I got one!

[Brandi]

ha! for christmas I got a garmin astro- gps for the dogs. It's got a full featured handheld gps. I took it out to the area I was lost in- which is apparently not a good area to turn dogs loose in. Too many deer. Turned gps'd dogs loose. After a bit, they disappeared from view. I watched them on the gps, when they got 200 yds away I lost my nerve and called them back (I did not go far, stayed by the truck). One came back. Other one moving away at good speed. Then headed back to me, but in a roundabout way, the track looked like she was headed for the dirt road. Heard farm dog bark, growl, then my dog screaming and gps indicated she was going away from me fast. Then she just stopped. It took me 15-20 minutes to walk to her (very rugged hard to walk in terrain). The gps took me right to her, she was unhurt but apparently too afraid to try to get past the farm dog again.
Here's the track downloaded from the gps-
there's a better version where the glop of squares is actually an attractive blue line, but dont' have that one on this computer

I wanna put one of those on my cats!

[Flybye]

Okay, have to share another social worker story...........

I honesty and truly had a man with Schizophrenia on my caseload who wore an inverted copper bell on his head to filter UV rays and alien invading thoughts. Flashback.

RIP, dear Bill.

[crazycanuck]

Flybye..it's cool, odd & interesting all at the same time!

[three]

I had never heard of a SPOT either. It's interesting and a good idea, if it works. Please keep us posted on your review of it.

In the future, I hope to do a major thru-hiking trip and if this thing is really good - I'd feel a bit safer having it along with me. I look forward to your review.

[Zen]

The Sundial family Christmas card?

Those are very nice! Mine's not nearly that smooth looking.

[sundial]

Please keep us posted on your review of it.

OK, I took it out yesterday for a test run. I turned on the unit before I left the house (the unit it to be turned on for 20 minutes prior to use) and drove to the park where I was going to ride my mtb. I pushed the OK button and called hubby to let him know to check his e-mail to follow my progress. I rode for over an hour in trees and occasionally in the clearing. Throughout the ride I pushed the OK button. When I got back home I asked him if he was able to follow my trek. He had the initial OK check-in and nothing else. I reviewed the instructions and I think I did everything right. Maybe SPOT didn't activate all the services. I'm going to call them later this morning.

Zen, haven't you practiced enough with the foil to get smooth lines?

[sundial]

I talked with customer support and found out that after I turn on the unit, I wait for 2 seconds before pushing the OK button. Then I am to let it cycle through all the information for 20 minutes. When I get to my destination to cycle, I hold down the OK button for 5 seconds and then start my journey. The SPOT will send my tracking progress every 10 minutes to which my hubby can follow my progress on my account.

So this afternoon I'll try and do another test, weather permitting. Stay tuned for further developments.

[sundial]

I thought I'd demonstrate the SPOT.



Here's what you get with the SPOT. The packaging is similar to my TomTom and comes with a users guide, SPOT contact information, and Emergency Response Services by GEOS.



This is the size of the unit. It's weight is similar to a cordless telephone.



This demonstrates the width of the product. It is not bulky in my opinion and is similar in size to a walkie-talkie.



It can easily clip to the CamelBak and fits into the jersey as well.
Here are some other features:

• Uses 2 AA Lithium batteries
• It floats but the logo needs to be facing up to work
• Waterproof to a depth of 1 meter for up to 30 minutes
• Operating temps: -40 F to 185 F
• Operating altitude: -300 ft to +21,300 ft
• Humidity and Salt Fog Rated
• OSHA Certified Intrinsically Safe to Class 1, Division 1, Group A-D standards

Under normal usage a full battery charge should provide:

• Power on, unused: Approx 1 year
• SPOTcasting tracking mode: Approx. 14 days
• 9-1-1 mode: Up to 7 consecutive days
• SPOTcheck OK: 1900 messages

[Zen]

If Steve Fossett had been wearing one of these they'd have been able to find him.
I think he's sipping cervezas in Argentina.