PLBs Can Save Your Life

[JohnnyC]

I'm glad that they still transmit on 121.5 for triangulation. I remember a couple specifically NOT listing 121.5 in conjunction with 406, but not necessarily advertising them as single band, so hopefully it was just a misunderstanding on my part when reading, or just an omission of specificity in some of the product descriptions. Either way, 121.5 is still very useful for short range HFDF.

Older ELT's that used 121.5 ONLY are no longer able to communicate with the satellite network. Hence the 406 on everything sold since. It's important for anyone that's got an old one lying around. If it's 121.5 MHz ONLY, it's not gonna call the calvary unless someone is listening nearby.

 

[DandyDon]

I bought my Perdix AI for it's 2-button simplicity and ease of reading the display (Sucks getting old...). There was/is nothing wrong with my 2 yr old Oceanic OC1 watch style dive computer. I Just found the menu functions a tad difficult and the display was getting harder to read (for me).

Are you putting off cataract surgery? I finally got mine done last spring, then got to have the glasses restriction removed from my drivers license, then went to Cozumel and marveled at seeing things I hadn't seen in over a dozen previous trips there. I like to look in the anemones at the tiny shrimp living there.

I'm sure seeing better would help in your work. If you're on Medicare, mine and my supplement paid everything after the small deductible.

I am applying the same logic to my pending PLB/canister purchase. I want something simple to use yet reliable.

Pretty simple. Register once, then every other year NOAA emails to ask if any info has changed for renewal. After 5½ years, send it off for battery replacement - unless you use it for an emergency sooner, then send it back to ACR and get a free replacement.

 

[aviator8]

Maybe it’s the type of diving I do that makes me particularly accepting of additional cost to manage even unlikely risk, but I have a hard time understanding why people will pay $1300 for a Perdix AI, of which for probably 90% of the divers is an entirely convenience driven purchase, but balk at spending $500 for a PLB and a canister to keep it in.

I get that we all like to have flashy, fancy, feature packed stuff, but how many people who own a dive computer that costs more than a beacon actually use all of the mixed gases and custom GF’s and constant PO2 features? How many of those people literally cannot dive without AI and a giant OLED screen?

My point is not to call out people who spend money on things that cost that much because they are full of features that the consumer will literally never use, or are a mere convenience at best, but to highlight the fact that we can quite easily justify significant purchases like a Shearwater, yet make excuses about why we avoid purchasing something that could literally save a life one day. “Buy insurance” is one of the most recommended courses of action on this site, so why are we not recommending this type of insurance as vocally?

wouldn't that be cool if a Perdix had emergency location features packed in. I'd shell out more than 1300 to have that.

 

[Akimbo]

Maybe it’s the type of diving I do that makes me particularly accepting of additional cost to manage even unlikely risk, but I have a hard time understanding why people will pay $1300 for a Perdix AI, of which for probably 90% of the divers is an entirely convenience driven purchase, but balk at spending $500 for a PLB and a canister to keep it in.

I think it is more a question of perceived value. We are talking about a housing for a product that most divers never heard of and are very likely to never use. I'm not disagreeing with your point, only looking at the consumer psychology in opposition to it.

A $400-$500 PLB housing is little more than handmade in tiny batches compared to a dive computer that uses an injection molded housing, has several functions that are necessary on every dive, is technically advanced, and made in batches in the 100s to 1,000s. That same dive computer is perceived as a poor value relative to the function, usefulness, and technology in modern smartphones.

I suspect that Cameron's decision to put off a PLB investment was influenced by this calculus. However, the same argument can be made against saving $20,000 on a new car with fewer safety features and is far more likely to save lives. Unfortunately, PLBs for divers is a difficult market.

 

[JohnnyC]

I think it is more a question of perceived value. We are talking about a housing for a product that most divers never heard of and are very likely to never use. I'm not disagreeing with your point, only looking at the consumer psychology in opposition to it.

A $400-$500 PLB housing is little more than handmade in tiny batches compared to a dive computer that uses an injection molded housing, has several functions that are necessary on every dive, is technically advanced, and made in batches in the 100s to 1,000s. That same dive computer is perceived as a poor value relative to the function, usefulness, and technology in modern smartphones.

I suspect that Cameron's decision to put off a PLB investment was influenced by this calculus. However, the same argument can be made against saving $20,000 on a new car with fewer safety features and is far more likely to save lives. Unfortunately, PLBs for divers is a difficult market.

I absolutely agree with you. I just didn't want to call anyone out on being stingy.

I think a major lesson to take from this is that people really need to reevaluate their own attitudes toward their personal safety, and take steps to mitigate risks they wouldn't usually consider. If that means someone puts off buying a Teric for one paycheck so that they can spend $250 on a PLB and $200 on a canister and some safety items, they're safer for it, and some good has come of it.

 

[Dan]

I’ll be in Raja Ampat with Amira liveaboard in January 2020. I learn that they provide ENOS Rescue-System - Wikipedia for all their guests.

It sounds like another PAB.

“Every ENOS is a self-contained rescue system that functions in a local area. Its range is determined by the height of the receiving antenna mounted on the dive boat, the prevailing surface conditions and the distance of the direct line-of-sight. Receiving ranges of up to three nautical miles are standard. A range of up to six nautical miles is possible in optimal conditions. The system uses radio frequencies that do not require licenses or fees; and are determined by the national laws of radio frequencies where the system is operating. It does not use the international distress frequency. ENOS is the only rescue system for water sports which relays the GPS position of the diver in distress directly to a local receiving unit. The alert is not relayed to coast guards or other marine rescue organisations. The receiver is alerted immediately which enables the nearby boat to quickly and independently initiate the diver rescue and bear the costs. A single ENOS-Receiver can receive alerts from all the ENOS-Transmitters operating on the same frequency within the same receiving range.”

 

[seeker242]

I’ll be in Raja Ampat with Amira liveaboard in January 2020. I learn that they provide ENOS Rescue-System - Wikipedia for all their guests.

ENOS is the only rescue system for water sports which relays the GPS position of the diver in distress directly to a local receiving unit. The alert is not relayed to coast guards or other marine rescue organisations. The receiver is alerted immediately which enables the nearby boat to quickly and independently initiate the diver rescue and bear the costs. A single ENOS-Receiver can receive alerts from all the ENOS-Transmitters operating on the same frequency within the same receiving range.”

Very similar to AIS man-overboard system. Like the McMurdo SmartFind S10. Nice thing about this one is it's submersible to 60M. Of course, you need an AIS to receive it, which most dive boats don't have.

 

[tursiops]

Very similar to AIS man-overboard system. Like the McMurdo SmartFind S10. Nice thing about this one is it's submersible to 60M. Of course, you need an AIS to receive it, which most dive boats don't have.

But many liveaboards do have AIS. Hence the popularity of the new gen Nautilus on liveaboards.

 

[Ron Lee]

"So, if you generally dive in Florida, but activate your PLB in Cozumel, and they check your file data and find that you updated your file to include those dates in Cozumel, well, odds are they are going to get on it."

I have updated my file with NOAA to do exactly that when in atypical places.

 

[Dan]

Very similar to AIS man-overboard system. Like the McMurdo SmartFind S10. Nice thing about this one is it's submersible to 60M. Of course, you need an AIS to receive it, which most dive boats don't have.

I think Ferox provide S10 for their guests. Malpelo is in my bucket list.

Ferox | Liveaboard | PADI Travel