On the other hand, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that neither Spot nor Spidertracks is monitored except by whomever you designate--and what if you have no one doing that? Or what if the someone you have designated is less than curious about your trip progress? Or they're busy doing something else? I can imagine the conversation. "Mom, how's Dad's trip going?" "I don't know--here, let me check the computer. Oh gosh, it says that he stopped somewhere in western Utah. I wonder why he's there? That was this morning. I wonder why he hasn't called? Well, we'll check on him again in the morning." The point is that nothing calls "designee's" attention to the trip stopping, other than the end of the bread crumbs, and why it stopped is anyone's guess, unless the user can send a message to "designee".

The, of course, "designee" has to know who to call--and how many of us have given "designee" that information? Or for that matter, do we know, ourselves? You can bet that the average 911 operator doesn't know.

Then there's the annual fees, in addition to the equipment cost, which are a turn-off for some: Spot is $100 per year, Spidertracks is minimum $120 plus a 10 cent charge per "position report".

On the other hand, a 406 ELT or PLB is a one-time purchase, and there are no annual fees to use the SAR network, which is monitoring 24/7. For an extra $40/year, you can still send a message to Mom that you're OK through 406Link.

Cary