Scuba diver's Personal Locator Beacon - how never to be lost at sea

[Dan]

I carry signal lights, SMB, air horn,whistles ...
This is another tool and NOT useless.
I will push the RED button when I feel it is an emergency. if the EPIRB was rated for depth I would get one. Having to put in in a camera case to keep it dry is what put me off.

This is for emergency, not to chat. I hope to never have to push the button.

Al

I carry all those safety gears (flashlight, mirror, 6' DSMB, 500ml water bottle, the PLB1 inside UW camera case) inside my BCD pockets. They are all small enough to fit in the pockets with extra room for the new Nautilus Lifeline. I'll verify it when I get it in November.

I don't like having the PLB1 inside the underwater camera case either. I'll be testing a 100' rated underwater iPhone5 thicker plastic bag made by Kona on my next dive trip. Plan to put a stuff of paper towel inside the Kona bag & take it down with me to 100' deep & see if it leaks.

The bag fits the PLB1 & its float pouch nicely, as shown in the picture, above. The PLB1 itself is waterproof down to 50' (15m), so any small leak into the bag, as long as it small enough to not getting the hydraulic pressure equivalent to 50' water column (25 psig), during my dive (about an hour), the PLB1 would still be OK. We'll see.

 

[KathyV]

The Lifeline sounded perfect for the occasional, vacation diver because it is small and simple and inexpensive, but if it doesn't have enough power to do the job then I guess not.

 

[cvchief]

I think Dave''s boat that goes North can receive the Nautilus gps info, as well as all the commercial vessel's within 30 miles.

Anyway neither can transmit voice, only the older nautilus, and that is being discontinued (I think)

Al

I think @Dave Dillehay 's radio tower at his shop even picks them up quite a ways north. Still, the same question remains: How long will you float before it is an "emergency" and you want to alert the cruise ships driving by?

My other point, which maybe I made badly, was will the lack of voice on the Lifeline, result in MORE use of the lifeline E button and thereby make people pay less attention to it?

I accepted the limits of the Lifeline E button, because they were so offset by the voice capability.

 

[cvchief]

View attachment 382371

I carry all those safety gears (flashlight, mirror, 6' DSMB, 500ml water bottle, the PLB1 inside UW camera case) inside my BCD pockets. They are all small enough to fit in the pockets with extra room for the new Nautilus Lifeline. I'll verify it when I get it in November..

Ok, dude, you sound like my hero. I want to be mistaken for Batman when I dive. MORE toys.(That isn't sarcasm. My DM complains about my heavy BC) I think maybe we who like gear, should consider, PLB, new Lifeline AND a VHF portable? I could get into that. Good leg workout climbing the ladder!

 

[cvchief]

The Lifeline sounded perfect for the occasional, vacation diver because it is small and simple and inexpensive, but if it doesn't have enough power to do the job then I guess not.

I'll let DD say it, but for casual diving or hiking or whatever, maybe a buy it and forget it PLB is the thing. Seal it up and if there is an emergency, pull it out push button, anywhere in the world.

 

[Dan]

Ok, dude, you sound like my hero. I want to be mistaken for Batman when I dive. MORE toys.(That isn't sarcasm. My DM complains about my heavy BC) I think maybe we who like gear, should consider, PLB, new Lifeline AND a VHF portable? I could get into that. Good leg workout climbing the ladder!

Does my BCD look like a batman BCD?

 

[Dan]

The Lifeline sounded perfect for the occasional, vacation diver because it is small and simple and inexpensive, but if it doesn't have enough power to do the job then I guess not.

Why would you waste 5 watts of power, that is needed to send signal all the way to the satellites, for sending signal to nearby boats, that only need 1 watt to do it?

 

[cvchief]

Does my BCD look like a batman BCD?

Yea, you are out of the running. Clearly not enough stuff.

 

[Dan]

...

When you say old lifeline, I have the only one they have sold to date, pending the new one. I have NEVER pushed the red button. The one belonging to me DM I sent back was stuck in red button on when you turned it on.

But you make my point, in that the PLB ALWAYS works and the E button on the VHF sometimes works, both doing the same thing, sending GPS coordinates to report an emergency. So if you want one, which should you pick? Given that NL are prone to flooding, would a good dive canister with a PLB leak less?

Or maybe, with the new lifeline, you boat might know it was you and come for you faster? Or does that mean other boats are less likely to start looking right away as they do not have divers with Lifelines? I dunno?

Well, sure, if you are going to by both, why not? Or get two of each for redundancy?

I assumed you would probably just carry one? I have enough stuff in my BC, I would like just one electronic communication device, I think. Of course I have been looking for a leg bag to carry more toys.

I said old one because it has been discontinued & the new one will be in the market by November.

Flooding & stuck red button do not sound good. Hopefully, the new one would address these problems.

The 2 electronic devices (PLB1 & NL) are small enough, so no biggy for me to stick them in my BCD pockets.

 

[Dan]

WE take the Nautilus GPS/Radio (made in Canada) almost everyday on our trips way up north to the shark caves. But we have had a lot of floods. You do not have to register them in Cozumel as the local rescue station monitors them all the time and get GPS numbers from them. MY suggestion is open them once when new, check them out then seal them carefully…only to be opened when absolutely needed.

Dave Dillehay

Aldora Divers

I think this is a very good advice. The more one uses it as VHF radio, the more chance for the seal to leak & flood. That's why, I think, there are no more green & orange buttons in the new model, just one red button. Being 30% smaller may makes the sealing area more rigid to keep it from flexing under pressure in the deep water column.