Re: Panic Button

I liked this part:

Quote
Outside Magazine
According to NOAA, its network handles about 7,500 emergency distress calls every year, coming from a universe of roughly 75,000 registered PLBs. Of those, NOAA reported in 2010, almost 68 percent were later determined to be false alarms.

So...each year, 10% of such devices will essentially demand their owners be rescued. I have never required rescue, I think its clear I frequently visit the backcountry, I've done so in the Sierra since the late 1980s. Something's badly wrong with that ratio.

Speaking to another issue raised in the article...yeah, with those numbers I'd expect that any user fine would be coupled with a manufacturer fine. Those numbers would suggest the devices are defective with respect to their declared purpose.

I suspect the biggest problem with Spot is the lack of two way communications. All SAR can do is go find the person. They have no way to determine if they should.

I'd like to see the real number of times that the device is REALLY needed to SAVE someone.
I highly doubt the makers want you to know that number.

- Leave a detailed plan of where you are going (for me this includes a number of probably routes)
- Wear COLORED clothes so that you stand out (or have at least some gear that stands out)
- Carry a signal mirror
- Know and hike within your limitations
- Be prepared for the weather

Do those and you should be fine. (I am really sick of hearing about SAR and idiot rescues)

Have a nice day

---

You are a very wise bird.

Can you carry me now instead?

Well...sure...but none of your options require one to Purchase Technology! How do you plan to solve _that_ "problem"?!

I think eeek's right on the main issue w/ Spot, but Spot's a client and I think that problem's inherent in how the server was implemented, because I think the server was designed for people who were trained in its use.

This is my favorite quote from the article:

“The problem isn’t whether beacons should be part of the wilderness experience,” Steve Howe says. “It’s whether some people should be allowed out of their yard.”