Completely agreed. PLBs are on a whole other level of reliability. Not just physically, the signal itself is significantly more reliable. They have three diffe

Completely agreed. PLBs are on a whole other level of reliability. Not just physically, the signal itself is significantly more reliable. They have three different ways of being located (digital GPS coordinates, measuring Doppler shift from satellites passing overhead, and radio direction finding from local SAR search planes), which practically guarantees that if you activate a PLB somebody will come. Beyond that, the technology powering PLBs is also required for emergency beacons on aircraft and boats. It's not going away anytime soon. In fact, the technology is being upgraded right now to add return-link capability, plus an entire new satellite constellation (MEOSAR).