Why Not A Plb For Every Car, Backpack, Divebag, Etc...?

[mmmbelows]

I'm in the PLB business and I can say probably not anytime soon. The PLB market for boaters, hikers, etc. is LARGE. For divers, the market is very small compared to the former.

Yet Mike Lever has been able to establish a company creating what amounts to a range limited VHF radio for divers? The lifeline isn't going to bring the cavalry in a worst case scenario, my PLB does what it can't.

 

[DandyDon]

I use this:

Nautilus Life Line from DRIS

Those are nice if you never leave the sea, if you don't drop it, if your boat or others closeby have their radios on, if etc. I did post this in General Travel. Nautilus is worthless if you get lost in the desert and run out of gas like a lady last week, stuck a remote forest on a wrong turn road, get lost of hurt hiking a national park like the woman they're looking for in Virginia now, have a car wreck and end up hurt in a gully out of sight of the road and cell towers, etc. - if I understand the limitations correctly.

When is somebody going to make one that is waterproof to 150'?????

Canister: $125. Solved.

The nautilus is rated for 425'.

I did use mine once, when a boat left me in key largo on a night dive. Didn't manage to raise the boat, and dropped/lost my radio. Fortunately, we had bright dive lights and the boat came back for us in short order.

Nautilus gave me a discount on a replacement in exchange for posting the story on their website. I like resqlink's free replacement policy better


If someone made a proper depth capable PLB in that price range I would probably replace the lifeline.

You mentioned them being expensive; did you delete that? If $1/week to carry everywhere you travel on land and sea, that is monitored by the best emergency system in the world, is too much for you, I guess our discussion is over.

Add $125 for a dive canister, and remember this one floats. I could carry a water resistant cell phone in an old camera housing and hope it worked if I'm not too far out, but I fear I'd drop it in an emergency.

I have a Nautilus, and would like to have a PLB if they made a convenient waterproof version. However...

Have you ever called 911 and been put on hold? What would happen if every Joe Yokel had a PLB? I doubt the system could handle the false-alarms.

Get the small canister. Problem over. I use a nylon tie and snap bolt so I can hang mine from a D-ring. You may not get valet rescue service, but they will sent rescue - and you don't even have to know where you are. Great tracking included

PLB uses 406 technology that is different from a 911 call. PLBs and EPIRBs use the 406 satellite system, which is good the world over. Pushing the button on a PLB in a canyon or in the middle of the ocean, both places a cell phone won't work, will get to the proper rescue people in about 10 minutes..
Every boater should have one. The costs have come down in the past few years, the technology has gotten better so the units are smaller and easier to carry. Florida is now offering some sort of reduced boater registration fees if you have a PLB.
good stuff.

Yep yep yep...!!

Yet Mike Lever has been able to establish a company creating what amounts to a range limited VHF radio for divers? The lifeline isn't going to bring the cavalry in a worst case scenario, my PLB does what it can't.

And yep.

 

[seeker242]

Yet Mike Lever has been able to establish a company creating what amounts to a range limited VHF radio for divers?

Sure! The amount of money Mike Lever makes is probably a lot according to Mike Lever's perspective. However, according to the perspective of massive companies like McMurdo and ACR, it's more like pocket change.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

I used to work at a company that made PLBs. I tried for years to get them to design the PLB that was depth rated. I tried to get the numbers to warrant making a PLB as such for divers. The numbers just weren't there..
My thought was if they just made a PLB that was depth friendly and yet could be sold to everybody = problem solved. Left the job before the dream could be realized. And 5 years later, and there still isn't a PLB that is depth rated. Sad. They could be the only ones on the planet that has a submersible PLB.
How to get one made? contact the mfg. and ask for one. Bug your friends. Tell the sales reps. Maybe we'll get one.

 

[DandyDon]

Why are people objecting to a 70mm x 130mm canister? That's 2..75"x5.1". No big deal. And the $124 cost will be a lot less than redesigning the ACR 2881 to be good for depth.

Otherwise, even if you carry a fancy two-way radio on dives, get the PLB for your car, then out for hikes.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

The biggest thing to remember about any device, is that that don't transmit under water. You can't push a button at depth (in the event of an emergency at depth) and expect life saving rescue to be there when you surface.
The other thing about a PLB/EPIRB is that it is only for use as at last resort. Only for when you fear for your life, limb, or property.. yes, a boat fire, heart attack, bear chasing you.. etc. If you push the button and it's not a life emergency you may be charged for the rescue.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Had my McMurdo Fastfind Plus and the Dive Canister container now for over nine years. Going on it's second stand-by five year replacement battery. . .

Came close to deploying it in May 2008, at Tubbataha Reefs/Sulu Sea Philippines --Borneo Explorer Liveaboard saw me adrift in current from about a quarter-of-a-mile away in thankfully clear afternoon surface conditions, waving a huge orange Halcyon Diver's Life raft (which they don't make anymore). . .

To have even a chance of finding you especially overseas, your PLB should be at least be part of the COPAS-SARSAT satellite system. With the Nautilus Lifeline I couldn't see any reference to the nautilus product having an EPIRB function, just DSC. So that's fine as long as there's another vessel, land station or repeater within line-of-sight range , but that range would be quite limited (3-10 km) if the unit is only a little above sea level (like a surfaced diver in the water). Put it on the top of a ship's mast and that would improve things quite a bit. Sure it's receiving info from satellites to get a gps fix but it doesn't seem to be transmitting to satellites, unlike an EPIRB of PLB.

 

[CuzzA]

Yeah, prank a 911 operator and you may get a warning... Prank the Coast Guard and you might get a charge and a hefty bill for the false rescue effort.

I'm with you Don.

The ACR comes with me at depth or off the beaten path. Took it to Costa Rica a couple years ago and as we were trecking through the rain forest, hiking slippery waterfall rocks, climbing volcanos, zip lining through valleys, rafting down rivers, climbing rock islands, bungee jumping off 250 ft bridges and 50 miles out in the Pacific catching Sailfish and taking a dip, I had complete confidence if something terrible were to happen, I had a fighting chance of rescue.

Look at all the places where Murphy could be on this one trip.

 

[CuzzA]

Oh, can't forget these dangerous places too.

And yes, we lost our clutch on the top of a mountain with no civilization for 100's of miles. Fortunately we coasted in and barely made it to the closest town for repair. Driving home that night was scary as we had to make the drive at night on the most deadliest Hwy in the country as it winds around the side of a mountain. There is constantly fatalities from lane changing and falling off the mountainside.

Almost forgot to add the best picture.

 

[KeithG]

i agree with Don. I also understand many peoples view that a PLB is expensive. Lots of people also think a second dive computer is expensive...

Now that I own way too many backup dive computers, my next "safety" techy toy buy will be a PLB. AND a waterproof canister.

Money well spent. I hope I never need it.