PLBs and DSMBs

[James Moreland]

Specially made for my PLB1. I drew it and sent the drawing to local plastic machine shop. Costed $125 to make it. I took it down to 144 fsw (44m) for 3 minutes in Palau to see this guy , no leak.

View attachment 745150

Nice! And great photo too
What's the other thing in the case with it?

 

[waterone]

I use my mini all the time in the mountains. It has some nice features and gets my texts and tracking through no matter where I am. The ability for anyone that you give a link to being able to track you in my mind is a plus and that and you can send a location with texts as well.

It seems quite hard to activate the emergency button by accident too, but if you do you can also cancel it and tell them why. Or if you do need it you can send a text explaining exactly what is wrong

 

[kinoons]

So a PLB costs $300 to $400, but you can carry it anywhere. Over a six-year standby life, that's about $1 to $1.30/week for insurance. Then have the battery professionally replaced and the unit tested by an acclaimed service center for around $150 for another six years at 50¢/week. Divers add $100 for a canister, spare O-rings, and silicone grease.

Just don't be that klutz who fires his accidentally raising a false alarm. I keep mine in a cheap camera bag that prevents the antenna from accidentally unfolding or the buttons being pressed.

I once tested mine (fast find 210) after a dive in lake Mohave. Hit the test button and the unit started flashing like crazy. “Oh crap! I think it’s transmitting”.

I had minimal cell service. Fortunately I was able to get a text to my wife who was listed as the second number to call after mine, so when the very friendly airman from NORAD called my wife she was able to relay that it was an accidental activation and to not come look for me.

We drove out towards Laughlin and I got signal back. Had a pleasant voicemail from the same airman leaving a number for me to call. I returned the call and profusely apologized.

But it is nice to know it works.

 

[DandyDon]

I once tested mine (fast find 210) after a dive in lake Mohave. Hit the test button and the unit started flashing like crazy. “Oh crap! I think it’s transmitting”.

I test mine per the instructions that came with it to confirm that it connects with the satellites. I have never gone so far as to check NOAA.

 

[kinoons]

I test mine per the instructions that came with it to confirm that it connects with the satellites. I have never gone so far as to check NOAA.

I usually only had tested the satellite connection. I didn’t want to actually send a signal and get a response. Not sure why it happened. There was a touch of water in with the device, but not enough I thought it would be an issue.

All my tests since that time have gone as expected. Good satellite, no alert sent to the authorities.

 

[Dan]

Nice! And great photo too
What's the other thing in the case with it?

Its floating pouch, just in case I fumble in retrieving it from the case & fall into the water, the PLB would stay afloat.

To make the case look more slim to the size of an SMB, I just tether the jacket to it and place the floating jacket above it in the case for easy retrieving.

 

[DandyDon]

Its floating pouch, just in case I fumble in retrieving it from the case & fall into the water, the PLB would stay afloat.

That model is not buoyant so it's important the flotation pouch be tied to it.

 

[Joneill]

That model is not buoyant so it's important the flotation pouch be tied to it.

I went with the ResQLink View to avoid the need for this extra pouch!

 

[Belzelbub]

There was a touch of water in with the device, but not enough I thought it would be an issue.

Doesn’t take much. Apparently, Florida humidity may be enough. I got a call a while back that my EPIRB was activated. It was sitting in my garage at the time. The mount contains a magnet that prevents transmitting, but since it was out of the mount it was able to send when it sensed enough H2O. It stays in the mount now.

 

[rmorgan]

Thoughts on whether it would would make sense to delay SMB deployment for an hour? This event is irrefutable evidence for PLBs.