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You are looking for a PLB, a Personal Locator Beacon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_position-indicating_radiobeacon#Personal_Locator_Beacon https://e

You are looking for a PLB, a Personal Locator Beacon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_position-indicating_radiobeacon#Personal_Locator_Beacon https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_position-indicating_... https://oceansignal.com/products/plb1/ https://oceansignal.com/products/plb1/ You buy it, you never pay anything else, it works all over the planet, in extreme conditions, you never need to charge its battery (good for 7+ years), and most importantly, it communicates with an exclusive satellite constellation dedicated to search and rescue, operated by national governments. Your emergency call is handled directly by local government agencies, the military in many parts of the world, who have a duty to respond to the emergency - in accordance with international treaties. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Cospas-Sarsat_Programme https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Cospas-Sarsat_Pr...

tsol 4y ago
So how does rescue work-- I assume you do have to pay the people who rescue you
- virgulino 4y ago
  Undefined. But at zero cost in every case I know of, in a multitude of countries. Be it a simple policeman driving into the middle of the desert to help a cyclist, to a complex joint, multinational, civil-military operation in the middle of the ocean, with aircraft and the rerouting of container ships. https://www.acrartex.com/survivor-stories/ https://www.acrartex.com/survivor-stories/
  - sc11 4y ago
    This isn't true everywhere. E.g. in the alps you might be billed for rescue, particularly if you're not injured or in a medical emergency. That said, SAR insurance is cheap. Many alpinist associations and the likes offer it as part of their membership, which is often less than 100€/yr. There's no reason not to have it if you're going out into the mountains.
- tjohns 4y ago
  Depends on where in the world you are. For the US, it's on a state-by-state basis but rescue is usually free as long as it's a true emergency and you weren't blatantly reckless to begin with. For other parts of the world, you might get a bill to recover the cost of rescue. But in most cases it's still usually free. (Medical care once you get back to civilization is a different story.)
  - tsol 4y ago
    Wow. That's honestly quite amazing. Our world would really be incomprehensible to someone just a few hundred years ago
- LorenPechtel 4y ago
  Most places provide it free, although if you're in an area that sees a lot of rescues you very well might get a bill.

tsol 4y ago

So how does rescue work-- I assume you do have to pay the people who rescue you

virgulino 4y ago
Undefined. But at zero cost in every case I know of, in a multitude of countries. Be it a simple policeman driving into the middle of the desert to help a cyclist, to a complex joint, multinational, civil-military operation in the middle of the ocean, with aircraft and the rerouting of container ships. https://www.acrartex.com/survivor-stories/ https://www.acrartex.com/survivor-stories/
- sc11 4y ago
  This isn't true everywhere. E.g. in the alps you might be billed for rescue, particularly if you're not injured or in a medical emergency. That said, SAR insurance is cheap. Many alpinist associations and the likes offer it as part of their membership, which is often less than 100€/yr. There's no reason not to have it if you're going out into the mountains.
tjohns 4y ago
Depends on where in the world you are. For the US, it's on a state-by-state basis but rescue is usually free as long as it's a true emergency and you weren't blatantly reckless to begin with. For other parts of the world, you might get a bill to recover the cost of rescue. But in most cases it's still usually free. (Medical care once you get back to civilization is a different story.)
- tsol 4y ago
  Wow. That's honestly quite amazing. Our world would really be incomprehensible to someone just a few hundred years ago
LorenPechtel 4y ago
Most places provide it free, although if you're in an area that sees a lot of rescues you very well might get a bill.