Location tracking
 

Hi all, got a question on devices or software that allow someone to track my location even if I don't have cell service. I'm sometimes in fairly rural areas, especially on gravel rides, and, at almost 70 years old, my wife thinks it would be a good idea to be able to find my body if anything happened to me on one of my rides.

She most likely would try to check my location from our iMac desktop although she has an Android phone, too.

My understanding is there's a lot of options to share location if I have cell service where I'm riding. My question is ... are there devices that use just the gps location and make that available to either her Android phone or our iMac so she could see where I am. So, is there a way to track me even if I'm out of cell service range.

Probably not an issue for the next few month as my rides are shorter and closer to home but want to be prepared for the spring.

Thanks in advance!

Garmin InReach Mini is what I use so that my husband can find my body if I go missing on my hikes and bike rides. It is a satellite communicator and it sends a signal every 10 minutes. My husband can view my track on a webpage.

I have been using the SPOT locator for a long time and find it works well. Solo hiking and long-distance self-supported cycling trips provide peace of mind for myself and my family.

Both the inReach and SPOT work through the Iridium satellite constellation and do not require cellular coverage. But they have a monthly fee.

Not just the $14 or so monthly fee for the tracking and system service, Garmin also charges $35 per year for the account. You can suspend the $15 tracking service but they will hit you up for the yearly fee.

But SPOT and InReach are the only systems that can track when there's no cell service.

Thanks for the quick responses! I'll research both suggestions.

Be aware this is an area of technology that is changing rapidly. If you prioritize having this now, you don't have much choice besides the devices mentioned above. If you're the kind of person who would hate buying one of these devices and seeing them become obsolete in 3 to 5 years, it's very possible that may happen. Now the new iPhone can trigger an SOS through satellites but can't be tracked this way; next year the situation will be more competitive.

Funny you say that - I am totally that kind of person ... the one that keeps waiting for the next upgrade/release/innovation.

I forgot the iphone was like that. But a spot isn't as expensive. The big advantage of the inreach is you can text. Spot has some devices like that now, but I have the one that will send 3 different texts. I have one set up to say I'm ok and one that says I'm not okay and need help. The third is on the SOS button, which will also go to emergency services.

Tracking requires that the device have a reasonably clear view of the sky, which makes sense but a lot of people have trouble with it.

Spot has a sale on now, but the gen 4 is sold out. They have a flex plan that you can activate only when you want, the plan costs a little more per month.

I really like the text feature of the Garmin InReach Mini, especially since I can use Bluetooth to pair it to my phone. This makes typing up a message much easier. My standard protocol with my husband is to let him know when I am starting my hike/bike and when I have finished my hike/bike. The trailheads for the section of the Ice Age Trail that I'm working on in northwest Wisconsin are out in the middle of nowhere (says a lifelong Chicago suburbanite). While I might have cellphone signal during my drive, it is really sporadic if I will have any signal out in the woods.

I've opted for the Freedom Recreation Plan and I can turn it on for a month at a time for $34.95 - this gives me 40 texts per billing cycle and the unlimited tracking at 10 minute intervals. Yes, there is also an annual fee of $34.95. The peace of mind for both my husband and me is well worth the expense.

Can these devices be kept in your jersey pocket or do they need exposure ... e.g. mounted on handlebars?

Thanks!

I clip mine onto my vest using the carabiner clip that came with it. The unit’s antenna should not be buried in a pocket

Aside from InReach and Spot, there's also Zoleo. No annual fee, but if you "park" the device, there's a $4/month fee in lieu of the monthly sub. Works well, we've been very happy with ours. REI has them on sale at the moment.

--Richard

Aren't there enough tech Billionaires? "Honey, I'm goin' for a ride." "Love you, sweets". It's that simple (and cheap). My wife isn't that dumb that she needs a subscription device to let her know that I'm down somewhere if I haven't come back home in a week or two.

Maybe you shouldn't be throwing the word "dumb" around, considering. Just saying.

I had a medical (almost) emergency last summer. No traffic, no cell, nothing. I was slowly pushing my bike up a mountain. I was debating pushing the sos button, but decided against it and one of my texts to my wife somehow made it through. My spot didn't seem dumb at that point. What was dumb was that I didn't have it set up to send texts, only emails. I fixed that when I got home.

Inreach lets you pre-program a bunch of messages, you can then pick from the list, "I am at todays expected destination, all is well". Etc.,,,, saves a lot of annoying typing on the small screen when you are in the outback.

Considering what? I was actually trying to be humorously sarcastic in the face of all the fatalism about 'bodies'. Your wives are not equipped to bring your bodies out of backcountry even if they could locate them with one of those thingamabobs. Trained search and rescue people would have that assignment covered and usually they find people alive or dead within 24 hours, locators not usually present on their bodies.

Edited to add that chances are better than even that my wife would be with me if I was biking or hiking somewhere and if she couldn't be. Someone would be. I've never been told specifically but it just doesn't seem the best of practices to go deep into no cell reception territory all alone.

Specialized ANGi does not track without cell service. But it does notify ICE contacts if you crash and they can see your location. Also if you lose service they can see your last known location.
There is a number of gadgets that can do this so it’s not unique but efficent.

You're either not capable of understanding 3rd grade level English, or can't hold an idea in your head for 30 seconds. And in the same breath you're calling other people dumb. :rolleyes:

People go alone all the time, with no issues and it doesn't take much exploring to be in a no cell area. I'm one of them and I realized the risk and got an InReach to help minimize that risk. The InReach sends GPS coordinates and I believe a link to a map of the device location when it sends a text, thus the person getting the Help Me message can readily give this information to the rescue folks. Were you really thinking that if I send a Send Help message to my wife when I'm in the middle of nowhere in the Adirondacks, that my wife will drive 350 miles and come looking for me ?. No,. she's calling the NY State Police.

OP asked for info he needs. A completely unrelated rant isn't helpful to him or anybody else. You're being rude.

Clearly, you have no clue.

I can go less than 10 miles from home and be out of cell range. A majority of the good riding around here is out of cell range. I think people don't recognize how often they are out of cell range when they ride a century, for example. Or you might be in cell range, but only be able to call 911. That's why I have a spot. If all I did was ride 20 miles on the flats near my house, I wouldn't really need it.

When I hiked from Cascade Pass to Stehekin I didn't see another human for two full days. Saw the most incredible sunset of my life though.