Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS and Nautilus PLB

[Kevrumbo]

I certainly agree that there are advantages that a PLB has over the Nautilus. That is why I do own a PLB.

I'm booked on a LOB in the Maldives in May. I know that the LOB I'm booked on has issued their DMs with the Nautilus Lifeline because I saw the DMs carrying them the last time I was aboard. I'm expecting there to be a LOB within line of sight. You are at liberty to disagree.

Alright, fair enough and apologies @CWK -you know what's best for the particular divesites you'll be visiting, what to expect from your DM Guides & LOB boat crew, and are prepared with a Nautilus Lifeline & PLB as last resort back-up for any potential emergency adrift/lost-at-sea contingency.

 

[seeker242]

Yes. A Nautilus PLB that is rated for 100m.

I'm in the PLB and EPIRB business. I don't see that happening any time soon. The market simply isn't big enough to produce such a product in an economically viable manner.

 

[CWK]

Alright, fair enough and apologies @CWK -you know what's best for the particular divesites you'll be visiting, what to expect from your DM Guides & LOB boat crew, and are prepared with a Nautilus Lifeline & PLB as last resort back-up for any potential emergency adrift/lost-at-sea contingency.

No worries. You are obviously passionate about PLBs and that can only be a good thing.

 

[CWK]

I'm in the PLB and EPIRB business. I don't see that happening any time soon. The market simply isn't big enough to produce such a product in an economically viable manner.

Perhaps you are correct.

It should be noted that a PLB rated for 100m can also be used on land, we are not talking about a scuba specific product. Perhaps the overall market is sufficiently large. All that needs to be done is some redesign to make a PLB submersible.

I also note also that McMurdo now has the Smartfind S10 AIS product that is rated for 60m. I was hoping that since they are moving into the scuba market, they would come out with a submersible PLB in due course.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Kevrumbo,

Thank you for your posts. I don't think people have a clear understanding of the difference.
My issue with the VHF rescue system is that I don't think most dive boat operators and recreation vessels know 2 cents about how to use AIS if they are even equipped to receive (which is doubtful) or how to understand a DSC alert when it is received.
The thing is, if a boat 'forgot' a diver, they aren't even going to be looking for him. So when the DSC alert goes off, they don't even realize it is their own emergency they need to respond to!

Secondly, VHF transmission distances, especially from a low wattage power source, are severely hampered by the fact that the victim is on the very surface of the water and possibly in rolling waves. I often have trouble raising other boats and marinas within visual range from my handheld VHF which is six feet above deck.

I would like to see an actual test of the Nautilus in realistic rescue conditions before I purchase.

I use a Resqlink PLB when I sail and keep one attached to my inflatable life jacket. I wish they made a scuba proof one!

Perhaps you are correct.

It should be noted that a PLB rated for 100m can also be used on land, we are not talking about a scuba specific product. Perhaps the overall market is sufficiently large. All that needs to be done is some redesign to make a PLB submersible.

I also note also that McMurdo now has the Smartfind S10 AIS product that is rated for 60m. I was hoping that since they are moving into the scuba market, they would come out with a submersible PLB in due course.

@hammet, @Dan_T and @CWK , If prudent safety conscious divers really do want true robust complementary distress beacon systems like VHF AIS/DSC along with a direct to satellite PLB, I would recommend purchasing a dedicated Marine Handheld VHF Radio with GPS Transceiver rather than a cheap compromise solution like a Nautilus Lifeline or Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS product, and then place it in a custom depth proof dive canister container.

For example, for the past twelve years diving the far offshore Southern California Channel Islands as well as traveling to overseas dive destinations and tech wreck diving expeditions, in addition to my McMurdo Fast Find Plus PLB in an 150m depth proof Dive Canister, I also carry a old Uniden Mystic VHF Marine MMSI Radio with GPS, which I store in the nose cone body of an X-Scooter DPV, itself also depth proof rated to 150m. . . (Unfortunately these are very expensive solutions, so if I were to go with just one unit for SAR in a lost-at-sea drifting Diver contingency, it would be just the PLB in a dive canister).

 

[CarcharodonCarcharias]

I've learned a lot in this chat. So thanks to all you guys for the passionate debate. I guess the takeaway from all of it is that redundancy is crucial and you can never be over prepared for the stranded diver scenario.

Just called the company in Singapore and they wanted $500 SGD (ex GST so w/ tax it will come out close to $400 USD) for the PLB1. I will probably just buy one in the US and get it shipped over.

 

[Dan]

@hammet, @Dan_T and @CWK , If prudent safety conscious divers really do want robust complementary distress beacon systems like VHF AIS/DSC along with a direct to satellite PLB, I would recommend purchasing a dedicated Marine Handheld VHF Radio with GPS Transceiver rather than a cheap compromise solution like a Nautilus Lifeline or Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS product, and then place it in a custom depth proof dive canister container.

For example, for the past twelve years diving the far offshore Southern California Channel Islands as well as traveling to overseas dive destinations and tech wreck diving expeditions, in addition to my McMurdo Fast Find Plus PLB in an 150m depth proof Dive Canister, I also carry a old Uniden Mystic VHF Marine MMSI Radio with GPS, which I store in the nose cone body of an X-Scooter DPV, itself also depth proof rated to 150m. . . (Unfortunately these are very expensive solutions, so if I were to go with just one unit for SAR in a lost-at-sea drifting Diver contingency, it would be just the PLB in a dive canister).

Thanks for the tip on Marine VHF Radio. My thought about this is that it’ll be too bulky to carry around. I rather stick with the most essential safety gears that fit in my BCD pockets.

Originally, I only carried PLB1 in an old UW camera case, as shown below.

It’s compact enough to fit in my BCD pockets among other safety gears, as discussed here: Best signaling devices from the searcher’s point of view - update

Here are the content of my left & right BCD pockets to date:

Later on, I learned that some of the liveaboards I was in (Spoil Sport, Galápagos Master, Palau Aggressor II) and will be in (Argo, Maldives Aggressor II, Nautilus Under Sea) are issuing Nautilus Lifeline (either the old one with VHF radio or the new one without VHF radio). They all emphasize the importance of the quick local rescue within the hour of diver lost at sea while the VHF signal is still within reach. So, why not have it one if it’s small enough to fit in one of my BCD pockets.

The Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS (new one without VHF radio) is small enough to still fit in my BCD pocket. So I bought one for liveaboards that do not issue them to their guests. I plan to have a pre-dive discussion with the captain about what action the crew would do if I’m lost at sea and test my Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS with the boat AIS/DSC system.

 

[CWK]

@hammet, @Dan_T and @CWK , If prudent safety conscious divers really do want true robust complementary distress beacon systems like VHF AIS/DSC along with a direct to satellite PLB, I would recommend purchasing a dedicated Marine Handheld VHF Radio with GPS Transceiver rather than a cheap compromise solution like a Nautilus Lifeline or Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS product, and then place it in a custom depth proof dive canister container.

I have the Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS. Is it just the Nautilus that you are unhappy about or are you equally unhappy about the McMurdo SmartFind S10? AIS Man Overboard Device | Automatic Identification System | SmartFind S10

 

[seeker242]

Perhaps you are correct.

It should be noted that a PLB rated for 100m can also be used on land, we are not talking about a scuba specific product. Perhaps the overall market is sufficiently large. All that needs to be done is some redesign to make a PLB submersible.

I also note also that McMurdo now has the Smartfind S10 AIS product that is rated for 60m. I was hoping that since they are moving into the scuba market, they would come out with a submersible PLB in due course.

I agree! I’m not sure about mcmurdo but I know the engineers and managers at ACR personally. Their factory is right down the street from our office. I’ve asked them a couple times why they don’t have a deep submersible PLB. Each time they have said it wouldn’t be profitable.

 

[Kevrumbo]

I have the Nautilus Marine Rescue GPS. Is it just the Nautilus that you are unhappy about or are you equally unhappy about the McMurdo SmartFind S10? AIS Man Overboard Device | Automatic Identification System | SmartFind S10

Again . . .the Lost-at-Sea/Adrift/Missing Diver Scenario is a special case of the classic Man Overboard contingency. Using MOB devices in the VHF radio frequency range designed for immediate recovery of blue water sailors and open ocean racing yacht crews may not apply and might be the best solution to the "delayed" problem of the ascending diver after an hour or more of bottom time and submerged drifting decompression as needed, then surfacing into a low visibility weather condition and/or sea state (i.g. Rain Squall; Fog Bank; Swells; Strong Surface Current; Low Angle Blinding Background Setting Sun etc), and losing sight of the Diveboat Vessel & Crew.

The best overall SAR utility, and last resort when there are no vessels left to be seen within line-of-sight for VHF beacon reception & visual signaling (Strobe Light, SMB deployment etc), is activation of a direct to COSPAS-SARSAT satellite PLB, and a designated Emergency Contact that can confirm you as owner of the PLB distress beacon as well as provide information to where in the world you were diving at, and emergency contact cellphone numbers for the Dive Operation or Liveaboard that you are using in order to relay your exact GPS location coordinates to effect a timely rescue.