Emergency comms

I do a lot of forest trips. So you need a clear view to the sky to get coverage? What about on a stormy night in the woods, will I get signal?

 

the SPOT and others can get out straight above, but satellites at an angle from you will be harder to reach if you are in woods. It just takes a bit longer to get a good signal out, but it works. I used to work nights chasing spotted owls through the forest with heavy old growth at night, and it worked there too.

 

Can you do a thread on that? Hahaha sounds awesome

 

This is a motorcycle trip I did in September with my Spot GenIII. I have the Spot configured to drop a bread crumb every 10 minutes. The green flags mark a location where I hit the check in button that sends a text to my SO "still having fun". I do this each time I stop at a layover.
You can program 3 buttons. I have one button programmed to text "Serious issues, standby". Another button is programmed "Call my emergency contact list and start mobilizing folks" The fourth button is the SOS button.
https://spotwalla.com/tripViewer.php?id=1aff65b8cae034f63f&hoursPast=0&showAll=yes
You can configure the Spot to text or email an unlimited number of phone numbers. When we race, we have the phone numbers of all our pit crew members set up to receive messages. Of course, the programmed messages are different then the ones I use when I'm touring on my motorcycles.

 

CB's are only good for a couple of miles and another vehicle needs to be in range which might not be for long if they are driving from point A to B.

I know you don't want to hear someone recommend HAM but repeater towers are everywhere. You do not need a license if you are using it for an emergency situation. You don't need a license to listen either.

UV5R from boefeng is probably the cheapest way to go. 25.00 on Amazon is pretty cheap if you ask me.