The mini 2 came out in the last week.

https://www.garmin.com/en-US/p/765374

Cool! I'll check it out.

I see a picture with a map on it but don't see any way to load maps.

It doesn't have the ability to add maps, just waypoints, tracks and routes. The Inreach Mini works really well linked to a smartphone in airplane mode. The Garmin Explore app is decent, but Gaia GPS and CalTopo are amazing map/navigation apps that I have used with great success along side the Inreach Mini.

I keep thinking I might upgrade from my old etrex legend HCx but nothing really looks like an improvement yet.

That requires a subscription plan? Ouch.

I think we need a tiny JS8call transceiver (js8call.com). That is a weak signal ham radio mode similar to FT8, but you can type any messages you like, instead of having a fixed QSO format. Tiny FT8 tranceiver is here: https://hackaday.com/2021/09/25/the-simplest-ft8-transceiver-youll-ever-build/

Basically it is an Altoids sized tranceiver with around $50 of parts, that can send and receive text messages over transcontinental distances, but at very low speed (like several minutes for a 50 character message). It would use a wire antenna a few feet long or preferably longer. For normal use you need a ham license, but in a real emergency saving people takes priority. I have been playing with this idea for a while, but haven't tried to really pursue it.

You could make the tranceiver even smaller and cheaper, by getting rid of the display and just using a phone as a UI and power source. Of course that means you have to bring a phone.

In this case the improvements include a dedicated SOS function, two way message capabilities, and the ability link to a smart phone. Your etrex has none of these.

The etrex works fine as a simple GPS however.

The basic subscription plan is quite reasonable. I pay about $12 month, which gives me I think 10 regular messages, with a minor charge if I go over that. And of course SOS ability. It is fairly easy to upgrade the plan, or drop back down to the basic plan as your needs change.


While this sounds like a fun and interesting project, I don't see it as a viable alternative to an InReach.

1. First, for an emergency device, when you need help, you usually need it right now. That means someone needs to be monitoring JS8call when you send your "help" message. To my knowledge, no rescue agency guards JS8call.

2. You could of course just send out a general "help" message, and yes, likely someone somewhere in the world will receive it. However, you are assuming this random person somewhere in the world will understand your problem, be willing to help, and know who to relay the message to. That's a lot of assumptions.

3. An InReach sends your GPS coordinates imbedded in an SOS (or a routine text message as well). To use the system you propose for emergencies, you would still need to also carry a separate, dedicated GPS (or smart phone). Then you would need to hand type in those coordinates, with the potential for error. Likewise, whatever random person received your JS8call needs to copy those coordinates, and relay them to at the appropriate rescue authority (assuming the random person knows what authority to call). This will likely be done by phone. But then the rescue authority needs to transcribe those coordinates yet again. Speaking from real world SAR experience, almost NOTHING is easier to corrupt in voice communication than a GPS coordinate. (Always get a read back of coordinates!)

4. As noted in #2 your plan increases the number of middlemen in the operation. An InREach SOS goes directly to a rescue coordination center. This outfit responds to SOS messages from all over the world, all the time (not just for InReach, but other devices as well.) When your SOS comes in, the coordinates will pop up on a map, the center folks will check their database of SAR agencies, and relay it on. It has proven to be an effective system, and has achieved a good track record.

5. Then there is the issue of building said device rugged enough to be reliable in field conditions. My InReach, as well as every stand alone GPS I've used has been quite solidly built. Smartphones not so much, although there are a wide variety of protective cases available.

6. With your plan, you need to rig an antenna "a few feet long or preferably longer". Maybe not a big deal for a healthy person, but that could be problematic if you are badly injured. With an InReach, you just remove the safety, and push the button. It will then send an SOS (with GPS coordinates). If you should then pass out from your injuries, the InReach will continue to send an SOS until the batteries die.

Note that I'm a ham (Extra class), and enjoy the hobby. While I don't have much experience with JS8call, I have actually played around with it briefly. Your idea sounds like a fun project. But I don's see myself replacing my InReach Explorer with JS8call anytime soon.

Thanks, and all good points. I personally wouldn't want to pay $12/month unless I was going on a trip or expedition where I felt I might have to rely on the device (everything around here is in cell phone or ham HT range). But if I went on a 1 month expedition and could pay for just that month (or maybe 2 months if the trip overlapped two), that would be ok.

I haven't used JS8call and don't know what its network is like, but even if the present network is insufficient, it might get built out, something like the WSPR network. Basically there would be automated listening stations all over the world, that could accept JS8call messages and forward them to email or SMS text addresses. So you could send daily updates to your friends and that sort of thing (hopefully the ham regs would treat that like using a repeater phone patch). It also shouldn't be any big deal to include a GPS chip in the transceiver, so the message would automatically include coordinates.

WSPR turns out to be quite powerful. Apparently the best known estimate for the MH370 wreckage came from analysis of WSPR signals that had bounced off the plane and been picked up by automated listeners.

I'd have to check into the antenna. Maybe a ferrite loop would be ok. But it is HF after all.

I have not used any of these modes and am not really knowledgeable, but they are very interesting. I reactivated my old callsign (general class) a year or two ago and I have a crappy 2m/440 HT, but that medium is now pretty much dead, so I'm not on the air at all these days. Weak signal digital is the only mode that seems worthwhile to me now (phone calls and email handle everything else), though of course that's just me.

They need to sell a prepaid deal with those. Buy a package of minutes/texts like you can with prepaid cell phones now.

My issue is I don't want to have to carry two devices. If I were to add one of these then I'd want to be able to load and display maps like my etrex so I don't have to have it in addition.

Yes they do have some bigger ones with screens and maps. Can you alternatively use your phone for maps? Etrex-like devices aren't that common any more.

Re prepaid phone minutes, they always expire and then your service is shut off / phone number cancelled, so you have to keep adding more. It's impossible to buy a 60 minute block just in case, and keep it unexpired if you don't use your phone. Everyone wants to sell monthly subscriptions so they can sit back and collect revenue while doing nothing.

Sit around and do nothing? Not exactly.

IERRC

What you are paying for (among other things) is to have someone monitor 24/7 for SOS messages. And that someone needs to be knowledgeable about SAR, have a world wide database of SAR resources, etc. Oh yeah, and since this is not a tax supported entity, they need to turn a reasonable profit too.

You get what you pay for.

And thats probably why there aren't any more etrex like handhelds, everyone says just use your phone. but a phone is bigger, harder to see, more fragile and doesn't run last 24 hours on a charge.

Question What has been the experience with the various subscription services? When a distress is broadcast, what has been the response and the outcome?

I know in the movies, everything moves along smoothly, with no hassles or hiccups, but real life SAR is quite different.

I would really like to know about times when there was no response forthcoming, but reliable stats are hard to come by

First off, just to make sure people understand how the system works. If you are using a PLB there is no subscription. It is a program run and funded by your tax dollars. When you trigger an SOS, it goes directly to the Air Force and USCG Rescue Coordination Centers (RCC). They then coordinate the response, and route it to whichever agency (Federal, State, or local) is best able to respond. The downside of PLBs is that it is purely an SOS device. There is no way to send any messages regarding your exact circumstances or needs.

With InReach, one can send routine two way text messages. When doing solo trips, I will periodically send my wife a message letting her know I'm OK, where I am, and what my plans are. (There was a brief outage a couple of years ago when routine text messages were not going to ATT phones. Garmin said SOS messages were not effected.) When you trigger an SOS on an InReach, the message goes to the INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY RESPONSE COORDINATION CENTER (IERCC). The IERCC is a private, for profit company, now owned by Garmin. When the IERCC receives an SOS, they determine where it is, and which SAR agency is appropriate for that location, and send the SOS on to them. They also immediately try to text back, to get more information. I don't know off hand of any hard statistics, especially regarding failures of the InReach system. My sense is that it has established a good track record.

I have knowledge of several instances when the system worked quite well. In one case, a party was attempting to ski across the Harding Icefield, and got caught in severe weather. In that case the IERCC directed the SOS to the 176th Wing of the Air National Guard (RCC, PJs, Pavehawks, and HC-130s). Using the text capability the RCC was able to determine the skiers had dug in and were reasonably stable (as long as their food & fuel lasted). Due to poor flying conditions, the PJs launched a an overland team to try to ski in. Later the weather cleared briefly, and a Pavehawk helicopter reached the skiers at about the exact time the ground party did. A happy ending.

In another case I have direct knowledge of, the IERCC notified the Alaska State Troopers (AST) of an SOS in the mountains near Anchorage. Coincidently it happened when local volunteer SAR teams were doing a table top training exercise, which immediately turned into a real mission. The AST helo launched but the area was too socked in. A ground team was also launched. The IERCC had tried to text the party, but had no immediate response. However, the InReach device continued to move up the mountain at a pretty good pace. The SAR teams became suspicious that this might have been an accidental SOS (as is known to happen with the older Delorme devices). The IERCC confirmed that indeed it was a Delorme unit. Ultimately it was confirmed that it was indeed a false alarm, and all SAR resources were recalled. Another happy ending. Overall the system worked well. There was good and prompt communication between the IERCC, the Alaska State Troopers, and the volunteer SAR teams.

Thank you, AkSAR! I appreciate your extensive post, but I am surprised that there are no SAR stats available. How busy is this place? A call every hour/ every three minutes? And no tracking of outcomes? I suspect that would b a good selling point.

After all, the situations today are a big improvement over the bad old days, pre 1985, when I was active in SAR. back then operations often started with notification that someone was overdue, often without any clear idea of plans. This seems to be the case less often these days.

yet I doubt that your black box, whatever iteration, is absolute security. Glitches can occur an delays may happen. I suspect that a lot of people depend on their black boxes to bail them out, when really the first source of aid is within their group and its resources. Help from outside may come faster than before, but it still isn't immediate, and bad outcomes are still possible.

Based on my experience in the NPS, if this were a govment operation, there would be stats up the gazoo

I really do need to get one! Obviously tech can't solve every problem but it's another tool in the toolbox.

I'm sure there are statistics, I'm just not aware of how to find them. Garmin does have a blog called Saved by Garmin. In a post from last year they were claiming more than 6,000 successful rescues due to InReach. If those numbers are just from since Garmin acquired InReach in 2016, that would average out to about 1000 successful missions per year.

Obviously, no device can guarantee you will have absolute security. For all the reasons you cite. An InReach can increase your odds of surviving, but stuff happens.

As I noted above, there probably are statistics, I just don't have access to them. Keep in mind that Garmin is a private, for profit operation. Unlike the NPS, FOIA doesn't apply, and they don't have to release any data. That being said, the general sense I get is that the system works quite well.

If a person was willing to spend the money and had reasons to desire more options (eg a health issue, etc) one could carry a PLB and an InReach Mini. I've thought about it.

In my opinion the tradeoff looks like this:

InReach allows for a lot more communications options and has a proven privately-operated Rescue Coordination Center (RCC). There’s a subscription cost. I think all the modern units are USB rechargeable, with the tradeoffs inherent in that.

PLBs have no communications options other than “help” and have the world standard for RCC (USCG or USAF). There is no subscription. They are certified to work for a given number of years and then need an expensive factory service to replace the battery.

I still am considering buying an InReach for the admittedly rare times that I’m both off the beaten track and don’t have an easier to use comms option. I would buy a PLB if I were going to do something truly adventurous, and probably keep it on my person at all times.

One certainly could.

For assorted technical reasons, including more watts, and redundant means of finding location (Doppler as well as GPS), the PLB might get an SOS out in a few specific situations where an InReach might fail. However, this a probably a mostly theoretical advantage. In the real world, the InReach seems to do quite well.

If I were looking for a backup to an InReach another option to consider would be a Sat Phone. However, this would be significantly more expensive, and would involve carrying somewhat more weight and bulk.

Any way you slice we do live in a golden age for safety equipment!