COMBINED PLB AND AIS Beacon

TSB240 said:
Is this the first of a new generation of PLB that does not depend on VHF land based DSC alert reception?
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Existing PLBs don't use VHF DSC in the first place, so the above sentence is nonsense :)

Cheers for the heads-up on the combined product, though. Several of us have been saying for ages that such a thing should be made, so it's good to see one coming soon. Hopefully other manufacturers will follow suit.

Pete
 
prv said:
Existing PLBs don't use VHF DSC in the first place, so the above sentence is nonsense :)

Cheers for the heads-up on the combined product, though. Several of us have been saying for ages that such a thing should be made, so it's good to see one coming soon. Hopefully other manufacturers will follow suit.

Pete
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Sorry I meant to say I had considered the option of using a portable DSC VHF as an alternative for a very short moment! I have very short arms also!
 
TSB240 said:
Is this the first of a new generation of PLB that does not depend on VHF land based DSC alert reception?
Click to expand...

As prv says existing PLBs don't rely on DSC, but what you might mean is that most of the new personal AIS beacons do combine AIS and a 972xxxx DSC alert to the mother ship via its MMSI and/or an All Ships alert if allowed in that jurisdiction. That's a great feature IMHO as it enables the MOB to alert perhaps sleeping members of the crew. IMHO these new AIS beacons are the way to go for inshore non-singlehanders.

The PLB is of course nothing to do with this and as for the idea of combining the two; I kind of like the idea of having two separate units (just in case one didn't work!) given that they are now so small. I suppose if the combined one is way cheaper it might make sense though.
 
prv said:
Cheers for the heads-up on the combined product, though. Several of us have been saying for ages that such a thing should be made, so it's good to see one coming soon. Hopefully other manufacturers will follow suit.

Pete
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It was already mentioned in a thread a month or two ago I recall.

Our PLBs are good to 2019 but when their battery replacement time is up I would like to replace them with something like this.
 
dom said:
As prv says existing PLBs don't rely on DSC, but what you might mean is that most of the new personal AIS beacons do combine AIS and a 972xxxx DSC alert to the mother ship via its MMSI and/or an All Ships alert if allowed in that jurisdiction. That's a great feature IMHO as it enables the MOB to alert perhaps sleeping members of the crew. IMHO these new AIS beacons are the way to go for inshore non-singlehanders.
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They certainly seem to be pretty interesting, but in the short term I wonder how many AIS displays or chart plotters would actually present the information at the moment. I've been looking for a new AIS display (existing one is a bit dual, or rather quad, purpose so rarely gets left on the AIS page for long) and I've only seen one that explicitly advertises support for this feature. (Ok, they call it AIS SART but I think it's the same AIS feature.)

Second point though is, it can be used to alert any vessel, not just your own. That would even be useful for singlehanders.
 
lpdsn said:
They certainly seem to be pretty interesting, but in the short term I wonder how many AIS displays or chart plotters would actually present the information at the moment. I've been looking for a new AIS display (existing one is a bit dual, or rather quad, purpose so rarely gets left on the AIS page for long) and I've only seen one that explicitly advertises support for this feature. (Ok, they call it AIS SART but I think it's the same AIS feature.)

Second point though is, it can be used to alert any vessel, not just your own. That would even be useful for singlehanders.
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Good points:

  1. Re AIS display: this can be displayed on quite a few mediums such as most modern MFDs (you need to check though), iPads, iPhones and even the Raymarine i70s. For a quad display one really needs a 12" screen (pricey), but perfectly good AIS is visible as an overlay to say even a 7" screen on the newer high-res plotters.
  2. Re the DSC feature: I have the Ocean Signal units (c.£190) which can alert the mother vessel via a pre-programmed MMSI, or send out an All Ships Alert if necessary. Manual here: http://oceansignal.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/MOB1-user-manual1.pdf
The units are testable, so it should be possible (as well as necessary) to confirm everything is compatible well in advance.
 
Well, there is this one as well http://oceansignal.com/products/mob1/

Very compact indeed. Personally I favour this compared to a PLB provided there is an EPIRB as well. When sailing other then solo these devices will notify others on your boat in case you go overboard. Typically they are the closest by at that point. Using a PLB introduces a lot of delay. Chances are by the time the rescue-people will have reached you you will not be able to thank them anymore. In a liferaft a EPIRB works better as it floats and should actually be outside the raft tied to the raft (the antenna works much better if the body of the EPIRB is in the water)
 
lpdsn said:
They certainly seem to be pretty interesting, but in the short term I wonder how many AIS displays or chart plotters would actually present the information at the moment. I've been looking for a new AIS display (existing one is a bit dual, or rather quad, purpose so rarely gets left on the AIS page for long) and I've only seen one that explicitly advertises support for this feature. (Ok, they call it AIS SART but I think it's the same AIS feature.)

Second point though is, it can be used to alert any vessel, not just your own. That would even be useful for singlehanders.
Click to expand...

I believe that the AIS beacon will display on any AIS display but might not appear as a MOB/Distress but might appear as a boat or something else. However, that's not the end of the world as the crew of a boat near enough to be of help, which is not your own, will see a boat on the screen which they will soon realise does not seem to exist in real life so hopefully will investigate.

Richard
 
RichardS said:
I believe that the AIS beacon will display on any AIS display but might not appear as a MOB/Distress but might appear as a boat or something else. However, that's not the end of the world as the crew of a boat near enough to be of help, which is not your own, will see a boat on the screen which they will soon realise does not seem to exist in real life so hopefully will investigate.

Richard
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The AIS MOB/distress signal certainly shows up on OpenCPN when connected to an AIS radio like the SH GX2*** series radios.
 
Slightly old thread warning .......

Any update on when we are likely to see an affordable combined GPS PLB & AIS responder device launched in the UK?

This one was mentioned in the thread abo,be but don't see anybody retailing it yet
http://seaangel.at/index.php?route=common/page&id=2906

Current PLB is past its date so should I buy a new McMurdo Fast Find at Black Friday prices or waIt for something which could be launched soon - or may still be a distant prospect
 
One interesting thing about PLBs is that the 406 ('EPIRB') signal is not allowed to be automatically activated. It would just cause too many false alarms from them going off in wet life jackets.

The 121.5 MHz (airband VHF) homing signal (that all EPIRBS and PLBs have) can be water activated and many MOB beacons in use in offshore oil and wind industries these 121.5 only beacons on their personel. .

As I understand it the AIS beacons can be water activated (perhaps only as regulations have not caught up yet). I don't know about DSC.

I think there is a good case for a PLB to have at least the 121.5 water activated as planes will pick it up from 30 miles away, where as VHF range on the surface from a person in the water (including AIS and DSC) will only be a few miles (depending on antenna height). While COSPAS/SARSAT does not monitor 121.5 all planes do and a passing airliner will report it to a RCS (I have that on good authority from a BA pilot).

AIS and DSC are both good for sounding alarms on your own boat and waking up the rest of the crew. The DSC usually more so as AIS alarms more often in normal use but the DSC alarm signal on my VHF would wake the dead.
 
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dunedin said:
Any update on when we are likely to see an affordable combined GPS PLB & AIS responder device launched in the UK?

This one was mentioned in the thread abo,be but don't see anybody retailing it yet
http://seaangel.at/index.php?route=common/page&id=2906
Click to expand...

The SeaAngel website says it should be available in Q4 2016, which I guess is any time now, although they don't include it yet in their online shop.
 
pvb said:
The SeaAngel website says it should be available in Q4 2016, which I guess is any time now, although they don't include it yet in their online shop.
Click to expand...
It also says "automatic and manual activation" so I wonder if that is 121.5 and AIS are automatic (ie water activated)?

Also looking at the picture I wonder how that rubber duck antenna is going to deploy automatically on a life jacket?

Here is, as far as I understand it a water activated 121.5 + AIS PLB designed so the antenna deploys when the life jacket opens http://www.mrtsos.com/products/personal-locator-beacons/smrt-au10-ht (interestingly if you scroll down they have 121+AIS+DSC beacons for submariners too - now that is seriously waterproof!)

Here it is on a lifejacket http://www.mrtsos.com/products/life-jackets

The older style 121.5 only models have an antenna that is like a cord going around the neck of the lifejacket.

406 PLBs designed for lifejackets generally seem to have those springy metal strips that are a bit like a tape measure. But of course that has to be manually deployed for 406.

The rescueME MOB1 from Ocean Signal is an example of a DSC+AIS with one of those springy antennas that automatically deploys https://www.svb24.com/en/ocean-signal-ais-mob1-emergency-ais-mob-device.html (you have to scroll down to see picture with antenna)
 
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