OP
Lost at Sea!
- Thread starter jkaterenchuk
- Start date
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jridg
Contributor
I did not notice the lack of coverage for Hawaii - That's not a good thing for folks out there!
Most of the rest of the world has pretty good coverage - but Southern Africa, some the south pacific island areas, and Hawaii are not covered well - The map shows North America, South America (except the very southern tip), Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, Australia and SE Asia are all covered well. Western India, the Southern half of Africa and a large portion of the Pacific are not covered well.
The thing I like about the Spot is that I can send an OK message to pre-set people - and it provides tracking without activating emergency services. It also allows you to send a non-emergency help message to your cotnacts - then there is the "COME GET ME - HELP' function where they will mount a rescue effort - yes, you have to subscribe, but it's also quite useful for hiking, bicycling, camping, diving, and just about anything else - so for an overall product I really like it.
Most of the rest of the world has pretty good coverage - but Southern Africa, some the south pacific island areas, and Hawaii are not covered well - The map shows North America, South America (except the very southern tip), Europe, North Africa and the Middle East, Australia and SE Asia are all covered well. Western India, the Southern half of Africa and a large portion of the Pacific are not covered well.
The thing I like about the Spot is that I can send an OK message to pre-set people - and it provides tracking without activating emergency services. It also allows you to send a non-emergency help message to your cotnacts - then there is the "COME GET ME - HELP' function where they will mount a rescue effort - yes, you have to subscribe, but it's also quite useful for hiking, bicycling, camping, diving, and just about anything else - so for an overall product I really like it.
divengolf
Contributor
I've done quite a bit of research since the OP posted on RW. The Spot unit uses a different satelite system than most of the other PLB. The standard is the SARSAT system which overs virtually everything from 70N to 70S latitude. Thought he Spot has some unique features, I don't consider it to be as good as the ACR or McMurdo units that use the SARSAT system.
Before you buy one, do some serious research. I've settled on the new McMurdo unit. The hardest part was finding a reasonable sized container to store it UW. I settled on an OMS canister. Total investment PLB plus canister is about $400. Money well
spent IMHO.
Thanks jkaterenchuk!!!
OP
SARSAT-Compass also utilizes the Lorsat system which covers to the polar regions but would take longer for a satelite to orbit across a single location. SO virtually global coverage.
You welcome and one of more than a handful that have acknowledged that they went out and bought a PLB based upon my posting. Mission accomplished.
John
christo651
Registered
Which Mcmurdo Unit and which OMS container? I am ready to spend the money and I was about to go with the ACR resqfix with a OMS container but the best price on each is $480 on the plb and $160 for the OMS container
divengolf
Contributor
I have ordered the Fast Find 210. Note that the FF 200, though cheaper, does not have integrated GPS. I'd not buy the FF 200. I also ordered the OMS BCA 298 canister, good to 660 feet. McMurdo sells a very expensive canister made from aluminum and a less expensive one, but I could not get reliable dimesions on the cheaper McMurdo canister. McMurdo did not respond to my email request for info. Anyway the OMS canister is cheaper than either McMurdo canister and OMS makes good stuff IMO.
The only down side to the FF210 is that it's not inherently bouyant. But there is plenty of room in the canister to put something floaty and attach it to the FF210.
Here a link with some info-hopefully somewhat unbiased.
McMurdo Fast Find PLB - Initial Evaluation - EQUIPPED TO SURVIVE (tm)
Hopefully I'll never need to use it. Just like the strobes that I also carry. Never want to use them.
Unit and canister cost about $350 total. I've not received them yet. Both are backordered. Big demand for the FF210 apparently. Revere in Jacksonville, FL is the US distributor.
ACR is rumored to be coming out with a new unit later this summer. I don't have any info on it.
Dive safe.
John,
I just wanted to come back here and THANK YOU for your post at Rebreather World. After reading it I decided to purchase a PLB prior to my Florida Keys trip. I picked up a SPOT the day I was heading out of town (the day after I read your post) and a Otterbox to keep it in - mounted to my tank strap with an additional lanyard. They had one right up the street at Gander Mountain so I took the quick route to make sure I had something. I think the McMurdo FF 210 is probably the better all around choice but I felt better just having something with me. I may also buy the FF210.
While the chances of me needing the PLB in Florida due to the type of diving I was doing and the company I was in was slim, it just felt good to have "just in case". I plan to do a lot of diving outside the U.S. in the next 8 months and a PLB will definitely be with me.
Again, thanks for taking the time to write it all out in great detail and I'm glad you came through it fine.
David
I just wanted to come back here and THANK YOU for your post at Rebreather World. After reading it I decided to purchase a PLB prior to my Florida Keys trip. I picked up a SPOT the day I was heading out of town (the day after I read your post) and a Otterbox to keep it in - mounted to my tank strap with an additional lanyard. They had one right up the street at Gander Mountain so I took the quick route to make sure I had something. I think the McMurdo FF 210 is probably the better all around choice but I felt better just having something with me. I may also buy the FF210.
While the chances of me needing the PLB in Florida due to the type of diving I was doing and the company I was in was slim, it just felt good to have "just in case". I plan to do a lot of diving outside the U.S. in the next 8 months and a PLB will definitely be with me.
Again, thanks for taking the time to write it all out in great detail and I'm glad you came through it fine.
David
OP
David
Your welcome and I am happy that several people have decided to do the same thing as you. We can never really know when the PLB will be needed. Hopefully never. But when it is its priceless.
John
Your welcome and I am happy that several people have decided to do the same thing as you. We can never really know when the PLB will be needed. Hopefully never. But when it is its priceless.
John
OP
Well it's time for an update to this thread. In April I will diving on these same WW2 wrecks as last year and hopefully we will find at least one more that is virgin. Now that I am older and wiser and based upon the incident last year I have assembled the following items pictured.
McMurdo Fastfind 210 PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) $275
This is one of the smallest full featured PLB's available. It has 406mhz signaling capabilities to the orbiting satellites and onboard GPS. So when it is activated the coordinates are sent to the monitoring center which then initiates a rescue.
Yaesu VX-1R VHF/UHF handheld transceiver $75
This transceiver was easily modified to allow communications on all Marine frequencies. It was selected for its small size, removable antenna and capability to use AA batteries or the longer life Lithium's.
OMS PLB Canister $75
This canister is good down to 100M/330ft. It will be attached to the bottom of my backplate with a quicklink and a piece of bungee cord. Its dimension is 2 1/2 in dia x 10 1/2 in and is about the size of a 10watt HID battery canister.
The deployment plan would be to initially try to contact the dive vessel via the transceiver. Failing that the PLB would be activated. If other vessels are in the area then contact could be made to them to arrange pickup.
The first picture shows the items outside the canister including two extra batteries for the transceiver.
The second picture shows everything packed in the canister. Not shown in the picture is the plastic packaging I will put everything in to provide some additional moisture proofing.
There is additional room in the canister for some other items. I would be interested in hearing the thoughts of others on what might also be included as well as my configuration and deployment plan?
John
McMurdo Fastfind 210 PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) $275
This is one of the smallest full featured PLB's available. It has 406mhz signaling capabilities to the orbiting satellites and onboard GPS. So when it is activated the coordinates are sent to the monitoring center which then initiates a rescue.
Yaesu VX-1R VHF/UHF handheld transceiver $75
This transceiver was easily modified to allow communications on all Marine frequencies. It was selected for its small size, removable antenna and capability to use AA batteries or the longer life Lithium's.
OMS PLB Canister $75
This canister is good down to 100M/330ft. It will be attached to the bottom of my backplate with a quicklink and a piece of bungee cord. Its dimension is 2 1/2 in dia x 10 1/2 in and is about the size of a 10watt HID battery canister.
The deployment plan would be to initially try to contact the dive vessel via the transceiver. Failing that the PLB would be activated. If other vessels are in the area then contact could be made to them to arrange pickup.
The first picture shows the items outside the canister including two extra batteries for the transceiver.
The second picture shows everything packed in the canister. Not shown in the picture is the plastic packaging I will put everything in to provide some additional moisture proofing.
There is additional room in the canister for some other items. I would be interested in hearing the thoughts of others on what might also be included as well as my configuration and deployment plan?
John
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Thanks for your post John. As I often dive in high current / waves offshore, I carry a deep water kit that consists of:
1. ACR MicroFix EPIRB with GPS
2. ACR Strobe
3. Rescue Laser (all in a sealed case)
4. Emergency water
5. Emergency Ration Bars
Assuming that my suit is intact/dry, this will keep me alive for up to 48 hours. The water in the North Atlantic is cold (presently 33.1 degrees F), so I have a chance to live that long on the outside, but if SAR doesn't get me by then, it wont matter.
1. ACR MicroFix EPIRB with GPS
2. ACR Strobe
3. Rescue Laser (all in a sealed case)
4. Emergency water
5. Emergency Ration Bars
Assuming that my suit is intact/dry, this will keep me alive for up to 48 hours. The water in the North Atlantic is cold (presently 33.1 degrees F), so I have a chance to live that long on the outside, but if SAR doesn't get me by then, it wont matter.
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