Nautilus Lifeline Radio

[Schwob]

The only time I used mine on an LOB so far, I switched it off between most dives (except a few where I may have forgotten). And I always had it off over nght. But I never used it for a call of any sorts (maybe I should try)... I did note down the easily downloaded coords so.... just in case I ever paddle from 'Merica to the Red Sea and need to park my kayak at cool dive spots... ☺
Anyway, the reason I always switched it off after a dive was because I was worried how much battery it might use hunting for GPS signals all the time, especially as my dive gear bench was in the shade, under another deck (and I put it in the camera rinse-bin too... at least at day's end). I always did switch it on prior to a dive and stood out in the sun (or moon), waiting a bit, making sure it got the location before putting it back in the holder.
But, lacking the comparison and an actual radio use, I do not know if all that made a difference and how much. Upon switching on, battery power always seemed OK. But (it's been 2 years) ... I do not recall if I might have topped it off at the end of week #1.

 

[Belzelbub]

What went wrong?

I noticed that the Nautilus Lifeline had less than 50% power when it would just turn off. In the manual, it says that the Nautilus Lifeline would prevent Chat mode to save power for distress transmissions if the power went below a certain percentage, set by the user. It's unclear to me why it would shut off instead of displaying some message to say Chat mode is disabled.

Prior to the trip, I tested the drain on the Nautilus and it was only a couple percent per day. I made sure it was fully charged on the first day of the trip. The trip was only eight days, so it was quite a surprise to me that it was less than 50% when we tried to use Chat mode.

What to do to correct the problem?

Make sure the Nautilus Lifeline is fully charged prior to every dive, or at least at the beginning of the day of diving.

Once I fully charged the Nautilus, we went about testing it, using Chat mode with the boat's radio, channel 16. It worked. I can't say if the quality of the transmission was clear or not, but it did work.

Definitely make sure it's fully charged at the beginning of the day. If desired, you can also adjust that setting with the Nautilus software. Also, probably goes without saying that you want to make sure you know which channels the dive boat monitors. 16 should always work, but that's the emergency channel. Chat feature won't do you any good if the dive boat isn't monitoring the chat channel you have set.

The only time I used mine on an LOB so far, I switched it off between most dives (except a few where I may have forgotten). And I always had it off over nght. But I never used it for a call of any sorts (maybe I should try)... I did note down the easily downloaded coords so.... just in case I ever paddle from 'Merica to the Red Sea and need to park my kayak at cool dive spots... ☺
Anyway, the reason I always switched it off after a dive was because I was worried how much battery it might use hunting for GPS signals all the time, especially as my dive gear bench was in the shade, under another deck (and I put it in the camera rinse-bin too... at least at day's end). I always did switch it on prior to a dive and stood out in the sun (or moon), waiting a bit, making sure it got the location before putting it back in the holder.
But, lacking the comparison and an actual radio use, I do not know if all that made a difference and how much. Upon switching on, battery power always seemed OK. But (it's been 2 years) ... I do not recall if I might have topped it off at the end of week #1.

There should be a setting in the software for the power-off time. That way you wouldn't need to turn it off each time. You could simply turn it on at the beginning of the dive, then once it's acquired the satellites, simply place in the case. After the set time with no activity, it should turn off automatically.

 

[Rred]

"Whereas a PLB, if you registered it with your government, your distress signals will be watched 24/7 by the government?"
Just to note, there is no universal "overwatch" for a PLB. Yes, in theory, there's an automated system (actually two, one carried on weathersats, a second newer dedicated one on SAR sats) which listens for beacons and then retransmits them to ground stations. But then it is up to each government as to how and whether they will deal with the notifications, and not all governments have a SAR force that can be deployed to wherever a signal comes from. The US has a government operated Coast Guard, but even in large nations like Australia, there's just a volunteer coast watch (who did a huge job) or limited military assets.

Sounds like the main problem with this Nautilus was operator error. Nautilus didn't really make it clear just how important that battery threshold could be, and the unit itself really doesn't make it clear what state the battery is in (unless you've got the display on and visible) or how to do something like override the threshold when it kicks in.

And then again, you have to have some trust in USB devices not running their batteries down. Even find your cell phone went off and killed itself when you needed it? Ayup, same same. Very handy gadget, but still, as Will Rogers might have said, "The only good silicon life form is a dead silicon life form."

 

[Kevrumbo]

"Whereas a PLB, if you registered it with your government, your distress signals will be watched 24/7 by the government?"
Just to note, there is no universal "overwatch" for a PLB. Yes, in theory, there's an automated system (actually two, one carried on weathersats, a second newer dedicated one on SAR sats) which listens for beacons and then retransmits them to ground stations. But then it is up to each government as to how and whether they will deal with the notifications, and not all governments have a SAR force that can be deployed to wherever a signal comes from. The US has a government operated Coast Guard, but even in large nations like Australia, there's just a volunteer coast watch (who did a huge job) or limited military assets.

@Rred , if you smartly set up your PLB activation emergency contact beforehand with your full travel itinerary, including at least phone numbers for the dive-ops that you're using, the Gov't agency (NOAA and/or the State Dept as necessary if the PLB is registered here in the US) can communicate with a particular international COSPAS-SARSAT Rescue Coordination Center to relay your satellite determined GPS location fix to that local dive-ops to come find you, even if there are no national SAR assets in the particular location and country that you are diving in. Does that make sense?

Again with the Nautlus Lifeline VHF Transceiver technology, you're only limited to a 5km radius marine radio range (further attenuated by rain and sea swell conditions), and that's assuming there are boats or high antenna land based VHF stations out there with AIS/DSC technological capability to detect a Nautilus product encoded distress signal or voice transmission.

 

[Rred]

Kev-
Here in the US, we're pretty uniquely blessed to have an international SAR/SAT capability and response courtesy of the USCG. A bastard agglomeration of maybe two dozen agencies that is hopelessly confused by a dual role of being both an administrative agency and a military one, to be true, but still a lot of damn fine folks often doing an incredibly hard job for little pay. And the folks at NOAA who administer the forms are incredibly proactive and adept at making the paper work.
Despite that, despite the rare cases like Rebel Heart, where air rescue assets deployed thousands of miles outside of our territory, despite the USCG presence in all kinds of unlikely corners of the world...If you're diving at a resort in Indonesia and you get bent, guess what? No USCG, no chamber, you take the "boat come next week" if there's nothing handier. The resources that we have are in a totally different league from most of the world. Much of the EU comes close--if you're in the Med and you're not coming in from Africa.
But even in the US, I know (knew) someone who was lost about 12 years ago just off the NJ coast during a storm. Wx was too rough to launch any air assets, too rough to get a boat out of any inlet. NJSP and USCG alike couldn't launch until the next morning, and at that point they only found to top of his mast and some debris, not even a body.

Nautilus are not the only folks to make un-funny remarks about radio "range". Yeah, a tiny VHF six *inches* above sea level....remind me to check out what range that really has on a dead calm day. If it was reliably one mile, I wouldn't be surprised. Five km? OK, while I'm on a wave top.(G)

Still, compared to the world's loudest whistles, it beats having a range of "100 yards, if they're downwind of you."

 

[Kevrumbo]

@Rred , still would rather have a PLB over a Nautilus unit as a primary and best chance last resort for rescue. If there are no marine radio stations other than your liveaboard or dive skiff within range to pick up a Nautlius VHF distress signal, you're essentially in an adrift lost-at-sea scenario.

In tropical 27°C waters or warmer, you will have an agonizing and terrible demise if not rescued, over two to three days due to dehydration.

 

[divinh]

The reason I went with the Nautilus Lifeline was that the liveaboard I signed up for in Komodo said that they did have a marine radio that monitors channel 16 and do ship-to-ship on 15 or 17. (Prior to the trip, I set the Chat channel to 15.) They didn't have AIS.

When we tested, we went to the bridge and the guide said to set the Nautilus to Chat on 16. I did and it worked.

Going forward, I think I will adopt these procedures...

- Immediately inform the boat that I have a Nautilus Lifeline, figure out what channels they monitor, and have an understanding with them on what a Chat with me means, i.e. I need immediate assistance and the message doesn't matter, in case it's not clear or drops out.
- While riding on the tender, power up the Nautilus and let it do it's ~3-5 min GPS acquisition, then power it off or let it time out. (My only concern with this part is usually on the tenders, there's a bunch of commotion going on for getting ready to dive. Would I remember to close the cap?)

No one else on the trip had either a Nautilus or PLB.

We didn't venture into the open waters of South Komodo. We made it south as far as Loh Sera, the southern end of Komodo Island. It seemed everyone had cell reception during most of the trip... I guess that is to say, we weren't as remote as I thought we were going to be.

 

[Lorenzoid]

. . .
No one else on the trip had either a Nautilus or PLB.

We didn't venture into the open waters of South Komodo. We made it south as far as Loh Sera, the southern end of Komodo Island. It seemed everyone had cell reception during most of the trip... I guess that is to say, we weren't as remote as I thought we were going to be.

I brought a PLB for the first time on a recent trip to Fiji, and like you, I discovered we never dived "as remote as I thought we were going to be." No one else had either a Nautilus or PLB. Although the shoreline looked pretty distant to me--no doubt miles away--I suspect we were always somewhere near boat traffic. It gave me something to think about. I'm going to be a little more judicious about on what trips I bring the PLB. If we're diving well offshore, with nothing but open ocean around us--that is, not in the middle of a bunch of islands--then I'll deem the risk and severity of the possible outcome to tip the decision over the threshold.

 

[Firebar]

Nautilus are not the only folks to make un-funny remarks about radio "range". Yeah, a tiny VHF six *inches* above sea level....remind me to check out what range that really has on a dead calm day. If it was reliably one mile, I wouldn't be surprised. Five km? OK, while I'm on a wave top.(G)

Still, compared to the world's loudest whistles, it beats having a range of "100 yards, if they're downwind of you."

DSC and AIS definitely beat a whistle, I’m a firm believer and these links will explain why!

My 100 minutes lost in the most inhospitable seas on earth

http://www.mcmurdogroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Clipper-AIS-MOB-Rescue-Case-Study-2014.pdf

This is really the same technology used in the Nautilus, with a VHF Tx at sea level and a receiving station. The thing about range is that it can be better than you think, it’s a function of the receiver height too. I’ve received AIS signals between sailing yachts around 100nm apart.

From a GPS function point of view if your system has a battery that keeps its memory powered its worth getting it going before you go diving, this is because each GPS satellite transmits almanac data that is used to align the receiver. If the memory is cleared it can take a long time to align at first as this data is received from the constellation.

 

[Kevrumbo]

DSC and AIS definitely beat a whistle, I’m a firm believer and these links will explain why!

My 100 minutes lost in the most inhospitable seas on earth

http://www.mcmurdogroup.com/wp-content/uploads/Clipper-AIS-MOB-Rescue-Case-Study-2014.pdf

This is really the same technology used in the Nautilus, with a VHF Tx at sea level and a receiving station. The thing about range is that it can be better than you think, it’s a function of the receiver height too. I’ve received AIS signals between sailing yachts around 100nm apart.

From a GPS function point of view if your system has a battery that keeps its memory powered its worth getting it going before you go diving, this is because each GPS satellite transmits almanac data that is used to align the receiver. If the memory is cleared it can take a long time to align at first as this data is received from the constellation.

This is the problem when you try to adapt a Man Overboard (MOB) protocol and technology from blue water open ocean yacht racing to the unique scenario of an isolated drifting Diver Missing/Lost-at-Sea:

Where divers get confused in the application, and assume "instant" local alert and rescue capabilities of an AIS/DSC VHF radio unit (i.g. current Nautilus Products like their Marine Rescue GPS), over a 406 MHz PLB is in the classic MOB (Man Overboard) Scenario:

Tactically this is fine for example, if you're crewing a sailing vessel in the biennial Transpacific Yacht Race from San Pedro Calif to Honolulu Hawaii, and you fall MOB during rough seas at night: Along with your crew, there will be anywhere from twenty to forty or so sailing yachts out there with AIS/DSC within VHF range in the otherwise trackless open Pacific Ocean ready to immediately assist in picking you up.

AIS/DSC VHF MOB devices are not meant to replace but rather augment PLBs. That said, since they alert nearby AIS-equipped vessels, such as the boat from which the person fell overboard, to assist in the search-and-rescue effort, these devices can reduce rescue times substantially. A PLB, on the other hand works worldwide -well beyond VHF range- to summon rescuers. It’s important to keep a PLB around if venturing far out to sea and away from other boaters.

A Lost-at-Sea/Missing Diver can be considered a special case of a "delayed" MOB Scenario: Delayed in the sense that an elapsed normal recreational depth dive time is about 50 minutes to an hour -->if the Diver is caught in a stiff current at depth, surfaces after an hour and does not see any sign of the diveboat, then the Diver has to manually call or activate a VHF DSC Distress Beacon such as the Nautilus Lifeline first generation or current Marine Rescue GPS, but the caveat still being the limited range of the VHF signal along with hoping there are other boats or land stations in the vicinity with VHF transceiver reception capability. Again, if you're at a remote divesite hundreds of kilometers away from the commercial shipping lanes or land VHF receiving stations, then the direct to satellite PLB distress beacon is your last resort.

Again IMO/IME, a tropical squall & thunderstorm in zero visibility is the most common post-dive surfacing condition with a potential adrift lost-at-sea worst case scenario which you should smartly prepare yourself beforehand with at least a PLB:


A Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS/VHF Radio Transceiver Beacon may not save you in this instance due to "rain fade" signal attenuation, and the chances that any boats with marine VHF Radio DSC/AIS capability may be out of reception range of your distress signal by the time the squall clears and the weather, current & sea state moderates again.

Finally, a PLB (or even an AIS/DSC VHF Man Overboard transceiver in the links provided by @Firebar above) will not save you over an hour's time immersion from potentially succumbing to hypothermia in very cold to temperate waters; but in contrast, the last chance and best odds of being rescued in warm tropical waters (and from an agonizingly painful slow death from dehydration over several days) is always with a PLB. . .