PLB or Similar

[ssjpiv]

I am thinking of buying sort sort of PLB, I am at a complete loss with regards to which one to go for there seems to be a couple of different types of technology out there. Also, is this likley to advance further over the winter.

I sail my own boat (no epirb) and do various stints as crew over the year.

Which one would people reccomend?

 

[yachtorion]

I think the different brands are largely similar and they all do more or less the same thing.

I've got a McMurdo FastFind 210, which I'm very happy with but haven't yet had to use. The self test function is very clear and the unit seems high quality. McMurdo have got plenty of stories to share of successful activations.

That model has just been replaced by the very similar FastFind 220.

The 220 is waterproof, floats in the supplied pouch, has a lanyard tie on point, is small enough to fit in an lifejacket pocket, has GPS built in and a 6 year battery.

 

[ssjpiv]

PLB

Where does the McMurdo smartfind AIS beacon fit into the mix??? Would this be used in conjuction with say the Fastfind or instead of?

 

[Coaster]

Two years ago we looked at the options and bought a couple of these.

The McMurdo Fastfind 210 has an integral GPS so transmits the beacon's exact location. Fortunately neither unit has been used (yet) although we do go through the test procedure at the beginning of the sailing year. Each is fits into the webbing belt retainer of a Kru Sport Pro lifejacket. It's reassuring to know that, in extremis, there would be a good chance of alerting other people to our predicament.

I see that the Marine Super Store has them for sale at £190 which seems fair. There could well be better deals to be had at SIBS, if you're going.


Slow typing by me, I endorse what jamesjeffrey says.

The Smartfind S10 seems to be a very different device, alerting AIS receivers within range but not contacting the emergency services via satellite.

 

[prv]

Where does the McMurdo smartfind AIS beacon fit into the mix??? Would this be used in conjuction with say the Fastfind or instead of?

The AIS beacon will be pretty short-range. AIS is carried over VHF, so range will presumably be similar to a handheld radio at water level. In my opinion it could be useful for recovering a man overboard, because the parent boat can see his position on its plotter, but not the best option for most other distress signalling purposes.

Pete

 

[yachtorion]

Where does the McMurdo smartfind AIS beacon fit into the mix??? Would this be used in conjuction with say the Fastfind or instead of?

As Coaster has said above this device doesn't use satellites.... you would definitely use it as well as a fast find.

The S10 will alert any AIS equipped vessel within range - which they state as 4 miles. They can then use their AIS equipment to zoom in on you. I had one of these pop up on the screen of my Garmin chart plotter not long ago - thought it seemed to be a false alarm.

The Fast Find PLBs contain two transmitters. One is a 406mhz transmitter which alerts the satellites, including passing your identity, and in the 210 and 220 models includes your GPS position. This works from more or less anywhere in the world, as long as you have a clear view of the sky.

The second transmitter is on 121.5mhz. This is a homing beacon that aircraft and suitably equipped military / rescue services should pick up up to (roughly) 15 miles or so away. They can then use it to get close to you. However the average yacht won't be equipped to pick up this signal.

The killer device will be one that combines 406, 121.5 and AIS... but I don't know of any of those.

 

[ssjpiv]

PLB

Are the McMurdo the best/market leaders, I see there are some othere makes Resq link or something like that..

 

[yachtorion]

Are the McMurdo the best/market leaders, I see there are some othere makes Resq link or something like that..

I only have a McMurdo.... Although no doubt there are some I doubt many people have multiple beacons from different manufacturers and could offer a comparison.

But these devices are safety critical... I'm not in the PLB industry... but I hope it would be very surprising if any of the available devices was prone to failing to do what it says on the tin as long as you comply with the recommended testing and maintenance regimes.

PBO did a round up of PLBs in 2007... but that's obviously quite old now.

What I can tell you is that my Fast Find seems like a fantastic bit of kit, I gain a lot of reassurance from having it in my pocket, and I trust it to alert help if I ever need it.

 

[prv]

Are the McMurdo the best/market leaders

I believe they were the first to make something as small as the FastFind range, until then all PLBS were quite a bit bigger. This and their keen pricing seems to have made them the most common yachtsman's PLB. I've also seen some tests of GPS effectiveness in which they did well, though I doubt this is a consideration for most people buying them who assume all are equally perfect on that score. (At sea with a wide open horizon it's unlikely to be a problem, but now that they're legal on land for mountaineers etc performance from the bottom of a deep gully should be a consideration)

There are some other brand names (eg Kannad) selling suspiciously similar devices; they're in fact all part of the same company.

Pete

 

[V1701]

If you singlehand and crew for others PLB would be the obvious choice. I have fastfind 210. There's been some discussion about whether the battery is user replaceable or not, see here. I would get one where you can replace the battery yourself if poss...

 

[prv]

I would get one where you can replace the battery yourself if poss...

Trouble is, that almost inevitably means a larger size, which is significant if you're going to carry it on your person. Personally I think six years' battery life followed by manufacturer replacement is a reasonable compromise. Even if you threw it away instead of fitting new batteries, that's just over £30 a year; in the meantime the technology is likely to have moved on so you might want a new unit anyway.

Pete

 

[ssjpiv]

PLB

Do we know how much McMurdo charge for replacing the battery?

I suppose £30 a year does seem okay plus in six years time technology may well render the unit drastically outdated.

This may seem a bit of an odd question, are the McMurdo range floating and waterproof? Are they user activated?

The McMurdo 220 seem to be on offer at a few places at the moment..

Thanks

 

[yachtorion]

Do we know how much McMurdo charge for replacing the battery?

I suppose £30 a year does seem okay plus in six years time technology may well render the unit drastically outdated.

This may seem a bit of an odd question, are the McMurdo range floating and waterproof? Are they user activated?

The McMurdo 220 seem to be on offer at a few places at the moment..

Thanks

Don't know the price - but McMurdo are in the UK and their number is on their website.

Myself... For a potentially life saving device, after 6 years I would personally prefer to get a device that hadn't just spent 6 years in a salt atmosphere and that might be beginning to develop tin whiskers.

The different members of the range have different features, but all the McMurdo PLBs are user activated, and all of them are waterproof. The FastFind 220 floats as long as it's in the supplied neoprene pouch.

 

[prv]

This may seem a bit of an odd question, are the McMurdo range floating and waterproof? Are they user activated?

All PLBs are manually activated - if it can be automatically activated, then it's an EPIRB.

The FastFind 200-series PLBs are waterproof but do not float - again, that's a consequence of their small size. The weight is more or less fixed by the components required, so to achieve density less than water you have to make them bigger. However, if you do want them to float, you can slip on a little neoprene "buoyancy aid" that McMurdo sell for a tenner (for the 210) or include in the box (for the 220).

The FastFind Max PLBs do float, and also have user-replaceable batteries, but are larger than the 200-series.

Neither series are designed to broadcast while floating though, you have to hold them out of the water with aerial upright. Like automatic activation, if you want it to work on its own whilst floating, you need an EPIRB instead of a PLB.

Pete

 

[V1701]

I must admit I haven't thought through how I'm going to keep the PLB in a position where it will carry on transmitting effectively for hours after I've activated it - maybe an elasticated headband and slip it under there after activation? Any other ideas? Having to hold an arm up out of the water would not be sustainable for a period of hours...

 

[ssjpiv]

PlB

That has dawned on me but I didnt want to seem like a prat for saying, surley if there is a big swell the problem is going to be worse!!

 

[prv]

I must admit I haven't thought through how I'm going to keep the PLB in a position where it will carry on transmitting effectively for hours after I've activated it - maybe an elasticated headband and slip it under there after activation? Any other ideas? Having to hold an arm up out of the water would not be sustainable for a period of hours...

I believe the usual advice when floating in a lifejacket is to lay it on your chest, on top of the lifejacket bladder. Tied on, obviously. You don't need to hold it at arm's length above the water, just make sure that no part of the antenna is immersed as the water absorbs the power apparently.

Also note that they don't broadcast on the satellite channel continuously. They do a burst or two at the beginning, then back off to something like half an hour between bursts. The LEDs flash to let you know they're doing it, so I suppose you could just hold it up for each burst.

The 121MHz homing broadcast is, I assume, operating continuously; if you can't keep the thing above water all the time then perhaps you should just hold it up when you hear engines (helicopter or lifeboat).

Worth thinking about these things, of course. I guess such limitations explain the value of (more expensive) EPIRBs, which isn't always obvious once you realise they transmit the same messages in the same way. It's the practicalities in the water that make the difference.

Whichever kind of device, it's still an amazing facility to have.

Pete

 

[V1701]

I believe the usual advice when floating in a lifejacket is to lay it on your chest, on top of the lifejacket bladder. Tied on, obviously. You don't need to hold it at arm's length above the water, just make sure that no part of the antenna is immersed as the water absorbs the power apparently.

Also note that they don't broadcast on the satellite channel continuously. They do a burst or two at the beginning, then back off to something like half an hour between bursts. The LEDs flash to let you know they're doing it, so I suppose you could just hold it up for each burst.

The 121MHz homing broadcast is, I assume, operating continuously; if you can't keep the thing above water all the time then perhaps you should just hold it up when you hear engines (helicopter or lifeboat).

Worth thinking about these things, of course. I guess such limitations explain the value of (more expensive) EPIRBs, which isn't always obvious once you realise they transmit the same messages in the same way. It's the practicalities in the water that make the difference.

Whichever kind of device, it's still an amazing facility to have.

Pete

Thanks Pete,
I don't remember reading that in the manual, maybe not in there but I probably should read it again anyway...

 

[LadyInBed]

I would get one where you can replace the battery yourself if poss...

+1, whichever one you go for, ensure it has a battery you can replace yourself.
Cut out the middle man

 

[ssjpiv]

PLB

Thanks Lady, which ones can you reccomend that are self change batteries?