has the day for satellite phones arrived

[dervari]

What's not answered here is how long does it take for three satellites to pass over on the Epirb!

It's a moot point if your PLB has GPS and reports the position in its data burst to the satellite constellation. Also, many have a 121.5 signal that can be used by SAR teams to home in.

When using a GPS-compatible PLB in the continental U.S, it takes only 5 minutes to alert search-and- rescue personnel of your position.

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[Sarcasm the elf]

wow, you certainly are able to read a lot into something to thinly veil trolling

Didn't read much into it at all and certainly wasn't trolling. I read your original post, took it at face value, completely disagreed with it and explained why.

[Vegan Packer]

In my past life as a technical scuba diver and instructor, I became a survival expert, because I was often diving in places that were remote and far offshore, and because, living on the east coast of Florida, we dive in the Gulf Stream, which has the strongest prevailing ocean currents in the world, capable of sweeping a diver for an incredible distance in a short time. Every year, there are reports of divers going adrift for long periods, and some that are never found. I made it my business to make sure that I had the best chance of returning home from every trip.

I bring this up because I have written an article that was published in Advanced Diver Magazine, "Survival Planning and Equipment for the Offshore Diver," that discusses PLB technology and what it does. It is a little dated, because there are now combo units that do more than discussed, but the material is still accurate and relevant.

To bring this home to backpacking, I had been carrying a PLB on the trail, but I have made the switch to the Delorme InReach Explorer. One important advantage of this device is that you can determine that your distress call message got through. With the PLB that I was carrying, it had a stronger signal, but you had no idea if the call has been received.

The Delorme also has other advantages, such as the ability to broadcast your track, and the ability to have two way communication, even without carrying a cell phone. You can even input your route and mark waypoints, so that you can backtrack, should you somehow become lost. Of course, GPS units can do some of these things, but I like the idea of carrying less weight and having one device to do the work. I still rely on a map and compass for navigation, but it is nice to have things like this, just in case.

http://www.advanceddivermagazine.com...ADMIssue31.pdf

[QiWiz]

ACR ResQLink+ GPS PLB arrived today.
I won't leave home without it.

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

+1

I usually hike anymore with an iPhone (for GPS navigation, topo maps, etc.) and an ACR PLB (for the possible dire emergency button push in a SAR situation).

However, other technologies are developing and worth paying attention to. When my 5-yr battery on the PLB is nearing its end, that's when I'll look at another option.

[Connie]

ACR has solved the battery problem?

Every ACR PLB-type device I purchased for sailing had a "dud" battery.

[nsherry61]

I think all electronics and SAR should be banned from all wild areas.

Then, we'd have real adventure and we would be naturally culling the less fit and improving the human race. We'd pay lowers taxes in support of SAR. Further yet, more people would be scared to go into the back country so those of us that still want to go, would have much fewer people to deal with.

Is there a down side to this plan?

[saltysack]

+1

I usually hike anymore with an iPhone (for GPS navigation, topo maps, etc.) and an ACR PLB (for the possible dire emergency button push in a SAR situation).

However, other technologies are developing and worth paying attention to. When my 5-yr battery on the PLB is nearing its end, that's when I'll look at another option.

That battery replacement cost nearly as much as a new device......ridiculous! I almost bought a used one but luckily did some homework...I decided to rent instead!....plbrentals.com...cheap very easy.


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[saltysack]

ACR has solved the battery problem?

Every ACR PLB-type device I purchased for sailing had a "dud" battery.

Nope and nearly $150 for a battery


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[MuddyWaters]

150 over 5+ yrs isnt big deal.
Mine has 7 yr batt.

Again, thets the life at which, after normal amt of testing, it will still transmit for the required 24 hrs.

If you are Ok with say.. .12 hrs or so...feel free to take the battery life out to 10+ yrs.

Not smart though, but its not like milk, it doesnt go bad, just slow predictable self discharge. Since todays transmit gps coordinates, you stand a good chance of rescue with a severly compromised battery.

[Connie]

As I said, did ACR solve the battery problem?

Maybe I didn't make myself clear: "dud" batteries, nearly brand new ACR and a brand new ACR from the marina store, Sausalito, CA for the yacht racing season: one man overboard and one for the yacht.

Not working. Useless. Dud.

The battery on two ACR devices, one after the other, the second even more expensive, the battery was a "dud". Nothing. Non working.

I have always emphasized self-rescue: we rescued ourselves "dismasted" when other yachts in that race were dismasted and sunk.

Do you know your ACR brand device actually functions?

I see ACR touted, here in the forum, as having great features, but does it actually function? I would like to know that.

[MuddyWaters]

Do you know your ACR brand device actually functions?

I see ACR touted, here in the forum, as having great features, but does it actually function? I would like to know that.

Thats why they have test buttons, and some battery allowance for testing. So you can know it works. Mines not ACR, its ocean signal. 4.2 oz
IMG_20160531_215739.jpg

Operates down to -130F. Rated life (24 hrs) of all plb batteries is at -4F. Typical is 30 hrs by design.

The female hiker that died last yr in whites trying to traverse in winter maelstrom, found out that depending on rescue due to plb was poor plan B. No substitute for common sense, prudence, and choosing weather conditions carefully. After all, you cant be rescued if SAR cant reach you due to conditions. Reflection gps variance can also cause position fix issues of a mile or more in steep walled terrain.

[Connie]

I had two, for ocean yacht racing.

Mine tested.. a little light came on. Do you know it actually works?

I am not convinced. I like a confirmation message. Is there anything like a confirmation?

[rafe]

Interesting thread. I haven't considered or used a PLB type device, ever, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea. I've advocated for judicious carrying of phones, so it seems to me the same logic applies. In a pinch, it might work, or it might not. Are you willing to bet your life on it?

I recently read a short book/essay about bicycling that argues against the conventional wisdom on several topics. For example, the author is skeptical of helmets, while acknowledging that this is a controversial minority view. His main concern is that the helmet could lead to less caution, more risk-taking while riding. False sense of security and all that.

[MuddyWaters]

I had two, for ocean yacht racing.

Mine tested.. a little light came on. Do you know it actually works?

I am not convinced. I like a confirmation message. Is there anything like a confirmation?

Ill just consider the sound of a helicopter to be confirmation enough. Hopefully that never ever occurs. By the time you activate a plb, so many things should have gone wrong, that you dont care about a confirmation.

[TexasBob]

I had two, for ocean yacht racing.

Mine tested.. a little light came on. Do you know it actually works?

I am not convinced. I like a confirmation message. Is there anything like a confirmation?

You get a two day free trail with 406Link (http://www.406link.com/) which allows you to sent a test message and receive an email conformation that the satellites received your signal and gps location. I tested mine in the backyard and received the email in about a minute showing that it absolutely worked as advertised. So the answer to your question is YES.

[Connie]

Thank you.

There was no helicopter.

Of course, I think that kind of rescue is an unrealistic expectation.

We were in a YRA Division R race, San Francisco Bay and ocean. There was no rescue, except ourselves. Everyone pulled thru, for everyone involved.

I am not inexperienced. We won the Season Championship that year.

[Roamin]

This was a tragic, isolated incident. A good map will help re-orient a misguided hiker.

[booney_1]

This was a tragic, isolated incident. A good map will help re-orient a misguided hiker.

Most hikers would benefit from carrying one of those small power packs that you can use to recharge your smartphone.

Especially...if you use it for your maps. A smart phone with built in GPS and the right mapping app is a very powerful tool...but only if the battery is not run down...

[Another Kevin]

I think all electronics and SAR should be banned from all wild areas.

Then, we'd have real adventure and we would be naturally culling the less fit and improving the human race. We'd pay lowers taxes in support of SAR. Further yet, more people would be scared to go into the back country so those of us that still want to go, would have much fewer people to deal with.

Is there a down side to this plan?

Interesting thread. I haven't considered or used a PLB type device, ever, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea. I've advocated for judicious carrying of phones, so it seems to me the same logic applies. In a pinch, it might work, or it might not. Are you willing to bet your life on it?

I recently read a short book/essay about bicycling that argues against the conventional wisdom on several topics. For example, the author is skeptical of helmets, while acknowledging that this is a controversial minority view. His main concern is that the helmet could lead to less caution, more risk-taking while riding. False sense of security and all that.

I've shared this thought before, but probably should again, since the conversation is veering in this direction.

SAR is something that civilized humans do. I know that whether I want it or not, if I don't come back, they're coming for me. (I don't depend on it, but it's an ugly fact of life that if I go missing, they'll go searching.)

I can't wave them off, they're coming whatever I say, so the best I can do if it all goes pear-shaped is to make their job as easy as possible. If I'm still able to light a PLB, then they'll be able to recover my remains from a small search area, with a much smaller team, and much less hazard exposure. The dangerous, expensive and time-consuming part of SAR is the search, not the rescue. With a PLB, I can take most of the search out of it.

I'm presuming that if I'm seized with an MI, fall off a mountain, or get trapped in deep water Out There, I'm a goner. But if I can still light a PLB, that might save the life of a searcher. If that's the last thing I do in life, at least that moment will have been well lived.

[Another Kevin]

The female hiker that died last yr in whites trying to traverse in winter maelstrom, found out that depending on rescue due to plb was poor plan B. No substitute for common sense, prudence, and choosing weather conditions carefully. After all, you cant be rescued if SAR cant reach you due to conditions. Reflection gps variance can also cause position fix issues of a mile or more in steep walled terrain.

I also read the incident reports. She didn't have a real PLB, she had a SPOT, which was not rated for the temperatures she was exposing it to. It still pinged with a few true positions, although the first fix was way off. There was still no rescue to be had in those conditions, but maybe that's not the point (see my previous post).