Nautilus Lifeline or perhaps this as an option?

[Scuba_Jenny]

An EPIRB is registered to the boat. When it gets about 10ft underwater, its automatically activated (cat. 1)

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[Mike]

I don't mind paying $299 for the Lifeline, but if what I read was true (no backlight so you can't work it very well at night) I got to wondering.

Why not buy a handheld VHF radio, with DSC/GPS, and a waterproof case (Pelican or other) rated to the depths I'd be diving? Would cost less, I would assume, and the range of the radio would probably be longer, and it could double as a backup VHF radio on the boat.

True, a little bigger but hell, I'm underwater with other gear strapped to me, so I can manage that.

Thoughts?

Why even waste your effort on anything VHF with all it's limitations? Unless you're just interested in something that might help you based on the circumstances, the Nautilus is on the level of a safety whistle, a mirror or a SMB.

If you want the end all, you know you ass will get saved safety device, something that when the poop truly hits the fan you can be assured you will get help, then look into a PLB and a dive cannister. Clip it on your BCD on every dive and forget about it.

 

[Doubler]

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This is what I've carried for years strapped to my tank. I had the canister modified so I could keep the antennae attached. The radio has a built in GPS and a emergency location button that will squawk your location when pressed like an EPIRB. There is also an emergency strobe. I like this much better than a regular EPIRB. With an EPIRB you can't undo the call once the EPIRB is activated, you can't talk to people as it is not a radio so you have no idea if anyone is on the way. With my radio I have options, I can call for help and talk to the calvary and if that fails press the EPIRB button and STILL talk to people. While the NL is good this is a much more powerful radio IMO. My wife also carries a container which holds sea dye, a mirror, a space blanket which provides a meter square reflective surface, light sticks and energy bars, In a emergent situation we are attached to each other using Jon lines

 

[islanddream]

When in FL in August, two guys on our boat got separated from everyone else and ended up floating for about an hour and a half. One guy had the Nautilus Lifeline and tried contacting our boat, but he kept breaking up because the waves were too high. He hit the button that automatically contacts the Coast Guard and then they contacted our boat. The Nautilus does have GPS.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

And EPIRB or PLB is for emergency situations. Doubler, you are correct, once you push the button, you can't call off the calvary or talk to anybody. So, it better be an emergency situation. Being lost at sea is a good reason.
In the situation told above about the Nautalis Lifeline didn't work because of the waves. That ain't gonna happen with a PLB. Given the choice I'll take the PLB over the marine radio any day.

 

[Mike]

http://


This is what I've carried for years strapped to my tank. I had the canister modified so I could keep the antennae attached. The radio has a built in GPS and a emergency location button that will squawk your location when pressed like an EPIRB. There is also an emergency strobe. I like this much better than a regular EPIRB. With an EPIRB you can't undo the call once the EPIRB is activated, you can't talk to people as it is not a radio so you have no idea if anyone is on the way. With my radio I have options, I can call for help and talk to the calvary and if that fails press the EPIRB button and STILL talk to people. While the NL is good this is a much more powerful radio IMO. My wife also carries a container which holds sea dye, a mirror, a space blanket which provides a meter square reflective surface, light sticks and energy bars, In a emergent situation we are attached to each other using Jon lines

Just for clarity, that is not an EPIRB and does not act like one or a PLB.

There is no homing ability of the rescuers to your location, I believe what you're showing there is broadcasting a coordinate on the VHF band only which is line of site only to another VHF receiver in range and the coordinates will only show up if it's a 'smart' vhf unit. You're basically showing and talking about a nautilus lifeline in practice, except like you said maybe a stronger one?. An EPIRB and a PLB are going to broadcast up to the heavens and be picked up by the cospas World wide satelite system and act as a homing, or tracking device for as long as it has power, leading a rescue directly to your location. What you're showing is not like an EPIRB at all. Just clarifying because there is a lot of confusion in regard to all this.

---------- Post added January 2nd, 2014 at 06:10 PM ----------

When in FL in August, two guys on our boat got separated from everyone else and ended up floating for about an hour and a half. One guy had the Nautilus Lifeline and tried contacting our boat, but he kept breaking up because the waves were too high. He hit the button that automatically contacts the Coast Guard and then they contacted our boat. The Nautilus does have GPS.

Right, but GPS is only broadcast line of site to another VHF unit, lucky the coast guard has better equipment and picked up the signal, cause it was certainly not a guarantee, a couple of foot more waves, a mile or two farther out, or bad weather and there is no guarantee the VHF signal coded with their GPS coordinates would have been picked up by the coast guard.