17 June 2009
See Spot Run
Posted by admin under: Equipment .
The Scoutmaster Musings blog at Boy Scout Trail has been discussing the SPOT messenger and has another post about it today. I remember first learning about these personal locator beacons about a year ago. I wouldn’t invest in one for the tracking abilities, but the post makes a good argument for getting one.
Track Our Trek
I’ve blogged a few times about the way cool SPOT Messenger that our troop uses when we go camping. It’s a one-way communication device to let people know where you are and to call for help in emergencies. The unit costs around $150 and an annual subscription is $100 and up, depending on the services you choose. It also includes emergency rescue insurance (which we’ve not used yet so I can’t tell you how good it is). But, the reassurance it gives parents back home is invaluable!
If you’d like to follow our Sea2Sky trek in real time, check out Our SPOT Page and see how we’re doing. The messages should start showing up on Wednesday evening.
Well, the SPOT folks have two things going on that might help you decide to get a unit for your troop.
SPOT Adventures- if you go there soon, you’ll see “troop479″ in the Recent Activity list with the sample trip I entered. You can spy on trips others have posted and see the adventures people have taken their SPOT on. These are trips after the fact with photos, story, and travel path to view. It’s a replacement for what I did last year manually for our Philmont trek. When we get back from Sea2Sky, I’ll make an adventure and let you know when it’s ready. Free SPOT- until the beginning of August, you can get a rebate to pay for your SPOT Messenger unit when you subscribe for two years of Basic and Tracking service. That’s $300 for two years and a free unit – you save the initial $150 or so for the device. When our troop breaks down the cost, it is about $2.50/scout each year, or 25 cents per campout.If you’d like to follow our Sea2Sky trek in real time, check out Our SPOT Page and see how we’re doing. The messages should start showing up on Wednesday evening.
Scout On
- Troop 479 Covered in Boys’ Life
- FastTracks
- Personal Locator Beacon – Good Buy?
- Should It Stay Or Should It Go Now?
- A Trail of Handbook Thoughts
