When planning for a Duke of Edinburgh awards event, the one thing that should be a the top of the list is safety! In the UK we have some of the most unpredictable weather in the World. Events can set off in bright sunshine, within minutes the weather can turn to wet, cold conditions. If something was to go wrong, you need to know where where your Duke of Edinburgh group is. Live GPS tracking is essential to pinpoint the locations of teams on the DofE. The live tracking will not only show the location of the group but will also show if they are still moving and if so, in the right direction.
There are various GPS tracking devices available. Here are the pros and cons.
Satellite GPS Trackers such as SPOT and Garmin InReach. These are great trackers for when the expedition is going into remote areas where there is no mobile phone coverage. These units are more expensive to run and usually the location update is less frequent than a GSM GPS tracker. They tend to be larger/heavier than GSM devices.
GSM GPS Tracking devices. These are ideal tracking devices when there is mobile phone network. Open Tracking use multi-network SIMs, so if there is any mobile network coverage, then the tracker will update its location. This is suitable for 95% of DofE events. The updates on these trackers can be set more frequent. They are cheaper to hire and easy to use (simply power them on at the beginning of the trek). These trackers also have an SOS function that can be set to send a location to your mobile device /email
As well as the tracking device, you need clear concise maps on the tracking page. Duke of Edinburgh awards use Ordnance Survey maps, we use these on out tracking pages.
Here at Open Tracking with an excellent knowledge of where trackers will work within the UK. If in doubt just drop us an email or jump on the live chat and we can give guidance.
