Moderator: E.J. Peiker

All times are UTC-05:00

  
« Previous topic | Next topic »  
Reply to topic  
 First unread post  | 9 posts | 
by OntPhoto on Sat Feb 01, 2020 9:26 pm
User avatar
OntPhoto
Forum Contributor
Posts: 7039
Joined: 9 Dec 2006
Location: Ottawa, Ontario. Canada.
Could come in handy one day.  Anyone use this particular device?  The weak point seems to be the non-replaceable lithium-ion battery.  Not sure how long such a battery will last before needing replacement.

Garmin InReach Mini.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tnk2CzEMOc
 

by AForns on Sun Feb 02, 2020 9:14 am
User avatar
AForns
Lifetime Member
Posts: 25782
Joined: 7 Dec 2003
Location: Coral Gables, FL
Member #:00233
Interesting device. Have something in the same line from Garmin. A bike computer that tracks my movements so my wife can have an idea of my location and will also send a message after a crash .... it works !!!
Alfred Forns
NSN 0233

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is.
Yogi Berra
 

by OntPhoto on Sun Feb 02, 2020 9:25 pm
User avatar
OntPhoto
Forum Contributor
Posts: 7039
Joined: 9 Dec 2006
Location: Ottawa, Ontario. Canada.
AForns wrote:Interesting device.  Have something in the same line from Garmin.   A bike computer that tracks my movements so my wife can have an idea of my location and will also send a message after a crash .... it works !!!
This Garmin InREach Mini uses the Iridium satellites.  Most useful if traveling in remote or areas without cell coverage.  If you break an ankle, get lost or something like that.  Nice safety line.
 

by E.J. Peiker on Mon Feb 03, 2020 7:12 pm
User avatar
E.J. Peiker
Senior Technical Editor
Posts: 86761
Joined: 16 Aug 2003
Location: Arizona
Member #:00002
Illegal in India, just FYI...
 

by mikeojohnson on Mon Feb 03, 2020 8:38 pm
mikeojohnson
Lifetime Member
Posts: 1219
Joined: 21 Dec 2003
Location: Estero , Florida
Member #:00374
OntPhoto wrote:Could come in handy one day.  Anyone use this particular device?  The weak point seems to be the non-replaceable lithium-ion battery.  Not sure how long such a battery will last before needing replacement.

Garmin InReach Mini.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tnk2CzEMOc


Requires a subscription.  I brought it to Antarctica, but then the ship had great communications.  I found the subscription somewhat a pain to get rid of.
mike
"Photography intensifies the experience of life"
http://www.mojphoto.com
 

by Pete Zwiers on Tue Feb 04, 2020 7:53 pm
User avatar
Pete Zwiers
Lifetime Member
Posts: 1423
Joined: 3 Aug 2004
Location: Prince George, B.C.
Member #:00411
I have the Garmin inReach Explorer+. If you are OFTEN in areas without cell service ... it's great.

It'll cost you about $45 per month Cdn for the plan that allows you to send 100 messages per month.

I'm mostly a backpacker & hiker in remoter parts of central/northern BC, and I wouldn't leave home without it. I got it about 6 years ago when I narrowly avoided being stranded 100 kms up a very, very quiet forest service road.

If you have cell coverage most of the time, it's overkill I think.
 

by OntPhoto on Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:08 am
User avatar
OntPhoto
Forum Contributor
Posts: 7039
Joined: 9 Dec 2006
Location: Ottawa, Ontario. Canada.
Algonquin Park is a very popular location in eastern Ontario.  Highway 60 runs thru it and there is cell coverage. However, if you stray off some trails (and not too far off either) there were some dead zones without cell signals and what if something happens?  Same with some parts of Gatineau Park locally.  You fall, break an ankle or something similarly imobilizing, etc.  I'm thinking about either the Freedom plan (monthly) where you pay only when you need it or the minimum annual package which is about $15 CAD a month or $180 CAD a year before taxes.  

I have a number of Garmin products and Garmin is known to put out new improved models fairly regularly, especially with their vehicle GPS.  But even their handheld models get refreshed every few years.  I have the Garmin 64s and the Etrex 20.  Both are discontinued, I think and have been replaced by an iteration or two of upgraded models.  I like the 64s and am using it more now than ever.
 

by OntPhoto on Wed Feb 05, 2020 8:11 am
User avatar
OntPhoto
Forum Contributor
Posts: 7039
Joined: 9 Dec 2006
Location: Ottawa, Ontario. Canada.
mikeojohnson wrote:
OntPhoto wrote:Could come in handy one day.  Anyone use this particular device?  The weak point seems to be the non-replaceable lithium-ion battery.  Not sure how long such a battery will last before needing replacement.

Garmin InReach Mini.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_tnk2CzEMOc


Requires a subscription.  I brought it to Antarctica, but then the ship had great communications.  I found the subscription somewhat a pain to get rid of.
mike
Why was that?
 

by Wildflower-nut on Wed Feb 05, 2020 12:44 pm
Wildflower-nut
Forum Contributor
Posts: 825
Joined: 4 Mar 2008
I travel a lot alone in desolate areas without cell service and for years have carried an iridium sat phone in the car and a emergency personal locator beacon on my belt.  The sat phone is nice because you can quantify the emergency (out of gas vs heart attack).  The beacon is more reliable (same systems as ships and airplanes) but starts a full blown search and rescue mission and should only be used in life and death situations.  I'm experimenting with the inreach mini as it give me the advantages of a sat phone in something small enough to carry with me at all times.  It also sends the signal to a response center.  With the sat phone, who do you call?  AAA?, county sheriff?, friend?, BLM?, Forest Service???  Both inreach and my sat phone use the iridium sat system supported by DOD.
 

Display posts from previous:  Sort by:  
9 posts | 
  

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group