Mtnman
 

I was just curious about the personal tracking system you have mentioned on here before. If you don't mind could you provide me with some info on this system. this would be much appreciated. Thank you

Sorry it took me so long to respond, i overlooked it and if it weren't for a friend i wouldn't have even known. Anyway, i could tell you about it but the website probably does a better job. If you have questions about it after viewing the site, let me know and i will be more than happy to answer them for you. So far, it's a great piece, although i've only used it once.

http://www.findmespot.com/

Craig

Thank you. This is what I have been looking for a long time. I am always catching grief from my mom and GF when I go backcountry fishing by myself. I am not giving up fishing so I will definitely use this.. Do you know how it works in dense cover, like a stream with a tight canopy? I do appreciate the info.

I had to go dig this thread back up. There is an article on this thing in the current Field and Stream, page 24. It looks like a good peice of gear, especially if you ever break a leg or worse. It sounds like it would actually get more use from me just letting the wife know that even though it is dark, and way past when I said I'd be home, and I have no cell phone reception but I just got back to the truck and I'm just fine.

That's what i mainly use it for, although in the case of emergency it would definitely come in handy! Hitting the ok button to let others know everything is fine is a good way to calm other people's fears.

Craig

I have been thinking about getting one of these too, but sometimes in the summer my GPS has trouble staying locked onto the satellites due to the thick canopy. Anyone have any idea how this one works in the same situation?

I used it saturday underneath a pretty dense canopy in the middle of a national forest and it worked well. The signal was sent succesfully so i have no fears that it will work just fine in the smokies. If i'm not mistaken, it uses the same satellites that emergency officials use so i would think it would have to work about everywhere, although you never know.

Craig

As a GPS geek, I thought I would chime in on this subject. Most of the newer GPS receivers on the market today use the SIRF3 chipset (or something like it). Basically this is a HIGH SENSITIVITY chipset that gives outrageously good reception of satellite "coverage". The SPOT, from what info I could find, does not have this chipset or anything like it, so thick tree canopies could potentially be a problem. Regardless of functionality, this is a great piece of equipment to have and I would rather have it than not. Here is a link to a review of it:

http://www.gpsmagazine.com/2008/01/s...nger_perso.php

The writer puts all the GPS receivers thru their paces very well.

MMORGAN, as a side note you may want to think of upgrading your handheld GPS to a newer model with the high sensitivity receiver in it. Tree canopies and being in the middle of the house can't stop the one I just purchased. I recently purchased the Etrex Venture HC with topo maps and get 11 ft accuracy in the middle of my house and I have had no trouble at all in the woods. On top of that, I have a 3D fix in less than 15 seconds from a cold start.