Preacher wrote on Sep 27^th, 2010 at 4:45pm:

Personally I would be fine with SPOT for where I go and what I want to do.  I just want to inform the Mrs. that I'm OK or send out a distress signal if I'm not.  SPOT seems to hit the right median for enjoying the solitude & escape while alleviating anxiety of loved ones.

That's the reason I take one.  I'm usually out for about 2 weeks and my wife gets a bit nervous when I'm out of touch for that long.  In addition, I occasionally go solo.

I've used (a gen 1) SPOT for the past two seasons and over approximately 50 nightly transmissions, I can only remember 2 that didn't get through (and those were probably my fault because of impatience).  I used to watch the unit until I confirmed the first message was sent and then turned the unit off.  Now, I turn the unit on and let it send redundant signals (it actually sends 3 which are edited down to 1 by the SPOT service).  Before I walk away, I confirm that the OK and power lights are blinking in unison (alternate blinking means lack of a clear signal) and walk away for about a half hour. When only the power button is blinking, it has sent 3 signals.  Needless to say, I pick a spot (point, front of campsite, etc. where there is abundant clear sky (south is usually a bit better because the unit can reach more satellites ... northern only is probably the worst ... for the opposite reason).

My last trip:  100% success on messages sent.

The season before, I did use a sat phone.  I didn't care for the bulk and for a 2-week trip I also had to take along a solar charter ... another somewhat bulky item since it also contain C-sized rechargeable batteries.

dd