in reach

I have been toying with getting an delrome in reach, mostly because me and my jeep are both old and have a lot of miles on us the jeep has 166,000 Garmin bough delorme and the prices seem to have jumped about 50 bucks per unit plus I think whne it was de lorme you buy a subscrition on a use as you basis. now that it is Garmin, I think you have to pay a registration fee and a subscription fee (yearly) so instead of being like 450 its a couple of hundred more. I have not confirmed the exact numbers but it seems to me that is getting pretty pricey.

So here are my questions those of you that actull have an in reach how do you like it do you use it much? what about costs?

What other alternatives are there? how much does it cost for a ham radio? how hard is it to get a liscence?
What other options are availble Plb etc?

My use would be soley as a rescue or request for help in the vent of a break down or worse.

Mainly in the west washington oregon Ca idaho utah colorado az?
 

BigDaveZJ

Adventurer
I've used my InReach quite a bit throughout CO and UT. I used to use a SPOT Messenger, and liked its functionality, but the 2 way capability of the InReach made it right for me. I'm part of a group that puts on an event in Moab each year, and being able to communicate between groups without cell service was something that was very important to us. Because of the 2-way comms, I have not really done much with the tracking aspect of the InReach. Once we figured out a few things on its use, it has served us quite well. It's crazy easy to text InReach to cell, but wanting to text InReach to InReach took a little figuring. I also don't use the InReach for any mapping or navigational purposes at all. I have BackCountry Navigator Pro on my cell phone and use that in a dash mount instead.
 

BigDaveZJ

Adventurer
I've always been curious about that, but never had the opportunity to try it out. How does that work? I believe each inReach device has an "email" that can be used to contact them, so are you sending messages to each others' emails?
That's exactly how it works. I think we may have been able to figure out a way to effectively group text through it too but not 100% sure on that.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
 

Ovrlnd Rd

Adventurer
I have been toying with getting an delrome in reach, mostly because me and my jeep are both old and have a lot of miles on us the jeep has 166,000 Garmin bough delorme and the prices seem to have jumped about 50 bucks per unit plus I think whne it was de lorme you buy a subscrition on a use as you basis. now that it is Garmin, I think you have to pay a registration fee and a subscription fee (yearly) so instead of being like 450 its a couple of hundred more. I have not confirmed the exact numbers but it seems to me that is getting pretty pricey.

I bought mine from a member here and just registered it last night. There's a $19.95 activation fee then you can choose to buy an annual subscription as low as $12/month (plus about $5 in gov't taxes added to the back of that) or you can buy a single month at a time. Different plans cost different amounts depending on how many texts you want to send and some of the other minor features.

I bought the cheapest annual plan so I can keep it in the truck to use any time I want in the event I'm in the middle of nowhere (lot of that in TX) and need to contact my wife. When I head to ExPo West in May I'll probably bump the program up a couple of levels then drop it back once I'm home. For my ID BDR trip in July I'll get the top level program since there's a WHOLE lot of Idaho that has no cell service, then again, drop it back to the minimum when I get home.

My wife's peace of mind is worth a few bucks a month and my confidence that I can summon help if I'm somewhere on the Magruder Corridor and break my leg is priceless.
 

Comanche Scott

Expedition Leader
The Social interaction is a huge plus to PLB with texting

I have been toying with getting an delrome in reach, mostly because me and my jeep are both old and have a lot of miles on us the jeep has 166,000 Garmin bough delorme and the prices seem to have jumped about 50 bucks per unit plus I think whne it was de lorme you buy a subscrition on a use as you basis. now that it is Garmin, I think you have to pay a registration fee and a subscription fee (yearly) so instead of being like 450 its a couple of hundred more. I have not confirmed the exact numbers but it seems to me that is getting pretty pricey.

So here are my questions those of you that actull have an in reach how do you like it do you use it much? what about costs?

What other alternatives are there?
Ham HF would be about the closest non-satelite comms, in an area without cell phone coverage
how much does it cost for a ham radio? how hard is it to get a liscence?
Ham radio can be as cheap as $20, as much as $2K. It really depends on what you want to do with it.
The General license, which is what you'd need to run an HF radio takes a bit of studying.

What other options are availble Plb etc?
Spot is a direct competitor (I think it was the first of these two that came out).

My use would be soley as a rescue or request for help in the vent of a break down or worse.
I think you are missing out on the best part of PLB with texting ability

Mainly in the west washington oregon Ca idaho utah colorado az?

In my personal opinion from using the Inreach SE, you'd be missing out on the most fun aspect of using an InReach, or Spot with texting ability. The whole "Social" thing.
I've only used the InReach for one major trip. Eight days worth of exploration from California to Moab, UT, and back across the Mojave Road, but my family and friends still talk about that trip (it was over two years ago now).

* they could follow along the route almost real time on the password protected web site, with a Google Earth Overlay
* we could text back and forth real time. My brother was quasi "spotting" for me by using Google Earth, and letting me know what was coming up on some of the trails. It was a riot
* Family and friends could check in as they pleased to see where I'd been, and where I was currently at
* My other brother sent me a text to slow down, because I was doing 75mph (I was in an 80mph zone)... lol
* I'd take pictures with the cell phone and post them to Flickr. As soon as the cell phone had any kind of data reception the pictures would post up, and people would comment on them via the text ability
* After the trip my one brother who is retired, said it was the closest thing to actually being in the Jeep with me, but without all my burps and farts... :elkgrin:
* when the trip was over, I didn't need to tell all the friends and family about it multiple times because it was all there for them to "see" already, and they got to play a part in how it went.

The whole "social" aspect of the trip is still talked about, and everyone is urging me to go on another one soon. Of course, maybe they just want to be rid of me for a while... Hmmmm :elkgrin:
A plus for me was, there was such constant viewing throughout the 8 days, that had I been in a spot where I couldn't activate the SOS button, one of my family or friends would have caught this, and reported it. So while it was a lot of fun for all of us, it was an additional safety layer. Sort of a redundancy of safety.

I do the plan where I pay a yearly fee of $25, and then just pay by the month(s) of use. The only thing I would do different from the first trip is to do the top monthly plan (for the month of the trip), so it updates more often. When people are following along, and the trail is fast, they like to see the line of travel better. Especially when they are following along with Google Earth, with how well it zooms in.
It's only like $30 difference, which is like one hotdog, and a beer at a Giant's game... ;)

Hope this helps bring a different perspective that maybe you hadn't already thought of. :beer:
 

danmedeiros

Observer
The in reach is amazing. I also have a ham license. I use the in reach for vehicle to vehicle comms. However on a recent remote trip to Baja I was texting my wife and getting the surf report on my ipad while lounging in camp. No way that could ever happen ham radio. I considerer it a mandatory safety device for alley adventures, whether vehicle or self powered.
 

greg.potter

Adventurer
I've used an InReach for about a half dozen years. I got if for emergency communication purposes and have the minimum subscription. I've never had to use if for an emergency but when away from regular communication for an extended time use it for a daily text to let folks know all is well and confirm that the unit is working. I have the original model and am not planning on upgrading until they get the Garmin mapping system ported over to the InReach. The Delorme GPS functionality does not seem to be as good as Garmin and all of the other GPS units that I own or have owned have been Garmin.
 

java

Expedition Leader
If we're talking rescue uses, VHF/ham is not even remotely comparable to inReach.

Buy a DeLorne in each on Amazon/eBay - the units are cheaper than the new versions, and offer largely the same functionality.

Careful buying used units, if there is a balance on the old account that has not been paid it can not be added to a new one. I was looking at used units and that is what the tech support guys told me.
 

java

Expedition Leader
I was suggesting buying new, old-model units on Amazon/eBay (as I did).

The thing support told you sounds a bit... weird. I've never come across anything like that with other subscription-based devices. Maybe they just want you to buy new? In any case, a good point to think about.
Ah sorry, didn't catch that. But that's what they told me, if the unit is attached to a account with a balance they can't transfer the unit.

Either way if your buying used, but it really cheap! :D

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GB_Willys_2014

Well-known member
Another happy InReach user here.

I take it with me whenever I am in the backcountry, and often use the text feature to keep in touch with friends and family.

I did have to call an SOS last March and was very pleased with it's performance.
 

Ovrlnd Rd

Adventurer
Just finished a trip from San Antonio, TX to the Canadian border. I upped the subscription to the highest level so I could text my wife as much as I (or she) wanted. I also set it to track every 2 minutes so it kept a close eye on me in the boonies.

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DaveInDenver

Middle Income Semi-Redneck
The thing support told you sounds a bit... weird. I've never come across anything like that with other subscription-based devices. Maybe they just want you to buy new? In any case, a good point to think about.
I imagine it has something to do with the ESN being registered to a person for SAR purposes. If there's a balance sitting out there on an account that isn't closed Garmin (and would probably be true of Spot, ACR, etc) can't say for sure who owns the device and who to contact if the emergency beacon is activated.

Also, if the previous owner doesn't disconnect it from their account how does anyone know it's not stolen or lost? Of all the things I own I'm worried the least about someone stealing my Spot, it's not like it's useful without pinpointing exactly who took it after all.
 
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GreggNY

Well-known member
I just bought the inReach explorer for a drive from NY to CO. It worked really well for family and friends to be able to see where I was along the way with the tracking feature. I only used the texting a few times, but that worked well too. Overall, I was in quite a few areas with no cell service so the texting and SOS was a comfort to have.
 

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