The fun part of preparing for our launch is choosing all of the technology for the boat. It certainly feels like too much of a good thing. Visualize an ice cream fan being forced to finish the entire ice cream bar in the cafeteria. We usually over-research gadgets for months before making our decisions on the perfect running watch or the ideal speakerphone. But the pace of the boat does not allow for such for deliberation, or, is it over-analysis? Today we need to decide on what GPS tracker to purchase as it drives our location screen on the site.
A GPS tracker allows readers to track the boat in real time and can also relay text messages. The brief text message updates will be displayed on our front page under “Live: Satellite Updates“. If we are lucky, readers will check our location page and send us tips when we are headed to their hometown. I must warn you that watching the tracker will make lawn bowling seem exciting. Every few hours, the GPS tracker sends the information from the little brick on the boat to a satellite which transmits a position to our website. Other cruisers have commented that their blog followers do not really value the GPS location screen, but we have two Moms and I think they will enjoy the comfort of seeing the dot on the screen. Warning!! The system has outages so do not assume the worst. Try us on the sat phone before a full blown panic is warranted.
During the research process I found three candidates: Spot, In-Reach, and our existing Iridium phone. All three solutions send tracking coordinates, send text messages and allow for tracking websites. Here is how I compared the three choices.
Pros: Has been used by many boats. Price is cheaper. 200 a year for unlimited tracking and 500 messages. Works with Spotwalla, a tool created by a motorcycle rider who is an avid Spot user. This free service lets you embed nice maps on your own website. When Spot hardware is turned off, the Spot website from the manufacturer shows no data. Spotwalla wisely shows last location. The Spot website is fairly ugly as an embed, especially the side menu of past data points. In addition, the webmaster can not control the default zoom. So far we love Spotwalla and will be sending the programmer a donation.
Cons: Spot can not receive messages but we have plenty of email access via Sailmail and satellite phone. Spot is controlled only by the iPhone via Bluetooth, i.e. no keypad on the device; that is ok by me. The only big shortcoming for us is that Spot coverage has some big holes. However, our travel plans will keep us within the coverage range. DeLorme is on the Iridium network and has almost no holes unless you want to hang out with polar bears and penguins.
USELESS FACT: Why are polar bears and penguins never seen together? Please answer using the comment feature.
Pros: Delorme (manufacturer) has a good tracking website but it is still inferior to the after-market Spotwalla. Not sure why all the companies have poor websites. I do concede that we are particular as we are embedding this in our front page. In-Reach can send and receive SMS messages. Two-way messaging is cool, but not critical for our set-up. In Reach can be controlled by iOS and the front rocker switch.
Cons: $300 per year (Unlimited tracking included in the price as are 40 messages per month). A bit too pricey! Fewer In-Reach users threaten the potential for cool updates and website enhancements. Initial purchase price also higher.
Iridium Extreme
Pros: We have the hardware already meaning less expensive and less clutter aboard. Coverage region – almost everywhere as long as you are not trying to relive Roald Amundsens’s glory. That is kind of where the pros ended.
Cons: I am not sure the web tracking service is offered anymore. It was sold under a few names and they all seemed to be turned off. Bit of a deal killer? I did see pricing on an old provider that cost more than the In Reach for very limited usage (4 fixes per day for $24 per month). I am not surprised that the “charge more, get less” model drove them out of business. The ability to embed the data, if it did work, seemed poor. Seems like they are targeting truckers, not boaters. Email us or post a comment if you are aware of a better Iridium tracking plan.
Gail is going to press me to buy Spot unless one of the clever readers can tell us where we have gone wrong.
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