I received my Spot Gen 3 and had it set up in no time. There are three custom messages that you can send to family and friends by email and text message depending on the situation.
For the "check In" button, I will send something like......All is fine just checking in.
For the "custom message", I will send something like......I'm stopping for a long time or arrived at my destination.
There is also a "Need Help" button that is intended send a message for cases like a breakdown or accident that doesn't require EMS, etc.
This is an example of the "Need Help" message that is sent by text and the GPS location coordinates.
4Bikes
ll=40.14997,-76.59396
Steve pressed the "Needs Help" button and will call you if possible. This is not a 911.
That got me thinking. If I press that button, chances are I'm going to be on a national forest road or some other rural location and there will be no street address for the helper to find.
The EMS folks when I press the SOS button will know how to find me, but what about the tech challenged helpers I'm sending the message too?
I made up these instructions that work on a Garmin Nuvi. Other GPS units should be similar.
How to drive to A Spot Text message/emailed location
-View the last received "Need Help" message from the Spot tracker
-Take note of the Satellite coordinates.
-Open the Spot trip map and verify the location on Spot map
-Locate your Garmin GPS and turn it on
-Select the "Where to?" button
-Arrow down to next screen
-Select "Coordinates" button
-Select "Format" button and very that bottom button is selected and press OK (matches the longitude and latitude format of the Spot text)
-Press the field for the north or upper coordinate
-Enter the first coordinate in the Spot message. Select done
-Press the field for the west or lower coordinate.
-Enter the Second coordinate in the Text message. Select done
-Select "Next" button
-Select "Show Map" and verify that the map location matches the Spot map location. If it doesn't, go back and look for a mistake in the coordinate entry.
-Press save if needed and then navigate from saved locations - or - select "Go" button to navigate directly to the Spot location where the help is needed.
Next up I'll post a picture of where I'm going to mount the Spot. Since it will flash when parked, I made a sticker for the top of the unit that says "Armed and Alarmed". Hopefully that will fool some into not messing with the bike. ;D
For the "check In" button, I will send something like......All is fine just checking in.
For the "custom message", I will send something like......I'm stopping for a long time or arrived at my destination.
There is also a "Need Help" button that is intended send a message for cases like a breakdown or accident that doesn't require EMS, etc.
This is an example of the "Need Help" message that is sent by text and the GPS location coordinates.
4Bikes
ll=40.14997,-76.59396
Steve pressed the "Needs Help" button and will call you if possible. This is not a 911.
That got me thinking. If I press that button, chances are I'm going to be on a national forest road or some other rural location and there will be no street address for the helper to find.
The EMS folks when I press the SOS button will know how to find me, but what about the tech challenged helpers I'm sending the message too?
I made up these instructions that work on a Garmin Nuvi. Other GPS units should be similar.
How to drive to A Spot Text message/emailed location
-View the last received "Need Help" message from the Spot tracker
-Take note of the Satellite coordinates.
-Open the Spot trip map and verify the location on Spot map
-Locate your Garmin GPS and turn it on
-Select the "Where to?" button
-Arrow down to next screen
-Select "Coordinates" button
-Select "Format" button and very that bottom button is selected and press OK (matches the longitude and latitude format of the Spot text)
-Press the field for the north or upper coordinate
-Enter the first coordinate in the Spot message. Select done
-Press the field for the west or lower coordinate.
-Enter the Second coordinate in the Text message. Select done
-Select "Next" button
-Select "Show Map" and verify that the map location matches the Spot map location. If it doesn't, go back and look for a mistake in the coordinate entry.
-Press save if needed and then navigate from saved locations - or - select "Go" button to navigate directly to the Spot location where the help is needed.
Next up I'll post a picture of where I'm going to mount the Spot. Since it will flash when parked, I made a sticker for the top of the unit that says "Armed and Alarmed". Hopefully that will fool some into not messing with the bike. ;D