Choice of PLB and use abroad

WindermereColvic

WindermereColvic

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Hi all,

I'm after a PLB, and hoping you might be able to advise on whether it would actually be useful in the following circumstances.
Presumably, if I buy one from the UK, it would be UK registered and hence would pop up at Falmouth if activated?

The three activities I have in mind are:
- Hill walking and sailing in the UK, presumably this is what they're designed for and everything should be hunky-dory.
- Hill walking in the USA - would a signal revived at Falmouth be able to scramble the appropriate rescue service for inland USA?
- Sailing in Greece - likewise, would a UK registered plb be useful here?

I've found the the ACR ResQ link + seems to get good reviews. I'd like something a little smaller, but equally I think its rather important that it floats (which the smaller ARR ResQlink doesn't) ! Available for £228 from Amazon.
Any recommendations of others to consider?
Any recommendations of where to buy from to make sure I get a recently manufactured unit?


Edit - forgot to ask, whats the deal with carrying PLBs in hand luggage when flying?
Thanks,
Matthew
 
Last edited:
Falmouth don't handle the international SAR any more, sadly that's done at Fareham.

Alerts anywhere in the world are passed by the receiving satellite to the MCC for the registered country (be aware this may not be immediate depending on the satellite download pass time) and to the nearest MCC LUT within sight of the satellite. Therefore an activation in the USA, or Greece, would go to the MCC for that country (one of two for the USA, or MRCC Piraeus for Greece). UKCG would also get notification.

Make sure you have a device which passes GPS as well as the alert, otherwise position is determined by doppler and isn't as accurate. A non GPS device will often have to trigger a second pass before action is taken, especially if unregistered.
 
chanelyacht said:
Falmouth don't handle the international SAR any more, sadly that's done at Fareham.
Click to expand...

Is that true? I thought the whole reason Falmouth was retained was because of their specialised long-range mission, including knowledge about and relationships with other agencies worldwide. It seemed the one sensible decision in the whole re-org.

Pete
 
chanelyacht said:
Falmouth don't handle the international SAR any more, sadly that's done at Fareham.

Alerts anywhere in the world are passed by the receiving satellite to the MCC for the registered country (be aware this may not be immediate depending on the satellite download pass time) and to the nearest MCC LUT within sight of the satellite. Therefore an activation in the USA, or Greece, would go to the MCC for that country (one of two for the USA, or MRCC Piraeus for Greece). UKCG would also get notification.

Make sure you have a device which passes GPS as well as the alert, otherwise position is determined by doppler and isn't as accurate. A non GPS device will often have to trigger a second pass before action is taken, especially if unregistered.
Click to expand...

Are there any PLBs which don't send GPS? I didn't come across any when I was buying - went for ACR ResQ link + as I couldn't resist the free replacement offer after deployment.
I've flown with it many times in Europe and Carib without issue.
 
I have been looking for a PLB and think you should consider these 2.

McMurdo 2017 Fast Find 220 (with GPS) PLB for £173.95
https://www.piratescave.co.uk/mcmur...h-gps-plb.ir?gclid=CNbZ5LXzqdQCFc237Qod8VcKlg

Ocean Signal PLB1 Rescue Me for £179.45
https://marinestore.co.uk/Merchant2...re_Code=mrst&gclid=CKre7NGhqtQCFcsW0wod8MgG7A
https://andark.co.uk/product/rescueme-plb1-epi3110/?gclid=CJ_Z2JOgqtQCFQEL0wodB3sN6w

Both come with free postage.

My preference is for the Ocean Signal. It has a 66 channel GPS receiver, compared to 50. The battery life is 7 years compared to 5 years. Also it is smaller.
 
Concerto said:
My preference is for the Ocean Signal. It has a 66 channel GPS receiver, compared to 50. The battery life is 7 years compared to 5 years. Also it is smaller.
Click to expand...

I may be well out of date on GPS, but I thought there were about 24 satellites in the GPS constellation, so can someone explain the advantages of having 66 channels instead of 50 ?
Also, are there any which take, for example, standard AA batteries so you could fit your own Lithium replacements when required
 
billcole said:
I may be well out of date on GPS, but I thought there were about 24 satellites in the GPS constellation, so can someone explain the advantages of having 66 channels instead of 50 ?
Click to expand...
From my reading it seems the greater the number of channels makes the PLB locate faster. There are only 24 satellites, but each have multiple frequencies, so due to atmospheric conditions they can have greater range to increase the accuracy. Generally the position is only updated every 20 minutes. If someone knows better then I am all ears.
 
You could always buy the smaller non floaty version, and keep it in a floating pouch when sailing. Then you could take it out for hillwalking and save the space.
 
prv said:
Is that true? I thought the whole reason Falmouth was retained was because of their specialised long-range mission, including knowledge about and relationships with other agencies worldwide. It seemed the one sensible decision in the whole re-org.

Pete
Click to expand...

Sadly true - in the desperate requirement to make the whole NMOC venture seem needed, international SAR was seen as a glory trophy that couldn't possibly be allowed to remain in the regions.

Which is why you now have it handled by people who don't understand the specialities. Still, I should think the atlas is getting used more.
 
I'm taking mine to NZ this year to avoid hiring for trekking- google the guy last yr rescued quick sticks off my cook I think? Via Falmouth coastguard that convinced me it works-
 
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