If your outdoor adventures frequently extend beyond cell phone range, and you’d like to have a satellite device for communications, a personal locator beacon (PLB) is a good choice. A PLB is a small, personal beacon that you can use to initiate a distress signal that will help alert rescue crews to your location.

The SPOT line of personal locator beacons makes use of emergency notification technology to provide location-based information from remote areas around the globe.

While the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger and the newer SPOT Gen3™ rely on a one-way messaging system in which users can send out information, SPOT also offers two-way communications such as the SPOT Global Phone. However, the SPOT Gen3, the newest in the SPOT line boasts several enhanced features for satellite messaging:

Enhanced Features available only with the SPOT Gen3:

• New Tracking Options: With the unlimited tracking feature, users can pre-set the SPOT Gen3 to send out location updates every 5, 10, 30, or 60 minutes as long as the device is turned on and moving. Additionally, the extreme tracking feature offers the added ability to vary track rate down to 2.5 minutes.
• Longer Battery Life: The SPOT Gen3 has about twice the battery life of the SPOT Satellite GPS Messenger.
• Additional Power Options: The SPOT Gen3 offers more power options, and can be powered by using either 4 AAA Energizer® Ultimate Lithium 8x Batteries (L92); 4 AAA Energizer® NiMH reusable batteries (NH12); or it can be line powered with a 5v USB connection. SPOT Gen3 is not waterproof when line powered.

SPOT Gen3 Basic Features:

• S.O.S.: With the push of a button, your GPS coordinates and call for help will be sent out to local response teams. For emergency use only.
• Check In: The check in feature allows users to send a message including GPS coordinates via email or SMS to up to 10 pre-determined contacts. Waypoints can be stored in your SPOT account and easily integrated into a SPOT Shared Page or SPOT Adventure account.
• Help/SPOT Assist: Use this feature to send out a call for help to personal contacts in a non-life-threatening situation. The information you send in assist mode will not automatically alert local emergency response teams.
• Custom Messaging: This feature allows you to send out a custom message that you set up before leaving so that you can stay in touch and relay information about reaching important milestones along the way.
• Tracking: In addition to the other SPOT Gen3 enhanced tracking features, this model also allows friends and family to follow your progress online as before and to save waypoints so you can review your route later.

SPOT Gen3 Pros:

• Like other SPOT technology, the SPOT Gen3 communicates via satellite, covering most of the globe.
• The SPOT Gen3 weighs only four ounces (with batteries included), and it’s small enough to be stowed easily in a backpack, even when space is tight.
• The SPOT Gen3 comes with several nice things: a strap, a USB cable, a reference guide, a carabiner, and batteries.
• The SPOT website is user-friendly, and it offers several helpful video tutorials.
• Location tracking and sharing features such as waypoint storage, the SPOT Shared Page, and the SPOT Adventure account allow additional ways for you to be social and share your adventures with friends or to keep track of your journey for future reference.

SPOT Gen3 Cons:

• The SPOT Gen3 has an annual service fee, which will be an additional expense in addition to the cost of the device.
• The SPOT-Gen3 does not have two-way communications capabilities, and the one-way message content and types must be pre-set before departure; they can’t be changed in the field to allow for unforeseen circumstances.

SPOT Tips and Final Details: Good to Know

• SPOT technology might not work indoors, in a cave, or in an extremely dense wooded area; it needs a clear view of the sky to obtain a GPS signal and provide accurate location information.
• The SPOT must be kept away from other GPS devices to work properly and to avoid interference.
• As batteries are affected by extreme heat and cold, you will need to carry spare batteries or a charging device if you plan on powering your SPOT with batteries, and you will also need to protect in from extreme temperatures when in the field.
• Cost: The SPOT Gen3 starting price is $149.95, but there is also an additional cost for some of the features, such as the tracking and assist features. You will have additional annual service plan fees. See the SPOT website for information about SPOT plans and coverage.