PLBs Can Save Your Life

[Dan]

If you’re just diving with a group, as well as a DM in a controlled setting, wouldn’t a PAB all you’d need?

Most of the time yes. However, PAB uses VHF radio, line of sight signal with limited range of 4 mille radius.

Selecting an Emergency Beacon | West Marine

You could get separated by swift current. So having DSMB that you can deploy at depth would help the dinghy to locate and chase your SMB before getting out of the PAB signal range.

 

[Joshua Young]

That’s what I was thinking. I wasn’t planning on doing diving on my own anyway, at least not for a while. Where I live, there isn’t much diving going on here, so I’ll be diving destination dives. I’m thinking PAB + SMB should be plenty (probably an overkill if it’s just a small charter anyway). I like how the Nautilus system is ready to go. No need for a separate container / other DIY solutions

 

[Dan]

Some liveaboards like Palau Aggressor 2, Maldives Aggressor 2, SpoilSport (GBR), Galapagos Master, Argo (Cocos) and all Nautilus liveaboards (Socorro) loan MRG at free of charge to their guests, so you don't need to bring yours.

 

[Joshua Young]

In reality, I probably need to first book a dive trip before thinking of getting new gear. I guess buying gear is my way of trying to keep diving when I’m not diving, lol

 

[aviator8]

@Dan thanks. I wasn’t sure about the airspace in a plb or how pressure sensitive it would be in a sealed container but I think you are right.

The only difference I could see would be your test was in a flexible container. In a delerin canister or your acrylic one there would be little flex and as long as the seal worked as it’s supposed to the plan would be ok as it would be at 1 ata. This of course kills any benefit if not having to have a pressure vessel and only has the side benefit of drinking water. Having water at the risk of maybe messing up the plb is not worth it when you can stick a Capri sun in a pocket.

Thanks for the clarification. I thought it might be food for thought that could lead somewhere, lol. I’ll get back to setting up my canisters.

 

[tursiops]

Water is, in fact, compressible, just not very much. Compressibility of Liquids
But it doesn't matter at the depths we dive.
What a water-filled ridgid canister would do -- if truely ridgid -- is simply bathe the PLB in 1 atm water, like letting it be just below the surface while it is not in a canister. If you think that is a good idea, go for it.
However, our canisters are NOT completely ridgid, they do flex a little unless they have no air spaces in them. But the PLB has air spaces, so even if completely surrounded by water, the canister flex means that amount of space reduction inside the canister has to be fully responded to by the insides of the PLB....there is no air around the canister to help adjust to the smaller canister at depth.
The water in the canister may not compress (much), but it still passes the increased pressure along to the PLB and its air spaces.

 

[Joneill]

I don't get it. What would be the advantage of flooding the canister with water? You would still have bulky canister size. I would consult with the OEM technical support before doing something like that.

I doubt it's going to work when I look to my PLB1 with winding spiral flat / blade-like antenna. That kind of antenna would be hard to seal a slot cavity, especially at the edge. If you submerge it in the water for a long time, say for an hour, water would eventually seep through the antenna compartment and get into the electronic. Nautilus fix that problem by putting a sealed cap over the spiral antenna.

My PLB1 canister (2.5" OD x6" L) doesn't take much space in my BCD pocket. It is about the same size as my DSMB.

View attachment 550382

Seems like an opportunity for a PLB manufacturer to make a PLB in a self-contained pressure vessel like the Nautilus? Would save us divers the hassle of finding or making our own far bulkier solutions - maybe not a big enough market, though?

EDIT - Looks like Garmin made a custom case - maybe ACR will at some point as well?

inReach Mini Dive Case | Garmin

 

[DandyDon]

Seems like an opportunity for a PLB manufacturer to make a PLB in a self-contained pressure vessel like the Nautilus? Would save us divers the hassle of finding or making our own far bulkier solutions - maybe not a big enough market, though?

That would not appeal to me. I got my PLB primarily for diving, but carry it everywhere - in my car console, hiking pack, etc. and I encourage others to do so. Cell phone failures happen.

EDIT - Looks like Garmin made a custom case - maybe ACR will at some point as well?

inReach Mini Dive Case | Garmin

An interesting choice. Garmin profits from their subscriptions in addition to their products, which ACR does not require.

 

[tursiops]

Garmin profits from their subscriptions

Perhaps. They have to pay to use the Iridium satellites; we don't know what that costs them.

 

[Joneill]

That would not appeal to me. I got my PLB primarily for diving, but carry it everywhere - in my car console, hiking pack, etc. and I encourage others to do so. Cell phone failures happen.

The design doesn't necessarily need to add alot of bulk to a PLB or it can be an add-on case like the Garmin - it would just be nice to have better, 1-stop solutions from the PLB manufacturers for divers.

An interesting choice. Garmin profits from their subscriptions in addition to their products, which ACR does not require.

Regardless of subscription, I would have no problem with $50-$100 for a proper, custom-fit, non-bulky case for a PLB.