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[Swingshiftworker]

sdlsatcom previously said:

Cost is a big factor in that, HAM radio is cheap plus there are some other very cool benefits too it as well.

I spend most of my day dealing with satellites and am yet to be impressed with any service offered out there. I would love to have a sat phone in my truck with constant internet, but that service isn't practical yet (the company i work for spends over $500,000 a month on sat service). For the time being the Spot Messenger is my solution. When sat service is reliable (CO has a very large amount of dead spots) and affordable that will be added to my truck. HAM radio has some very cool things that you can do with it too, it's not all about emergency communications. Turns out it's a fun hobby too

True. I can see how HAM can be a great hobby. It's just not for me.

I was mainly thinking of emergency communications. I researched the SPOT too and have opted the buy a MicroFix (updated version of the Terrafix 406) for a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). It's more expensive than SPOT to purchase, but there are no service fees. It can't do some of the things SPOT does (like report tracking), but I don't need that. Neither PLB can let you speak to a loved one or rescuer but a SAT phone can, which is why I'm including it in my emergency communications set-up.

I understand that it can be difficult acquiring a signal at times, but I didn't know there were any "dead spots." Iridium's system is supposed to be global, including the ocean. What system does your company use?