Anybody have a personal locator beacon?

[hamster]

We've talked about getting one for a couple years now, but it's officially time to get one.

If you have one, what brand do you have? Did you have any problems testing (this seems to be the biggest negative review)? Anything we should consider before purchasing?

[liveintheville]

I don't know what this is but I opened the post because I immediately wanted my own personal bat signal after reading the topic.

[lanyac]

Aug 27, 2012 16:40:55 GMT -5 @jimbooo said:

what the heck is a personal locator beacon?

This!

[hamster]

Haha! It's basically a gps device that alerts search and rescue if you need help.

[dexteroni]

Aug 27, 2012 16:41:17 GMT -5 liveintheville said:

I don't know what this is but I opened the post because I immediately wanted my own personal bat signal after reading the topic.

Me too! My first thought was "you mean like a bat signal?"

Wouldn't your cell phone serve in this capacity when you call 911? Or do you mean if you're in a car accident or fall down a well and can't even make the call yourself? How does the personal locator beacon know when to call for help? And what protects it from being smashed in the wreck / fall?

[schrodinger]

Avalanche beacons? A few of my friends that backcountry ski and hike have them. They researched with the local S&R teams to see what has worked best in their experience.

[sillygoosegirl]

No, but I have a combo 2-way radio and GPS with a range of up to 5 miles. It's not for search and rescue though. It's so my hiking buddies and I can split up and do our own thing, and then find each other again in the wilderness.

[hamster]

Aug 27, 2012 17:03:11 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

Aug 27, 2012 16:41:17 GMT -5 liveintheville said:

I don't know what this is but I opened the post because I immediately wanted my own personal bat signal after reading the topic.

Me too! My first thought was "you mean like a bat signal?"

Wouldn't your cell phone serve in this capacity when you call 911? Or do you mean if you're in a car accident or fall down a well and can't even make the call yourself? How does the personal locator beacon know when to call for help? And what protects it from being smashed in the wreck / fall?

We go a LOT of places that don't get cell phone service. Typically it's hunting in the woods. And the PLB doesn't know, you just have to be conscious enough to be able to hit the button for help. Theoretically the case it's in and the fact that it would be in a backpack would keep it from being ruined, but that's always a possibility.

[aurora]

Aug 27, 2012 17:05:23 GMT -5 schrodinger said:

Avalanche beacons? A few of my friends that backcountry ski and hike have them. They researched with the local S&R teams to see what has worked best in their experience.

A PLB is *not* the same thing as an avalanche beacon. PLB's can be triggered (by pressing a button) to notify the authorities in the case of an emergency. There are different types, but they cost $300-$800 or so (I haven't looked at prices in a while and am too lazy to do so now) and some require a monthly subscription while others don't. They all operate by sending a signal to satellite, which notifies the local authorities.

An avalanche beacon is used when skiing with friends and is turned on at the trailhead, sending out a continuous signal. If someone in a local group gets caught in an avalanche, the rest of the group turns their beacons to "receive" to search for the missing person. There is no satellite notification, so the authorities are not notified.

There was a case in Colorado a few years ago in which someone confused the two and kept setting off his PLB whenever he went skiing, turning it off when done. Each time there was a satellite notification of distress, but when the authorities arrived (to these remote backcountry locations) the person was gone. He was eventually found, but it cost a huge amount of manpower to track him down. One of the news articles is

www.denverpost.com/ci_14501974

[aurora]

Hamster - to get back to your original question, I actually don't have a PLB but have done some research on them. The biggest question is whether you want to be able to send any information besides a distress signal. The SPOTs use their own satellites and allow you to send some messages to friends and family but require an annual subscription. Most of the other PLBs cost more up front but don't require a subscription and correspond directly with the SARSAT system. One thing to consider is whether you trust the government or a private company to handle your emergency request better - to add some political levity to the question.

(to be fair, I'm not going to endorse one over the other since I've personally not used either)

There's a lot of information at www.equipped.org/

[hamster]

Aug 27, 2012 19:19:47 GMT -5 aurora said:

Hamster - to get back to your original question, I actually don't have a PLB but have done some research on them. The biggest question is whether you want to be able to send any information besides a distress signal. The SPOTs use their own satellites and allow you to send some messages to friends and family but require an annual subscription. Most of the other PLBs cost more up front but don't require a subscription and correspond directly with the SARSAT system. One thing to consider is whether you trust the government or a private company to handle your emergency request better - to add some political levity to the question.

(to be fair, I'm not going to endorse one over the other since I've personally not used either)

There's a lot of information at www.equipped.org/

While I really like the concept of the "I'm ok" signal, I've read enough reviews on the Spot to know that I'm not comfortable with it's reliability. I don't get to communicate with H a lot as it is now, but I'd find greater comfort knowing he can get out safely that getting a check in message. At this point, I assume he's safe unless I hear otherwise. Plus, in this case I trust the government satellites and SAR more than I do a private company.

[aurora]

Aug 28, 2012 10:23:06 GMT -5 hamster said:

While I really like the concept of the "I'm ok" signal, I've read enough reviews on the Spot to know that I'm not comfortable with it's reliability. I don't get to communicate with H a lot as it is now, but I'd find greater comfort knowing he can get out safely that getting a check in message. At this point, I assume he's safe unless I hear otherwise. Plus, in this case I trust the government satellites and SAR more than I do a private company.

Sounds reasonable to me. Just to clarify: in either case, it's the same local SAR that comes out to find you. It's just the satellite system and initial reporting agency that differs.

[stingsharkruns]

We have one for when we travel to the Bahamas via personal boat. It's an Epirb. www.epirb.com/ - According to my Dad, it alerts toe Coast Guard of your location if it gets wet. I was very thankful we had it when we crossed back over from Grand Bahama this year - we had really bad weather for a few hours. We didn't use it, but i felt better knowing it was there.