New Nautilus Lifeline Marine Rescue GPS

[PfcAJ]

Yeah, gotta say that carrying a VHF radio to speak to boats while diving seems like extra hardware and unnecessary complication. I carry one in case I get swept away or otherwise lost by a dive boat, period. I can't imagine a scenario where I would be (a) on the surface in dive gear, and (b) need to speak with the boat but not in need of immediate pickup.

It's only because they brought out the one with the radio first that this might be seen as a downgrade. If we were all carrying the new model and they suddenly offered a "pro" version that included a VHF radio, I'll bet that they would sell very few. The exception would be for people who just want a VHF radio for use while on their boat - it might be nice to have in one piece of equipment. However, I suspect that most people who have their own boats also have VHF radios that are higher power with better antennas than this.

Smaller and cheaper are big plusses. Probably won't buy one since I have the old version, though...

I used my Nautilus a few months ago. Non-emergency, we were just somewhat far and the sun was behind us so the boat couldn't really see us. I told them where to look and they came and scooped us up. Neat!

Bummed to hear that probably the best feature of the Nautilus is being dropped

 

[absoffthewake]

I've had my Nautilus Lifeline for 2 years, and I wouldn't dive without it. We dove in the murky gulf and missed a small reef on the way down. We circled around for 15 mins looking for it and couldn't find it, so we went up and we were like a .25 mile away from the boat. We thought no problem we'll just swim, but found we were swimming against a strong current that started after we dove and we barely made progress. We deployed our SS and were yelling, screaming, sounding a BCD horn, and nothing as we were downwind. After swimming for 30 minutes, near death, we got to the boat and found our driver sound asleep. Not even a few months later, we were diving in the keys and misjudged the current as it was opposite of a strong opposing wind, and found ourselves a 1/2 mile away from the boat on ascent. I pulled out my lifeline, hailed the boat, woke up the driver who again was sound asleep, and he immediately came to pick us up. He didn't learn the first time, and this time it could have cost us our life as we could not swim against the gulfstream current. Needless to say he's not our driver anymore, but I credit the old lifeline with saving the day, maybe our lives. I tell everyone I know about this device, and a few of my dive buddies bought it on my recommendation. I use it on almost every dive to get the attention of those on board when I surface, which provides huge peace of mind. It's also nice to not have to yell if you need something while in the water a few feet away from the boat. The new nautilus lifeline is a huge step backwards as now it can only be used in emergencies, and you involve other boats when it could be avoided with VHF. I think it would be a good option if it were the cheaper brother of the "Deluxe" VHF model, but to get rid of it altogether is a huge mistake that I think Nautilus will regret. I can't in good faith recommend the new version.

 

[absoffthewake]

Alert Diver | Nautilus Lifeline
Transmitters sending signals to a base unit severely restricted potential options because not every boat able to render assistance would receive the signal. Transmissions to satellites created a delay that rendered the information useless by the time it was received. Lever's eureka moment occurred when he finally asked himself one very simple question: What is common to virtually every commercial boat in the world?

"A VHF radio!" said Lever.

I guess he doesn't feel this way anymore???? What a hypocrite.

 

[scubadada]

See the following from the Nautilus website:

Why no MMSI number?
The Nautilus MMSI number was an inventive idea to take advantage of and use the existing system for vessels to acquire their MMSI numbers for onboard VHF radios. Authorities worldwide became unhappy with the vast number of MMSI numbers which were being issued to divers and began restricting the ability of individuals to get their MMSI number. For that reason, we had to come up with a new technology. The new Nautilus GPS incorporates our own internally issued MID numbers as a very clean solution for divers getting found within full approval of government authorities worldwide.

Why production stopped on Nautilus Radio?
Unfortunately, we had no choice but to shut down production on the original Nautilus Radio. US authorities have banned single transceiver handheld radios and the EU changed the CE technical requirements for this class of radio. The problem with the MMSI numbers was also a major hurdle. As well, there were tremendous difficulties with manufacturing in China. For the Nautilus GPS, manufacturing is being done right here in Canada.

 

[mmmbelows]

Alert Diver | Nautilus Lifeline
Transmitters sending signals to a base unit severely restricted potential options because not every boat able to render assistance would receive the signal. Transmissions to satellites created a delay that rendered the information useless by the time it was received. Lever's eureka moment occurred when he finally asked himself one very simple question: What is common to virtually every commercial boat in the world?

"A VHF radio!" said Lever.

I guess he doesn't feel this way anymore???? What a hypocrite.

Not to mention the fact that "transmissions to satellites created a delay that rendered the information useless by the time it was received" made absolutely no sense at all since that's already how all PLBs work which is a constant transmission that is continuously updated until rescue or power failure. I've never been a fan of their product, it always seemed flawed and over hyped with the unrealistic ranges given. I can't believe they would introduce this new product as a replacement to the original, when it would make so much more sense to release it as an additional product with the benefit being smaller and catering to part of the market that does care about the VHS, while still producing the original product for that market.

Put out a VHS radio combined with EPIRB/PLB and they've got the tiger by the tail, covering all customers wants and needs with world wide rescue guaranteed instead of relying on a boat captain to have his radio on loud enough to hear.

 

[Dan]

I gave up getting the new Nautilus Lifeline (NL) and stick with my PLB1. Below is a size comparison of the old NL (the one with VHF radio, the "monster" size) with my PLB1 inside a camera case, which fits nicely inside my BCD waist pocket below my DSMB.

The camera case (waterproof down to 40m) works just fine in GBR & Galapagos diving down to 30m so far. I got this old camera case from eBay for $10.

Once they come up with PLB + VHF (5 watts) + waterproof case the size of the old NL for
$300, I'll buy it.

 

[mmmbelows]

Ingenious solution for carrying a PLB diving, You get the thinking outside the box award. Americans.

 

[Dan]

Ingenious solution for carrying a PLB diving, You get the thinking outside the box award. Americans.

He he he, just can't resist the $10 see-thru case compare to those $$$ monster case out there

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

So since I don't dive deep, and have the PLB1 I went the seal-a-meal route--sealed it and the case in one bag , then used another bag to seal again, hole punched in margin, then attached and placed in my nautilus pouch . I placed a felt pad between the unit and the "cover" so it does not get turned on accidentally if I'm deep (as what happened with you Dan_T) this method kept it dry for a weeks diving at the SB cayman brac surge. I also have the camera case but its too big and bulky, and I don't have pockets in my bc. Also just last week got my rebate .

 

[Dan]

Cool! You learnt from my mistake!

I'm thinking of adding spacer to my pouch to prevent the red button being accidental pressed by the hydraulic pressure.

For those who haven't seen my test, check the picture, below. I put the PLB1 in a pouch & the red button was off until I hit 104 fsw.