Which PLB

onesea

onesea

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I have just suffered form a significant birthday.

My Family did not know what to get me, so mum went wondering round some Chandlers. I have now been given a rook of brouchers for PLB's and told to choose which PLB I want.

So I guess:
I want one with GPS,
I probably will not bother an EPIRB now.
It will probably be want a long battery expirey (will be left to go out of date),
Frequently Sail single handed mainly coastal waters
Oh and it seems my family like me enough to want me round a bit longer :rolleyes:

Over to the forums....
 
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The working parts are all much of a muchness, so it pretty much comes down to size (small as possible if you ever plan to carry it on your person) and battery life (long as possible, obviously). Agree that it makes no sense to buy a non-GPS model in this day and age.

When I looked into this a couple of years ago, the best answer was the McMurdo Fastfind 220. Size of one of those old Nokia phones that everyone used to have, and six year battery life. Comes with an optional neoprene outer which lets it float (usually the small ones don't because the weight of the necessary internal parts overwhelms the displacement of the small case). Although do note that it can't actually be left to transmit while floating, you need to hold it with the aerial upright.

Pete
 
FishyInverness said:
Just to update Pete's message, the 220 now comes with a Buoyant pouch as standard - you no longer need to buy it seperately as an option
Click to expand...

Sorry, I was unclear. I know the pouch is included (I did write "comes with") - the option is whether you use it or not :)

It was the 210 that required you to pay extra for the pouch.

Pete
 
Difficult to tell unless you've used one, as that's where the proof of the pudding lies. FWIW we have McMurdo 220s fitted to all our adult lifejackets (5). But this is based on my principle that no crew or guest will have a lesser standard of personal safety on my boat than I as skipper extend to myself. Obviously if you singlehand then that's not a problem- I might in that case go for the ACR which is smaller.

Cheers
 
Thanks, for info it was the one mum liked as well.

She commented that the aerial was easiest to deploy, her thought was that if I did find myself floating in the water. I would be struggling to keep head above water and never mind pull aerials and push buttons. Although it may encourage me to where a LJ more often?

My concern is it may make me to bold that I might try and rely on it :/

Will have to go to a couple of chandeliers and play... Do keep posting I will let you know my thoughts as they come up...

Edit to add:
When I have a crew left alone on watch they will be wearing it, not me. As I explained to one crew at one watch handover...
If you come up and find me as skipper missing people will say "he should of known better" if I come up and find you missing people will ask me "Why I did not ensure you where...".
 
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I got the acr. Force4 we're doing an offer, I got a free bag of goodies with it, first aid kit, head torch, signalling mirror, strobe light. The acr is pretty small, I just need to find a pouch so it fastens to my lifejacket securely
 
I seem to remember someone, maybe Twiterken mentioning some while back that there was one model or maybe it was an EPIRB rather thanPLB, that had a user replaceable battery. That feature would certainly put it high on my list as I believe factory replaced batteries are almost as expensive as the new unit.
 
Robin said:
I seem to remember someone, maybe Twiterken mentioning some while back that there was one model or maybe it was an EPIRB rather thanPLB, that had a user replaceable battery. That feature would certainly put it high on my list as I believe factory replaced batteries are almost as expensive as the new unit.
Click to expand...

McMurdo do also do a PLB with replaceable battery, but the problem is that by modern standards it's massive. If you're of the "PLB attached to lifejacket" school (rather than the "PLB as cheap whole-boat EPIRB"), this makes it pretty much a non-starter compared to the ones mentioned in this thread so far. The only way to achieve the tiny sizes is to pack the battery cells and the circuitry intimately together, using every cubic millimetre, instead of having two separate cases attached together.

As for the replacement cost - the 220 lasts twice as long as flares, and costs less (assuming we're comparing with an "Offshore" pack), so even if you buy a whole new one every time the cost per year isn't impossible.

Pete
 
Robin said:
I seem to remember someone, maybe Twiterken mentioning some while back that there was one model or maybe it was an EPIRB rather thanPLB, that had a user replaceable battery. That feature would certainly put it high on my list as I believe factory replaced batteries are almost as expensive as the new unit.
Click to expand...

I am not sure a piece of consumer electronics which has been carried on a lifejacket for seven years is likely to be worth replacing the battery?
The cells themselves are quite expensive lithium jobs. It's not like bunging a couple of duracells in a torch.
The service cost should also include testing.
I would hope that in seven years time, there will be something better on the market.
 
At LIBS the time before last a rep on their stand told me that it WAS physically possible to open the 220 and replace the battery if you knew what you were doing. Obviously they don't recommend it and it would invalidate any sort of claim on them. Hopefully none will have needed replacement batteries yet, so unlikely anyone has opened one up yet to identify the battery and whether a suitable replacement can be independently sourced.
 
Robin said:
I seem to remember someone, maybe Twiterken mentioning some while back that there was one model or maybe it was an EPIRB rather thanPLB, that had a user replaceable battery. That feature would certainly put it high on my list as I believe factory replaced batteries are almost as expensive as the new unit.
Click to expand...

lw395 said:
I am not sure a piece of consumer electronics which has been carried on a lifejacket for seven years is likely to be worth replacing the battery?
The cells themselves are quite expensive lithium jobs. It's not like bunging a couple of duracells in a torch.
Click to expand...

The unit in question is the McMurdo Fastfind MaxG. I recently replaced the battery on mine, and it was a simple job as the battery pack is held to the main unit with a couple of screws.

Out of interest, I dissected the old unit, and found that the cells were C sized lithium batteries soldered together to make the pack. As such, the price of the replacement battery was quite high at £75, but when you consider the volume manufactured, and the alternative of buying a complete new PLB, I don't think it is unreasonable. I expect to 'use' my MaxG PLB for at least the next 5 years. It still self-tests fine, and I wouldn't expect it to deteriorate, as it is stored in the cabin and not left in the cockpit when the boat is not being used.

However, it is bulky, and I bought an ACR ResQLink+ from Force 4 when they had the deal on which Stevev2 mentions above. This is much more LJ friendly, although the aerial tends to come unclipped and ping out from its storage position, so I have used a piece of insulation tape to keep it stowed. Considered the McMurdo as well, but the ACR doesn't need a foam jacket to be buoyant.
 
Anwen said:
The unit in question is the McMurdo Fastfind MaxG. I recently replaced the battery on mine, and it was a simple job as the battery pack is held to the main unit with a couple of screws.

Out of interest, I dissected the old unit, and found that the cells were C sized lithium batteries soldered together to make the pack. As such, the price of the replacement battery was quite high at £75, but when you consider the volume manufactured, and the alternative of buying a complete new PLB, I don't think it is unreasonable. I expect to 'use' my MaxG PLB for at least the next 5 years. It still self-tests fine, and I wouldn't expect it to deteriorate, as it is stored in the cabin and not left in the cockpit when the boat is not being used.



However, it is bulky, and I bought an ACR ResQLink+ from Force 4 when they had the deal on which Stevev2 mentions above. This is much more LJ friendly, although the aerial tends to come unclipped and ping out from its storage position, so I have used a piece of insulation tape to keep it stowed. Considered the McMurdo as well, but the ACR doesn't need a foam jacket to be buoyant.
Click to expand...

Thanks , that is useful information if they still sell them over here in the USA, it might be worth considering, otherwise we might get a PLB each which allows some flexibility if one of us is off somewhere in the dinghy alone maybe
 
Well I got my hands on some today at the Chandelier...

My thoughts?
McMurdo and Kanad Same unit Badge engineering... Same price (in that chandler but notice Kanad Cheaper online) and little difference between the 2.
ACR Larger floats but IMO to big for pockets/ carrying in dinghy etc...
Ocean Signal Rescue me. Smaller lighter and IMO nicer shaped for pockets like the Ariel system. More expensive but with the extra year in battery life works out less than £3 a year more.

Think I am going to go down the Ocean Signal route....
 
Anwen said:
The unit in question is the McMurdo Fastfind MaxG. I recently replaced the battery on mine, and it was a simple job as the battery pack is held to the main unit with a couple of screws.

Out of interest, I dissected the old unit, and found that the cells were C sized lithium batteries soldered together to make the pack. As such, the price of the replacement battery was quite high at £75, but when you consider the volume manufactured, and the alternative of buying a complete new PLB, I don't think it is unreasonable. I expect to 'use' my MaxG PLB for at least the next 5 years. It still self-tests fine, and I wouldn't expect it to deteriorate, ......
Click to expand...

Why would you not expect it to deteriorate?
Most bits of electronics have a tendency to deteriorate.
The self test only tells you the transmitter is generating some RF power.
It does not tell you that the GPS has acquired a fix correctly, or that the data being transmitted is legible and correct.
A routine test with a beacon tester will check both these things, and more.
I'm not saying there is anything wrong with these products, far from it, but the point of these things is to be sure, so I think testing is called for.
TBH I don't think it's an unreasonable cost to write off over 6 years or whatever.
 
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