PLB - Battery replacement or new?

[SimonFa]

My ACR ResQLink+ is at the end of its recommended life.

I've just had a quote of £154 + pp for a battery replacement against c.£240 for new. The McMurdo FastFind 220 PLB is £180 and there's other options.

Before I make a decision I wondered if there was anything else I should consider? I'd like one I could fit inside my LJ but I'm happy to continue carrying one tethered to the back of my LJ.

 

[[3889]]

My ACR ResQLink+ is at the end of its recommended life.

I've just had a quote of £154 + pp for a battery replacement against c.£240 for new. The McMurdo FastFind 220 PLB is £180 and there's other options.

Before I make a decision I wondered if there was anything else I should consider? I'd like one I could fit inside my LJ but I'm happy to continue carrying one tethered to the back of my LJ.

My ResQLink was due for a battery this month and I looked at a battery replacement in Spain during the summer - 400 euros!!!
Ocean Safety, I believe, offer a replacement service for around £100.
In my case, the ResQlink failed through water ingress before I had the chance to replace the battery. It self actuated and my Sunday morning lie-in was disrupted by the coastguard. I have serious doubts as to whether it would have operated correctly if required. After a lot of argy-bargy I was sent a free replacement by ACR in the US. In the meantime, I'd bought an Ocean Signal PLB1 which, being smaller, fits nicely inside my LJ cover. Hopefully it will prove more reliable than the ResQlink.
As the actual battery costs about £20 it's hard not to believe that the replacement fees are a bit of a swizz, along the the lines of printer ink.

Intact switch and corroded PCB behind it

 

[prv]

As the actual battery costs about £20 it's hard not to believe that the replacement fees are a bit of a swizz, along the the lines of printer ink.

I doubt they do all that many of them, and at low volume it's not all that hard to imagine £80 being the commercial cost plus a reasonable margin, for someone in a European country (as opposed to the Chinese worker who built it) to process the things in, open them, inspect, replace the battery, do a functional test of the electronics, close and correctly seal, test waterproofing, repack, and process for return.

I've just replaced my McMurdo PLB (which was in the grab bag filling the role of an EPIRB rather than being worn) with an Ocean Signal EPIRB. It was £100 more expensive, but came with a ten year battery life so works out slightly cheaper overall and I suppose is technically a better fit for the job.

Given the kind of shelf life now available on both EPIRBs and PLBs, by the time one expires I'd always expect to replace it with a better cheaper model rather than renew the battery.

Pete

 

[ctva]

The six year life of the battery in the units (I have a 220), is if I am correct in thinking is the guaranteed time which the battery will power the transmitter. The 220 unit is between 24 and 35 hrs depending on temp. With the nature of lithium batteries, they gradually lose charge from the last charge point so the unit will still be perfectly functional for many years past the 5 or 6 ‘stated life’, albeit with a shorter transmission time. If you are like me using in UK costal waters, the chances of you not being picked up within a few hours of activation are slim but then how long could you survive in UK waters even in the summer? When I get to the 6 year point for the 220, I will simply buy a new one and keep the old as a spare.

 

[SimonFa]

In the meantime, I'd bought an Ocean Signal PLB1 which, being smaller, fits nicely inside my LJ cover.

Given the kind of shelf life now available on both EPIRBs and PLBs, by the time one expires I'd always expect to replace it with a better cheaper model rather than renew the battery.

Pete

When I get to the 6 year point for the 220, I will simply buy a new one and keep the old as a spare.

That's the conclusion I've come to and am already lning up the PLB1 because of its size.

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

[Graham376]

When I get to the 6 year point for the 220, I will simply buy a new one and keep the old as a spare.

That's what I've done. Just done a self test on old (no gps) Pains Wessex/McMurdo 406, battery replace date 2011 but still testing OK.

 

[dunedin]

When I get to the 6 year point for the 220, I will simply buy a new one and keep the old as a spare.

That’s exactly what I did a couple of years back with my McMurdo PLB - and 2-3 years after official battery expiry date when doing the self test it still shows full power.
But crossing open water with others on board it is good to have the in date one as well.

Old one also gets taken on sailing trips when away from main ship, and would take walking when off the beaten track

 

[[3889]]

I doubt they do all that many of them, and at low volume it's not all that hard to imagine £80 being the commercial cost plus a reasonable margin, for someone in a European country (as opposed to the Chinese worker who built it) to process the things in, open them, inspect, replace the battery, do a functional test of the electronics, close and correctly seal, test waterproofing, repack, and process for return.

Pete

I find it hard to imagine. Having never opened a ResQlink before I managed to remove and replace the battery in less than 3 minutes. Do you think the battery replacement fee includes a test of individual electronic components? I don't.
That said, a company's raison d'etre is to maximise the wealth of their shareholders, so good luck to them. It's the sort of business strategy BA used to justify £300 flights to Spain in the 1980s by throwing in a soggy bacon sarnie. Fortunately easyJet et al came along and kicked them up the Rs and I hope, somewhat wistfully, that an innovative marine electronics manufacture will do the same.