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Everybody is having lots of fun poking at the dumbness of the USB drive solution - and I'll admit, it's really bad. That said, the question is legitimate.

In an age of GPS and satellite data connectivity, why the hell are we still able to lose 747s? You can buy a device right now that will use the satphone network to phone home with your location from anywhere in the world. It's $120. This would have saved a millions of dollars and much of the endless speculation on the Malaysian Airlines flight that disappeared without a trace. If you purpose-built one for the exact needs of the airline industry, I'm sure you could send something like 1-minute pings with all the most critical info - position, orientation, speed, basic status - it's completely ridiculous that we have to search the ocean manually for even the simplest of clues about what happened.

And before objecting that the satellite network doesn't have bandwidth for doing this on a large scale - a text message once per minute would be worlds better than what we have now for planes outside of radar range (that would be... nothing) and anyhow we've got the next-gen Iridium network set to fly very soon, with many other satellite constellations in the works for high-bandwidth global data connections. There are no technical barriers to implementing a simple satellite-based plane tracking system.

A spot messenger is fairly simple and enables you to locate them wherever they may be.

http://www.findmespot.com/en/i...

Do you realize where this volcano is? Hint: look at the natives in the grass skirts. They're out chasing forest critters for dinner, not gearing up to rescue stupid rich tourists. I really doubt that anybody would come out and rescue them.

Now, if you looked at their camp, it's obvious that they have a number of support folks. They most likely have some capability for self rescue (another fire suit, extra ropes, some burn cream). But they're going to have to do it themselves. Historical factoid: Over the course of human exploration, most groups either rescued themselves or didn't get rescued. Sure, you can push the button on your SPOT or InReachbut that doesn't mean anybody is coming.

SPOT has had the ability to post to Twitter or Facebook via satellite for a while now with their SPOT Connect product.

http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=116

This product claims to do what you are suggesting: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0031QNPAC/ref=oss_product using SPOT Satellite Communications (Globalstar) http://www.findmespot.com/

Then get a SPOT Satellite Messenger, you are the type of user they were developed for.

http://www.findmespot.com/en/

I can think of at least 1 more VERY important reason for being able to SMS 911, remote locations. If you are lost on a snow covered mountain and your car dies, there is a good chance you may not have cell reception. SMS however can quite often work even if your phone shows 0 bars since an SMS can be sent in the short time your cell may be trying to connect to a tower, even if the connection fails.

As someone who does a lot of camping in non-cell locations, 911 over SMS would be a VERY comforting thing. A SPOT can be a life saver, but sometimes people get stuck without service who weren't expecting it (long drive home from a family reunion, etc).

Full connectivity is cheap compared with the rest of the cost of the trip and of the expected-value cost of getting stuck:

http://www.iridium.com/

Anything with a one-button rescue beacon service informs the purchaser that rescue isn't free. But for a few bucks a year you can buy what is essentially insurance that will cover most incidents:

http://www.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=110

In addition to the above, there's a decent coverage map for Colorado Connection [colcon.org] here [colcon.org], but some of the repeaters (especially Durango) are missing from the map.

It's been a long time since I was there, but at the time, the Durango area (and northeast to the Vallecito Reservoir) had solid coverage in the 144 MHz (2 meter) band. There was a solar-powered repeater operated by a local club on top of a mountain, broadcasting at 100 watts.

I had an interesting discussion with one of the club members about the perils of maintenance -- the road to the site was only open in the summer. The repeater went down for some reason (lightning strike?) before the road opened one spring, and they had to hire a helicopter to fly someone to the site to repair it.

I'd still recommend a SPOT or similar system though; you never know where trouble might strike.

I'll second this. SPOT transmitter/locators are really inexpensive, and will provide a much more precise location if you need help. You can also use it to send a simple "I'm OK" status message periodically, and later use it to plot your locations from which you sent the message.

I strongly recommend you look at these for backpacking needs.
I would not recommned them for children, but we use one all the time when doing back-country (scouting/guiding/geocaching/etc) stuff. They have a "i'm ok" button, a "general assistance required" button and another button with a DIRECT link to a monitored station that will immediately dispatch 911 to your exact location.

I do the same but I let people know. Plus I have a cool device that let's me hit a button and it sends an email...

"I'm ok, I am at XX.XXXXX YY.YYYYYY"

I carry it to keep people I know calm, plus it has two other buttons..

1 sends "I am physically ok but need some assistance or to be picked up at xx.xxxx yy.yyyy"

the other sends a regular emergency beacon of "I am in need of help right now. Consider this a 911 emergency call, I am at xx.xxxx yy.yyyyy"

it sends to a list of email addresses and has coverage wherever it can see the sky.

its a SPOT personal GPS from http://www.findmespot.com/en/

works great, I dont get bugged and I can call for help/ calm the easily freaked out people in my life.

You can track your kid on the Web. Build your own mashup. Imagine the possibilities.

My wife got me a SPOT for Christmas. I like to think she worries when I go on long solo hikes.

First, it is important to remember, only satellite monitoring for 121.5 ELT is stopping. Ground and air based monitoring is still ongoing. Secondly, CAP (Civil Air Patrol; Axillary Air Force) does not have equipment to track 406. Keep in mind, CAP performs the bulk of the required search and rescue operations in the US. All 406s I'm aware of have a dual mode of 121.5/406. This means it's more likely you'll actually be located by rescue crews using 121.5.

The problem is, because of the FAA, there is no competition. This means purchase plus install for a really nice 406 unit can cost in excess of $5000 for a $200-$400 ELT. Now that lower priced units, and units which are compatible with existing installs are finally starting to come onto the market you'll start to see increase in the number of installations. Yet the bulk of these installs will likely occur either during an aircraft's annual or when the existing ELT's battery requires replacement. The combination of the two means installs should start to increase sometime over the next 24-months.

In the meantime, many have elected to go with much cheaper solutions. Personal Locater Beacons (PLBs) and SPOT are very popular with pilots because they can be had at a fraction of the cost despite their reduced sized and increased capabilities.

The big advantage of the 406 ELT is the specification allows for a data component. Specifically, it allows an aircraft's GPS to continuously update the ELT with its current location. In the event of an emergency, the ELT can be manually armed or be set off from excessive G's (impact). Once set off, the ELT immediately transmits the last known location received from the GPS. This allows for very high accuracy position reporting. Of course the problem is, pilots want this capability and most existing manufacturers are attempting to rape owners.

Right now, Artex's ME406 is about the only reasonably priced unit available and it hasn't been on the market all that long.

Lastly, let's not forget satellite monitoring of 121.5 is really pretty crappy. Your typical detection window requires three satellites to pass overhead, ignoring the fact it can technically be done in two. The detection capabilities of the existing satellites are pretty crappy. And if one of the Russian satellites are in the mix, you may even require four satellite passes overhead before anyone is dispatched. This means you're looking at anywhere from 10-36 hours before someone picks up the phone to get people looking for you - unless you filed an optional flight plan. In the end, loss of satellite detection for 121.5, while certainly not good, is not really a nightmare scenario.

In the end, the best thing to do is to simply let someone know when you're flying, where you're going, the route you're taking, and the time you expect to arrive. Ideally, this is someone at your destination. And should you not show or be heard from, teach them to call the FAA or an official briefing station. At that time, they can immediately dispatch a search effort. Meaning, for many pilots, this is actually a better plan than filing a flight plan with the FAA. Routes which are not direct or too complicated to convey to laymen should be filed via flight plan.

And for those interested, here is a comparison of existing, alternative tracking solutions.

The chip then sends radio signals to a larger device carried by the client with a global positioning system in it.

WTF is the implant for? This sounds like SPOT which provides real-time satellite tracking and the ability to send 3 levels of messages (I'm okay, Help, and Emergency). And it doesn't cost nearly as much or require injecting stuff into the user.

And how exactly would the eTrex unit you linked to help? It doesn't have a base map. It doesn't have a cell phone either. That unit is good for back woods use and geocaching.

Google maps does route finding, but I don't know if it will to dynamic route finding or turn by turn directions. From the demo, all they showed was watching your position on the map. Not the most useful, but I'm sure it will do more than that, if not now, then soon.

Oh, and those people that got stuck in the snow, they weren't lost, they got stuck. They needed to be able to call a tow truck. The best mapping software in the world wouldn't have helped them. They needed to be better prepared for the trip they were making, and needed to be smart about where to go once it started snowing. Maybe they should have gotten a SPOT device, that would have saved one life.

May be solution is to use special beacons(like http://findmespot.com/ (or program in cell phone that activates it in beacon mode(this mode can be also auto-activated)?

Spot Messenger is a PLB that doesn't rely on cell towers. Good for being in remote areas in case something goes wrong. Friends or family can track your progress (if you let them) and you can send out a distress signal if you need help. http://www.findmespot.com/

For providing people the ability to summon help or provide their whereabouts, there are things like SPOT which is less expensive than the system mentioned in the article, both for purchase and maintenance. For purely emergency use, the Personal Locator Beacons are more expensive to purchase but require no service fee. However, there's no way to send non-emergency or "I'm here" messages.

For a lot less money, you can invest in a piece of technology I just bought for snowmobiling, called a "SPOT", it's a pager sized device that sends ok, I need help, and 911 type messages to whomever you designate (except for the 911 message, that's handled by the company behind SPOT).

SPOT uses the globalstar satellite network and has a built in GPS receiver, so it sends coordinates with every message, even the OK messages you can send to your friends and family.

http://www.findmespot.com/

I'd say this is perfect for RV'ers or anyone else that is worried about that emergency breakdown or worse, the MI or significant trauma out in the middle of nowhere.

Best part, the whole thing is browser configurable.

I don't work for SPOT, I don't sell SPOT, I just have one and feel safer. I think it could allay the fears of many people living in the sticks using analog cellular (until Tuesday) as it is a way to communicate with your loved ones and to request help that isn't tethered to ANYBODY's analog or digital network.