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DeLorme InReach 2-way Sat.Com.

I've been using a Spot 'Connect' for the last 4 years, and it's been okay but a bit of a pain. I used it at home (Alaska & Oregon), Greece, Thailand, Caribbean, Mexico, So Cal, and several other places. The concept is outstanding because we frequently would leave on trips and not be certain of where we were going. That can be a little unnerving for family. This is a pretty cheap & easy way for them to track us. Also on two of the foreign charters, we found out later the VHF on the boat did not work. So the little 'SOS' button could have been very important.

The Spot Connect could be a pain to use because the Bluetooth pairing never stayed connected and sometimes to re-pair, I had to reboot my phone and the Spot Connect. Multiple times. Their web site was also very clunky & slow.

On a couple of our longer foreign trips, it would stop posting on the tracking site for 24hrs or more, making friends & family wonder what was up.

upload_2015-5-4_9-2-53.png

Spot Connect and iPhone connect using Bluetooth

My Spot annual connection fee was coming due this month, so instead of paying it, it got an inReach SE. It cost $300, which as I recall is about 25% more than my Spot Connect. But wow, is it better and easier to use.

upload_2015-5-4_9-6-50.png


Among other things, in order to do tracking, you don't need to pair it with your phone. You can use it's little screen and keys to turn it on. Two clicks and you're tracking.

You can easily send pre-written text message or pair it with your phone to send custom text messages. You can also receive text messages. To me, all of this from anywhere in the world (regardless of cell signal) is pretty amazing at this price.

The battery is built in/rechargeable and is supposed to last 100 hrs with tracking set at 10 minute intervals.

It also uses the Iridium satellite network, which in my opinion is better than Spot's Globalstar network.

We did a little overnight trip this weekend and tested out the inReach ... we were quite happy with it. Easy, effective, etc.

Here is the tracking map it puts out:
https://share.delorme.com/MarkPearson

I'm going to do a larger test of the inReach beginning the end of this week, when I leave for a 1,200 mile trip to take Dad's boat from Palm Beach, FL to his home in Annapolis, MD.

Disclaimer: I think Spot had a lot of problems with the 'Connect' model I had ... they appear to have discontinued it. I would guess their other models are easier to use.
 
rolf said:
Great pictures. We're the little dots on the map all 10 min apart?
Click to expand...

Hi Rolf - did you mean 'Where are the little dots"?

They should be on this web site:
https://share.delorme.com/MarkPearson

Sometimes you have to wait 10-15 seconds for the track to appear

Or if you meant "Were the dots 10 minutes apart?" ... Yes, I think the tracking was set to 10 minutes. So they should be approximately 10 minutes apart.
 
Yes, the "10 minutes apart". I'm going to have to check on this, thanks this is great information.
 
I too was having the same problem with the Spot Connect. My contract was coming to an end and so I just made the jump to the InReach. I got mine from West, but REI has them really discounted right now for the price match. Got the Explorer model for $284+tax. You can get the SE for 224+tax I think. Haven't had time to activate it yet, that's this evening. If it works one tenth better than spot, I'll be happy. I'll update this after I have a chance to use it.
 
We just finished a 1,200 mile trip up the east coast from southern FL to Annapolis. We used our new inReach every day and are very happy with the device. It's very easy to use, was reliable and it was more efficient on the (rechargeable) batteries than our Spot Connect was on the very expensive (non-rechargeable) batteries. I showed our crew in about 15 seconds how to turn it on and start tracking.

All in all, an excellent device and the associated web site was easier and more snappy than the Spot's web site.

I'll be keeping my EPRIB too, but the inReach is, in a way, better for emergencies in that you can do 2-way communication with the rescue coordination organization.

Here's our track:
https://share.delorme.com/MarkPearson

We had used our Spot Connect for around 4 years and I don't think the inReach was available yet when we purchased the Connect. As I recall, the inReach cost a little bit more, but it is for sure worth it.
 
To which inReach service plan do you subscribe? Any thoughts on what plan you would recommend for a full time cruising vessel?
 
Hi Jeff - we are on the 'Recreation' plan because we mostly want it for Tracking and SOS. We won't be sending many text messages but we love that we can if we need to. We also got the 'Freedom' version so that we can suspend it for a few months if we want, during the winter.

I know when we go full time cruising we'd do the Recreation Annual plan.

So, when are you planning on being a full time cruising vessel? Seems like you'll need some adjustment time from such intensive work on your boat to little work on your boat. Maybe we could buddy boat with you and you could work on Zia during that transition period. ;)
 
Mark, Hmm. You planning on sailing Zia to the east coast? Or should we just meet in western Caribbean?

Thought we were on our way in spring 2013, but then the dismasting of our M34 has set us back on our heels. Don't think we are ready to set an estimated departure for Pilgrim so many projects underway....
 
I already own a In Reach one of my wifes must haves. She says we need it for the Exumas trip in April. I think she is afraid we will fall off the edge of the world !! I just sail on !!! LOL !
 
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