Search and Rescue - Lasers and Signaling Devices

[BRT]

Late reply, went Jupiter diving today - it's the end of lobster season here.
@fsardone and @Hoag have both educated us "Don't shine the laser at aircraft". So I'll shine the green laser straight up in air in a circular motion which from far away to an aircraft pilot will look like a GIANT CONE pointing directly down to my location and head.

But it's just 1 or 2 aircraft. I'm much more likely to see 10, 20, or 30 cargo & cruise ships passing by who are NOT WEARING night goggles and will see the green laser to investigate or atleast report a green flash to SAR.

In addition, the place where the beach diving occurred is LOADED with condo's. A green laser shined inside of the condo to a cranky old retired person is sure to get them angry enough to report it. (that is my exact type of Jupiter diving condo area also).

So if an aircraft >> it gets pointed straight up to form an " I'M HERE LOCATION CONE ",,,,,,If it's a ship/condo, I flash them repeatedly till I see them turn that massive ship towards me or slow/stop and launch a rescue boat.

But a green laser is no doubt going to get a rescue if seen, pointed straight up for aircraft or at a ship/condo.
Green laser beats an IR beacon to the 30 passing ships and hundreds of condo windows.

I'm going to question whether anybody is a good enough shot to hit an airplane window or the window of a condo at several miles distance without a scope and a solid base to work from.

 

[Johnoly]

I'm going to question whether anybody is a good enough shot to hit an airplane window or the window of a condo at several miles distance without a scope and a solid base to work from.

A Green laser isn't point and shoot.
It's sweep and spray light beams everywhere. Try one at night against the furthest tree tops you can find. It's pretty impressive what you can light up miles away if it has the slightest reflection like a ship/condo window.

There's gotta be a youtube cat + laser beam someone can link to here.

 

[Dan]

So sounds like consensus is an IR beacon and the Nautilus? As a pair.

Having been reading closely this thread & PLBs Can Save Your Life I don't get that concensus. May be I missed something.

They are both small and compact. The more signalling devices you have, the better chance you will be found, when you are lost at sea. However, before getting those electronic devices, I would make sure to have the "must have" signalling devices first, such as SMB, whistle, signal mirror, flashlight.

IR beacon is just an infrared strobe. Rescuer won't see it unless they wear night vision device (NVD). I would put that at the bottom of my list. @JohnnyC says, it's better to have a visible light strobe where all kinds of people can see without NVD. If you travel overseas for diving vacation like me, Uncle Sam may not allow you to bring the IR beacon outside USA.

Nautilus is "man overboard" alert beacon that would send alert with GPS position via DSC & AIS (both transmissions are on Very High Frequency (VHF), 2-16 MHz for DSC and 162 MHz for AIS). I carry one of those in addition to the "must have".

Then, when all those signalling devices fail to attract boaters (including US Coast Guard), flyers, and others to find me, I also carry a device of the last resort, Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), which is designed for search and rescue (SAR) with dedicated 406 MHz frequency.

This PLB is also used for SAR on land (lost hiker, skier, etc.). Therefore, for economic reason, the shell is not waterproof rated to the depth of recreational diver would go. If you want to carry it with you during diving, you will need to put it in waterproof case suitable for diver. That is what I do.

 

[Manjula Ellepola]

Of course I'd try all option to remove myself from entanglement while there is some air left in the tank. I carry a knife. I have DiveAlert to blow SOS sound. However, my buddy and I agree on the case of separation underwater, we would search for each other for a minute and surface. So, he'll be on the surface waiting & searching for me, while I'm stuck underwater alone trying to free myself, making quacking sound with my DiveAlert, until I run out of air.

May be about time he & I talk about that sonic device that you mention earlier, UDI-28 Wrist Unit - UTC

Thanks
Dan

Dan_T thank you. A more efficient way would be: You get into a pickle, you call your lost buddy, he finds you quickly and gets you out of the situation and both of you continue to dive together promising each other never to be part. No need to surface or blow the horn and waste valuable air with an added benefit of lower stress levels.

 

[IncreaseMyT]

Well I guess I was trying to pick the best 2 choices. I will only carry so much I like to be real light, only 2 hoses coming out of my reg.

So I guess my thought was that the nautilus could be used, that sends your coordinates to every boat within 34 miles of you. If that was unsuccessful then night fall would probably come and that infrared beacon would come in handy if they were to search for you as a missing diver.

My problem with carrying a Nautilus and a strobe is that they both kind of do the same thing, but then again I guess you could use the strobe at night.

A good question would be, would they be looking for an infrared signal on a common search and rescue mission from a diver? Or is it something you let the captain know that you have and if you were to get lost he would know to let searchers know that you have that beacon. Hmm

 

[BRT]

Well I guess I was trying to pick the best 2 choices. I will only carry so much I like to be real light, only 2 hoses coming out of my reg.

So I guess my thought was that the nautilus could be used, that sends your coordinates to every boat within 34 miles of you. If that was unsuccessful then night fall would probably come and that infrared beacon would come in handy if they were to search for you as a missing diver.

My problem with carrying a Nautilus and a strobe is that they both kind of do the same thing, but then again I guess you could use the strobe at night.

A good question would be, would they be looking for an infrared signal on a common search and rescue mission from a diver? Or is it something you let the captain know that you have and if you were to get lost he would know to let searchers know that you have that beacon. Hmm

Why would you want an infrared beacon instead of a visible light beacon that all ships and planes could see?

 

[Dan]

This strobe is pretty small. You can strap it on top of your SMB at night and get pretty good visibility over, say < 6’ wave.

 

[Dan]

You can use this signal mirror during a bright sunny day.

 

[tursiops]

So I guess my thought was that the nautilus could be used, that sends your coordinates to every boat within 34 miles of you.

Yeah, good luck with that. Don't get sucked in with marketing hype.

 

[Dan]

Yeah, good luck with that. Don't get sucked in with marketing hype.

Ya, I heard the range would be about 1/10th of that, ~ 3 miles, since the VHF is based on “line-of-sight” Marine VHF Radio Range

However, it still better than the boat trying to spot your SMB 3 miles away.