4 ms·

Maybe Globalstar needs a big antenna, but Iridium doesn’t. I have a Garmin InReach with a 1 inch antenna and it works fine without any antenna pointing antics.

turtlebits 4y ago
I'd rather have no exposed antenna, no subscription fees and no separate device. For emergencies, having to point at the sky isn't a big deal.
- dougmwne 4y ago
  But it IS a big deal! There’s been a lot of research into emergency UX. Basically, it needs to be dead simple or people die. In an emergency, people are usually panicked, injured or in shock. The tool needs to do its thing simply and effortlessly to cut through the panic and confusion of a real emergency. I have an avalanche transponder that is one big button because when you friend just got buried under 20 tons of snow and rocks, you have the leftover brain for one button. From the demo, I think Apple is very aware of this which is why they give you a series of canned prompts. They’ve probably already used up a significant cognitive load by having you point the phone for signal that having you type as well was considered dangerous.
  - ehzy 4y ago
    There's also the fact that canned prompts use dramatically less data.
- omniglottal 4y ago
  Note SOS service is just free for 2 years.
jsjohnst 4y ago
> I have a Garmin InReach with a 1 inch antenna and it works fine Your definition of the word “fine” is apparently rather generous. Be in an actual emergency situation and the InReach is down right frustrating as hell, but “better than nothing”. I don’t have optimism for Apple’s offering either for the record.
- GekkePrutser 4y ago
  It's a bit slow to get a message out, but at least you can send a message. A traditional PLB might be faster but you can't transmit anything so the responders know zero about your situation. What the problem is, where you are exactly, how urgent it is, etc. I'll take InReach any day.
  - almog 4y ago
    Modern PLBs send your location to both LEOSAR, MEOSAR and GEOSAR, as well as 121.5MHz homing signal for SAR responders that need to find you exact location (since you might not even have good GPS signal or GPS signal at all if you're in a canyon for example). I've been using PLB for years and unless I'll only switch to Garmin InReach if I really need to communicate with people back home. Yes, it can be very handy, not just for that, but also to communicate with other fellow thruhikers in ways other than trail registers, but in some cases LEO might not be good enough for sending distress signal.
    - GekkePrutser 4y ago
      Could you recommend a PLB model? Like the other poster I didn't realize InReach can take hours sometimes. When I've tested it, it was always fast (not immediate but a couple minutes max)
      - almog 4y ago
        I have the ACR ResQLink 375. It's the second one I own, the previous one I lost in the Pyrenees (attached it to by shoulder straps in a bad way and could not hear it fall due to the winds). The reason I mention it is that NOAA (which register each device) were extremely responsive when I reported it to them in case: 1. It somehow activates. 2. In case someone finds it and report back to them (they agreed to inform me if that happens). While it might have been possible for me to retrieve it (I spent a day searching it) if it were a tracker device (such as InReach), I found that even if you find a Garmin device, Garmin support won't disclose any details about its owner or contact them on your behalf. I'm not sure if for privacy or commercial reasons but I just found it awkward (I didn't find a device myself, but learned about it through Garmin support forums). If I were to buy a new PLB today, I would have considered the newer models with Return Link Service (such as ResQLink 410 RLS). It doesn't let you communicate, but notifies you that your distress signal has been delivered to. Just read the other comment. While I guess hours response is an outlier in clear sky conditions, I really wish that Garmin would have made stats publicly available

turtlebits 4y ago

I'd rather have no exposed antenna, no subscription fees and no separate device. For emergencies, having to point at the sky isn't a big deal.

dougmwne 4y ago
But it IS a big deal! There’s been a lot of research into emergency UX. Basically, it needs to be dead simple or people die. In an emergency, people are usually panicked, injured or in shock. The tool needs to do its thing simply and effortlessly to cut through the panic and confusion of a real emergency. I have an avalanche transponder that is one big button because when you friend just got buried under 20 tons of snow and rocks, you have the leftover brain for one button. From the demo, I think Apple is very aware of this which is why they give you a series of canned prompts. They’ve probably already used up a significant cognitive load by having you point the phone for signal that having you type as well was considered dangerous.
- ehzy 4y ago
  There's also the fact that canned prompts use dramatically less data.
omniglottal 4y ago
Note SOS service is just free for 2 years.

jsjohnst 4y ago

> I have a Garmin InReach with a 1 inch antenna and it works fine Your definition of the word “fine” is apparently rather generous. Be in an actual emergency situation and the InReach is down right frustrating as hell, but “better than nothing”. I don’t have optimism for Apple’s offering either for the record.

GekkePrutser 4y ago
It's a bit slow to get a message out, but at least you can send a message. A traditional PLB might be faster but you can't transmit anything so the responders know zero about your situation. What the problem is, where you are exactly, how urgent it is, etc. I'll take InReach any day.
- almog 4y ago
  Modern PLBs send your location to both LEOSAR, MEOSAR and GEOSAR, as well as 121.5MHz homing signal for SAR responders that need to find you exact location (since you might not even have good GPS signal or GPS signal at all if you're in a canyon for example). I've been using PLB for years and unless I'll only switch to Garmin InReach if I really need to communicate with people back home. Yes, it can be very handy, not just for that, but also to communicate with other fellow thruhikers in ways other than trail registers, but in some cases LEO might not be good enough for sending distress signal.
  - GekkePrutser 4y ago
    Could you recommend a PLB model? Like the other poster I didn't realize InReach can take hours sometimes. When I've tested it, it was always fast (not immediate but a couple minutes max)
    - almog 4y ago
      I have the ACR ResQLink 375. It's the second one I own, the previous one I lost in the Pyrenees (attached it to by shoulder straps in a bad way and could not hear it fall due to the winds). The reason I mention it is that NOAA (which register each device) were extremely responsive when I reported it to them in case: 1. It somehow activates. 2. In case someone finds it and report back to them (they agreed to inform me if that happens). While it might have been possible for me to retrieve it (I spent a day searching it) if it were a tracker device (such as InReach), I found that even if you find a Garmin device, Garmin support won't disclose any details about its owner or contact them on your behalf. I'm not sure if for privacy or commercial reasons but I just found it awkward (I didn't find a device myself, but learned about it through Garmin support forums). If I were to buy a new PLB today, I would have considered the newer models with Return Link Service (such as ResQLink 410 RLS). It doesn't let you communicate, but notifies you that your distress signal has been delivered to. Just read the other comment. While I guess hours response is an outlier in clear sky conditions, I really wish that Garmin would have made stats publicly available