Good point. He did mention he had difficulties with a PLB is some locations, didn't he?

I don’t remember him ever mentioning having a PLB. I do remember him having difficulties with satellite telephones, however. I remember him specifically saying that his satellite telephone did not have a signal a great percentage of the time he checked it.

Will have to find the specific reference in the book...

I think EMS has a similiar deal for those who are in their area.

Rebates and low pricing typically precedes introduction of a newer model - maybe SPOT 2.0 is coming out? Or maybe its just economic downturn - its really hard to sell non-essential (or at least non-intuitively essential) devices and services in an economic recession. In which case I would ask, is the SPOT system established such that the locator service that folks depend on can be sustained with a reduced level of subscribers?

Anyway I've been busy and not checking these forums much, but Doug Ritter has posted in his blog a preview of new ACR PLB models coming later this year. I already own a PLB, and will think of getting one of these newer PLBs, and farming out my older model, maybe to another adult leader in Scouts. If I had my druthers I'd rather see some innovation in the PLB space rather than in SPOT - but basically its all good.

My issue with SPOT is the further north you get the less reliably they work...

Oilfield--how much north??..i was going to get one for canoe trips into northern Ontario

I was just looking at a SPOT at Amazon and then read a few of the reviews. Some were quite positive. Some where quite scary. There are reviewers that say SPOT's response center was inept, others that say the device's performance is never consistent and it doesn't work through tree cover.

There are other reviews that say the people with problems haven't read the manual. One review states that say the unit must always be vertical. Another states that the unit must always be horizontal. Customer service at SPOT doesn't seem to fare well at all.

Worth reading if you are considering one.

Let me say, once again, that I would not bet my life on SPOT. Having said that, if you simply won't spend the upfront money for a PLB, SPOT is much better than nothing, unless having it encourages you to do stupid things you wouldn't have normally done without it.

Well Doug, in that case, one would hope Darwinism would kick in...hopefully before said person doing stupid things has children.
I personally have not had any firsthand experience with either device, and have never even given thought to carrying one. That being said, the woods I dwell in are comparatively small; 5 miles in any direction would get you to civilization. The only place that I go hiking on any consistent basis that would be considered large tract of wilderness would be the White Mountains in NH; but, again, those are well travelled trails, and I stay on them. I am also familiar with the maps of the areas I hike, if not intimately familiar with the area itself. PLBs & SPOT devices are great for those pushing the limits, bushwhacking, or travelling over hazardous terrain; should I be doing that, I would likely rent a PLB over a SPOT. But, until then, I cannot justify spending the money on something like that, as, for me at least, it simply isnt a practical investment.