Any experience with the InReach Explorer?

FWIW I didn't have to sync mine? You didn't use the area code for Mumbai did you? It isn't the friendliest to get set up for sure but texting on it using your phone beats using the unit it's self. Cris is up on these.
 
Finally got it all set up last night. Registered and synced. Now I have to get familiar with it.
 
I have had a Pre-garmin inreach several years, and I love the two way texting function. I have used it for the "Safe In Camp" messages, I have provided a link to loved ones so that they could follow along from home, and I have used it twice for non-emergency issues to have someone back home look up the nearest location that we could limp into for repairs.

I LIKE to be where the phones won't work.
 
I have the Delorme one. I use it so my wife would at least have a body to bury, in the worst case scenario. I mostly just send starting for the day, stopping for the day and the (rare) route deviation. And route tracking.
 
I bought one at expo this week. I ignored the instruction manual (all 10 micro pages of it) and went straight to the web site to register. www.inreach.garmin.com and registered there. It was very painless and simple, just took 30 minutes to get the test message completed. Pointing the antenna north at a 45 degree angle seemed to be the best signal for satcom.
 
I like picking them up at REI Garage sales for $150 to resell. not a bad deal.

when I need to reach out and call someone, I just use my sat phone. :D
 
I bought one last year and had a chance to give it a hard workout while overlanding in Botswana last month. I had preloaded my kids email addresses and would send a message (either the preprogrammed ones or a more lengthy one) every night. A couple of days into the trip I asked them to respond to the message to let me know they received it. I received confirmation from one of them within five minutes which I though was great.
The location shown is on a fairly large scale but the lat/Lon is more accurate. My DIL who is on loan to the SF group out of Brag and specializes in this area was impressed "for a civilian toy!"
Fortunately I did not have to use the SOS button and medical evacuation that I paid for!

The only thing I would change is the timing for marking our travels. I was concerned with running out of juice while in the bush and set the pinging to every four hours. The track that I have is not detailed enough to be useful. Going forward I will probably set it for hourly or even every 30 minutes to get more data points.
 
Can someone share the turn around time for sending text messages from Garmin (presuming receiving party provides immediate response)? Some comments on the interweb share up to 20 to 40 minutes...is this true ?


Also, I saw another comment that you are charge for your outgoing texts as well as incomming texts...true ???
 
Messages are charged both ways (except for your predefined messages)

Most of the time it sends within about a minute, but if it does not have a solid location, or it is obstructed (deep canyon or tree cover) it can take a little longer to send
 
Like a certain commercial says "Don't leave home without it" I like the option of displaying my location, on their map, when sending to recipient after I set up for the night just incase I don't wakeup or the bears have a feast. :eek:
 
J.P. Seldom said:
Can someone share the turn around time for sending text messages from Garmin (presuming receiving party provides immediate response)? Some comments on the interweb share up to 20 to 40 minutes...is this true ?


Also, I saw another comment that you are charge for your outgoing texts as well as incomming texts...true ???
Click to expand...

When I used ours in Africa earlier this year I was able to send a message to the US and then receive a response in about 5 minutes. Very respectable. Of course this depends on the receiver being responsive!
Yes you are charged both ways.
 
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