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

[Dan]

@Dizzi Lizzi, if you are referring to PLB1, it already has 10" long antennae. All it needs is to shoot the 5 watt transmission power signal straight up to the sky. No need to put it on top of your stiff SMB. 5' higher location is negligible compare to 528 miles that the signal will travel to the Low-Earth Orbitting Search And Resue (LEOSAR) satellites that make a complete orbit around the world once every 100 minutes, in addition to The Geostationary Orbiting Search And Rescue (GEOSAR) satellites that will always be up there like for the GPS.

It is not looking for a boat on the earth surface like the VHF radio. It's sending 406 MHz beacons straight up to the satellite. So, if you miss the LEOSAR satellites when you send out the distress signal (by pulling out the antennae, pushing the red button & hold it for 1 second), then wait for a 100 minutes for the next LEOSAR satellite orbit to receive your signal.

Same thing with when you are lost in the woods. You don't need to climb up a tree to get a better signal. Just make sure you are in the open sky above you.

NOAA - Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking - Satellites

 

[Dan]

I think comparing the new Nautilus Lifeline vs PLB1 is like a water gun vs a 50 caliber gun. When you press that PLB1 red button, you are committed & the big guns (US Navy / Marines / Coast Guard with the local SAR) will come and get the US asset (that means YOU).

 

[DandyDon]

the big guns (US Navy / Marines / Coast Guard with the local SAR) will come and get the US asset (that means YOU).

If I am floating on the North Atlantic Gyre between Cozumel and Isla Mujeres and the Mexican Navy takes the call, I'll be happy. We'll deal with the language challenges.

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

@Dizzi Lizzi, if you are referring to PLB1, it already has 10" long antennae. All it needs is to shoot the 5 watt transmission power signal straight up to the sky. No need to put it on top of your stiff SMB. 5' higher location is negligible compare to 528 miles that the signal will travel to the Low-Earth Orbitting Search And Resue (LEOSAR) satellites that make a complete orbit around the world once every 100 minutes, in addition to The Geostationary Orbiting Search And Rescue (GEOSAR) satellites that will always be up there like for the GPS.

It is not looking for a boat on the earth surface like the VHF radio. It's sending 406 MHz beacons straight up to the satellite. So, if you miss the LEOSAR satellites when you send out the distress signal (by pulling out the antennae, pushing the red button & hold it for 1 second), then wait for a 100 minutes for the next LEOSAR satellite orbit to receive your signal.

Same thing with when you are lost in the woods. You don't need to climb up a tree to get a better signal. Just make sure you are in the open sky above you.

NOAA - Search and Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking - Satellites

Yes I was thinking about the PLB1 thanks DanT. I just got it in the mail saturday I also ordered a body glove/nautilus so both my buddy and I have a rescue source in case we are separated. I'm having difficulty posting the image of my work... The smb seemed to be able to hold the weight of the PLB, with a mild breeze at my home. DandyDon had a point, or not I agree it won't if be stiff enough for the nautilus as i suppose it's heavier. Our goal is never get left behind but if we did nautilus to hail boat 1st, nautilus emergency red button second. When that quits then the PLB. So, the only time I might need height would be when the nautilus boat hail/vhf frequency is used, right? It would be super hard to hold your arm up for very long...bobbing in the sea.

 

[DandyDon]

I just got it in the mail saturday

File for your rebate before you forget: http://oceansignal.com/wordpress/wp...bate-Form-Beacon-Savings-2016-EPIRB1-PLB1.pdf

 

[Dizzi Lizzi]

Posting pic just cuz I said I would. Paracord stitched to top, threaded thru hole on cover and bungee through the floaty cover to prevent it flopping and flipping. Smb is tight but not super tight. Not sure if this will work with lifeline. Most likely not. Good to know with this one I don't have to elevate it anyway.

 

[Dan]

A tip: The PLB1 box comes with a sticky clear plastic protector to protect the UIN label on the back of the PLB1, as shown in the picture above. Go ahead & stick the protector on the label.

Once you register your PLB1 to NOAA, you will get another UIN label with your name & expiration date (mine expires in September 2018) on it in the mail from NOAA with another clear plastic protector to put it over the original UIN. So you will need to re-register it every 2 years.

The OEM clear plastic protector will keep the OEM UIN label from getting faded or stuck on the NOAA UIN label once you peel it off & replace it with the new NOAA UIN label. The OEM UIN label has serial numbers that is not printed on the NOAA UIN label. I stored that serial numbers in my smartphone notebook too, just in case I need it to deal with the OEM. 7 year warranty is a long time. I'm not sure if I'll remember anything about this stuff by 2023.

 

[Dan]

See the OEM suggested mounting on your PLB1 on life jacket or BCD for the case of a diver. You can just simply clip it on you BCD D-ring, as long as the 10" antennae pointing semi up to the sky & above water, you will be good to go.

The signal will be keep beaming up to the sky for 24 hour (so they claim).

As shown in the picture above, the antennae is coming out perpendicular to the PLB1 face (towards your face as you press the red button. So, if you want to have the antennae to stick up to the sky, you will need to lay the PLB1 red button facing up to the sky (UIN label facing down to the sea).

 

[Dan]

 

[Kevrumbo]

As a US Citizen, your NOAA registered PLB is your worst case last chance of rescue in a lost at sea scenario. Even if there is no organized national SAR available in the remote location you're in, this is how it still can work with your local dive operation:

The PLB when activated uplinks to the COSPAS/SARSAT System as described above --your designated emergency contingency contact should be provided by you smartly beforehand, with at least cellphone calling numbers & information on the dive operation, resort or liveboard that you're using, and emergency contact numbers for the US Embassy in the particular foreign country you're visiting. In other words, the Rescue Coordination Center in the United States and/or the US Embassy in the country's capital city can still call your dive operation base station or resort, and relay vital GPS coordinates to your location as determined by the satellite system.