Personal EPIRBS

[doris]

These threads about single handing are making me try to think sensibly!
Has anyone looked at the personal epirb/locator beacon market recently? Just me being lazy really but if one of yuo out there has already looked around it would save me a few hours of net trawling.
I imagine they all do the same job so it must come down to price, size and battery life. Are there any other considerations I should think of?
Ta chaps.

 

[idpnd]

I imagine they all do the same job so it must come down to price, size and battery life. Are there any other considerations I should think of?

Yes. No. Same technology.

 

[Georgio]

Having looked at what is available the McMurdo Fastfind 210 seems attractive for the Price, ACR's offering seems a little better but is also more expensive.

 

[photodog]

I would look very carefully at how the PLB operates.. and then ask yourself could you actually use it if you were in the water???

We have a orginal fastfind... (Like the fastfind plus and max...) and to work it needs to sit on its back, dry, so that the airial can extend vertically..... now... ask yourself how you will be able to hold it on its back, dry, and keep the anntenae pointed up when you are floating around in your LJ????

A Epirb will work floating in the water... as that is what its designed for... but not our PLB.

 

[idpnd]

There are some "floater" [excuse pun couldnt resist] plbs, there are positive buoancy pouches for the mcmurdo. Can't vouch whether that would impact signal transmission though.

 

[bbg]

I would look very carefully at how the PLB operates.. and then ask yourself could you actually use it if you were in the water???

We have a orginal fastfind... (Like the fastfind plus and max...) and to work it needs to sit on its back, dry, so that the airial can extend vertically..... now... ask yourself how you will be able to hold it on its back, dry, and keep the anntenae pointed up when you are floating around in your LJ????

A Epirb will work floating in the water... as that is what its designed for... but not our PLB.

I have thought about exactly those issues. I suspect the first generation of PLBs was designed for the hiking market, not sailors, so keeping it dry was not an issue (for hikers). The McMurdo is waterproof but doesn't float, and yes you do need to hold it. I imagine holding it with the antenna clear of the water is manageable with a lifejacket; very difficult without.

It is, for me, a reason to go for a GPS version. If it manages to send out just one signal with a position, that will be a very good start for the rescue services.

I chose the McMurdo 210, which I try to keep in a pocket when I am singlehanding.

 

[boomerangben]

Have search on the internet for the Type 500-27 PLBs. This is what we have in our lifejackets flying out to the rigs in the North Sea. They are waterproof and more over, they have an antenna that is clipped onto the stole of the lifejacket. I have no idea how much they cost, but it is an elegant solution.

 

[chanelyacht]

I suspect the first generation of PLBs was designed for the hiking market, not sailors, so keeping it dry was not an issue (for hikers).

Not quite.

The first generation was designed by David Marshall (121.5 Sea Marshall beacon) and was aimed at the dive market, primarily to be used in conjunction with a DF unit on the boat on or SAR assets. It wasn't until much later that technology allowed 406 beacons to be scaled down enough to become a personal size.

I remember being involved in the Sea Marshall early trials around 1995 and being suitably impressed.

 

[westernman]

Have search on the internet for the Type 500-27 PLBs. This is what we have in our lifejackets flying out to the rigs in the North Sea. They are waterproof and more over, they have an antenna that is clipped onto the stole of the lifejacket. I have no idea how much they cost, but it is an elegant solution.

£5 387.38 from http://www.pose-online.com/index.ph...se&category_id=4&Itemid=31&vmcchk=1&Itemid=31

 

[PilotWolf]

Not quite.

The first generation was designed by David Marshall (121.5 Sea Marshall beacon) and was aimed at the dive market, primarily to be used in conjunction with a DF unit on the boat on or SAR assets. It wasn't until much later that technology allowed 406 beacons to be scaled down enough to become a personal size.

I remember being involved in the Sea Marshall early trials around 1995 and being suitably impressed.

We had the Sea Marshall units in my previous job. Quite impressive, we had their tracker unit fitted to the mother ship but the reason for chosing them was the fact that anyone with a DF could track them - I think we paid about £120 3 or 4 years ago. Beware though we found that they were rather sensitive to spray in a RIB and had the trigger delay increased.

W.

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

I recommend a PLB with a GPS.

http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/epirbs/acr/aquafix-406-epirb-gps-interface-854311.bhtml

 

[westernman]

I recommend a PLB with a GPS.

http://www.mailspeedmarine.com/epirbs/acr/aquafix-406-epirb-gps-interface-854311.bhtml

That particular model does not have GPS.

You can hook up a GPS to it, but it does not have its own.

This seems to be the worst possible combination - unless you are very careful, you could end up sending out a distress signal with old out of date GPS coordinates.

 

[Halcyon Yachts]

That particular model does not have GPS.

You can hook up a GPS to it, but it does not have its own.

This seems to be the worst possible combination - unless you are very careful, you could end up sending out a distress signal with old out of date GPS coordinates.

Michael - You are absolutely correct! I posted the wrong link...

This is the PLB I have, and meant to recommend!

http://www.force4.co.uk/7500/ACR--A...oogle&utm_medium=froogle&utm_campaign=pid7500

Definitely make sure your Epirb or PLB has an internal GPS!!!

 

[neale]

Serious question.

Why would you choose the one in your link over this one: Clicky
It's almost half price and apart from it not floating, I can't see what other difference there is.

 

[[10753]]

Downloaded the manual for the McMurdo 210.

It has a section for use around water and clearly states that it does NOT float and that the PLB is not a substitute for an EPIRB that may be required under maritime legislation.

It also states that in some countries it may be sold with an auxiliary floating device but it is still not designed to float upright or transmit a distress alert when floating in water.

It also looks quite tricky to activate unwrapping and straightening the aerial etc.

I guess as a PLB its great but as an EPIRB for yacht in trouble etc. you need to spend the extra quids and get a proper floating one.

 

[Channel Ribs]

It also looks quite tricky to activate unwrapping and straightening the aerial etc.

Not at all, the antenna springs out straight as soon as you pull the cover off. This also reveals the "send helicopter here" button and the strobe light.

The floating pouch that McMurdo do is great, while not guaranteed to turn the PLB into an EPIRB.

They are available for 199.00 for the GPS version.

 

[mcframe]

We had the Sea Marshall units in my previous job. Quite impressive, we had their tracker unit fitted to the mother ship but the reason for chosing them was the fact that anyone with a DF could track them - I think we paid about £120 3 or 4 years ago. Beware though we found that they were rather sensitive to spray in a RIB and had the trigger delay increased.

The latest MOB beacon - with AIS - looks like a rather clever idea for person in distress - assuming mother ship has AIS:
http://www.sailgb.com/p/Easy_Rescue_Personal_AIS_Transmitter_Beacon/

I wonder if it would be useful for vessel in distress/avoiding rundowns?

(What does a chaff bomb look like on BigShip radar? ;-)

For single-handing, a diver's day/night flare on your LJ is a simple addition.

Another option: http://www.mobilarm.com/page/about_mobilarm_v100.html