gps locator device

[cdoug9]

[FONT=&quot]I have heard that there is a small gps locator device that you clip on to your BC and activate it if you are lost during a dive but I haven’t been able to locate one to purchase. I was wondering if anyone know where I can buy such a device.


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[RS]

I haven't heard of any GPS device that is capable of withstanding pressure at depth. Why would you want one? To use as a locator after you surface??

There are recent threads about this. Do a search for gps or "underwater locator".

 

[Diver Dennis]

Here is just one of many, they are not cheap. You need a container for it as well. It depends where you are diving to evaluate if such a device is useful to you. There are some folks here that use them and I'm sure you will get more advice. You can Google Personal EPIRBs.

http://www.sailgb.com/c/epirbs/

 

[RS]

Is it this?? Not GPS, but...

http://www.scubaboard.com/showpost.php?p=2411447&postcount=41

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

The problem with carrying a beacon to depth, besides the pressure problems, is that if you tried to deploy it, the beacon's signal gets lost. It has to be deployed at the surface. Yes, it can get wet, but NO beacon works at depth. Best thing to do is purchase the beacon (ACR's beacons have an excellent rating for working when they are suppposed to, versus the others that may not be so reliable), and put it in a pelican type box. I even have considered whether they would fit in a empty HID light canister.

 

[Rev. Blade]

There are a lot of posts on (perhaps off topic) "underwater GPS"... but long story short GPS will not work while the antenna is underwater. Options for using GPS while under water would be to float the GPS above you, and reel it down when you want to know where you are; or get an external antenna on a long extension. I don't know how well my Garmin would work with a 100' BNC cable between the unit and the antenna... but it could be done. Anyway, the GPS will tell you where the antenna was when it last lost it's signal, and the antenna will not have been directly above you if you dive in any current. (Boats don't float directly above their anchors.) http://www.wadespage.com/D800DS07RF00.shtml

The emergency beacons mentioned by Dennis would sure be useful if you drifted well away from your exit point (boat, or a shore with limited access). I think that at least one of the liveaboard boats in the Gallapagos issue the beacons to all divers during the trip. Then again, I've heard the currents make Cozumel look like lake diving. For most diving, I think a safety sausage and whistle are enough surface beacon.

 

[Diver Dennis]

For most diving, I think a safety sausage and whistle are enough surface beacon.

That's a good point Rev. I do all my diving in tropical oceans and have never been in a situation where I would have needed an EPIRB.. That said, if you have the cash, why not?

 

[Doc Harry]

McMurdo-Fastfind-Personal-Locator-Beacon

You'll need the dive canister:
McMurdo-Personal-Locator-Beacons-Canister

I wear one if I'm doing any diving in current, either when the weather is bad or if I'm far out to sea.

Register your beacon with NOAA.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

<snip> I think a safety sausage and whistle are enough surface beacon.

I would add a signaling mirror too.

 

[Daniel Choi]

Marine Rescue GPS