PLB's - Personal Locator Beacon

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Martin England
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PLB's - Personal Locator Beacon

Post by Martin » 14 Jan 2018, 23:08

For some time i've been dithering ... Do i or don't i ?
I've had a good look around this last week and gained quite a bit of info so i think it's something i'll be buying myself shortly (birthday money from SWMBO)

Rather than me just diving in and buying the one i've been looking at - (the UK version - floating ACR ResQLink) , i'd appreciate any pointers to the latest device that i may have missed that ticks all the boxes ....

Martin :cheers
F-RibsAndSibs.Com.... :whistle
Because it's a big old WWworld out there :mrgreen:

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DouglasW
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Re: PLB's - Personal Locator Beacon

Post by DouglasW » 14 Jan 2018, 23:37

Hi Martin, I have been using a PLB for 12 years. The first was an ACR and I had it for 10 years and replaced the battery at 5 years. It cost £600. My second is an ocean signal plb1 http://oceansignal.com/products/plb1/ which you can often buy for about £200 and the battery lasts 7 years. It is also just about the smallest available so can easily be kept on your person. I have seen old stock with 5 years battery remaining advertised for £150. I obviously also have a handheld VHF (non DSC) but the advantage of the PLB is that the battery is only used in an emergency and will not be flat when you need it. Also up the west coast of Scotland there are many VHF black spots but the PLB signal should get through as long as you have a clear view of the sky.

Don,t confuse PLB’s with things like SPOT. These satellite text communicators batteries go flat, the electronics are not really up to safety at sea standard and any emergency signal you activate goes to a private company not the coastguard. Also the satellite network it uses is an old failing system which does not give the same reliable coverage of the dedicated system that EPIZrBs and PLBs use.

I recently posted about this on my blog. The comments are also worth reading.

https://seakayakphoto.blogspot.co.uk/20 ... sider.html

Douglas
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ArcusFlyer England
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Re: PLB's - Personal Locator Beacon

Post by ArcusFlyer » 22 Feb 2018, 16:49

Hi Martin,

I have bought a PLB1 as above a year ago or so. It was around £180. It does give me peace of mind when out with the kids.
It is very small. My only comment is that the carry case that comes with it is not that great IMO. It is cheap neoprene thing and I haven't found a good way to fasten it to myself yet. I am on the lookout for a better carry case. But that is a very minor point. Other than that seems OK. Hoping not to have to test it out for real!

I believe I heard that after 7 years you can get the battery changed but you have to send it back to the factory.

Matt.

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