Thinking of buying a PLB at the Boatshow – any views?

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Wyndsong

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I’ve been thinking for a while about purchasing a Personal Location Beacon (with GPS) and as I’m going to the Boatshow, I’m hoping to make some savings on a purchase.

Digging out one of 2007’s mags, The McMurdo Fastfind looked to be the one to have the best review. Any opinion as to whether this is still the one to go for?
 
I have the ACR ResQ Fix (integral GPS beacon) which is very good but has a clumsy to use neoprene flotation holster which the unit must be extracted from to deploy the aerial. It was of a comparable price to the FastFind Plus (the 'Plus' is the gps included model from McMurdo) but now that McMurdo have dropped their price far below the ACR product then in my opinion that is the one to go for- so I have one of these also, with a second one now on order.

The ACR has a belt clip which is useful but the McMurdo unit does not .It has a pvc pouch which is intended to be kept on a belt or harness loop. In other words the pvc pouch needs to be permanently located on the lifejacket and the plb inserted into it when conditions make it appropriate.

The ACR can be clipped on from a safe storage point below at a moments notice- slightly easier but I still reckon the Fastfind Plus is the way to go- I paid £350 for my first one and similarly for the latest order, so now all three regular crew have their own beacon.

PM me if you can't match that price at the show.
 
I have a fastfind plus, purchased after a fair bit of research.
No problems (although I haven't had cause to use it!). /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif
 
I looked at getting the seamarshall but at £140 ish I thought the Fastfindplus offered better value in that the seamarshall needs a distress report and an area of 1 nm square to help rescue services.
The fastfind sends its own distress and gives an accurate GPS position also transmits 121 hz as well as 406.



There has been an issue with the Fastfind plus that also no doubt extends to other plbs

In a life raft you should hold the PLB outside on the roof.

when in the water you need to rest it on your chest to keep it clear of the water.

I dont suppose either would be too practical in real life.
full details on the procedures on the Mcmurdo site.
 
[ QUOTE ]
the seamarshall needs a distress report and an area of 1 nm square to help rescue services.


[/ QUOTE ]

Not sure what you mean here - the sea to boat range is up to 1nm depending on conditions, sea to air is much greater. All PLBs are about the same in casualty - boat range due to wave height and receiving aerial height limits.

Agree the GPS position on the Fastfind is a plus though.
 
I was just trying to say the 121mhz is just a homing bleep and needs a report of loss and accurate position by vhf ? for the rescue services to get close to the seamarshall to find the homing bleep.
If you dropped overboard 10 miles off shore before a VHF mayday had been sent then the seamarshall would rely on luck to be any use.


The 406 mhz sends a distress to satellite so is self contained in that if you drop over board or sink before a mayday can be sent the 406 to satellite is the mayday.

the fastfind plus also sends a gps position and also transmits the 121 hz homing bleep.

the none plus model sends a mayday and then rely on a second satellite to send a rough position this could take 40 mins to 1 1/2 hours.
 
I see what you mean. Yes, the SMarshall (or any 121.5 device) would in theory need a seperate rescue call, which is why a link back to the boat would be useful to alert other crew to the MOB.

As with any satellite EPIRB, satellite pass time is an issue in confirming a distress call, as it is not unkown for rescue services to be activated only after a second pass confirmation.

I'd always recommend having a receiver on the boat anyway. That way, you could be of use to other MOBs as well as just your own crew.

Simon
 
just a point to note

in the Uk you cant register a PLB only an EPIRB which has to be registered to a vessel

so there is very little chance the rescue services will do anything unless there is also some other form of alert to back up the PLB

even with an epirb the will try the registered contact list or see if your logged route ties in with the alert before sending help
 
I am surprised to see that one cannot register a PLB. J K Max Navigation who claim to sell mamy of them www.jkmax.co.uk have an article on their website about registering EPIRBs & PLBs.Have they got it wrong.
The number of the registration body is given.I thought a PLB was registered to a person ?
 
Well I registered my McMurdo Fast Find..... I cant remember the exact details of the form, but I dont think it was any different from the Epirb form, except it said PLB. Certainly before travelling abroad in the past with the PLB I informed the CG of the general area, dates and type of boat I would be on as well....
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
just a point to note

in the Uk you cant register a PLB only an EPIRB which has to be registered to a vessel

[/ QUOTE ]

PLBs and EPIRBs operating at 121.5MHz only can either be included on a Ships Radio Licence and thus be associated with that ship or can be included in a Ships Portable Radio Licence (a T- number licence) and thus be associated with the licence holder rather than any particular vessel. They will become obsolete on 1 feb 2009 when the system ceases operating.

PLBs or EPIRBs operating at dual or other frequencies can only be listed on a Ships Radio Licence and are therefore associated with that particular vessel. The Merchant Shipping (EPIRB Registration) Regulations 2000 require the mandatory registration of all 406 MHz and 1.6 GHz EPIRBs

I'm not sure how that affects the other considerations but it corrects that "point to note"
 
Hi Ya,

I will highly recommend speaking with Glen at SEMS,

Sea survival specialists for aviation and the marine industry.

You can contact him on 01268 - 534 - 427.

No commercial interest in this company only a very happy customer. They were at Earls Court, not sure if they'll be at Excel. Definitely worth a call though.

Please mention my name when you call, I may get a better deal when I renew my life rafts from him. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Al Jones.
 
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