Mandatory tracking device for divers?

[Bottom Boy]

Sometimes I want uscg.mil to know where I am.

If I need them I'll call them.

 

[ktomlinson]

Well, yes: once I'm dead they're welcome to legislate whatever TF they want. Until then: NFW.

Huh? My quip was a play on the pinger being located over a dead body...

Agree with this. I don't want .gov to know where I am, ever. That's why I don't even carry a cell phone.

There may be people on here that are interesting enough to track, but if you're publicly advertising that you don't carry a cell due to tracking, I'd assume it is safe for you to carry one. They are pretty convenient.

 

[AfterDark]

If I need them I'll call them.

Kinda like when I want to talk to a cop I'll call one? Ya know its guys like you that prevent the govt. from embedding us all with GPS chips for our own good of course. If we were all embedded with GPS chips we wouldn't need to have this discussion. Some people just don't know what good for them.

 

[Bottom Boy]

There may be people on here that are interesting enough to track, but if you're publicly advertising that you don't carry a cell due to tracking, I'd assume it is safe for you to carry one.

Never assume to know who .gov is interested in tracking. The truth would surprise you.

 

[AfterDark]

Never assume to know who .gov is interested in tracking. The truth would surprise you.

If we could get the truth on anything it would surprise me.

 

[Bottom Boy]

If we could get the truth on anything it would surprise me.

Sheeple can't handle the truth.

 

[ktomlinson]

The government tracks us all. Do you have bank accounts, automobiles, credit cards? You have social media accounts. The point is, having a cell phone may let someone know your physical location, but that hardly matters unless you're actively on the run.

 

[doctormike]

It seems like there is a good bit of righteous indignation about this idea. The OP didn't mention the government at all, but some posters are assuming that "mandatory" means some sort of federal or state law. Lots of dive ops in my area mandate redundant gas supply, SMBs, surface signaling devices, etc...

If you think that it's a bad idea for technical reasons, make that case. But all the chest thumping about freedom seems pretty off-topic, as our mod pointed out upthread.

Sometimes yesterday's ridiculous unnecessary gadget becomes today's standard piece of gear: BCs, backup regulators, SPGs, etc... So maybe - for SOME TYPES of dives - a transponder would be a good idea, and a dive op might require it.

FYI, one of my buddies donated eight Nautilus Lifelines to the dive boat that Tom was crewing on last month when he went missing on the Doria. Not a nanny state thing, just friends helping friends dive safely. We obviously can't make these big dives 100% safe, but if there is something that can be done to help when the worst case scenario plays out, it might be worth thinking about, instead of instinctively rejecting it on principal.

It's not all just about you and your wishes. It's about someone else making that hard call to risk deploying another diver with an N2 load. It's about a massive surface search. It's about friends and family.

I have said all of this before, but I think that it bears repeating.

 

[Bottom Boy]

The government tracks us all. Do you have bank accounts, automobiles, credit cards? You have social media accounts. The point is, having a cell phone may let someone know your physical location, but that hardly matters unless you're actively in the run.

I don't do social media. Yes, I have bank accounts, but I also have "other" liquid assets that enable me to drop off the grid anytime I choose.

You chose the blue pill. That's fine, I don't have a problem with that. I chose the red pill.

 

[ktomlinson]

I don't do social media. Yes, I have bank accounts, but I also have "other" liquid assets that enable me to drop off the grid anytime I choose.

You chose the blue pill. That's fine, I don't have a problem with that. I chose the red pill.[/]

The point is, you're probably right about mass tracking, that's what the pill analogy represents. The source of contention we have is about the effectiveness of denying yourself a luxury in order "not to be tracked" (when we both believe you still are). Also, you're a moderator of a social media site. So you do do social media.