PLB/EPIRB (Pers. Locating Beacon)

[sgtsean]

Anyone have/plan on getting a PLB for diving? I was looking into a McMurdo/Pains Wessex Fastfind Plus Personal Location Beacon (PLB) w/ GPS. An accessory for this is a water tight canister good to over 400'. I was wondering, for those that have one, how big it is etc. The PLB it's self is about the size of the older cell phones. I am thinking the whole enchilada is about he size, forgive me for the comparison, half a roll of toliet paper. I hate to overload a BC, but I spend time in 3rd world countries fishing and diving. I have seen some boats that would make a rat think better than get on.

http://lib.store.yahoo.net/lib/landfallnav/McMurdoFastfindPlus.pdf

 

[The Chad]

The thing that I always wondered was if your in a 3rd world country, whos going to respond? I mean in U.S. waters and a few other areas occupied the coast guard (I've seen a CG cutter in the Puerto Vallarta marina). Does every country monitor the distress freq that an ERPIRB is on? I was thinking of carrying a marine radio w/gps in the same canister, just thought you might have a better/faster response picking up a local boat.

 

[scott&sara]

it uses the "International" Search and Rescue frequency. With that being said... there is no guarantee that some areas have a coast guard or search and rescue ability. Can't hurt though.

I held one at DEMA last year... The PLB is a nice unit but the waterproof case is really big! I don't know any BC pockets this is going to slip into.

Sea Marshall makes a nice waterproof beacon but it is a homing beacon only (not an epirb). Sea Marshall - Locally Managed Rescue System for Lost Diver, Alerting Unit

Scott

 

[vladimir]

I have one. I'd measure/weigh it for you, but I left it in Singapore the last time through because my bags were overweight. Which is the problem. It's about 10 cm in diameter, maybe 15-20 cm high, and weighs 2 or 3 kg. It's no problem diving--just thread a tank cam strap through the canister--but it is a strain on the baggage allowance if you lug camera and scuba gear, as I do.

Edit: I'd consider selling it to you if you have a Singapore shipping address.

 

[Seadeuce]

Have had a Sea Marshall in a Lumb Bros. canister in my BC pocket for at least ten years. Go nowhere without it.

Plenty room in pocket, no trim probs, peace of mind a bonus.

Hope I never need it!

What price your life?


Seadeuce

 

[gnwes]

The thing that I always wondered was if your in a 3rd world country, whos going to respond? I mean in U.S. waters and a few other areas occupied the coast guard (I've seen a CG cutter in the Puerto Vallarta marina). Does every country monitor the distress freq that an ERPIRB is on? I was thinking of carrying a marine radio w/gps in the same canister, just thought you might have a better/faster response picking up a local boat.

I was thinking the same thing as well... I have been in some countries, third world type, where I dont think i would want to rely on their level of technology to save me ... but who knows... if it makes somebody feel better then I'm all for it. The radio is a great idea.

 

[sgtsean]

The newer generation of EPIRBs use a frequency that is picked up , by satelite, in 80-85% of the worlds oceans. i think the polar areas is where it drops out. For the seadeuce, you might want to check yours for future compatiblity (the older system is going to be phased out. The USCG monitors it, where you register it, and they call to confirm you are not in your backyard testing it. It has a DF (Direction finder) frequency that kicks in for the locals etc. I do want a smaller unit as I do carry a lot of stuff. Some of the boats I have been on, well, I felt safer in the water.

 

[sgtsean]

I have one. I'd measure/weigh it for you, but I left it in Singapore the last time through because my bags were overweight. Which is the problem. It's about 10 cm in diameter, maybe 15-20 cm high, and weighs 2 or 3 kg. It's no problem diving--just thread a tank cam strap through the canister--but it is a strain on the baggage allowance if you lug camera and scuba gear, as I do.

Edit: I'd consider selling it to you if you have a Singapore shipping address.

I am in California, but heading to Thailand in Feb. May stop in Singapore on way though.

 

[jbmooney]

Sgtsean -

The more modern PLBs are much smaller thean some that have been described here. I have an ACR that would fit in my bc pocket if it needed to, and would certainly fit in a small dedicated pouch (it's waterproof - no cannister). I'm not sure how you would weight the Pains-Wessex cannister to make it neutrally buoyant without making it more clumsy.

As I understand it, some of the ones that come with integral GPS, once you activate them, turn themselves on, send a message that includes a position report, and go into standby for a fixed period (20 mins?), after which the process repeats (this saves battery power). Some provide relatively low power transmissions on 121.5 MHz for homing, but that's not the primary search aide, and I'm told it's going to get phased out in relatively little time.

Have a look at the "Equipped To Survive" site - it contains a good deal of comparative information and a lot of other pretty interesting stuff about survival techniques and technologies - very big ion both the marine and aviation communities, and pretty even-handed approach, with heavy emphasis on independent research.

Good luck with your search,

- John

 

[ba_hiker]

The newer generation of EPIRBs use a frequency that is picked up , by satelite, in 80-85% of the worlds oceans. i think the polar areas is where it drops out. For the seadeuce, you might want to check yours for future compatiblity (the older system is going to be phased out. The USCG monitors it, where you register it, and they call to confirm you are not in your backyard testing it. It has a DF (Direction finder) frequency that kicks in for the locals etc. I do want a smaller unit as I do carry a lot of stuff. Some of the boats I have been on, well, I felt safer in the water.

The newest generation of EPIRBS transmits GPS coordinates to satellites. They also transmit a local (short range) locator signal on a well know frequency. [FONT=&quot]No body listens for this frequency any more, its range is too short if you want to have good battery life, they just wait for the satellite based emergency signal. [/FONT]Other types will be considered obsolete, and generally not monitored on or before 1/2/2009. The satellites forward the emergency messages to ground stations (there are three). From there the emergency message goes to a “mission control center” then to a “rescue coordination center”. Then a rescue can be dispatched. All this defined by international treaty. In the US the US Coast Guard operates the mission control center and rescue coordination centers for US waters and some others defined by treaty.

There is a “mission control center” assigned for all parts of the world. What resources the “rescue coordination center” has varies; most are pretty good but may be restricted by local policies. How long the communications take is also variable.

There are various protocols to catch “false positive” messages. These are like when you ‘accidentally’ activate the thing one night in you hotel or something. False positives were/are a major problem for the previous generations of emergency beacons. . For previous generations of emergency beacons ALL activations were investigated. For aviation oriented ELTS the actual emergency to false activation rate was about 1 emergency for each 1000 activations. Because of this testing it in you backyard is forbidden. It may generate a rescue and you may be billed for it. Most mission control centers now require two messages, generally a few minutes or satellites apart to consider a message valid, most attempt to contact the registered owner by some other means, phone or radio, prior to forwarding the message. Also most “rescue coordination centers” will not launch a rescue based on an unregistered unit, unless distress is verified.

Also the ACR unit is only waterproof to 16 ft.