Severe weather or alerts to your inReach, Zoleo, etc.

[Wandering Bison]

Hey everyone,

For many years, I have enjoyed lurking in this community for trip inspiration and as a place to learn about new products and solutions.

So, as I am looking for people who enjoy remote adventures to test a new service I have launched, I thought I'd reach out to the community here.

Almost three years ago, my travels took me to Cape Scott Provincial Park, at the northern end of Vancouver Island, a remote area on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, where I spent a week. While there, I realized I would have had no way of getting notified of a distant earthquake and the resulting tsunami. My Garmin inReach would have allowed me to call for help in an emergency or to get a current forecast, but it couldn't alert me in the case of an immediate risk. Imagine a similar situation in an area at risk from flash flooding, forest fires or a tornado. When I got back to civilization, I tried to find a solution. Surprisingly, no one offered a notification solution using a satellite device like inReach!

So, I founded a company called Adiona Alert to provide the service I needed but couldn't find.

After more than two years of work, including testing the service over the last six months throughout North America and issuing over 2000 safety alerts, including severe weather, to our small fleet of test devices, we are beginning to invite people to join our Early Access program so they can start using the service today for free!

Given where your adventures likely take you, I thought this community would be perfect to test the service. I would be honoured if you would consider signing up for the Early Access program.

As we slowly add small groups of users, It would be great if some of you would apply for our Early Access program. You would get these potentially live-saving alerts for free. All I ask in return is to share with my team and me your thoughts, suggestions and even complaints so we can improve the solution.

I would love you to visit our website - AdionaAlert.com, to learn more and apply for our Early Access program.

Thanks for considering this, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.


J.S.

 

[deanhill]

Thanks for the great idea! I would definitely be interested in testing this.

 

[Wandering Bison]

Thanks for the great idea! I would definitely be interested in testing this.

Thank you! Let me know if you have any issues, questions or feedback - it's essential to our success. Sign up through our web site and I’ll keep an eye out for your request.

J.S.

 

[wsp_scott]

It sounds like an interesting idea, but it also sounds like I would need to set up tracking so you knew where I was. I don't track my trips, I only "ping" my wife in the morning and at night. Is there a way to use your service without tracking?

 

[Wandering Bison]

It sounds like an interesting idea, but it also sounds like I would need to set up tracking so you knew where I was. I don't track my trips, I only "ping" my wife in the morning and at night. Is there a way to use your service without tracking?

Good question - and the short answer is it’s possible, but you would not get much value out of it.

Now, the longer answer:

Our service uses the last location you or your device has reported to your provider’s servers, Garmin, Zoleo, etc.

So, if you only “ping” in the morning and the evening (when I typically send my preset check-in messages to my loved ones), you would only be updating your location at those times.

If you aren't moving much after that check-in, such is likely the case at the end of day check-in because you are settling in for the night, then we have your current location until morning. With the morning check-in, depending on your plans for the day and mode of travel, the location reported in the morning check-in may be “close enough” to provide you with relatively relevant alerts.

But, if you have a day where your activities will have you move quite a bit more, such as leaving your overnight spot to explore a slot canyon a half-hour drive away, your morning location may not be in the area for which a flash flooding alert is issued mid-morning.

The second part of this discussion often involves users who check-in and turn off their devices until the end of the day check-in.

In that case, the real problem is that you will not be able to receive a timely alert, such as that pesky flash flooding alert, when it’s issued because your device is off.

Lastly, let me point out that by turning off your device except for your check-ins or an emergency call, you are short-changing yourself of the benefits of having a device like an inReach and using a check-in. You aren't leaving a breadcrumb for your loved ones to guide your rescuers should you miss a check-in after you've become incapacitated! Are you still at camp, or at that slot canyon you were planning to explore, or did you change your plans altogether because of impending weather?

Having tracking turned on can save your life because your rescuers will have a good sense of where to begin looking for you. Add to that the benefits of our service, and we can't recommend strongly enough that you use tracking!

At least, that’s my two cents.

I’m happy to answer any other questions you may have or discuss this further. After all, the whole purpose of reaching out to this community is to get a better understanding and a variety of perspectives, including yours!

J.S.


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