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I bought one of these PLBs after spending 12h down a canyon with a broken ankle and no cell reception. Friends had to hike back out of the canyon and hike then

I bought one of these PLBs after spending 12h down a canyon with a broken ankle and no cell reception. Friends had to hike back out of the canyon and hike then drive for hours to get help. Never again. Since then I got a sailboat and it's pretty standard in that field to have EPIRB, PLBs and the likes. There's life-vests that come with mini-PLBs in them. It's a bit pricey but it's essential in my opinion. I was lucky to be with friends and within reasonable distance of help when I got my accident. If something happens at sea, you need these NOAA satellites.

jxramos 7y ago
How much does one of those go for if you don't mind me asking. From the article... >By law, beacon owners are required to register their devices online with NOAA. The registration information helps provide better and faster assistance to people in distress, and can guard against false alarms. What does that registration process look like exactly?
- flyGuyOnTheSly 7y ago
  > How much does one of those go for if you don't mind me asking. They cost a few hundred dollars. Which is well worth it if you've broken your ankle at the bottom of a canyon imho.
- AYBABTME 7y ago
  Just an online form where you register some info: - Name & Address - Phone - Beacon info (ID, manufacturer, model) - General use (commercial/private/govt/military) - Usage type (hiking, hunting, other...) - Vehicle type (land vehicle, boat, aircraft, none, other) - Additional data (include home port for your boat or aircraft and areas you frequent for recreational use.) - Emergency contact I think the cost was ~300$ for the PLB.
- linsomniac 7y ago
  The ResQLink+ that I have looks to cost $300 now on Amazon.
munificent 7y ago
> Since then I got a sailboat and it's pretty standard in that field to have EPIRB Should be more than just common. My understanding is that US maritime mandates that you must have a functioning EPIRB if you are on open waters.
- throw0101a 7y ago
  > ... functioning EPIRB if you are on open waters. A more nuanced question is on what to have on one's life jacket: an AIS-based system allows for the boat you just fell off of to know that (a) you're gone, and (b) where you're bobbing around at. If you end up being blown away, or are doing a solo crossing, then a PLB may be better.
- aaronax 7y ago
  Not true for what you might call "recreational" vessels. "Uninspected passenger vessels less than 100 gross tons are not required to carry an EPIRB." https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2018-title46-vol1/xml/CFR-2018-title46-vol1-part25.xml#seqnum25.26-10 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2018-title46-vol1/xm...
throw0101a 7y ago
> Since then I got a sailboat Depending on where and with whom you sail, getting a DSC/AIS-based beacon may make sense: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIS-SART https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIS-SART If you're mostly in coastal waters, and not short-handed, then help is probably not far away, and being able to see where a person is floating on a chart plotter display makes for easier retrieval. * http://oceansignal.com/products/mob1/ http://oceansignal.com/products/mob1/ Of course if you're doing oceanic stuff, and/or short-handed with overnight watches, then an EPIRB/PLB may make more sense.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- AYBABTME 7y ago
  Agreed.
bagacrap 7y ago
They had to drive for hours to get into cell reception? I mean yeah that's pretty remote. Most people probably never get hundreds of miles from the nearest cell tower though. Now if you were all alone, I could see how it would have been crucial.
- AYBABTME 7y ago
  America is large and there's ton of remote places. In sparsely populated areas, like in the deserts, there's a lot of roads that end up with no reception. This was in Southern Utah.

jxramos 7y ago

How much does one of those go for if you don't mind me asking. From the article... >By law, beacon owners are required to register their devices online with NOAA. The registration information helps provide better and faster assistance to people in distress, and can guard against false alarms. What does that registration process look like exactly?

flyGuyOnTheSly 7y ago
> How much does one of those go for if you don't mind me asking. They cost a few hundred dollars. Which is well worth it if you've broken your ankle at the bottom of a canyon imho.
AYBABTME 7y ago
Just an online form where you register some info: - Name & Address - Phone - Beacon info (ID, manufacturer, model) - General use (commercial/private/govt/military) - Usage type (hiking, hunting, other...) - Vehicle type (land vehicle, boat, aircraft, none, other) - Additional data (include home port for your boat or aircraft and areas you frequent for recreational use.) - Emergency contact I think the cost was ~300$ for the PLB.
linsomniac 7y ago
The ResQLink+ that I have looks to cost $300 now on Amazon.

munificent 7y ago

> Since then I got a sailboat and it's pretty standard in that field to have EPIRB Should be more than just common. My understanding is that US maritime mandates that you must have a functioning EPIRB if you are on open waters.

throw0101a 7y ago
> ... functioning EPIRB if you are on open waters. A more nuanced question is on what to have on one's life jacket: an AIS-based system allows for the boat you just fell off of to know that (a) you're gone, and (b) where you're bobbing around at. If you end up being blown away, or are doing a solo crossing, then a PLB may be better.
aaronax 7y ago
Not true for what you might call "recreational" vessels. "Uninspected passenger vessels less than 100 gross tons are not required to carry an EPIRB." https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2018-title46-vol1/xml/CFR-2018-title46-vol1-part25.xml#seqnum25.26-10 https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2018-title46-vol1/xm...

throw0101a 7y ago

> Since then I got a sailboat Depending on where and with whom you sail, getting a DSC/AIS-based beacon may make sense: * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIS-SART https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AIS-SART If you're mostly in coastal waters, and not short-handed, then help is probably not far away, and being able to see where a person is floating on a chart plotter display makes for easier retrieval. * http://oceansignal.com/products/mob1/ http://oceansignal.com/products/mob1/ Of course if you're doing oceanic stuff, and/or short-handed with overnight watches, then an EPIRB/PLB may make more sense.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
AYBABTME 7y ago
Agreed.

bagacrap 7y ago

They had to drive for hours to get into cell reception? I mean yeah that's pretty remote. Most people probably never get hundreds of miles from the nearest cell tower though. Now if you were all alone, I could see how it would have been crucial.

AYBABTME 7y ago
America is large and there's ton of remote places. In sparsely populated areas, like in the deserts, there's a lot of roads that end up with no reception. This was in Southern Utah.