texas, as well as rural Tn, Ky,, WVa, and the Carolinas, a lot of the time we had no cell phone coverage, and no messaging, but from Florida she ALWAYS knew exactly where I was, and most of the time exactly how fast I was traveling. ;)

Tom
 
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TPadden said:
You're missing the point; GPS can tell where the user is and your phone can transmit that info with a weak ping to a single cell tower; without it a location had to be determined through triangulation with several towers. Again there are very few paved roads I've traveled in the last couple of years where my wife wasn't able to track my cell phone. During my recent trips to Big Bend TX, and around west Texas, as well as rural Tn, Ky,, WVa, and the Carolinas, a lot of the time we had no cell phone coverage, and no messaging, but from Florida she ALWAYS knew exactly where I was, and most of the time exactly how fast I was traveling. ;)

Tom
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Just waiting to see when she can cash in that big life insurance policy ... ;)
 
ST Gui said:
That only one data point and not offered as anything more. What I'm curios about is if anyone using these devices uses it for tracking in simple short trips just to see that it works. These have subscription plans. Does it cost you to use them routinely where a breakdown or crash doesn't mean a SAR callout? Most smartphones can offer tracking where there's cell service. The iPhone 14 and 15 offer satellite connectivity. Phones are used often so there's not much question of finding it not working at a bad time. This assumes that functioning tracking indicates the satellite function will work. There's that word.
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I pulled this from the ADV missing rider thread... I think you're asking if anyone test it before they use it? Simple answer is, of course, but by testing it you are using it.

InReach Mini2 with a recreational plan ($35 yr, $35 per 30 days). I turned it on last week, told spottwalla to track it, told the InReach to track. Got home and sure enough it tracked. I have to check my frequency settings, 17 points in 10 hrs is not enough, I will set to every 10 minutes.

In the past I just used the iPhone, had a problem outside Elk City, ID. Two people watching me on three different "services*" could not see my location and they were not happy about it. In order to keep the peace I went with the Garmin.

*Services were Find My, Google Location Sharing, Spotwalla. These all are cell based and I found that 1% spot @TPadden refers, and I spent two days there.

Does that answer your question?
 
For those relying on your phone "pinging" the cell towers for triangulation. It does not always work that well. I was in Search and Rescue when I worked for the National Park Service. The last search I was on before I retired showed several pings in an area that was well outside the search area. We searched that area for a few days and came up with nothing. We eventually found the people 10 miles from where the pings were. Most of the time they do work well. But throw in some mountains and the signal can bounce around. Just something to think about.
 
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Willsmotorcycle said:
In the past I just used the iPhone, had a problem outside Elk City, ID. Two people watching me on three different "services*" could not see my location and they were not happy about it. In order to keep the peace I went with the Garmin.

*Services were Find My, Google Location Sharing, Spotwalla. These all are cell based and I found that 1% spot @TPadden refers, and I spent two days there.
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Jesu Cristo Will, you pulled the 1/10 of 1% with that one. ;)

Been there, Elk City Id, pop 170, has one land line in the end of the road town that everyone uses; all you had to do was walk into the General Store and say "I'd like to call my wife". I only spent one day there but my wife knew where I was and everyone was HAPPY. :thumb:

Most people would be much less happy if they knew how easy it is to track their movements ... and who was doing it. :eek:

Tom

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Willsmotorcycle said:
I will set to every 10 minutes.
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That seems to be a reasonable rate. Tracking on the map gives the viewer a reasonable idea where you are, though you can cover a lot of distance in those ten minutes. ;) When you’re stationary for at least for 20 minutes the accuracy of your location is pretty good.
I’m currently happy with the recreational plan, it’s pricey for us Canadians at $52. When converted to US dollars it’s at that $35 mark.
 
Willsmotorcycle said:
I think you're asking if anyone test it before they use it? Simple answer is, of course, but by testing it you are using it.
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I was asking if anybody routinely tested it by using it on short trips and not waiting for x-country jaunts. This was because I knew someone who had a failure to track. I don't recall hearing an explanation as to where the failure occurred. Dust it off every so often and use it on a day ride type of thing.
 
ST Gui said:
I was asking if anybody routinely tested it by using it on short trips and not waiting for x-country jaunts. This was because I knew someone who had a failure to track. I don't recall hearing an explanation as to where the failure occurred. Dust it off every so often and use it on a day ride type of thing.
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In my case and probably many others, the subscription limits testing between uses. I will be using it next week to see the sun rise at the Golden Gate Bridge.
 
ST Gui said:
I was wondering how usage worked. So you activate a subscription when going to use it and hibernate it otherwise?
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The minimum period you can activate the InReach is 30 days (at least here in the GWN) so you can plan accordingly. Something to be aware of.....Garmin charges a fee to be able to turn the unit on and off so you need to do the math. It may be just as economical to go with an annual subscription and then you don't have to worry about activating/deactivating the unit.
 
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