What is the best/simplest/cheapest transponder tracker satellite phone setup?

[squid]

OK admittedly I got rabbit-holing about national park missing persons on youtube...
you know, people that just vanish, are never found, and if so they're found way up on peaks or in impossible places, dead of course, always missing their shoes...    etc. etc. times a thousand
booo!

But really this is a "thing", lots of missing persons in these parks. 

Got me thinking, about traveling solo, about protection, about emergency locator devices.  I looked on amazon and the transponders are mainly for lost RC racer cars, but they do have a confusing array of satellite phones.  I'd just want an emergency locator communication and a way to negate if it was set off by accident.  I tried searching on here, must have missed the most recommended one: which is it?  Thank-you.

 

[Wabbit]

The most recommended one will be different depending on what you need and are willing to pay. I think you're talking about satellite Messengers, but maybe you do mean satellite phone. Here's an article discussing satellite Messengers(link below). It's from last year, but might help you understand what you need and a price point. Satellite phones I have no idea. I passed on the Messengers because of the cost.

https://www.rei.com/blog/news/which-satellite-messenger-should-you-get

 

[Firtree]

Bob did a video where they tested 3 Help type devices. They are all limited in someway and often expensive.
One was SPOT. You might want to check it out to see if it might work for you.

 

[highdesertranger]

well this whole disappearing/lost people thing is a pet peeve of mine. if you are not an experienced outdoor person do not go into the wilderness alone or without someone who is experience.

every year I hear about these yahoo's getting lost and search and rescue needs to be called out to rescue these people. it is costing some rural counties that don't have huge budgets anyway a fortune.

what are these people number one reason for getting lost? THE BATTERY IN MY CELL PHONE DIED. GRRRR. are you serious. you just cost a bunch of rural residents 10's of thousands of tax dollars because your stupid phone battery died.

don't get me wrong accidents happen and I am not talking about true emergencies, but in some areas stupidity is out of control.

I know people that needed to be rescued. they had no business being where they where. I have also seen and know hundreds of people that can't tell North, South, East or West. even when the sun is coming up or going down they just don't have a clue.

if you can't do backcountry navigation WITHOUT ELECTRONIC DOO DADS, don't go there. if you are out of your element don't go there, this is for people from back east or Europe that think it's a good idea to go for a hike in Death Valley in the summer.

get training first. go with someone with experience learn the ropes. you need to be able to navigate on your own.

sorry for the rant

highdesertranger

 

[geogentry]

Rant away HDR. You didn't say anything that didn't need to be said. I have seen people march off into the desert in shorts sandals a simple t-shirts and no water, no compass, just empty hands.

Sent from my SM-J727V using Tapatalk

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I've used an inReach SE for 3 years; cost ~ $14/month.  It works anywhere in the world that you can see the sky.  I use it to let my family know I am OK and where I am.  They get a message that I'm OK with a map and GPS coordinates of my camp every night, or a message 'starting a hike here' with a map and coordinates.  

I can also get weather forecasts (unfortunately no weather maps).  It is linked to my iPhone and can text with my family or SAR if needed.  I'm happy with it.

Here is an older article with all the players (I think) in the beacon market.  Garmim bought out Delorme and everyone has come out with new and 'improved' models, but the market is pretty much the same as 5 years ago:

https://expeditionportal.com/personal-locator-beacons-and-satellite-messengers/

 

[RVTravel]

I have an ocean signal plb-1....no texting but no fees and can save your life.

 

[seak]

In Alaska where I live, the InReach products that Spiff mentions are popular. So are SPOT brand devices. But, for a simple to use emergency locator device, I don't think you can beat a personal location beacon (PLB), like one of these from ACR.

https://www.acrartex.com/t/categories/outdoor

There's no subscription, but no two-way communication either. But, the thing about a PLB is that once activated, someone is going to come and look for you. Period. The signal goes to same satellites and ground stations as the emergency beacons on commercial shipping vessels and aircraft. Switch it on and leave it on. They will make every effort to locate you.

It's very much of an "oh $#!&" button. That being the case, HDR's comments are entirely appropriate. Do everything you can to prepare for the environment you will be in. Take into account the local geography, climate, and weather. Not only do search and rescue operations cost government agencies big money, in some cases you may put the safety of SAR personnel at risk.

 

[Wabbit]

...sorry for the rant...

No worries. Although you might want to save the ranting for more important things. Ranting about stuff like this will just put you in an early grave.

 

[GypsyJan]

People should have to pass a survival class before being granted passage to wilderness areas in national parks....rather like having to get a scuba certification in order to get your tanks filled.

 

[Gr8ful]

SPOT works fine IF you have a cleaf view of the sky. They made them in Gray & one morning Best Buy closed outthe gray ones for $4.95 so I bought 20 & gave them to fellow pilots. Sevice was $99 then but several times a year the did 1/2 price.

 

[XERTYX]

If you have a ham radio license you can use APRS. Although it doesnt report to any emergency services to the best of my knowledge it does allow for tracking of up to 10 devices. Your call sign and then a dash I believe and the number you assigned to it can be typed into the map on their website and find it. The path it has taken. Speed in MPH. Pretty neat. I wanted to imbed one into the body of my van years ago but never did. All it needs is a $40 tranciever and an old android phone with the free app on it. Plug the 2 together and run constant power to it and it will ping the tower every few minutes forever.

So then someone steals your trailer with an embedded tracker you type in (callsign)-# (0 thru 9) in the website and you'll see where it is and which roads the thieves took in their getaway.

Might be useful to install in a rig and give family the callsign and number for the tracker. And it's free. Completely free if you already have a few talkies and an old phone. And an amateur radio license.

 

[wayne49]

I see shoes left behind from time to time. "Leave no trace, except for a pair of boots?"

 

[XERTYX]

Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time. Also leave a pair of stinky kicks. Hmm must be the modern version of the mantra.

 

[WalkaboutTed]

73 year old and dogs, lost for four days found by bicycle tourist who used gps device to call for help. They had a picture of the car and the sheriff said he didn't know how the guy got in that far. And they might never get it out.

https://amp.usatoday.com/amp/1835404001

Ted

 

[XERTYX]

In HDR fashion I would rant that this man had no business being there. But at the same time I feel to each his own. I know I can survive in my environment. I've tested myself when I was a preteen.

That is a great story though that he was found alive and his dogs were ok.

I used to leave for days or a week at a time as a kid. Even then I had a disliking for "progress" and read a lot of books and field manuals.

The public library had a lot of books on camping and survivalist points of view for about 50 cents. They needed to make way for books like Harry Potter et al. So books about using cat tail weeds for tinder were obviously of no merit.

 

[highdesertranger]

ah I better not read it. LOL highdesertranger

 

[MagMary]

I’m not sure this belongs here, but I was thinking about Satellite Phones today. I saw the items on Amazon and everything is quite expensive. I would never go off by myself without someone else. I’m just wondering about cell service. Do you ever just loose cell service?

 

[B and C]

Look at the coverage maps for the different carriers. There are holes with no coverage in all of them. Verizon is best coverage in my book with AT&T a close second.

They make cell boosters to extend the range you can be from a tower. If you stop at a place with no coverage, either go back to where there is or keep going until you get coverage again.

 

[MagMary]

Thanks, Brian! I’ll do that. Good to know.