PLBs Can Save Your Life

[DandyDon]

You used cheap stuff. Home Depot?

Your stainless steel won't go bad in saltwater?

Brass seems like a good solution.

 

[JohnnyC]

I don’t have a problem with any of my bolt snaps, but I buy them from reputable sources. The Home Depot ones, while the body is often stainless, typically use cheap springs that die pretty quickly once exposed to salt water.

Brass will chew you up after a while. I’ve cut myself pretty good on more than one brass bolt snap. Stainless is definitely the way to go, just make sure you get them from a reputable place, and designed for maritime use.

@tursiops that’s not a snap shackle. That’s just a shackle bolt snap. A snap shackle is a quick detach piece of hardware where you pull the pin and the load will release under tension as it pivots out of the way. You can get them in fixed bail, swivel, fixed shackle bail, swivel shackle bail, etc.

 

[CuzzA]

.
How are you going to carry that? I wish it had a key-ring hole on the side like the HDVSEATEK.


How much is that going to cost?

The CustomDivers canister comes with a webbing harness you could slide on BC 2" webbing. If you dive with a long hose it can double as a can light to tuck your hose. In addition it has a key ring hole on the lid so you can attach a bolt snap or tie some line to it. I attached a snap with a stainless steel key ring and have it clipped to my 8' SMB, all bundled in my lift bag sleeve under my wing as I posted up thread.

Edit: I see Tursiops posted details.

 

[CuzzA]

Good to hear so many are choosing to carry a PLB.

FWIW, and it could be meaningless, but I just had my first battery service on my ResQLink and the tech told me ACR bought Ocean Signal, the makers of the PLB1. I could foresee the PLB1 being phased out, or not.

ACR Acquires Ocean Signal

 

[DandyDon]

bolt snap! I've been calling them snap bolt. We help avoid confusion if we use the right names, sorry.

Brass will chew you up after a while. I’ve cut myself pretty good on more than one brass bolt snap. Stainless is definitely the way to go, just make sure you get them from a reputable place, and designed for maritime use.

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for finally letting me know, as I've mentioned my problems with stainless steel bolt snaps & rings a few times here, as well as changing to brass on both, but this is the first I've heard of this. I guess my problems were with hardware store shopping, but we don't have marine stores here on the high desert - so google time.

Everyone please ignore my previous suggestions on brass bolt snaps & rings.

FWIW, and it could be meaningless, but I just had my first battery service on my ResQLink and the tech told me ACR bought Ocean Signal, the makers of the PLB1. I could foresee the PLB1 being phased out, or not.

Yeah, we saw that here earlier. I think they'll continue to offer the PLB1 as an alternate choice, small enough to fit in a shirt pocket traveling & hiking, but it'll really depend on sales.

 

[CWK]

Does anyone know which is the smallest PLB with a Class 1 battery?

 

[rjack321]

Does anyone know which is the smallest PLB with a Class 1 battery?

the "rescueMe" is the smallest PLB
http://oceansignal.com/products/plb1/#specifications

If you want a "class 1" battery you need an EPIRB not a PLB. The vastly larger battery of class 1 EPIRBs is rated for much colder temps (-40C) and also lasts longer than the 24hrs the PLBs are rated for (although some PLBs last 30-48 hrs, EPIRBs are more like 5+ days). An EPIRB is way too large to take diving though. A depth canister for an EPIRB would be close to the size of an Al50 scuba tank lol.

 

[JohnnyC]

So, here are a couple different forms of hardware. Just so everyone is all on the same page. There's all sorts of crazy marine hardware out there. Tylaska makes some great stuff but it's $$$$$. Wichard and Ronson are another couple well-regarded manufacturers who make marine-grade hardware. This is not the stuff you get at Home Depot or Petsmart. Stainless components throughout are what makes these work in wet environments without falling apart. Cheap snap shackles you get at big box stores will die pretty quickly. They're either zinc-plated pot metal, or if they are stainless, don't have stainless springs, so inevitably the spring corrodes and either locks it closed, jams the mechanism, or locks it open.

Typically in diving our use is limited to bolt snaps and double enders. Personally, I use a swivel snap shackle on my DPV leash because I can quickly release from the leash even under tension. Releasing a normal bolt snap in anger requires you to use both hands, one to pull yourself towards the scooter to remove tension, and another to release the bolt snap. A snap shackle just requires pulling the pin. However, it takes lots of practice to make one-handed attachments easy, whereas a bolt snap is a piece of cake. Everything else is some form of bolt snap. Double enders for spools, reels, and light heads, normal bolt snaps for long hoses and spg's. I don't use the shackle bolt snaps for anything but Dive Rite reels come with them so I've got a couple floating around. They're great for keys.

There's nothing wrong with brass hardware. It's been used for years with great success. The problem with brass is because it's so soft, every time you use it, you're essentially "sharpening" the edge where the snap opens and closes. Over time it gets surprisingly sharp, nothing you would normally notice, but when you've got soft, water-logged fingers, or a fragile dry glove, it doesn't take much before it gets a little "slicey."

Snap shackle
Double ender bolt snap
Bolt snap
Shackle bolt snap
Snap shackle
Swivel snap shackle
Shackle bail snap shackle.

As for my canister for my PLB, I use a small stainless d-ring underneath the top screw clamp that holds the webbing belt keeper. Using a double ender on a deco leash, I can clip it to the d-ring and put the leash around my wrist prior to pulling the bungee around the bottom of the can, so in the event I fumble with it a little, I have a leash preventing me from dropping it. I do this because in open water, I wear my canister in the same place that my light canister would go on my belt. If I were to simply clip it to a harness d-ring to hang freely, I would use a standard bolt snap secured to the canister.

 

[CWK]

the "rescueMe" is the smallest PLB
http://oceansignal.com/products/plb1/#specifications

If you want a "class 1" battery you need an EPIRB not a PLB. The vastly larger battery of class 1 EPIRBs is rated for much colder temps (-40C) and also lasts longer than the 24hrs the PLBs are rated for (although some PLBs last 30-48 hrs, EPIRBs are more like 5+ days). An EPIRB is way too large to take diving though. A depth canister for an EPIRB would be close to the size of an Al50 scuba tank lol.

I am aware of at least one PLB that is available in Class 1 and it does not look that large to me. MR510 406 MHz Dual Voice Personal Locator Beacon | Becker Avionics

So... Does anyone know what the smallest Class 1 PLB is?

 

[tursiops]

@tursiops that’s not a snap shackle. That’s just a shackle bolt snap.

Thanks for the correction; I fixed the original. If anyone wants one, here's a source.
Dive Rite S/S Swivel-Eye {3.75 in | 9.5 cm} Shackle Snap