Sounds like we have a bit of confusion here. Let's see if a little illustration can help.

SPOT does not require GPS to send a 911 or Help call, but without the GPS information it's just a message that the registered user of the device has activated that feature with no location information. This makes it almost useless to emergency personnel - where do you respond?

The second aspect of SPOT that seems to generate a lot of confusion is why it has such a hard time getting messages out through forest canopy or canyons/mountains. It all has to do with the behavior of microwaves and satellites.

For those who have gazed at the sky in the early pre-dawn or post-sunset hours watching satellites, the following is no revelation - satellites are rarely directly overhead. They rise from the horizon, arc across the sky, then drop back to the horizon as they orbit the planet. MOST of the time they are less than 45-degrees above the horizon. Now think about being in a forest - can you see the horizon? How many tree trunks do you think SPOTs microwave signal can make it through and still be strong enough for the satellite to receive? The answer is LESS THAN ONE. One 6-inch tree trunk will block that signal, as will a foot of rock, a mile of clouds - pretty much anything that exists in the line of sight between SPOT and a satellite.

So if the satellites are low on the horizon, SPOT is, well, spotty in it's tracking reports. A satellite has to be pretty much directly overhead with a fairly sparse canopy before enough signal can reach it. Since this happens (at best) only a few times every hour and SPOT has to be transmitting at the same time the satellite is overhead, maybe only one message gets out every 2-3 hours.

I hope that helps clear up these two issues. Now if you're happy with SPOT - if it brings your family peace of mind - great! But if you're relying on it for emergency help you may be gravely disappointed - pun intended. Give that "Ask for Help" button a few pushes while you're in the forest and see if it works - reliably. That will give you an idea of what your situation would be if you pushed the 911 button. Please do it before you have a real emergency.

IMO, relying on SPOT for emergencies is dangerous because it may result in you NOT doing other things, like leaving an itinerary, having check in points, or taking enough emergency supplies.