Has anyone purchased a Nautilus Lifeline lately?

[OMyMyOHellYes]

I bought one just before my last RTB trip in August.

In case I got lost out on the Prinz Albrecht wrecht.

It has limitations, but is better than waving a wet hanky. If someone is looking for me I figure it would help.

No flooding in 20 dives @~ 60-80 FSW.

 

[jeffmg]

Yeah, its not ideal, but it is some protection.. Doing a lot of hemming an hawing about my options here to be honest.

Also thinking about a Garmin Inreach, which isn't perfect, but we can take that hiking. Cons there are that it also isn't a PLB, and it has more added expense, but, it does come with a compact shell, and does chat with satellites.



Sort of wish the real PLBs (ACR and whatnot) came with a compact waterproof covering..

15.300.600-Dry Canister for PLB

shop.lightmonkey.us

https://defender.com/en_us/acr-resqlink-400-personal-locator-beacon-2921

Light monkey makes a canister to put a real one in

Not cheap, but would be worth every penny if you really needed it

 

[tursiops]

As Tursiops most accurately points out, it's absolutely critical for folks to understand that the new Nautilus Lifelines are NOT a PLB and do NOT communicate location coordinates to anyone via satellite. What the newer Nautilus Lifeline does do is broadcast your GPS position via a radio signal to all AIS equipped ships up to 34 miles (55 km) away as well as a DSC message to the designated marine radio on your own vessel. All modern commercial ships and most private boats are equipped with AIS and DSC. The statement "up to 34 miles" range should be taken with a grain of salt. That means perfect flat dead calm conditions communicating with vessels with the highest elevated antennas. My personal opinion is that 5 miles is a more realistic statement and expectation.

I have the older Lifeline that does all of the above...... plus it has the integrated Marine VHF radio that allows actual voice communication to my own boat and other boats within range, Coast Guard, etc....that are monitoring channel 16. For diving here in the PAC NW and mostly off of my own boat, the older Nautilus with VHF is a great option...... and I have never had any issues with flooding or function. There is an issue with British Columbia having licensing issues for any Marine VFH operations but I don't really care about that or worry about it. If I am in an emergency rescue scenario and the BC radio police want to come and arrest me for unauthorized Marine VHF radio use.........I'll be happy to see them!

I do also have a Global EPIRB on my boat that communicates via satellite and will basically send the Calvary anywhere in the world once activated ....but that's a whole nuther discussion and the unit is too large to practically carry on a dive and although waterproof with floatation, it is not designed to take diving pressures.

If you really want to have the absolute and best all all-around emergency location device then I'd say to go with an ACR PLB and contain it within an XL Dryfob which is sold by one of our great sponsors here on SB........ or other means of water and pressure proofing. Just my .02.

Here's pics of my "older model" Lifeline with VHS and also my primary EPIRB. Also a pic of my Large Dryfob that I use for my truck FOB and my XL Dryfob that accommodates an ACR PLB.

Great post! Except this part:

I have the older Lifeline that does all of the above......

The older Lifeline does NOT have the AIS reporting...only the DSC. However, it DOES have the VHF radio to allow you to actually talk to someone. This more than compensates, as far as I am concerned. That features is gone because of multiple international radio licensing issues.

 

[JFS]

I bought a XL size Dry Fob canister and put a Standard Horizon HX 40 marine radio in it. I can call our boat if needed. You can attach canister to your bcd, put in a pocket.....

 

[Still Kicking]

The utility of the Lifeline is not limited to getting lost in remote areas.

When i was teaching, i carried one because i figured it would be the easiest way to summon lifeguards if a student had a medical issue/went missing etc. (VHF would also be good but would still.need to give location, which is embedded with the AIS signal).

Punching a sat-based PLB/InReach etc.will get a response eventually but unlike AIS signals, those distress calls do not go directly to first responders.

 

[Divin'Papaw]

I have a Nautilus Lifeline Marine Rescue GPS. Their newer model with AIS. Bought it in February 2022. I carry it on pretty much every dive. I've never had to use it but have also had no issues. It has never flooded and always fires right up when I test it.

I've recently purchased a Garmin inReach Mini 2 as well. While I believe the Nautilus would be sufficient in the areas that I dive (South Florida), I wanted a unit with satellite communication and 24x7 emergency monitoring to use beyond just diving. Primarily for hiking and travel in areas with poor to zero cell reception.

 

[OMyMyOHellYes]

15.300.600-Dry Canister for PLB

shop.lightmonkey.us

https://defender.com/en_us/acr-resqlink-400-personal-locator-beacon-2921

Light monkey makes a canister to put a real one in

Not cheap, but would be worth every penny if you really needed it

I like the Defender because it's a real ELT with beacon squawking 121.5 and 406 MHz that can be found with any old ADF. Would like to have one, but as a compromise (which at the time was primarily price).

 

[CT-Rich]

I bought one a few years ago. I used it one season. At the beginning of the next season, I took it out to check it and it was a flooded piece of junk. I consider it wasted money.

 

[VikingDives]

Hello, wife and I are looking at getting some sort of PLB type device, and specifically looking at the Nautilus Lifeline. The price is right, no subscription, no separate case, etc

Our pause is the reviews, which make it sound like there is a real issue with quality control. Lots of complaints about them flooding, not working, etc, and they are really not inexpensive if they flood after 6 dives. Could be that they may have had an issue for a period of time though, and got their act together, so I thought I would ask..

Has anyone bought one of these recently and had a good or bad experience they would be willing to share?

Thanks!

If you're going to be down in Santa Rosa and want to check one out, I can bring one with me. Shoot me a PM and we can work out a weekend to meet.

 

[MtnDiverColorado]

@VikingDives I appreciate the offer, but alas, don't get down to Santa Rosa much..

Thanks to everyone who responded, greatly appreciate your input!