Kevrumbo
Banned
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The Nautilus Lifeline GPS is NOT a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), which operates at a different frequency and has a different and more reliable alert protocol.
The present generation Nautilus Lifeline GPS is 156.525, 161.975 and 162.025 MHz VHF Radio -DSC and AIS frequencies respectively- and is only a distress alert & relay beacon: it will only work with terrestrial marine units (i.g. commercial ships & recreational boaters), and land base stations (US Coast Guard Search & Rescue), provided that they are within range. Also depending on how remote the divesite location is, your diveskiff or liveaboard may be the only vessel with a receiving VHF radio within hundreds of kilometers. Essentially you're transmitting out a distress signal hoping there will be someone with a VHF radio with DSC/AIS within range to receive and competently & expeditiously knows how act on it.
On the other hand, Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) are transmitters at 406 MHz, and are a direct alert and space uplink to a global & international treaty government-run emergency network satellite system (Cospas-Sarsat), continuously monitored 24/7, which is used worldwide to alert regional/local Search and Rescue gov't agencies in the event of a dire emergency. Activated PLB signals are identifiable to a specific individual, allowing rescue agencies to look up your emergency information in a database (including name, phone number, marine or land application, emergency contact, etc.). When your PLB transmits, rescuers know who you are and can phone your emergency contacts to verify your planned itinerary and local dive operation location/contact numbers. Your position is initially tracked to less than a 2 nautical mile radius with the 406 MHz frequency signal, with further GPS transceiver proximity enhancement to within a few meters or older technology analog International Air Distress (IAD) 121.5 MHz final homing directional finding search signal for rescue aircraft/ships to at most 30 meters. PLB's are your backup and the last best chance for rescue when all other local terrestrial based VHF marine search radio communication devices such as the Nautilus unit fail.
As a US Citizen for example, your US registered PLB is a last chance back-up in case the Nautilus VHF Beacon drops out because of range limitations (Nautilus advertises 57km maximum, but realistically at best only 20km in high swell seas & rain conditions). Even if there is no organized national or government Search & Rescue available in the remote location you're in, this is how it still can work with your local dive operation:
The PLB when activated uplinks to the COSPAS/SARSAT System as described above --your designated emergency contingency contact should be provided by you smartly beforehand, with at least cellphone calling numbers & information on the dive operation, the resort or liveboard that you're using, and emergency contact numbers for the US Embassy if you're internationally overseas visiting a particular country. In other words, the Rescue Coordination Center in the United States and/or the US Embassy can still call your dive operation base station or resort, and relay vital GPS coordinates to your location as determined by the COSPAS/SARSAT satellite system.
The present generation Nautilus Lifeline GPS is 156.525, 161.975 and 162.025 MHz VHF Radio -DSC and AIS frequencies respectively- and is only a distress alert & relay beacon: it will only work with terrestrial marine units (i.g. commercial ships & recreational boaters), and land base stations (US Coast Guard Search & Rescue), provided that they are within range. Also depending on how remote the divesite location is, your diveskiff or liveaboard may be the only vessel with a receiving VHF radio within hundreds of kilometers. Essentially you're transmitting out a distress signal hoping there will be someone with a VHF radio with DSC/AIS within range to receive and competently & expeditiously knows how act on it.
On the other hand, Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) are transmitters at 406 MHz, and are a direct alert and space uplink to a global & international treaty government-run emergency network satellite system (Cospas-Sarsat), continuously monitored 24/7, which is used worldwide to alert regional/local Search and Rescue gov't agencies in the event of a dire emergency. Activated PLB signals are identifiable to a specific individual, allowing rescue agencies to look up your emergency information in a database (including name, phone number, marine or land application, emergency contact, etc.). When your PLB transmits, rescuers know who you are and can phone your emergency contacts to verify your planned itinerary and local dive operation location/contact numbers. Your position is initially tracked to less than a 2 nautical mile radius with the 406 MHz frequency signal, with further GPS transceiver proximity enhancement to within a few meters or older technology analog International Air Distress (IAD) 121.5 MHz final homing directional finding search signal for rescue aircraft/ships to at most 30 meters. PLB's are your backup and the last best chance for rescue when all other local terrestrial based VHF marine search radio communication devices such as the Nautilus unit fail.
As a US Citizen for example, your US registered PLB is a last chance back-up in case the Nautilus VHF Beacon drops out because of range limitations (Nautilus advertises 57km maximum, but realistically at best only 20km in high swell seas & rain conditions). Even if there is no organized national or government Search & Rescue available in the remote location you're in, this is how it still can work with your local dive operation:
The PLB when activated uplinks to the COSPAS/SARSAT System as described above --your designated emergency contingency contact should be provided by you smartly beforehand, with at least cellphone calling numbers & information on the dive operation, the resort or liveboard that you're using, and emergency contact numbers for the US Embassy if you're internationally overseas visiting a particular country. In other words, the Rescue Coordination Center in the United States and/or the US Embassy can still call your dive operation base station or resort, and relay vital GPS coordinates to your location as determined by the COSPAS/SARSAT satellite system.
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