Tracker

[[email protected]]

One of the more interesting uses of the new ssa sailplane tracker is getting to follow some of our fellow pilot's adventures when they drive around and forget to turn the spot off.

Someone went from Mifflin to get a glider out of Baltimore today, and some how got in and out of the port in about 10 minutes. (It took two days the last time someone from our club tried)

http://ssa.org/sailplanetracker/default.asp?

[Mike the Strike]

I don't forget - I leave it on when I drive back home as I am in many areas without cellphone coverage and my wife can see how I'm doing.

Mike

[[email protected]]

On Thursday, June 13, 2013 2:35:58 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> One of the more interesting uses of the new ssa sailplane tracker is getting to follow some of our fellow pilot's adventures when they drive around and forget to turn the spot off. Someone went from Mifflin to get a glider out of Baltimore today, and some how got in and out of the port in about 10 minutes. (It took two days the last time someone from our club tried) http://ssa.org/sailplanetracker/default.asp?

Wait till the bosses learn about this.
Hookie? Me?
LOL

[Dan Marotta]

Does the Spot talk directly to a satellite or can it connect to the cell
system when your phone can't?


> wrote in message
...
On Thursday, June 13, 2013 2:35:58 PM UTC-4, wrote:
> One of the more interesting uses of the new ssa sailplane tracker is
> getting to follow some of our fellow pilot's adventures when they drive
> around and forget to turn the spot off. Someone went from Mifflin to get a
> glider out of Baltimore today, and some how got in and out of the port in
> about 10 minutes. (It took two days the last time someone from our club
> tried) http://ssa.org/sailplanetracker/default.asp?

Wait till the bosses learn about this.
Hookie? Me?
LOL

[Ramy]

On Thursday, June 13, 2013 4:09:08 PM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
> Does the Spot talk directly to a satellite or can it connect to the cell
>
> system when your phone can't?
>
>
>
>
>
> > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> On Thursday, June 13, 2013 2:35:58 PM UTC-4, wrote:
>
> > One of the more interesting uses of the new ssa sailplane tracker is
>
> > getting to follow some of our fellow pilot's adventures when they drive
>
> > around and forget to turn the spot off. Someone went from Mifflin to get a
>
> > glider out of Baltimore today, and some how got in and out of the port in
>
> > about 10 minutes. (It took two days the last time someone from our club
>
> > tried) http://ssa.org/sailplanetracker/default.asp?
>
>
>
> Wait till the bosses learn about this.
>
> Hookie? Me?
>
> LOL

Dan, Spot is a sattelite messenger device, it only connects through satellites.
I urge you to get one, even before powerflarm...
As for leaving the spot on, I know of at least one pilot who leaves his spot on when driving home so his wife can time the dinner with his arrival, although, with the typical 10-30 min delay I doubt this is working well for him :-)

Speaking of tracking, at least on the ground, iphone users can use the free "Find Friends" app which shows real time location as long as there is cell service. According to my wife it is also working in the air reasonably well, I guess when I am low enough. Works perfect for ground retrieve, as both the crew and pilot can tell where each other is.

Ramy

[[email protected]]

I am glad the SSA membership, friends, family and crew are enjoying the new SSA Tracker and Contest Tracker. I urge everyone to register your SPOT or InReach with the SSA through your profile page. Please consider making the track "public" so it can be viewed on the tracker.

If you compete, make sure your SSA online contest form answers in the affirmative when it asks if you have a tracking device (if your device shows up in the general map but not the contest map this may be the problem). Another gotcha is if your contest ID on file with the SSA is not the actual contest ID that is entered in WinScore at the contest. These are some gotchas that will be addressed during the winter months. Also notice that we are now archiving weather data every thirty minutes so you can replay the weather on the day of your flight. All flights are archived so scroll back to special days and continue to relive the excitement! Many thanks to Pedja Bogdanovich, Doug Eason, Guy Buyers and everyone else that worked tirelessly the last two years to make this app available. Stand by for more!

Lane Bush
XF

[[email protected]]

>Another gotcha is if your contest ID on file with the SSA is not the actual >contest ID that is entered in WinScore at the contest. These are some gotchas >that will be addressed during the winter months.

Thanks. Is there anything us "gotten" can do about it? The SSA website resolutely insists I'm 2BB, not BB. I try to change it with every contest entry, and the website always changes it back.

John Cochrane
2BB or not 2BB, that is the question

[Ramy]

The SSA web site as well as the new tracker web site are not clear as of what one needs to do to have their spot listed. Apparently many are already listed automatically so my initial assumption was that it was based on the SSA profiles and no registration is required but others found out that although they had their spot URL in their profile they also needed to register on the new tracker page as well. Will be good if this can be clarified.
Also many users are using Internet explorer and mobile devices which are not supported.
Otherwise this is indeed a great tool.
Thanks for all the hard work.

Ramy

[[email protected]]

Ramy,

To register a tracking with the SSA please refer to the following web page:

http://www.ssa.org/SailplaneLocator?show=blog&id=2006

You can register directly with GlidePort and tracking will show up on the GlidePort site but all of the SSA features may not be available. Therefore please register through your SSA profile even if you have registered with GlidePort. In the future this will be even more important as new features are added.

In regards to browser compatibility, the SSA web host downloads specs on our web usage. Believe it or not the web is accessed with Safari, Chrome or Firefox 94% of the time. These browsers use similar code so Explorer has been ignored for the time being. I realize this may be inconvenient if you are a died in the wool Explorer fan and I apologize. Hopefully our generous developer will be able to work the Explorer kinks out when things slow down. Regarding the mobile device compatibility, the developer (Pedja) has turned on the mobile compatibility from time to time. Due to membership pressure to role this app out for summer 2013 the mobile device feature had to be put on the back burner. I believe the developer will concentrate on the mobile device integration this winter.

Please keep in mind that Pedja has created this app for the free use of soaring enthusiasts and has graciously worked with the SSA to integrate it into our web and our contest system. The development, tech support and hosting is all free of charge to the SSA. There are more exciting developments to come. Hopefully you will find your SSA membership more and more valuable..

John, do you "own 2BB or BB"? I know that BB is your preferred number. You are more plugged into the contest hierarchy than me so if you are having contest number trouble I can't imagine who in the world can fix it for you.. We definitely need to get this fixed for you. Everyone working on this app is in competition mode right now and Pedja himself is heading to Europe to compete. Any serious coding work will not take place until this winter I am afraid. I believe you have my email address if you would like to work on your issue send me a full description and I will see if the SSA administration can solve the issue in Hobbs.

Lane Bush
XF

[Steve Leonard[_2_]]

On Friday, June 14, 2013 9:14:14 AM UTC-5, wrote:
> >Another gotcha is if your contest ID on file with the SSA is not the actual >contest ID that is entered in WinScore at the contest. These are some gotchas >that will be addressed during the winter months. Thanks. Is there anything us "gotten" can do about it? The SSA website resolutely insists I'm 2BB, not BB. I try to change it with every contest entry, and the website always changes it back. John Cochrane 2BB or not 2BB, that is the question

Maybe you wil need to have SSA Cancel your "ownership" of contest ID "2BB", John. That is what they say you "own". They show Robert H Bramlett, Jr. as the owner of "BB". I don't "own" a contest number, so maybe it takes whatever is put in at the contest site?

Steve Leonard
ZS (two planes), VJS, KN, and a whole host of others.

[[email protected]]

My particular issue is that I don't "own" BB, but it's printed on my tail. At one point I "owned" 2BB, but shouldn't any more because I haven't paid the fee in years.

More to the point, many pilots fly different gliders at different contests, and the "ownership" of tail numbers is pretty broken. Many are taken by pilots who never fly contests, and most contest pilots consequently just put whatever they want on the tail. And keep a roll of tape around to put a "1" in front of it if a "real" owner ever shows up.

It would probably be better to link pilots to spot pages by ssa numbers. Those are required to fly a contest, and are a lot more stable and attached to the pilot than contest numbers.

Understood this is a small glitch that will wait for the winter.

For wasting time in the office, I just punch up the site and see all the gliders. Interesting that Cesar Creek seems to be on strike about uploading their tasks so that's the only way to watch them.

John Cochrane
2BB or not 2BB....ok, I've had enough fun with that one...

[[email protected]]

I believe the contest number renews automatically if you have competed within the last three years or if you are a life member of SSA. Otherwise you do have to pay the fee every three years I believe. I understand your point about people using contest numbers that may be different than the one assigned to them such as with a borrowed glider. We'll look at solutions this winter.

Lane
XF (my actual and painted on contest number!)

[Steve Leonard[_2_]]

On Friday, June 14, 2013 4:18:05 PM UTC-5, wrote:
> My particular issue is that I don't "own" BB, but it's printed on my tail. At one point I "owned" 2BB, but shouldn't any more because I haven't paid the fee in years.

You could contact the SSA Office and tell them you want to return 2BB. They take it off of "you", and then you shouldn't have an automatic over-ride of the contest ID you enter.

Problem Solved?

[Dan Marotta]

I find the tracking interesting, but I'm afraid it's out of my budget.

Instead, I have a 406 MHz beacon attached to my parachute harness. It has a
highly accurate GPS which feeds position to the SARSATs and a built-in
strobe. I figure I can deploy it in an emergency. If I'm unable to press
the button, then it doesn't much matter, anyway.

Dan


"Ramy" > wrote in message
...
On Thursday, June 13, 2013 4:09:08 PM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
> Does the Spot talk directly to a satellite or can it connect to the cell
>
> system when your phone can't?
>
>
>
>
>
> > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> On Thursday, June 13, 2013 2:35:58 PM UTC-4, wrote:
>
> > One of the more interesting uses of the new ssa sailplane tracker is
>
> > getting to follow some of our fellow pilot's adventures when they drive
>
> > around and forget to turn the spot off. Someone went from Mifflin to get
> > a
>
> > glider out of Baltimore today, and some how got in and out of the port
> > in
>
> > about 10 minutes. (It took two days the last time someone from our club
>
> > tried) http://ssa.org/sailplanetracker/default.asp?
>
>
>
> Wait till the bosses learn about this.
>
> Hookie? Me?
>
> LOL

Dan, Spot is a sattelite messenger device, it only connects through
satellites.
I urge you to get one, even before powerflarm...
As for leaving the spot on, I know of at least one pilot who leaves his spot
on when driving home so his wife can time the dinner with his arrival,
although, with the typical 10-30 min delay I doubt this is working well for
him :-)

Speaking of tracking, at least on the ground, iphone users can use the free
"Find Friends" app which shows real time location as long as there is cell
service. According to my wife it is also working in the air reasonably well,
I guess when I am low enough. Works perfect for ground retrieve, as both the
crew and pilot can tell where each other is.

Ramy

[Sean F (F2)]

DeLorme InReach has been outstanding in every way this spring for me and makes my old
Spot service look like utter crap in comparison.

SPOT: 10 minute updates, no altitude, no speed, no heading and highly unreliable.

DELORME: 1 minute updates, altitude, speed, heading and highly reliable.

Don't be cheap! Go out an purchase DeLorme instead of Spot junk (and Flarm while your at it)... we would all have great tracking systems that would look like real time tracking in soaring Grand Prix. Families would love it, people might actually watch it for fun.

Check out these tracks: (sort by last track) https://share.delorme.com/SeanFidler

:-)

[Ramy]

Dan, if you can't press the button of your PLB it still matters a lot to your family and friends who may spend days/months looking for you and possibly risking their lives doing so, not to mention the cost of the search. It will also delay insurance payments...
The spot unit itself is almost free as they often give rebates, or you can find used ones on eBay for $50. The monthly subscription is a $13 a month. Is this really beyond your budget?
I know of at least one gliding operation who where involved in two multi days searches which will no longer tow you if you don't have a tracking device.

Ramy

[Dan Marotta]

You make really good arguments, Ramy. I'll give it a look.


"Ramy" > wrote in message
...
Dan, if you can't press the button of your PLB it still matters a lot to
your family and friends who may spend days/months looking for you and
possibly risking their lives doing so, not to mention the cost of the
search. It will also delay insurance payments...
The spot unit itself is almost free as they often give rebates, or you can
find used ones on eBay for $50. The monthly subscription is a $13 a month.
Is this really beyond your budget?
I know of at least one gliding operation who where involved in two multi
days searches which will no longer tow you if you don't have a tracking
device.

Ramy

[Steve Koerner]

$25 for my Spot 1 unit if anyone can use it. I've switched to InReach. Spot 1 has much better battery life than Spot 2. My unit has a bit of residue on the back from 3M Dual Lock that I used to aid its attachment; functionally it's prefect though. I'll be at Moriarty Thursday and Friday and Hobbs Saturday.

[Dan Marotta]

Steve, bring it. I'll be towing Wed and Thu at Moriarty. I'll take it.

Dan


"Steve Koerner" > wrote in message
...
$25 for my Spot 1 unit if anyone can use it. I've switched to InReach.
Spot 1 has much better battery life than Spot 2. My unit has a bit of
residue on the back from 3M Dual Lock that I used to aid its attachment;
functionally it's prefect though. I'll be at Moriarty Thursday and Friday
and Hobbs Saturday.

[Ramy]

On Tuesday, June 18, 2013 5:28:37 PM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
> Steve, bring it. I'll be towing Wed and Thu at Moriarty. I'll take it.
>
>
>
> Dan
>
>
>
>
>
> "Steve Koerner" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
> $25 for my Spot 1 unit if anyone can use it. I've switched to InReach.
>
> Spot 1 has much better battery life than Spot 2. My unit has a bit of
>
> residue on the back from 3M Dual Lock that I used to aid its attachment;
>
> functionally it's prefect though. I'll be at Moriarty Thursday and Friday
>
> and Hobbs Saturday.

Happy to read this Dan. Now we need to find you a good deal on powerflarm so you can replace the Zaon you just bought :-)

Ramy

[Dan Marotta]

Actually, I found the MRX to be quite effective and, at 25% (or thereabouts)
of the price, I'm happy with it. BTW, I didn't miss the smiley face.


"Ramy" > wrote in message
...
> On Tuesday, June 18, 2013 5:28:37 PM UTC-7, Dan Marotta wrote:
>> Steve, bring it. I'll be towing Wed and Thu at Moriarty. I'll take it.
>>
>>
>>
>> Dan
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "Steve Koerner" > wrote in message
>>
>> ...
>>
>> $25 for my Spot 1 unit if anyone can use it. I've switched to InReach.
>>
>> Spot 1 has much better battery life than Spot 2. My unit has a bit of
>>
>> residue on the back from 3M Dual Lock that I used to aid its attachment;
>>
>> functionally it's prefect though. I'll be at Moriarty Thursday and
>> Friday
>>
>> and Hobbs Saturday.
>
> Happy to read this Dan. Now we need to find you a good deal on powerflarm
> so you can replace the Zaon you just bought :-)
>
> Ramy

[JohnDeRosa]

There are several good Android applications that are "Spot-like". I use "GPS Tracker". It has some advantages over SPOT.

* Chief advantage: it is free with no monthly service charge.
* Configurable on how often it sends coordinates down to 15 minutes....wait maybe that is a disadvantage as cannot go "continuous". They do this to improve battery life, turning on/off the GPS when needed.
* It is also nice so that you can locate your lost phone (AMHIK).

However, it is not as good as using SPOT (or Delorme's version) for several reasons.

* It uses terrestrial communications (cellular) which is less available while in the air.
* There seems to be no way to give someone a link so that anyone with the link can see where you are. Everyone has to have an account at http://www.life360.com and be approved by you to watch you. This is for security reasons.
* Little application support. But, hey, its free!

- John

[[email protected]]

On Thursday, June 20, 2013 12:00:42 PM UTC-4, JohnDeRosa wrote:
> There are several good Android applications that are "Spot-like". I use "GPS Tracker". It has some advantages over SPOT.
>
>
>
> * Chief advantage: it is free with no monthly service charge.
>
> * Configurable on how often it sends coordinates down to 15 minutes....wait maybe that is a disadvantage as cannot go "continuous". They do this to improve battery life, turning on/off the GPS when needed.
>
> * It is also nice so that you can locate your lost phone (AMHIK).
>
>
>
> However, it is not as good as using SPOT (or Delorme's version) for several reasons.
>
>
>
> * It uses terrestrial communications (cellular) which is less available while in the air.
>
> * There seems to be no way to give someone a link so that anyone with the link can see where you are. Everyone has to have an account at http://www.life360.com and be approved by you to watch you. This is for security reasons.
>
> * Little application support. But, hey, its free!
>
>
>
> - John

John,

Get a SPOT or a Delorme InReach - it can (and did in my case) save your life

TA

[Craig R.]

> John,
> Get a SPOT or a Delorme InReach - it can (and did in my case) save your life
> TA

Agreed. And while you're at it, get a PLB as well (& no annual service contract). I carry both when flying.

http://www.amazon.com/ACR-PLB-375-Personal-Locating-Beacon/dp/B005E1OU1A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1371793308&sr=8-2&keywords=arc+locator+beacon

Craig R.

[Dan Marotta]

Today will be my first flight with my new (old) spot. I have had the PLB
for several months. My wife found a perfect zippered case with secure belt
clip which rides my parachute harness at the left shoulder. And, yes, I
checked the installation with the parachute manufacturer.

I got mine at Aeromedix for a few dollars less and, when they came (one for
my wife, too!) there was notice of a $50 rebate or a free survival kit. We
took one of each.

https://www.aeromedix.com/ACR-Resqlink-406MHz-Personal-Locator-Beacon-GPS.html


"Craig R." > wrote in message
...
>> John,
>> Get a SPOT or a Delorme InReach - it can (and did in my case) save your
>> life
>> TA
>
> Agreed. And while you're at it, get a PLB as well (& no annual service
> contract). I carry both when flying.
>
> http://www.amazon.com/ACR-PLB-375-Personal-Locating-Beacon/dp/B005E1OU1A/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1371793308&sr=8-2&keywords=arc+locator+beacon
>
> Craig R.