Missing Divers - Komodo National Park

[jkaterenchuk]

HX850S Floating 6W Handheld VHF with integral GPS, Safety Strobe and Position Send Function $250. West Marine.


McMurdo Dive Canister
The custom-designed Dive Canister allows the Fastfind and Fastfind Plus (with -4oF battery pack) to be taken to a depth of 492 feet and be ready for use should the need arise when you surface. . Built to hold Fastfind and Fastfind Plus . Waterproof to 492 feet . Adds one pound positive bouyancy
Dive Canister
Model #85-754A
$199.75

$450 bucks for peace of mind.. Priceless. If somebody in this group would have carried one of these they wouldn't have been playing St. George on a deserted Island. But now that they all survived think of the story for the grandkids.

If you have been to this part of the world diving you would know that many of the boat or small local fishermen. This is a very poor country. It would be the rare case for them to have a vhf radio.

The dive boat/liveaboards I have been on before were did not have a vhf radio but rather a HF radio. Solutions that seem obvious and easy to implement in the richer countries of the world are often not so easy to achieve in the third world countries.

John

 

[jkaterenchuk]

First, the smart diver with more than an SMB would leave a list of his/her personal survival equipment inventory with the dive boat, dive op, hotel, and anyone back on the beach.

Second, figure timing into this. You're supposed to be down an hour. You come up in an hour and the dive boat is no where in sight. Chances are excellent you are well within five miles or less of their location, and probably well less than a couple thousand yards.

Third, you would immediately pull out your radio and begin broadcasting. ANY liveaboard would be able to hear you and either find you with the VHF direction finding capability of their radio/nav gear (best case) or get someone on scene that could find you with such equipment. Best of all they know you're alive and not a drowning victim. That eases everyone's mind and builds a sense of urgency to rescue you before conditions deteriorate.

Fourth, even if they didn't hear you, imagine how much better your state of mind would be knowing that as soon as someone knows you are missing, they'd reference the gear inventory you left with the dive world and know you have communication gear on your person.

But just for entertainment sake let's say you were diving from a non-radio equipped Panga that beat feet to get assistance because the crew freaked as soon as you didn't surface where they expected you to appear. You'd still broadcast immediately as soon as you realized you can't see the boat. I imagine the conversation would go like this:

"Mayday Mayday Mayday, two divers abandoned by dive boat. Mayday Mayday Mayday."

Boat, airplane, or anyone with a marine VHF radio within 5-14 miles -"Diver, this is the the sailing vessel Spit into the Wind, we hear you. Do you know your position?"

Diver - "Negative, we were diving Donovan's Reef on the dive boat Shark Bait. When we surfaced at 1430 hours (or 2:30 PM) the boat was no where in sight. Spit, do you have VHF direction finding capability?"

Boat - "Diver, negative. We're five miles from Donovan's reef. We'll head that direction and we'll try to raise Shark Bait and the Coast Guard (or local military) to get more assistance."

Diver - "Great! Here's a list of our survival gear. (List what you have on your person). We'll maintain radio contact and shout out when we have a visual on any vessel or airplane. Once we are in visual and radio contact, we'll deploy our (have a plan what equipment you'll use)." Also have a plan how you intend to save battery power. Stick to that plan until you have communication with someone and let them know your battery state during conversations.

Yes, GPS would be great because you could give exact latitude and longitude and keep anyone listening updated on your location. The Standard Horizon HX850s for $250 appears to be the only handheld VHF with GPS. I'm sure others will follow. Standard HX850s Handheld VHF w/ GPS - VHF Marine Equipment, Accessories & Equipment, Watercraft & Marine Equipment - nuLime.com

But if you didn't have it and could talk to someone, anyone, you'd get found one heck of a lot quicker than just floating and praying like a spec on the ocean. Imagine what talking to anyone would do to your spirits compared to just floating and wondering. Plus, ANY boat within listening range that can help will help. The divers lost for 60 hours and the divers lost for 19 hours both reported seeing search helicopters/planes but they themselves were not visible in the water.

What to buy first; VHF water resistant radio and submersible container, or personal locator beacon and submersible container? Personally, I'd have both, but first I'd buy the radio. That's only a subjective personal decision based upon the experience of a friend left floating at night on a lobster dive in the Channel Islands for almost eight hours. His uncle lost him while manning a pleasure-type power boat. He was picked up the next morning by a commercial dive boat that had been notified by the Coast Guard of the missing diver. A VHF handheld radio would have had him onboard his own VHF radio-equipped pleasure boat in probably less than 15 minutes.

Bottom line is that the sooner someone knows you are missing, has notified the local authorities, and KNOWS you have communication equipment, the sooner you'll be found.

Sure in a perfect world. In Komodo....Coast Guard....does not exist, Local authorities....well if you had been to the island you would see a wood shack with a guide with a stick to keep the dragons from getting to close but maybe you mean the local fanatical religous groups or pirates. Of course you would also need to learn to talk to the local fishing captain in their local language or support them learning english before your visit. This is a country that is very poor I remember during my last visit watching the local tv coverage of a small plane crash in which they were pulling dead bodies out of the still smoldering wreckage and throwing them on the back of a pickup truck.

There is a risk to visiting these type of locations that are off the beaten path. This is not Kansas Toto.

John

 

[Paco II]

Are you sure about that? If the captain were a ham radio op I could see them also having an HF rig, but HF and no VHF seems quite odd.

...The dive boat/liveaboards I have been on before were did not have a vhf radio but rather a HF radio. ...

 

[jkaterenchuk]

Are you sure about that? If the captain were a ham radio op I could see them also having an HF rig, but HF and no VHF seems quite odd.

I am a radio op I know what a HF radio is and a VHF. Their is no FCC to regulate the radio spectrum. They do what they want and what is inexpensive and works. They use it to talk with their booking office in Bali.

John

 

[Paco II]

Dude, all I was saying was that it would be strange for a boat to only have a longer range radio and not something they could use for shorter range communication.

I am a radio op I know what a HF radio is and a VHF. Their is no FCC to regulate the radio spectrum. They do what they want and what is inexpensive and works. They use it to talk with their booking office in Bali.

John

 

[jkaterenchuk]

Dude, all I was saying was that it would be strange for a boat to only have a longer range radio and not something they could use for shorter range communication.

I amnot your Dude. It would also be unusual for several 10's of thousands of people to die in the USA due to a tropical storm....but its happening in Burma. Indonesia is not the USA. That's my point. Travel there and see for yourself.

John

 

[DandyDon]

Not knowing anything about two way radios, I consulted Wiki...

High frequency (HF) radio frequencies are between 3 and 30 MHz. Also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as the wavelengths range from one to ten decameters (ten to one hundred metres). Frequencies immediately below HF are denoted Medium-frequency (MF), and the next higher frequencies are known as Very high frequency (VHF). Shortwave (2.310 - 25.820 MHz) overlaps and is slightly lower than HF.

Shortwave radio operates between the frequencies of 3 MHz (3,000 kHz) and 30 MHz (30,000 kHz) [1] and came to be referred to as such in the early days of radio because the wavelengths associated with this frequency range were shorter than the long wave lengths widely in use at that time. An alternate name is HF or high frequency radio. Short wavelengths are associated with high frequencies because there is an inverse relationship between frequency and wavelength.

Marine VHF radio is installed on all large ships and most motorized small craft. It is used for a wide variety of purposes, including summoning rescue services and communicating with harbours and marinas, and operates in the VHF frequency range, between 156 to 174 MHz. Although it is widely used for collision avoidance, its use for this purpose is contentious and is strongly discouraged by some countries, including the UK. [1]

A marine VHF set is a combined transmitter and receiver and only operates on standard, international frequencies known as channels. Channel 16 (156.8 MHz) is the international calling and distress channel. Channel 9 can also be used in some places as a secondary call and distress channel. Transmission power ranges between 1 and 25 watts, giving a maximum range of up to about 60 nautical miles (111 km) between aerials mounted on tall ships and hills, and 5 nautical miles (9 km) between aerials mounted on small boats at sea-level. [2] Frequency modulation is used.

 

[Paco II]

Well, than it sounds like diving tourists should avoid these boats, and this will then 'encourage' them to get those VHF radios. Some would go out of business, but the ones that remain would be a little safer.

I amnot your Dude. It would also be unusual for several 10's of thousands of people to die in the USA due to a tropical storm....but its happening in Burma. Indonesia is not the USA. That's my point. Travel there and see for yourself.

John

 

[jkaterenchuk]

Well, than it sounds like diving tourists should avoid these boats, and this will then 'encourage' them to get those VHF radios. Some would go out of business, but the ones that remain would be a little safer.

Maybe diving tourist should understand that there are risks associated with diving in other than you home country. Know what the risk are and do not expect to be a tourist. Maybe people should not be so quick to blame the operator when something does not go right and or say they are incompetent and should be sued. Not every country is the USA and they have their own ways of doing things.

I have said enough on this issue.

John

 

[DandyDon]

Maybe diving tourist should understand that there are risks associated with diving in other than you home country. Know what the risk are and do not expect to be a tourist. Maybe people should not be so quick to blame the operator when something does not go right and or say they are incompetent and should be sued. Not every country is the USA and they have their own ways of doing things.

I have said enough on this issue.

John

Well said, do not feel a need to stop if you have more thots. It might be helpful if you put your location into your profile..