ResQLink™

[Cris H]

If anyone is interested I have a walkthrough of the ResQLink View and do a bit of a comparison with the InReach devices here.

[Boyan B]

I am firmly in the #4 camp. My wife needs to know when is the nex time I will be in signal range and I can tell her that I am still alive. If I get myself in trouble along the way and am able to trigger a PLB, she is listed as the first contact so she will know that I am in trouble. And if I can’t trigger a PLB then having 2-way comms is of little use because I can’t use them either. I do agree with the value of 2 way comma for coordinating multi group parties. I almost always hike alone. Both devices have their use, though I agree that over time the PLB will go the way of the brick phone.

[Roger Caffin]

over time the PLB will go the way of the brick phone.
What does that mean I wonder?

The ‘brick phone’ has evolved into the modern pocket-sized mobile phone: will current small PLBs evolve into even smaller and lighter units? Quite possible. Smaller but more powerful batteries will be a major part of that. Some cost reduction is also possible.

But if it is meant to mean that the PLB will die – I really doubt that idea. Modern 4G and future %g phones simply do not have the range of a PLB, and they will never have that range for solid technical reasons. Apart from anything else, PLBs are widely used in marine situations, and I can’t see mobile phone towers ever dotting the oceans. The PLB infrastructure will (have to) last for the forseeable future if boaties are have a rescue system.

Could SatPhones replace PLBs? It’s unlikely for a long time, desirable though it might be. Radiated power and frequencies and coverage remain big technical problems. Cost of units and cost of service are also against the idea. Please note that a SatPhone requires an expensive service contract; a PLB does NOT require any service contract at all.

Cheers

[BlackHatGuy]

Roger, you’re ignoring the Spot/inReach devices, which kinda fit in between Sat phones and PLBs. Their service contracts are not all that expensive (of course, what’s expensive to one is quite reasonable, even cheap, to another). I see these devices gaining in popularity and PLBs waning. And both devices are purported to work in marine environments as well.

[Roger Caffin]

Their service contracts are not all that expensive

Actual numbers? Without real data, it did not happen.
Do you need two contracts for these: phone plus Spot?
Last time I looked, the costs looked still very high to me.

Cheers

[BlackHatGuy]

I don’t consider $30/month to be expensive – others might ($30/month is one available plan for the inReach, there are cheaper and more expensive plans available as well. I don’t know what the Spot plans cost).

No, you don’t need two contracts, but most people don’t have a phone without a phone contract, so that’s not really a valid criticism. You don’t need a phone to use either device, a phone simply makes it easier to use.

[Roger Caffin]

Thank you.
US$30/month or US$360/year seems like quite a lot to me. Especially as the PLB costs $0 per year.
When I last looked at the Spot devices, they too were rather expensive.
No, we do not have a smart-phone at all, so that is an extra expense – to buy and then the contract.

One needs to put all these costs against the fact that we (my wife and I) have been walking in the mountains, off-trail, for most of our lives, without any modern electronics at all. And yet, we still get home. The ROI on all that electronic stuff seems very small in that context. Do they perhaps represent what BPL inveighs against – ‘packing your fears’?

Cheers

[Sam Farrington]

Roger,
I think it’s more than packing fears. It is the age of revolutionary technology. The ‘experts’ tell us that AI will so change humanity that it will eclipse all previous scientific development. Whew!

Naturally, everyone wants to get in on it, except possibly us, and the mountains are festooned with people packing geek gear. Note my previous post on page 1 of this thread, for a less anguished response.

Fortunately, and despite the unprecedented crowds in NH’s White Mountains, there are lots of practically deserted places in the USA to hike and backpack that are beautiful and rewarding if one is willing to do some serious driving.

[Roger Caffin]

It is the age of revolutionary technology.
Yeah, yeah, I have heard it all before.
Yes, but this time it is different …
Snake oil. Pay here.

The ‘experts’ tell us that AI will so change humanity that it will eclipse all previous scientific development.
Repeat of above.
Ex: a has-been, Spurt: a drip under pressure.

Right now, looking at Washington, I cannot see ANY changes to humanity – although I can see that the planet is being trashed. Rome was easily this bad.

Cheers

[Jerry Adams]

I pay $12.41 a month for InReach.

I send one of three preset messages which are free.

Brenda tells me about Trump’s latest tweet or that she’s been aerobicizing (that is, all’s well if that’s what she has to talk about).  10 messages per month is part of the $12.41.

So, we don’t worry about each other.  Worth $12.41 a month.

In the unlikely event I or someone else needed rescue, it would be invaluable.

In a few years, I bet smart phones will get coverage everywhere from new, more satellites.  InReach/ResQLink will become obsolete.  Like brick phones.

[Cris H]

Yea, I pay $15/month for my InReach, send unlimited preset messages to tell my family that I’m okay, running late, etc. And I can do SOS and weather reports too. For me the cost is worth it but each person has to make that call on their own. I also carry a PLB in the bottom of my pack as a backup.

PLBs will be around for a while since the tech is in aircraft, boats, satellites, etc. and it works. But at some point cell phones will have sat antennas and that will be another big game changer.

All I know is that I miss the days before caller ID when my friends and I could make prank calls.

[BPLwiia]

I chose the ACR ResQLink and will choose it again when the 5-year battery period expires shortly. I have no use for all the other features on an InReach. For those who do? Great, go for it.

My sole purpose for the PLB is to get my out of a problem should one occur. No messaging, no texts. I want the most powerful signal/system I can get and I believe I get that with the PLB.

 

[Author]

Posts