Thanks for the recommendation. I use a voltmeter (multimeter), which gives a much rougher estimate than this tester. There are circumstances where a voltage reading may seriously mislead you - but it is still good enough for me and my humble needs.

One weakness of this tester (above link): It can't check AA or AAA lithium primaries... so no good for this specific SPOT modell. (AA/AAA lithium are rated 1.5v, not 3v. BTW, fresh AA/AAA lithium should have a closed circuit voltage of 1.6-1.7 volts).


For me, knowing the capacity with higher precision wouldn't solve the hassle of using primaries on a regular basis. I'd just end up with lots of 50% used batteries sitting on a shelf somewhere. Can't waste a battery that has 50% left, but certainly don't feel like sticking anything but fresh batteries into the unit when heading out for a trip...


As stated several times above: For emergency use - Lithium primaries, no doubt about it! And carry spares!

Great TripPlan doc! I hope you don't mind that I grabbed a copy for my personal use.

I respectfully disagree; a voltmeter cannot give an accurate measurement of a battery's remaining capacity unless the battery has already had a significant drop off in voltage.



I have this exact model and it does in fact test AA and AAA lithium primaries accurately.



Makes sense. My usage patterns are apparently different enough that I haven't had a big problem with this.

I believe the model ZTS-MBT-1is designed to test AA and AAA lithium primary batteries and pretty much anything else you want to feed it. I got one because I wanted to make sure not to over-charge or over discharge some rechargeable lithium 18650s which most people understand you need to be careful with.

I carry a PLB. If I need it, I want to have the very highest probability that it will function as exected. I may not be able to change to new batteries or perhaps I have forgotten or lost them. It is a life safety thing for me. Not a tracking tool.

A long time ago, I was sailing my boat up a river on a dark and foggy night, using a computer map with a gps (no display) unit. At a critical point, the computer somehow got into word processing mode and started loading a gigantic file. My navigation tool became useless.

Since then, I make sure that critical items have only the functions needed to do the critical tasks.

I have a dedicated GPS for navigation, no computer assisted software, a radio for the application needed and safety equipment dedicated to safety functions only. It costs a bit more, but the probability that it will function as needed when needed is worth the small additional cost.

The PLB rides on my belt. I use my droid or ham radios for tracking and general messing about.

Think about it........


Nomad

The trip plan is for all to download.

I agree with BackPacJac that attaching the plan to a map is a great idea.

Would appreciate any feedback on the plan. That is how I improve it.


Blake

www.outdoorquest.biz/TripPlanV2.pdf

All this talk about trip plans leads me to believe that SPOT is missing the boat here. Their web interface and updating system is much more sophisticated than the COSPAS-SARSAT system used by PLBs. They should allow you to upload your trip plan to their website which would only be accessed upon emergency activation and given to SAR. In addition, they should establish some type of emergency fail safe that sends out an email to people on your list with your trip plan if you do not disable it by a preset time (a la Patrick Stewart's character, Mace, in the 1998 movie Safe House).

I understand your intent here. But think of the minefields the SPOT company would face: data storage space, backups of that space, the ENORMOUS privacy risk if that personal data got compromised, etc etc. If I were them, I wouldn't want to add those layers to an already risky business model.



Good news: you can implement such a plan yourself. I do it for every trip. My trusted group of contacts (plural!) gets an encrypted PDF file of my personal info, itinerary, and topo map of the area I'll be in. I use Nat Geo Topo for my trips and its easy to paste a JPG of the map into my itinerary document. I use an Excel spreadsheet I made for the itinerary document because it's so easy to tweak to suit, and insert pics. I "print" it to a PDF file for distribution to my contacts.

All SPOT-2 functions aside, my contacts know to call the cavalry if I don't contact them by an agreed upon date/time. So even if my SPOT fails entirely, or for some reason I can't access it, my contacts will provide SAR with a ton of relevant info.

I won't say it's failSAFE, but it's reasonably fail-resistant.

SPOT2 already has a feature with their 'Track' program, additional annual charge, that allows you to establish a shared page online with contacts.

You set the page up based on the dates of your trip, (from 1-30 day duration). Each time you activate the Track program it automatically sends a ping to the online map every ten minutes. It does this until you manually discontinue the Tracking function or turning off the unit.

You can also Name the page with the title of your adventure and add some personal information.

I have done this with hikes and ultra runs so people, especially a nervous DW, can see where I am at on my course. It would certainly establish a a digital trail for SAR, which is why I also have this function.

You can use http://www.followupthen.com/ to send emails at a particular time. When you get back from your trip you can cancel a scheduled email.