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Emergency SOS via satellite

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Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#11

Post by mikehotel »

mwint wrote: post #8
tony_cannistra wrote: post #7

I'm glad to see that they at least talked to some IRL dispatchers for this press release, which hopefully suggests that they've been doing it all along. But really, I desperately hope that we can find a way to educate folks on the proper usage of technology like this (which, if you count things like the Garmin inReach and the Spot devices, has been available for a decade). They're undoubtedly life saving, but they al…

Isn’t it going to make calls using this feature much easier, if there’s a 10m-accuracy GPS pin around the subject?

It will make each individual SAR easier, but if more people rely on this instead of proper planning for a trip, the overall increased burden on volunteer organizations will be unsustainable.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#12

Post by rtkwe »

tosh wrote: post #2

> the service extends to France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK in December This is new to me. I thought the feature was limited to US + Canada. Did they mention additional regions in the keynote?

It'll need to be approved in individual countries so it'll probably get turned on in a lot more areas.

In the US there's an explicit exception to life threatening emergencies that let you use basically any radio frequency I wonder how many countries have something like that that could at least allow them to enable the emergency contact portion of this without the check-in for non emergency situations.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#13

Post by RL_Quine »

papito wrote: post #9

This is great, but people do still need to keep in mind that this is not a full replacement of the emergency beacons that use the Cospas-Sarsat system, which would work anywhere, from pole to pole. If you are going to do extreme hiking in Patagonia, get a real distress beacon. There is no service charge except for the device itself. This is no joke - I had to use mine in the middle of Death Valley (of all places) dur…

Yeah, it's no replacement for a dedicated device, but it's with a whole lot of people all the time.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#15

Post by 323 »

tony_cannistra wrote: post #7

I'm glad to see that they at least talked to some IRL dispatchers for this press release, which hopefully suggests that they've been doing it all along. But really, I desperately hope that we can find a way to educate folks on the proper usage of technology like this (which, if you count things like the Garmin inReach and the Spot devices, has been available for a decade). They're undoubtedly life saving, but they al…

How is it different from regular 911/112 abuse?

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#16

Post by braymundo »

tyingq wrote: post #4

As someone who grew up in the era before mobile phones, it truly is strange to see devices that do roughly everything Captain Kirk's communicator could do. But in my lifetime, and available to average people.

I bet Kirk's communicator couldn't even play games, so it's wilder. :)

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#17

Post by teeray »

If you’re looking for emergency comms where cell service is unavailable, you can do really well with a 2m/70cm Baofeng UV-5R. It’ll run you like $60 between the technician’s license (easy to get) and the radio, no subscription. From mountains (no service), I’ve gotten into repeaters 60 miles away. Knowing the community on those frequencies, they’ll treat your emergency with the same respect and decorum as those submitted through the SOS feature (many even train for it through organizations like ARES).

I certainly don’t mean to poo-poo this announcement in HN commenter fashion—-I think it’s actually really great to have. Just wanted to highlight an alternative to shelling out $1k+ for a capable phone if you don’t have one.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#20

Post by aabhay »

No one here has mentioned this here, surprisingly, but the UX on this feature is absolutely incredible. Clear, thoughtful, helpful, and deeply integrated with user services. It almost makes me _want_ to get into trouble, just to be able to use this service!
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