Nautilus Lifeline

[Dave Dillehay]

Several months ago we purchased several Nautilus Lifeline UW GPS/Radios. The purpose was for locating our dive groups in difficult conditions such as might occur at Barracuda or when we dive the Eastside. We know many places can be very lonely and that was before the recent sinking! Our main purpose was to be able to contact a floating boat (that is why we always have two boats out on the Eastside) thus the 3 mile limitation as specified was not too worrisome for us.

The question had been raised here about the range of transmission so we have done some tests

From a diver in the water to one of our smaller boats with elevated antennae the range is about 3 miles which is as specified. From a diver in the water at the north end of Barracuda to our 75 foot antennae at the downtown Aldora office we can be heard at the office--but we cannot hear back to the water. Since the Harbor Master and Mexican Navy have taller antennae, we presume that they also should be able to receive an emergency alert or mayday from distant places, including the middle of the channel.

We are thus pretty well satisfied with the devices and have our DMs carry them on all dives to remote places.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers

 

[Mike]

Wet testing report - WET-TESTED/Nautilus Lifeline

They got about 2.5 miles reliable useable range. So far it sounds like 2.5-3 miles is being reported. A far cry from the 5 miles Nautilus claims. Add rain and some waves and the wave amplitude drops you repeated into the bottom of the wave troughs and I'm guessing the 2.5-3 miles won't even be realistic.

So far the Nautilus sounds like reliability and life saving capabilities are a big maybe. I won't be buying one to stake my life on it, but for what you're using it for it's probably a good addition to your tool bag.

 

[lowviz]

...//...Since the Harbor Master and Mexican Navy have taller antennae, we presume that they also should be able to receive an emergency alert ...//...

Nicely done! Thanks for sharing this.

It is my understanding that the protected distress button sends something like a diver-in-distress "text" message at a higher power than the green or red buttons. Note that the distress button is inoperative until you register the unit (and thus obtain an MMSI#).

 

[pasley]

I own two of the Nautilus radios and given that my dive partners are often paralyzed or blind it is important to me to have every advantage I can if I get pushed away from the boat by current or other emergency. The operators manual specifies DSC Range of 8 miles and voice communication range of 4-5 miles. I will agree this is not my only lifesaving devise, a signal sausage, dive light and mirror should accompany you on every dive. But if you have registered the unit and activated the distress button by obtaining an MMSI number it should be a big help in an emergency. Any marine radio built in the since 2000 or so should pick up the coordinates and have their radio sound an alarm. That said, a diver drifted away from his boat in Hawaii last Sunday and his Nautilus failed to function. I spoke to Nautilus today and they have called the diver several times to investigate, but have not yet been able to reach him and he has not yet returned the phone calls. So we don't know what the problem was, failure to register the unit, not fully charged, or an actual failure of the unit.

 

[lowviz]

I own two of the Nautilus radios and given that my dive partners are often paralyzed or blind it is important to me to have every advantage I can..//.....

Good for you.



-for me, the distance thing is secondary. I'd rather not be turned into a chum streak in the Atlantic by the day's delivery of cell phones and TVs.

 

[Mike]

I read that one too about the diver in Hawaii, hope some more information is forth coming.

What's the story about the DSC function not working outside the United States? I saw that recently but haven't seen anything to confirm or deny it since. Something about the way the MMSI number is recorded only in the USA or maybe differently outside the USA?

 

[sharky60]

very cool Dave, keeping up with technology and safety at the same time!!

 

[Ron Lee]

I do not understand the Lifeline registration issue. Reportedly, the signal from a 406 MHz PLB may not be acted upon by SAR assets unless the PLB is properly registered. I am glad that Aldora did an operational test of the usefulness of the lifeline in their environment. It lets them know if their procedures and emergency equipment will do the job if needed.

Personally, I am a big fan of a GPS equipped 406 MHz PLB. The low cost of some units and near instant notification to SAR assets makes it very valuable. For diving, you would need a dive canister.

"From a diver in the water at the north end of Barracuda to our 75 foot antennae at the downtown Aldora office we can be heard at the office--but we cannot hear back to the water. Since the Harbor Master and Mexican Navy have taller antennae, we presume that they also should be able to receive an emergency alert or mayday from distant places, including the middle of the channel."

This is interesting. I would have expected the opposite. Easier to hear from the land-based radio and not the other way around.

Considering the Scuba Mau incident, wouldn't the Harbor Master and Navy be interested in a test to see how the Lifeline works with their radios under various test conditions? That may encourage other shops who dive the more isolated sites to get those radios.

 

[Wookie]

Good for you.



-for me, the distance thing is secondary. I'd rather not be turned into a chum streak in the Atlantic by the day's delivery of cell phones and TVs.

Then you'd better be a fast swimmer. What makes you think any of the foreign flag freighter guys speak your language, much less monitor the radio.

 

[Dave Dillehay]

Perhaps you mis understood. The office could hear our Nautilus Lifeline very well, but the handheld could not receive back, in other words, we could not hear the office confirm our call.

Dave Dillehay
Aldora Divers