PLBs Can Save Your Life

[dianna912]

I found the ffsystem.co.uk PLB container on a different board, but thought that the folks here might appreciate the info as well. It's as an interesting option for those looking for a burly middle-to-higher end option: they're hand machined from solid delrin rod with two stainless latches and two o-rings (one axial seal, one radial seal). Construction-wise it seems pretty similar to the Light Monkey canisters I've seen, and I have no doubt they'll exceed most recreational ranges without a leak. At 100GBP (~$130) each, they seem like a great value.

Note though, that these things are big. At 175mm tall and 83mm diameter (6.9" x 3.3") and 900g (~2lbs), they're more comparable to the McMurdo fast find canister than the HDVSeatek or Custom Divers options. If you've got a 20oz insulated tumbler, they're almost the exact same size. It isn't a tiny little thing you can throw anywhere - it's a planned piece of kit. I thought I'd stuff it into a pocket with my DSMB and spool, but they just barely all fit together into a DGX Horizontal pocket, and are hard to remove once in. This will live on a belt for me, but my dive buddy will likely require convincing to wear hers .

Usable interior dimensions are 122mm deep and 62mm across (4.8" x 2.44"). It fits my PLB1 with the float case on it easily, with room for candy bars, water, keys, cash, and more. Somewhat surprisingly, they're also just about neutral in freshwater - <50g floaty.


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I was checking out this option (I really like the latches vs the screw cap, small hands....) and they will make custom sizes. Just FYI.

 

[divinh]

I guess the command center is in Houston, TX...

"He used a GPS personal locator beacon, which he had been given days before, to trigger an SOS, which was automatically sent to a response centre in Houston, Texas.

It notified the coastguard in the UK and Ken was airlifted to hospital in Fort William where he spent seven weeks recovering."

The man who has lived as a hermit for 40 years

Ken Smith lives without electricity or running water in a hand-made log cabin on the banks of a remote loch.

www.bbc.com

 

[Dan]

I guess the command center is in Houston, TX...

"He used a GPS personal locator beacon, which he had been given days before, to trigger an SOS, which was automatically sent to a response centre in Houston, Texas.

It notified the coastguard in the UK and Ken was airlifted to hospital in Fort William where he spent seven weeks recovering."

The man who has lived as a hermit for 40 years

Ken Smith lives without electricity or running water in a hand-made log cabin on the banks of a remote loch.

www.bbc.com

What a man!

"I am bound to go ill again sometime. Something will happen to me that will take me away one day as it does for everybody else.
"But I'm hoping I'll get to 102."”

 

[DandyDon]

I am amazed that he went back to his foraging life after the stroke.

I guess the command center is in Houston, TX

Now that is odd. I gather from the story that the film producer gave the PLB him and somehow convinced him to carry it when he left the cabin, I guess it had US coding instead of the UK coding it should have for a local, and I guess she handled the registration and subsequent renewals needed. A UK PLB should send alerts thru a UK center.

 

[tursiops]

I guess the command center is in Houston, TX...

"He used a GPS personal locator beacon, which he had been given days before, to trigger an SOS, which was automatically sent to a response centre in Houston, Texas.

The man who has lived as a hermit for 40 years

Ken Smith lives without electricity or running water in a hand-made log cabin on the banks of a remote loch.

www.bbc.com

Now that is odd. I gather from the story that the film producer gave the PLB him and somehow convinced him to carry it when he left the cabin, I guess it had US coding instead of the UK coding it should have for a local, and I guess she handled the registration and subsequent renewals needed. A UK PLB should send alerts thru a UK center.

I'm guessing it was not a PLB but rather a Garmin InReach or Mini-InReach; the internatiional response center for the GEOS satellites that Garmin uses is in Houston.

 

[seeker242]

I am amazed that he went back to his foraging life after the stroke.

Now that is odd. I gather from the story that the film producer gave the PLB him and somehow convinced him to carry it when he left the cabin, I guess it had US coding instead of the UK coding it should have for a local, and I guess she handled the registration and subsequent renewals needed. A UK PLB should send alerts thru a UK center.

Even more odd given that there is no command center in TX to begin with. The US command center is right outside Wash DC. I think it's just poor reporting, ha!

 

[DandyDon]

Even more odd given that there is no command center in TX to begin with. The US command center is right outside Wash DC. I think it's just poor reporting, ha!

Yeah, I think Tursiops got it. The story mentions occasional check-ins, which I think is an Inreach function.

I'm guessing it was not a PLB but rather a Garmin InReach or Mini-InReach; the internatiional response center for the GEOS satellites that Garmin uses is in Houston.

 

[BlueTrin]

I don’t know if this has been posted but there is a ResQLink with RLS but it looks like it isn’t for sale atm:

ResQLink™ 410 RLS - ACR Electronics, Inc

The new ResQLink 410 RLS now incorporates the new Return Link Service which provides a confirmation message back to the Beacon

www.acrartex.com

 

[DandyDon]

it isn’t for sale atm:

It is in several countries, i.e. UK, Iceland, Qatar, etc. For some reason, NOAA has not approved RLS here.

 

[BlueTrin]

It is in several countries, i.e. UK, Iceland, Qatar, etc. For some reason, NOAA has not approved RLS here.

I have been trying to find a PLB with RLS that I could use but didn’t find one.

For example if I search for the ResQ 410, I get no results in google shopping

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=resq+410+plb&client=safari&hl=en-gb&prmd=smixvn&tbm=shop&sa=X

(I get only link to buy the older models)