PLBs Can Save Your Life
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Dan
Contributor
Since we are discussing “PLBs Can Save Your Life”, inquiry mind wants to know if anyone has read a diver rescued from a lost at sea incident after (s)he activated PLB?
seeker242
Contributor
Only 100' but I think most of the PLB's mentioned here would fit in this with a bit of room for a mirror, ...,
https://www.amazon.com/Scuba-Choice-Waterproof-Container-Lanyard/dp/B00BJAPMSK
https://www.amazon.com/Scuba-Choice-Waterproof-Container-Lanyard/dp/B00BJAPMSK
CuzzA
Wetwork for Hire
I don't want to sound like I'm peddling a product here, but CustomDivers sells a delrin canister that fits just about all of the PLB's on the market for ~$100. Given the little demand in the rec scuba market, I'd say our needs can be easily met for a few hundred dollars as I illustrated up thread.
ACR making a PLB for depth would probably add a $100+ to the cost and then they have to inventory them with what would likely be abysmal sales.
ACR making a PLB for depth would probably add a $100+ to the cost and then they have to inventory them with what would likely be abysmal sales.
Dan
Contributor
Pressure vessel designers tend to over design the container by 10-25%. So, it may be good to 110-125’, as long as you put some internal support to keep the weak flat face from flexing (imploding) that would compromise the o-ring seal. I took my 40m rated camera case with PLB1 in it, down to 44m without any leakage.
Also, if it leaks, it tends to dribble in slowly. As long as you have air space in the case cavity by the time you are back to surface, the internal pressure would still be lower than what the PLB is rated for. My PLB1 is rated to 15m (50’) or 2.5 atm (37 psig). So, it still be OK. At least mine was. I took mine with clear iPhone waterproof pouch rated to 100’. I could see water leaking into the pouch at 104’, but the PLB1 still works.
Unfortunately the flexible waterproof pouch is not the right waterproof case for the PLB1. The crushing pressure pushed the PLB1 red button to on. I was turning on the PLB1 emergency button at 104’ depth
Fortunately that won’t be detected by the SAR satellite as the signal had to go through 104’ of water column without antenna. As I ascent to 87’, the crushing pressure subsided & the red button turned off by itself.I tried to put paperclip as a gap to keep the red button from being pressed in by the crushing pressure, as shown below, well, that still turned the button on. So, I am back to use the $10 camera case.
So, just to give you an idea re:cost. These are retail costs to put one together.
Canister: $130 2.5" Canister
Lid: $95 2.5" Lid
PLB: $290 ACR Electronics ResQLink+ GPS Personal Locator Beacon | REI Co-op
Mirror: $13 ORION Signaling Mirror | West Marine
Dye Marker: $14 ORION Dye Marker | West Marine
Whistle: $4 ORION Safety Whistle, 2-Pack | West Marine
Chem Light: $2 MARINE SPORTS 6" 12 Hour Light Stick, Green | West Marine
Now the canister and light head are separated on Light Monkey's site, and the lid is wired for a light, so it's safe to assume that the total cost of the canister would be less than the cost of the individual parts, if for no other reason than it would be a blank cap instead of a cap wired for a light head.
I rounded costs on everything for easy math as well halving the dye marker packs since it's a two pack.
Total price: $548 US
That's retail, if you were to buy straight from the links. I have no doubt that a blank can from Light Monkey is less than $225, but you'd have to call and ask. I would love to see them offer a "PLB Can" on the site, something that fits a PLB and the extra goodies. Keep in mind I picked a random mirror, it WILL NOT fit in the can I linked, it is too big. To get a 3" can would be another $45 or so. I didn't add the cost of a granola bar or string to buzzsaw with the chem light as the mirror and dye marker and whistle all come with string. Also keep in mind you need some way to securely carry it. My preference is for mounting it like a can light. Not all waterproof vessels are able to be mounted like this, so there's an additional potential cost. You don't wanna just shove this thing in a pocket.
As you can see, it's not a cheap endeavor to put together a "come-and-get-me" kit. To put one together and offer it for sale would still be pretty darn expensive. Let's say you got $50 off the PLB, the can was only $100, and everything else was half price because you bought at pallet of dye marker packs from Costco. You're still looking at $350+ for everything, now add some margin on top so it's worth your time and investment capital, and you've gotta sell them for $400. Now let's say you make 20 of them, because the internet says it's a great idea. That's a hell of a lot of work to make $1000, not including any of the actual costs of running a business. I highly doubt there are 20 people here who would actually fork over $400 for a turn key solution when people bitch about $8 nitrox fills. They can just as easily justify not spending the money, since most likely nothing bad is going to happen to them since the odds are actually really really low. Or they'll buy a used can light from someone for next to nothing, hit up the hardware store for $6 in silicone goo and a machine screw to seal up the lid and they're in to the whole thing for the cost of the PLB and some shipping. They'll get the dye pack maybe if they randomly stumble on one in a Bass Pro, and they might get a whistle on a freebie keychain from some beer promotion at the bar. Ask me how I know.
Canister: $130 2.5" Canister
Lid: $95 2.5" Lid
PLB: $290 ACR Electronics ResQLink+ GPS Personal Locator Beacon | REI Co-op
Mirror: $13 ORION Signaling Mirror | West Marine
Dye Marker: $14 ORION Dye Marker | West Marine
Whistle: $4 ORION Safety Whistle, 2-Pack | West Marine
Chem Light: $2 MARINE SPORTS 6" 12 Hour Light Stick, Green | West Marine
Now the canister and light head are separated on Light Monkey's site, and the lid is wired for a light, so it's safe to assume that the total cost of the canister would be less than the cost of the individual parts, if for no other reason than it would be a blank cap instead of a cap wired for a light head.
I rounded costs on everything for easy math as well halving the dye marker packs since it's a two pack.
Total price: $548 US
That's retail, if you were to buy straight from the links. I have no doubt that a blank can from Light Monkey is less than $225, but you'd have to call and ask. I would love to see them offer a "PLB Can" on the site, something that fits a PLB and the extra goodies. Keep in mind I picked a random mirror, it WILL NOT fit in the can I linked, it is too big. To get a 3" can would be another $45 or so. I didn't add the cost of a granola bar or string to buzzsaw with the chem light as the mirror and dye marker and whistle all come with string. Also keep in mind you need some way to securely carry it. My preference is for mounting it like a can light. Not all waterproof vessels are able to be mounted like this, so there's an additional potential cost. You don't wanna just shove this thing in a pocket.
As you can see, it's not a cheap endeavor to put together a "come-and-get-me" kit. To put one together and offer it for sale would still be pretty darn expensive. Let's say you got $50 off the PLB, the can was only $100, and everything else was half price because you bought at pallet of dye marker packs from Costco. You're still looking at $350+ for everything, now add some margin on top so it's worth your time and investment capital, and you've gotta sell them for $400. Now let's say you make 20 of them, because the internet says it's a great idea. That's a hell of a lot of work to make $1000, not including any of the actual costs of running a business. I highly doubt there are 20 people here who would actually fork over $400 for a turn key solution when people bitch about $8 nitrox fills. They can just as easily justify not spending the money, since most likely nothing bad is going to happen to them since the odds are actually really really low. Or they'll buy a used can light from someone for next to nothing, hit up the hardware store for $6 in silicone goo and a machine screw to seal up the lid and they're in to the whole thing for the cost of the PLB and some shipping. They'll get the dye pack maybe if they randomly stumble on one in a Bass Pro, and they might get a whistle on a freebie keychain from some beer promotion at the bar. Ask me how I know.
DanT, What would have happened if you'd put the clip on its end, with the button in the open space of the clip?
Dan
Contributor
I’m not sure if I understand your point without looking at the picture. However, I tried several permutations of clip positions without success. Apparently the PLB1 case is just so thin that the water crushing pressure just directly transfers to the PLB1 case enough to press the red button. The lesson learnt from these experiments are: Get a hard case!
The switch of the PLB1 is the membrane type like that on most "waterproof" devices. You don't need to push directly on the button to activate it if there is enough pressure to deflect the plastic itself. You could try something like a hard ring a sufficient distance from the button to try and mitigate it, but I'm not sure you'd have much success if the entirety of the plastic case is flexing.
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