Gear: GPS = FAIL?

Twitter pal @BoatingMagazine tweeted some disturbing news to any person (typically the male of the species) who dislikes the thought of having to stop and ask directions. It seems the Global Positioning Satellite System might just be on its last (or significantly weakened) legs.

According to the Guardian, the report said, "It is uncertain whether the Air Force will be able to acquire new satellites in time to maintain current GPS service without interruption. If not, some military operations and some civilian users could be adversely affected."These adverse effects could range from system failures, to boaters being given unreliable or incorrect directions.

Chances are the government or even private industry would never let the system fail, but if it did, reading maps and knowing which side of a tree the moss grows on might just come back into fashion.

Gear: See SPOT Find Your Sorry Rear End

With all the natural disasters that seems to precede our fishing adventures lately, I have been thinking about purchasing one of the new SPOT Personal Satellite Messengers. With a MSRP of $169.99 and$99 per year for service being able to summon help or just check in with the wife at the touch of a button seems like a bargain.

SPOT features four key functions that enable users to send messages to friends, family or emergency responders, based upon varying levels of need:

Alert 9-1-1 – Alert emergency responders to your exact location
SPOT sends one message every 5 minutes until power is depleted or 911 is cancelled.

Ask for Help – Request help from friends and family in your exact location
SPOT sends one message every 5 minutes for one hour or until Help is cancelled

Check In – Let contacts know where you are and that you’re okay. SPOT sends three identical messages to the SPOT service for redundancy. The first of those three messages is delivered.

Track Progress – Send and save your location and allow contacts to track your progress using Google Maps™ SPOT sends one message every 10 minutes for 24 hours or until SPOT is powered off.

I like the idea that you have the option of asking for full blown help from emergency responders or just sending a message to family or friends asking for a bit of assistance. That flat on your mountain bike might not require a helicopter evacuation so it's nice to know that you have the option to summon a fishing buddy or two. The fact that they are endorsed by Les Stroud closed the deal for us.

We have seen them at our local Bass Pro but they are also available direct via http://www.findmespot.com/.