The inability of SPOT to penetrate canopy is partly due to its extremely anemic antenna. Take a look at the antenna that Globalstar phones have - even with that they still recommend that you be in a clear area before trying to use it. The other reason it has so much trouble is because the satellites are seldom directly overhead. They rise above the horizon, peak, then drop back to the horizon. The lower the satellite is on the horizon, the more stuff the signal has to go through. Unless you have the good luck to hit a satellite when it's almost overhead, your signal will be too weak to be received.



Your SPOT cannot know if it successfully sent the message. It is a simplex tracking device, meaning that it can send data to the satellite but cannot receive anything.

If confirmation is what you need, Globalstar is currently offering really cheap unlimited satellite service - $40/month this year and $20/month for 2009 and 2010. You have to buy a phone, which isn't particularly cheap, and the service is far from reliable due to their broken satellite constellation. But if you can patiently wait 15 minutes for a 20-minute availability window, you can talk to and/or send email to your family. Buy the data cable and you can use a PDA to also upload pictures to your favorite photo site.