PLBs Can Save Your Life

[Dan]

I found @Dizzi Lizzi post on how to make homemade soft case.
Canadian diver and buddy rescued near Apo Island, Philippines

I do owe him a beer! But mine was from Amazon and it was $12. To tell the truth I don't use it because it's too bulky for me. But if I ever dive deep then I will use it.
I have taken my own fix on 50 dives without leaks. Now the caveat, I don't dive deep, the deepest I've been is 99' and that was 19' deeper than I wanted to go. Ahhh, narcosis.
Here is my fix, I seal-a-meal my PBL/case and a wrist bungie on the "moist setting" hitting the seal button just before it starts squeezing down. Then I trim it, and seal it in another bag. I put a couple of "tear" lines so I can easily open it at the surface. I also put a felt bumper on the plb so it won't accidentally get activated at depth due to pressure (not that I go that deep but you never know). I put this whole package into a nautilus life line case and attach it to my bcd at the side waist. It has not leaked at all, the combo of 2 seal a meal bags and the nautilus pouch seem to keep it safe. It's gone on 2 week long trips and survived just fine.

 

[Jay]

Watching his scuba gear float away sucked. But I bet that was the last concern once onboard the helicopter

At 55sec it sounds like the rescuers says "don't worry about it ... I'll get your camera in just a sec" ... guess it's carry-on items only!

 

[Diver below 83]

At 55sec it sounds like the rescuers says "don't worry about it ... I'll get your camera in just a sec" ... guess it's carry-on items only!

Ya I heard the camera part. Too bad he couldn’t dump the tank and at least keep the bcd and regs

 

[BlueTrin]

I bet he won’t forget to carry his PLB from then on too.

Well that’s pretty much the only thing he didn’t lose in this adventure

 

[chillyinCanada]

We're drifting off topic . . .I think (pun may have been intended, haven't decided).

I also noted that his gear seemed to be left behind, heard the comment about the camera and did think how it seemed a shame, that his gear, that he'd clung to for 17 hours and helped keep him afloat, was being left behind.

That said, who knows, he may have decided he was finished with diving anyway. I only speculate here because a friend of mine is considering giving it all up after having been caught in a current that required a short surface wait. It wasn't just the wait for pick up but the "being caught in current" found worrisome, I gather.

 

[MrBigfins]

Well I bit the bullet and purchased the acr 400 and the nautilus lifeline. Now to finalize a canister for the plb, any word on the attempted group buy from light Monkey?

 

[Dan]

Have anyone tried to dive with ACR ResQLink in soft case? Using soft case would be a lot more portable, lighter & cheaper than the Light Monkey canister.

I know that PLB1 in soft case won’t work beyond 85-90’. I have tested it myself. The crushing hydraulic pressure would push the emergency button on. See the picture below.

Looking at ACR PLBs, their shells look more sturdy than PLB1. It may be able to keep higher crushing pressure (say up to 140’ depth where most of recreational diver would not go beyond) from pushing the emergency button on.

 

[MrBigfins]

Have anyone tried to dive with ACR ResQLink in soft case? Using soft case would be a lot more portable, lighter & cheaper than the Light Monkey canister.

I know that PLB1 in soft case won’t work beyond 85-90’. I have tested it myself. The crushing hydraulic pressure would push the emergency button on. See the picture below.

Looking at ACR PLBs, their shells look more sturdy than PLB1. It may be able to keep higher crushing pressure (say up to 140’ depth where most of recreational diver would not go beyond) from pushing the emergency button on.

View attachment 512850

Personally I dont plan on spending $300 and then depending on a cheap fix to attempt to keep my LIFE SAVING equipment in working order. What happens when I think the cheap solution works and it does until the dive that i actually need to use a plb? Say I'm pushed deeper by a downwelling, and seperated from the group and boat. The extra depth breaks the plb and I am stranded?

 

[Diving Dubai]

It wasn't just the wait for pick up but the "being caught in current" found worrisome, I gather.

I've posted this before, but I think it's worth repeating. We conducted an exercise a couple of years ago to check our procedures for a lost diver.

We threw a 2' buoy overboard at the beginning of a dive, then waited 30 mins before we started searching - We found the buoy after 45 mins. We repeated teh process this time waited 1 hour after the dive to start searching. after 90 mins we gave up without success.

Now we knew the start location, the currents and the wind etc.

If you're lucky and live in the US or Europe, a PLB will be effective, but of course it will time for the searchers to scramble and of course there's a time before the user is willing to trigger the PLB for fear of causing a "false alarm)

Lots of popular destination, SAR ops aren't the best. In my region (even if you could register a PLB) you're going to have a long wait for a response.

I'm not saying PLB's are a bad thing, they're not but they are just a tool.

Time is your most valuable asset - get to the surface and make your position visible ASAP with all available means and doing this early reduces the likelihood of floating away and being out of sight significantly

I personally carry, as well as my normal 6' dsmb, a 12' one, 2 torches, signal mirror, strobe air horn. Together with some fresh water and waterproof sun block.

There have been occasions where I've been blown off a reef, the worst we ended up 1 mile away, but because I'd deployed my dsmb from depth the boat could follow my position so no drama

The max I've been on the surface for is 30 mins - because of an issue with another diver elsewhere. We were carried around the point of the island by a current. It's the only time I've had to use the big smb for real. We were easily spotted and even though I knew the boat would know which direction to look, after 15 mins self doubt starts to play on you.

 

[Dan]

Personally I dont plan on spending $300 and then depending on a cheap fix to attempt to keep my LIFE SAVING equipment in working order. What happens when I think the cheap solution works and it does until the dive that i actually need to use a plb? Say I'm pushed deeper by a downwelling, and seperated from the group and boat. The extra depth breaks the plb and I am stranded?

Good point!