I need to be tracked and also the ability to get help virtually anywhere when I start riding again, best ideas?

[opimax]

I think this may be 2 different issues or at least solved by 2 different ideas where I can be tracked when out biking by my wife or friend and also need to be able to contact help if I have any issues. When being tracked ideally 100% of the time but maybe just where cell service is would be acceptable if I have a 100% solution to be able to contact help. I would like for the person on the other end to be able to find me or at least contact me by them initializing the call if I
fail to check in by a certain time.

I am beginning this with thoughts that a Sat phone with a limited plan for emergencies and a tracking program for android phone . I would turn on the Sat phone for incoming calls while out by not expect to use it much at all and installing a program a neighbor likes called Life 360 for tracking.

This is as far as I have gotten on this, not even any internet research yet. I am hoping to get enough ideas here before I do more and cut down on my tendencies of overwhelmed by analysis paralysis of too many choices, thanks

 

[fooferdoggie]

using a gamin GPS and strava with live tracking would send your location to others as you go and if you fall would send a notification too. or a Palle watch would do that too.

 

[1234567890]

Look at the iPhone 14, It's got emergency SOS via satellite built in
You can then also use the built in Find My for location tracking or many other apps that offer the same thing.

 

[6zfshdb]

Garmin offers several units with satellite based "Inreach" technology. I pay $12/mo for one of their basic plans with my Montana 750i GPS receiver. They also offer cheaper stand alone non GPS Inreach communicators:

inReach® Satellite Communicators | Messengers | Garmin

Stay safe off-the-grid with inReach® satellite communicators. Features include two-way text messaging (satellite subscription required), SOS trigger, and GPS.

discover.garmin.com

I've been using the service for a year now and I ride in some fairly remote areas where cell service is mostly non existent. I have not found a single place that does not have Inreach coverage. My wife tracks my location on her PC at home and I can text her via satellite if necessary.

 

[PDoz]

Size and functionality comparrison..

Sat phone - an 18 year old Motorola , it takes the sim from my normal mobile and can make iridium based sat calls / sms anywhere in the world but at scary prices. It was useful when negotiating retrievals of a rider with a broken neck in far nth NT , as well as a flail chest in the vic high country. Also great for checking the weather report from the francis peron peninsula in west oz, and keeping my wife updated whilst I crossed the simpson.

Mobile phone - samsung a30. Self explanatory, great for posting / watching video footage from my loungeroom but not much use for communicating if I fall over in the kitchen out of mobile range.

plb - $300 for 10 years, it sends an " oops at lat long" signal so someone who cares can hopefully come and look. Eventually. That might mean a 4 hour 4x4 drive for the local cop to check if it's worth sending helimed. I've waited for helimed with a flail chest and pneumothorax after dropping my motorbike putting it in the shed. It was a painful half hour and I really wasn't looking forward to decompressing my own lung if it progressed to a tension pneumothorax.

garmin inreach mini -$450 plus a monthly subscription that costs about the same as a cheap mobile plan. Sms style communication via sat network , plus tracking and emergency beacon facility. Great theory, but it misses tracking signals as often as it sends them. I should probably gave bought the larger model, but orefer not to carry huge useless things like mobile phones.

This is from elsewhere - nb prices are in Aus $.

If I lived in the US, the decision would be a LOT easier now - the iphone 14 offers sat based messaging, but unfortunately only in the US. I get the impression that the garmin inreach is more reliable in the US - which makes sense because the satelittes are more available. Either way, I'd be looking very clisely at an iphone 14 vs garmin inreach comparrison if I luved there

 

[dodgeman]

Do you ride a lot where there is no cell service? Where I do 99% of my riding I have cell service and I have my phone set so my wife can see where I am.

 

[Rexlion]

I have a BivyStick which does approximately the same thing as the Garmin Inreach. Another similar device is Zoleo.

 

[Taylor57]

I sure wouldn't want my GF to be able to track my bikerides

 

[J.R.]

Garmin offers several units with satellite based "Inreach" technology. I pay $12/mo for one of their basic plans with my Montana 750i GPS receiver. They also offer cheaper stand alone non GPS Inreach communicators:

inReach® Satellite Communicators | Messengers | Garmin

Stay safe off-the-grid with inReach® satellite communicators. Features include two-way text messaging (satellite subscription required), SOS trigger, and GPS.

discover.garmin.com

I've been using the service for a year now and I ride in some fairly remote areas where cell service is mostly non existent. I have not found a single place that does not have Inreach coverage. My wife tracks my location on her PC at home and I can text her via satellite if necessary.

Sounds like an excellent solution. Our mountains in PA are surprisingly sparse in cell coverage. Even my local trails, if you don't have AT&T the coverage is really bad.
---
As for the iPhone suggestions, it does look like a great option. My wife switched to an iPhone after 18 +/- years with android. I've never seen anyone more tech frustrated than her in that first year. As I understand from friends it's just as bad going the other way. Mark (the OP) asked for android solutions, is there a satellite equivalent for android?

 

[PatriciaK]

Sounds like an excellent solution. Our mountains in PA are surprisingly sparse in cell coverage. Even my local trails, if you don't have AT&T the coverage is really bad.
---
As for the iPhone suggestions, it does look like a great option. My wife switched to an iPhone after 18 +/- years with android. I've never seen anyone more tech frustrated than her in that first year. As I understand from friends it's just as bad going the other way. Mark (the OP) asked for android solutions, is there a satellite equivalent for android?

Coming soon too Android:

Android 14 will bring direct satellite support to smartphones

According to a tweet from Google’s senior vice president of platforms and ecosystems, satellite support is coming to Android 14.

www.androidauthority.com

My Google Pixel will automatically get it when it's available...

 

[opimax]

1st look back at this thread ,thanks everybody for responding. I am aware of the iPhone ads not sure of real world response yet. I am guessing it has actual Sat hardware built in? My Samsung is in its 1s year of payoff so ideally not wanting to give it up but would if the iPhone solved all issues in itself. Also I have had Android only and don’t like the iPhone even when I have to use my wife’s phone. I question how Android 14 will work unless I have Sat hardware built in or only on newer phones …I could trade up that would be fine .

Have to come back later , more then

 

[PDoz]

1st look back at this thread ,thanks everybody for responding. I am aware of the iPhone ads not sure of real world response yet. I am guessing it has actual Sat hardware built in? My Samsung is in its 1s year of payoff so ideally not wanting to give it up but would if the iPhone solved all issues in itself. Also I have had Android only and don’t like the iPhone even when I have to use my wife’s phone. I question how Android 14 will work unless I have Sat hardware built in or only on newer phones …I could trade up that would be fine .

Have to come back later , more then

It seems the iphone uses the globalstar sat network (which might be why it's not going to be used in Australia - globalstar is shutting down here)- you really need to check globalstar coverage in the area you intend to ride . Unfortunately, in my corner of Australia it's limited but that is likely due to a lower satellite density .

Garmin uses the iridium network - world wide they seem to have better coverage, but it's a moving target which has pro/ cons - I'm a LOT more comfortable with iridium for eg a position beacon when I'm unable to activate a device (unconscious / concussed etc) - sooner or later there is a good chance a satellite will pass over whilst it's trying to send a position message

Your other option is thuruya - low altitude fixed satellites. You could, eg, purchase a thuruya sat sleeve to get your android to speak to sat - but you can guarantee that the time you needed it , the phone is not hooked up +/- the fixed sat is behind a mountain.

re cost of swapping phones - keep in mind all these other devices have ongoing subscription fees , plus they need to be kept charged / carried with you etc - eg the garmin has a monthly access fee +/- fees for each message sent if you are not on a higher plan. They get expensive over time . The charge semes to last about 3 days of use, and just like most devices they go flat if you forget about them for a couple of months. Garmin are extremely difficult to communicate with - eg closing the plans is a nightmare, and even then you will get a bill at the 12 month time for your "annual subscription fee" which starts the headache all over again. I'd have no trouble justifying upgrading from my samsung to an iphone 14 IF it worked in Australia - particularly if it meant I could attack the inreach with a hammer. Great concept, but Garmin is a PITA of a company to deal with.

 

[mojoe]

For areas with no cell coverage, I'll second the Garmin Inreach (I had the mini). The drawback is the monthy fee. I wasn't using mine enough, so I sold it.

Another future option will be when T-Mobile and Starlink get their joint cellular-in-space working. It will allow a normal T-Mobile phone to get coverage anywhere (initially text-only, later voice). I know that Apple announced something similar, but that requires a special phone that communicates with existing satellites, on non-cellular frequencies (like putting an Inreach in a phone). The T-Mobile/Starlink solution will work with a standard cellphone. I already use T-Mobile, so I look forward to when this service will be available.

 

[nublar]

Garmin Inreach with live tracking

 

[mojoe]

Garmin are extremely difficult to communicate with - eg closing the plans is a nightmare, and even then you will get a bill at the 12 month time for your "annual subscription fee" which starts the headache all over again. I'd have no trouble justifying upgrading from my samsung to an iphone 14 IF it worked in Australia - particularly if it meant I could attack the inreach with a hammer. Great concept, but Garmin is a PITA of a company to deal with.

Interesting that you had trouble cancelling with Garmin. I had no trouble at all, cancelling via the website.

 

[6zfshdb]

Interesting that you had trouble cancelling with Garmin. I had no trouble at all, cancelling via the website.

FWIW, I cancel my Garmin Inreach subscription seasonally via the website and have had no problems.

 

[PDoz]

Interesting that you had trouble cancelling with Garmin. I had no trouble at all, cancelling via the website.

After cancelling, I got an invoice the next month to the value of the unsent tracking messages from AFTER I had cancelled. I disputed this and it was eventually dropped. Then they sent me a bill for annual subscription after I had requested my service be cancelled.

Suspending the service was reasonably easy, cancelling it wasn't

 

[RandallS]

Something new, that I may look into for rides in the mountains near here (Rockies).

This Bluetooth fob turns iPhones or Android devices into two-way satellite messengers

Motorola Defy Satellite Link connects well outside cellular range.

www.theverge.com

 

[opimax]

Looks like a good choice . I would purchase once I find it works correctly.

Good find