Nautilus Lifeline in Bonaire

[Craig66]

Has anyone used or considered the Nautilus lifeline in Bonaire

I am looking at purchasing a Nautilus Lifeline for my diving in general but would like to know if it is something that would be useful in Bonaire. On the one hand given that the diving is often isolated and with just a buddy pair with sometimes difficult entries and exits and unpredictable currents I can see how it might be very beneficial to summon help both onland and in the water. Does anyone know if it is legal in Bonaire and also given that boats are definately a secondry mode of diving would the channels even be monitored or would calls fall on deaf ears.

Thanks

[Wayne at DiveSeekers]

As far as I know it is Legal almost everywhere.

It is designed to work everywhere, the Hail + Distress Button is Pre-set to channel 16, the international hail and distress channel.

Your Nautilus Lifeline has GPS, it allows your latitude and longitude position to be acquired as long as you have a clear view of the
sky. This ensures that you can be found even without communicating your position.

The distress mode function is available as long as there is any battery life.
With successful activation, the Position Indicating Light starts flashing and the screen shows the message “distress mode on.”
Stations within range that are equipped with a modern VHF marine radios should automatically switch to
channel 16, alarms will sound, lights will flash, and your GPS coordinates and a brief message should be shown on the screen of each radio.
NOTE: To maximize the range of your unit in distress mode, fully extend your arm upwards and hold the unit as high above your head as possible.

This should reach officials on Bonaire if activated.

[ddmattos]

In distress mode,since the radio function is disabled, I'm going to clip that it off to the top of my 6 foot long SMB with the antenna extended. I'm planning on bringing the lifeline everywhere when a boat is involved. FYI.....A new firmware update is coming out Saturday (2/11) so you can test the Distress mode function.

You can set the country/region codes from the setup utility. Your current choices are Canada, Egypt, International, Maldives, UK/Europe, USA.

[chauncy19]

well i am no professional diver, not sure even what Nautilus lifeline is but "On the one hand given that the diving is often isolated and with just a buddy pair with sometimes difficult entries and exits and unpredictable currents I can see how it might be very beneficial to summon help both onland and in the water." You are not describing the bonaire that I know. maybe there is some diving like this but its not a world that most divers in bonaire would have a clue about. anyway my ignorance must be showing :-)

[Craig66]

Bob, not having been to Bonaire myself I certainly cant argue with you however many reports that I know of talk about some entries being difficult with potential for falls and twisted ankles, further more any dive by any individual at any time can end with a distressed diver on the surface. When that surface is 10 feet away from your diveboat its one thing but when that surface is off of a road in bonaire with no one else around or in the middle of the park with no one else around some form of communicative device has to be helpful.

Craig

[ddmattos]

It's hard to miss their advertisements on the side of the page. It seems they display the device every third page request. Here's the link... Lifeline.

[drrich2]

Craig:

Quick question. You mention unpredictable currents, and I see you've got a lot of lifetime dives. Have you dove in Bonaire and run into this issue? If so, what part? I know the southern tip can have substantial current; it's usually a non-issue with most of the mainstream west coast sites, although there is intermittent current where the sea is 'pinched' between Klein Bonaire & Bonaire (such as at Eden Beach Resort's site, Eden's Rubble). Even when I got into current at Eden's Rubble, is was parallel to shore and I didn't get the sense I was apt to be swept out to sea.

I realize the option to call for help if you, say, broke an ankle at 1,000 Steps, for example, could be useful. A cell phone in a waterproof case like some Otterbox products could be an alternative in that case.

Richard.

[Waterskier1]

Last time I checked with the FCC, this device was not type accepted/approved for use in the USA. Further, it must be licensed unless covered by the ship license it is working with. That would only happen if you held the ships license too.

Operating radio transmitters outside the USA would require a permit, or at least permission, from the requisite country. This can be very time consuming from my limited experience (amateur radio operation). There is reciprocity between ship radio licenses, but that type of license is not available for the "Lifeline" (to the best of my knowledge), since it can't be licensed as a vessel.

I really doubt that something like this would be needed in Bonaire, unless you were clearly diving against the dive shops recommendations and beyond your means. I also doubt it would summon timely rescue, from the VHF-FM function anyway. I don't know if they incorporate a EPIRB (Emergency Position Indication Radio Beacon) or not, but those transmit to satellites one-way. This function must be registered with the FCC as it includes personal identifying data in the transmission to the satellite.

[Peter_C]

Last time I checked with the FCC, this device was not type accepted/approved for use in the USA. Further, it must be licensed unless covered by the ship license it is working with. That would only happen if you held the ships license too.

Check again as they did get everything approved. There is a thread in their section of the board that covers it.

Don't know about the rest of it, but I will go back to the saying go ahead and cite me as long as I am alive!

[beaverdivers]

I feel it is an excellent safety piece of gear anywhere.