very cool, but sounds expensive. Can't you do the same thing with a SPOT transmitter for less?
His setup:
Kenwood TM-D710A....$600 (approx)
AvMap G5 GPS...........$600 (approx)
Found this...which looks pretty cool and maybe a little less daunting to use out of the box: Basic Service Plans
SPOT beacon locator's run about $100-200 (two models) and require basic subscriptions of $100/year. The online tracking feature is $50/yr.