PLB Confusion

[Basheirt]

Heading out on first liveaboard experience next month... thinking my VHF Lifeline radio is NOT the value I thought it was when I purchased it, given it's line-of-sight requirements and the "ideal" conditions required for it to work as advertised.

Considering purchasing a true PLB device... but there are so many... and NONE of them are rated below 10', meaning they need some other waterproof container... but the manufacturers don't seem to sell their devices WITH a matching canister. Why not?

So.... crowd-sourcing here....

What PLB is most recommended (granted, this is a very subjective question/answer), and where to purchase with matching canister?

Thanks much...
Jeff

 

[Wookie]

I have an old stock new in box fast find 210 with 300 ft rated canister I'll sell for $400. It has about 1 year left on the battery, (6/2015). This is a gps PLB and was the standard until McMurdo came out with the 220. A new battery will be a hundred bucks or so. The PLB220 is $369 new without a case.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I think the best PLB on the market is anything from ACR. At least when I used to work for them 3 years ago, their PLBs were far above better than the competition. At that time SPOT (not a true PLB) was hurting sales and the Lifeline just came on the market.
Why none of the PLBs are submersible is beyond my knowledge. However, in order for a PLB to work, it has to be on the surface as the gps and 406 signal gets lost in water. You could theoretically push the button under water, but it can't transmit anything.
As far as a housing for it, I always thought an empty pistol grip dive light would work, or an empty canister light.

How a PLB works
PLBs and Satellite Messengers: How to Choose


After looking at the website, I would say the ResQLink+ is an updated model of the ResQLink, though I couldn't find much difference other than it's buoyant.

 

[Mike]

Heading out on first liveaboard experience next month... thinking my VHF Lifeline radio is NOT the value I thought it was when I purchased it, given it's line-of-sight requirements and the "ideal" conditions required for it to work as advertised.

Considering purchasing a true PLB device... but there are so many... and NONE of them are rated below 10', meaning they need some other waterproof container... but the manufacturers don't seem to sell their devices WITH a matching canister. Why not?

So.... crowd-sourcing here....

What PLB is most recommended (granted, this is a very subjective question/answer), and where to purchase with matching canister?

Thanks much...
Jeff

I went through what you're looking for a few years ago

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/co...rsonal-locator-beacon-how-never-lost-sea.html

 

[Scared Silly]

Like Mike I did search a few years ago and bought a McMurdo FastFind 210. The 220 is minor update.

The canister issue is best solved by purchasing a can light canister with a "dummy" cap. Contact the folks at Light Monkey. The benefit of a light canister is that you can put other items in it, like a light, dye pack, mirror, sun screen, etc.