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Emergency SOS via satellite

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Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#161

Post by sitkack »

elboru wrote: post #36
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.

“Available to average people” that’s what amazes me. I remember when I played with an iPhone for the first time. It was an amazing device, but I thought it was a luxury device for rich people only. A few years later smartphones got a lot cooler and cheaper, to the point where it actually helped spread the internet to sections of the population that weren’t able or didn’t want to use a PC.

I used to buy used cars for less than the price of a new top-end iPhone. They aren't phones, they are pocket computers/jewelry that sometimes make phone calls.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#162

Post by brookst »

portyllo wrote: post #151
brookst wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The "85% of their bandwidth" part is super interesting. It implies usage for much more than occasional emergencies. Globalstar has ~12Mhz of global S-Band spectrum[0], which they describe as "3.7 Billion MHz-POP", a unit I'm not grokking. But I am pretty sure that is a LOT more bandwidth than what will be used for highly compressed text messages in emergencies. [0] https://www.globalstar.com/Globalstar/media/Globalst…

A MHz-POP is just bandwidth times population covered by the Geographic Service Area (i.e., where the company is licensed to operate). For example, in the US, they would have 11.5 MHz x 330 M = 3.79 Billion MHz-POP.

Thank you! Doesn't that seem like a weird metric? I would think MHz/POP would make more sense. I guess the idea is to assume unlimited and independent channels to everyone as a first order?

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#163

Post by makeitdouble »

jmbwell wrote: post #120

Set backcountry search and rescue aside for a second. Seems to me this is for ordinary people doing ordinary things outside cell range, and finding they need help. A family member has a heart attack. A collision with a moose. Who knows what. Less “should’ve brought water and a jacket” and more “we’ve been on route 9 for two hours, a moment ago everything was fine, now he’s not breathing, we have no bars, and we have…

> even if this feature only saves a single life, seems worth it to me.

Would the corollary of this be “if a feature causes a single death it’s not worth it” ?

That would be an interesting angle to look at when Apple revamps its lock screen, changes privacy policy settings on GPS tracking etc.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#164

Post by balozi »

Predictions of where this tech goes from here: shall the satellite SOS infrastructure be adapted into full-blown satellite-based wireless service for all mobile devices? I am thinking global 5G capabilities off satellites, untethered from domestic wireless network carriers. Sort of like how doctors got pager service in 1950 progressed into the smartphones we have today.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#165

Post by DMell »

Buttons840 wrote: post #154
COGlory wrote: post #123

I was just on the ground coordinating with 4 friends that got buried in 5+ foot of unexpected snow in the mountains (forecast said 1"-2" when they went up) for the rifle opener in Montana. I wound up getting sick so I stayed home (hilariously I was the only one who got an elk) but I sent them up with my InReach. All I can say is THANK GOD that I did, because it turned into over a week long effort to get them out. Two…

Does InReach require a monthly cost? Alternatively, you can spend about $200 one time on a personal locator beacon that requires no ongoing costs. It can't do two-way communication but activating it sends out a specific frequency picked up by satellites and is the equivalent of calling 911. Rescuers will come to help you. All serious hikers and outdoor adventurers should carry a personal locator beacon.

Yes there are monthly plans that have different features - such as number of texts, custom messages, tracking intervals, etc.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#166

Post by SomeCallMeTim »

manacit wrote: post #156
jmbwell wrote: post #120

Set backcountry search and rescue aside for a second. Seems to me this is for ordinary people doing ordinary things outside cell range, and finding they need help. A family member has a heart attack. A collision with a moose. Who knows what. Less “should’ve brought water and a jacket” and more “we’ve been on route 9 for two hours, a moment ago everything was fine, now he’s not breathing, we have no bars, and we have…

This is definitely not an extremely serious backcountry device, but for someone (like me) that is a casual hiker and skier, it was the primary reason I bought an iPhone 14 Pro. It's very easy in the US West to get out of cell service very quickly - at that point, even just throwing an ankle or tripping can put you at the mercy of your hiking companion or random strangers on the trail. If you're going somewhere less t…

Yeah, this is the first Apple feature announcement for a long time that I'm actually impressed by.

Not the biggest Apple fan, but I have to let them have this one. If I weren't so invested in the not-Apple ecosystem, I'd consider switching.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#167

Post by prescriptivist »

jmbwell wrote: post #120

Set backcountry search and rescue aside for a second. Seems to me this is for ordinary people doing ordinary things outside cell range, and finding they need help. A family member has a heart attack. A collision with a moose. Who knows what. Less “should’ve brought water and a jacket” and more “we’ve been on route 9 for two hours, a moment ago everything was fine, now he’s not breathing, we have no bars, and we have…

Yeah. I mean there are large swaths of New England where there isn't any cell service at all, let alone multi-carrier coverage. And these aren't just logging roads or whatever, they are paved roads that people commute and travel on every day. This is an unalloyed good for anyone anywhere in areas like this.

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#168

Post by dont__panic »

Buttons840 wrote: post #154
COGlory wrote: post #123

I was just on the ground coordinating with 4 friends that got buried in 5+ foot of unexpected snow in the mountains (forecast said 1"-2" when they went up) for the rifle opener in Montana. I wound up getting sick so I stayed home (hilariously I was the only one who got an elk) but I sent them up with my InReach. All I can say is THANK GOD that I did, because it turned into over a week long effort to get them out. Two…

Does InReach require a monthly cost? Alternatively, you can spend about $200 one time on a personal locator beacon that requires no ongoing costs. It can't do two-way communication but activating it sends out a specific frequency picked up by satellites and is the equivalent of calling 911. Rescuers will come to help you. All serious hikers and outdoor adventurers should carry a personal locator beacon.

Any personal locator beacon recommendations? It's one of those items that I could very much use during bike touring, hiking, and bikepacking... but I've never bought one because it seems like a very large cost for something I won't even test until it is a matter of life and death.

Out of curiosity... is there any way to alert your local emergency department in advance of testing a beacon, so you can verify that it works?

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#169

Post by Scoundreller »

rtkwe wrote: post #112
WhyNotHugo wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was really wondering what kind of satellite-based emergency SOS they were using -- mostly because I'd never heard of it until it was being shipped in a commercial product, which is something very rare to see. So basically, they have their own infrastructure for their own proprietary 911 service with global coverage? It's really amazing that we live in a world where we can have such infrastructure, but at the same t…

GPS has always been available to get location information even offline. What you usually don't get at the user end is a map of where you are because maps apps don't cache or download automatically. I've installed OSMAnd+ and downloaded a lot of maps to avoid that and I wish Google Maps or Apple Maps made it easier to download a large swath like you can with OSM. (you can even download POI to still be able to do some…

> I wish Google Maps or Apple Maps made it easier to download a large swath like you can with OSM.

Google Maps on iOS let’s you choose squares on the planet and download offline maps.

Open the app, click your initial at the top right and you’ll see Offline Maps in the drop-down.

Driving directions only though. But you can search for POIs and it will navigate you there. Or you can look at the maps/streets.

I use it regularly in USA and Europe when I don’t have a data plan there. Or when I’m low/out of data in Canada because Canadian telecom sucks. Or when Rogers shits the bed.

I also have Kiwix with full copies of Wikipedia (about 85gb) and a few other resources. And a small solar panel so when doomsday hits…

Re: Emergency SOS via satellite

#170

Post by DMell »

prescriptivist wrote: post #142
COGlory wrote: post #123

I was just on the ground coordinating with 4 friends that got buried in 5+ foot of unexpected snow in the mountains (forecast said 1"-2" when they went up) for the rifle opener in Montana. I wound up getting sick so I stayed home (hilariously I was the only one who got an elk) but I sent them up with my InReach. All I can say is THANK GOD that I did, because it turned into over a week long effort to get them out. Two…

> The SOS button is very expensive. Extremely expensive. With my inReach I pay for the insurance plan [1]. I do wilderness float/canoe/kayak trips and I have it for peace of mind in case I or somebody I'm with (or encounter) is immobilized, as I can walk out of most places I go to if my legs are working. I haven't been able to find any such option for the iPhone, which, amongst other things, means I'll be keeping my…

I encourage people to know the laws in the state they are exploring as they are different across the board - some are at no cost to the individual while others have clauses.

Additionally, know how your device works - end to end - regardless of what it is. You gain a lot of knowledge and life saving techniques by knowing the process that is kicked off, it's timeframe, etc.

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