Important information concerning depending on SPOT for rescue

GPS/Phone coords

Great thread on location technology……as many have heard my rants/discussions…..I’m a retired EMS Helo pilot (27 years), and obviously old timer Beemer guy (42 years)….
Everyone should know how to read their Lats & Longs on their phone !!!! This info is critical if you need a helo, or ground ambulance. Dispatchers can convert Lat/Long to street. address, or vice versa.
Iphones have this capability on the “compass” app if activated; there are other apps avail now also….

Please practice this issue RIGHT NOW !!! I also recc keeping your phone on your person when riding….

brownie said:

Please practice this issue RIGHT NOW !!! I also recc keeping your phone on your person when riding….

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reminder. I used to have a app to send my location but see it disappeared.
On a Android phone if you hold down on the Google Map display you can see the coord, but I have to remember to hold the phone in Landscape to see all of the numbers.
Just now I installed the app Map Coordinates. When you open the app it displays the coord and closest street address.
The Map Coordinates app would be the easiest for me, but I need to make sure I know how to change to the app while talking on the cell phone.

I sure hope these SPOTs are a lot better than when they first came out, with users not getting through when under certain conditions (tree cover or in a gorge, etc).

Some time ago, claims were that they got better and based on newer models that came out.

But when it comes to live saving and especially in remote areas:
1) I count on myself and being prepared. That depends on the stuff beteen my ears and equipment such as a PLB, sat-phone, first aid kit and emergency equipment.
2) then I count on back-ups such as flight plans and lastly flight notifications when I flew.

The Apple App Store has an app titled "My GPS Coordinates". It is free and shows location in 5 different formats - selectable, one at a time of course: degrees/decimal degrees; degrees and minutes/decimal minutes; degrees, minutes, and seconds/decimal seconds; and, UTM and MGRS (whatever those last two are???).

I really like this app.

UTM - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Transverse_Mercator_coordinate_system

MGRS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Grid_Reference_System

Pauls1150 said:

UTM - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universal_Transverse_Mercator_coordinate_system

MGRS - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_Grid_Reference_System

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Thanks!

It gets even more confusing. Different countries use different Geodetic Survey datums. The US uses WGS-84 and Canada uses NAD-83. Fortunately, the difference is only a few meters.

Well done !!!!

Lee said:

Thanks for the reminder. I used to have a app to send my location but see it disappeared.
On a Android phone if you hold down on the Google Map display you can see the coord, but I have to remember to hold the phone in Landscape to see all of the numbers.
Just now I installed the app Map Coordinates. When you open the app it displays the coord and closest street address.
The Map Coordinates app would be the easiest for me, but I need to make sure I know how to change to the app while talking on the cell phone.

Click to expand...

Well done Lee !!!

I'm sticking with my SPOT's.