# PLBs - any doubters??



## MrFaulty (May 15, 2008)

Gday, just thought I would let everyone know, that Personal Location Beacons DO WORK! I purcahsed one almost a year ago, the GME model with GPS and on Sunday night was required to use it. The terrain we were in was extremely thick and we were concerned due to the canopy cover. The PLB was activated somewhere between 9 and 9:30 and the Westpac chopper was overhead around 11:30.

I must admit, when we activated it I made some comment along the lines of "I hope this bloody thing works!".

I suggest anyone travelling offshore or into potentially dangerous situations should buy one of these now (not tomorrow) - you will probably never use it but I know if we didn't activate ours it is highly probable that we would have ended with one less of our party at least.

Cheers
Ben


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Unfortunately they are not compliant in Qld for offshore marine usage and therefore do not meet safety requirements. I believe the issue is battery life


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## Davey G (Jan 15, 2006)

MrFaulty said:


> on Sunday night was required to use it.


Details? I'm assuming this wasn't a kayak related rescue?


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2010)

Glad everyone was found and extracted ok MrFaulty.

I'd be interested in hearing details, if your happy to share them 8)

I'm glad to hear they work, I have an ACR Aqualink unit which I hope never to have to use - it is reassuring knowing that I have it in my PFD though I must say 8)


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## MrFaulty (May 15, 2008)

Frankly I dont care about compliance, as long as I get out alive!
The incident was not kayak related but I do take this kayaking. I was canyoning in an extremely remote area of the Barrington Tops, we had rising waters and an injury which caused us to have to exit the canyon via a cliff face! and one of the party (a girl!! with a suspected broken arm) managed to climb the cliff - well not strictly a cliff but one slip and it was all over it was that damn steep we were clinging to tufts of grass. I then lost vital mediacal supplies and after most memebers of the party were exhausted beyond any expectation of recovery we were forced to activate. It was a decision not made lightly and we were extremely happy with the rapid response.

Of note, we also had a first aid kit with which we splinted the suspected broken arm, and we used the space blanket to keep warm.

My point is that if they work in the terrain we were in they will work much more effectively on the ocean.

If anyone wants more details feel free to PM me or callme on 0402 905322

By the way, GME are replacing the unit free of charge!!!

Cheers
Ben


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## Guest (Mar 10, 2010)

paulo said:


> Unfortunately they are not compliant in Qld for offshore marine usage and therefore do not meet safety requirements. I believe the issue is battery life


A lot of truth in there Paulo, but not the full picture 8)

In QLD (and most other states) an EPIRB is only a requirement if in excess of 2 nautical miles (3.704kms) from the coastline. The majority of kayak fishermen stay within the 3.7km range, and therefore are not required to carry an EPIRB by law. Even if you do end up beyond the 3.7km range, the PLB is still effective.

Some of us (myself included) opted to go with a PLB, if we end up in the water and separated from our kayak, being able to activate a GPS enabled PLB which will allow the coastguard to locate me within a couple of hundred meters. My waterproof and independently buoyant PLB is small enough to fit inside my PFD pocket, and attached to my body with a lanyard. The unit I have gives 35 hours battery life (only 13 hours less than an EPIRB) which is ample time to be rescued considering its accuracy.

Had I gone with an EPIRB, I could not have stored it on my PFD due to its size. With the EPIRB stored onboard my kayak, in the event I become separated from my craft I would have no real opportunity to activate it and end up floating around in the ocean with little hope of a rescue.

The only major difference between the two is as you say, an EPIRB is designed to float aerial up, and has a longer (minimum) battery life of 48 hours. Other than that they are pretty much the same.

A PLB is not required to float by law and requires 24 hours battery life, but there are a few models out there that do float, and have more battery life 8) I went with the ACR Aqualink for these reasons.

If you plan to fish further than 2nm from shore, then an EPIRB is of course a must to stay compliant, but I personally still would consider the PLB to be an essential item to have on my person, and would probably carry both.


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## ELM (Jul 14, 2008)

Glad it all turned out alright MrFaulty and it's good to here of the outcome.

As far as being non compliant, a PLB does not understand laws and boundaries and still sends it's signal to the satellites to notify of your distress, if you are beyond the legal boundary where you require an Eperb, they will still come and get you if the signal is from a PLB, but you may get a fine when they figure it out (better alive and a little poorer than still floating).


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

Dallas said:


> If you plan to fish further than 2nm from shore, then an EPIRB is of course a must to stay compliant, but I personally still would consider the PLB to be an essential item to have on my person, and would probably carry both.


I am entirely with you on the PLB. EPIRB on a yak seems utter excess... but needed for compliance. How many have one installed?

Glad the GME with GPS proved it's worth - I have that model. 8) Also great to see the story ended so well, Basil. Always good to see great preparation meeting challenge.


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## Hilzy45 (Feb 7, 2010)

Hi Guys,

after reading this thread i went straight to google and tried to look for info/pricing on PLB's.... am i wrong in thinking :shock: :shock: - check out the prices on these PLB's, were they cheaper some time ago?

http://www.e-marineworld.com.au/Product ... egoryID=50

I can buy a 406mhz eprib for $360ish (large discount), and the ACR aqualink PLB's are around 500-600 (depending on model). In this case wouldnt i be better off with a striaght out eprib? :?

I can see they have a cheaper alternative for $200 ish but requires a subscription to get the most out of the product.

is there something i am missing here?


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## yankatthebay (Dec 14, 2007)

The issue with EPIRB is the physical size of the unit. No one is disputing that the PLB is better than an EPIRB in terms of battery life or deployability, it is the size of the EPIRB that is the problem - and the only real reason it is bigger is that it has a bigger battery and is required to float - hence more wasted space to compinsate for the larger battery floating.

it is simply impractical to carry an EPIRB on your person, which is what you really need in a kayak. Really, if you are in trouble...who cares about the yak. You need the emergency device on you, as you can always replace the yak if you need to - you cant replace your own life.

Many PLBs will actually keep working beyond the 48 hour timeframe, it is just that they are not GUARANTEED to do so. And most of them do not float with the antenna pointing skywards. The main issue of concern is SIZE.


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## Feral (Oct 18, 2008)

Great news on the rescue.

If they were cheaper I would carry one. Govt should subsidise these instead of dodgy roof insulation!


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2010)

Hilzy45 said:


> I can buy a 406mhz eprib for $360ish (large discount), and the ACR aqualink PLB's are around 500-600 (depending on model). In this case wouldnt i be better off with a striaght out eprib? :?


Yep, as pointed out by yankatthebay, the EPIRB's are just too large to keep on your body at all times, whereas the PLB's are typically small enough to go into a pocket on your PFD. Mine is in my PFD and attached with a lanyard so it cant be separated from me in an emergency.

Imagine a situation where you were dumped from your yak in rough seas, a yak can very quickly blow out of reach in windy conditions and its impossible to catch it swimming. You may never even get a chance to activate your EPIRB if its in/on your kayak. At least with the PLB in your PFD you can still activate the unit no matter what happens, increasing your chance of rescue dramatically.

The sea kayaker Andrew McCauley, who perished trying to paddle from AU to NZ had an EPIRB (I think he had two in fact) in his kayak, but it was never activated, and he perished at sea after capsizing. If he'd had a PLB on him things may have ended differently who knows.


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2010)

Feral said:


> Great news on the rescue.
> 
> If they were cheaper I would carry one. Govt should subsidise these instead of dodgy roof insulation!


Just don't put Peter Garrett in charge or we will probably all get PBL's which arent really PLB's at all - probably all end up with waterproof AM/FM radios with exploding batteries! ;-)


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## mangajack (Jul 23, 2007)

Why can't the PLB manufacturers design a plb with 48 hours use and utilizes a C02 balloon for flotation? It would simply be a small cartridge that charges a small inner tube around the top half of the unit that could be activated automatically with the PLB beacon.

Jack.


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## RedPhoenix (Jun 13, 2006)

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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QlpoOTFBWSZTWbii/K8AAAcXgEABEQRAACfhnhAgAFCmE00BpiEEynqe0p6g2UcbEnSefTNJ3RxHOLdE15bGCfC1gAynVNLG2Pgfi7kinChIXFF+V4A=


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## Guest (Mar 13, 2010)

mangajack said:


> Why can't the PLB manufacturers design a plb with 48 hours use and utilizes a C02 balloon for flotation? It would simply be a small cartridge that charges a small inner tube around the top half of the unit that could be activated automatically with the PLB beacon.
> 
> Jack.


The Aqualink PLB floats, and is rated for 35 hours minimum 8)


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## MrFaulty (May 15, 2008)

Pricing does vary, with the PLB with GPS being significantly more expensive, although I suppose these are only as valuable as your life.

I was reluctant to purchase, and in fact my mum bought it for me despite me saying it was a waste of money!!

I have to wonder though - $600 plus for a PLB, how much would we be willing to spend on a fishing reel??


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

MrFaulty said:


> Pricing does vary, with the PLB with GPS being significantly more expensive, although I suppose these are only as valuable as your life.
> 
> I was reluctant to purchase, and in fact my mum bought it for me despite me saying it was a waste of money!!
> 
> I have to wonder though - $600 plus for a PLB, how much would we be willing to spend on a fishing reel??


There are many ways to prioritise your spending on yakking generally but also on yak safety. ME, I bought the PLB before I started heading out of the estuary, and I'm glad I did. And I had to wait for Whitworths to get enough of this model with GPS before I could get it. At the time, added 4 weeks to delivery. Money well spent in my book and worth the wait.

As to the EPIRB v PLB thing, legal compliance aside, book me. Naturally this is a personal (and illegal) opinion. If I change yaks to something that more easily works with an EPIRB, I might add it in too (in this case my head is computing likelihood of being booked against money spent on reels... or flares or VHF radio). But I put my trust to the PLB that is attached to my PFD. I'm not trying to save the yak, "just" my life.

Also note that those guys coming to save your life, they would appreciate an accurate location. Anything that makes their job easier... well it's a good thing worth spending money on. Get the GPS version.


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## sandyfreckle (Feb 17, 2009)

In my opinion, this is a good bit of gear.
IT IS A PLB RATHER THAN AN EPIRB (mainly because it will not float upright with it's aerial pointed to the sky).


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## paulo (Nov 1, 2007)

Agreed on save me first and Ill pay the fine later. Ive been looking at the Kannad 406 XS-3 which does float antenna up and is cheaper (at the moment) than the Accusat. It normally retails for almost $800. Other than a 24hr battery life can anyone see anything wrong with this one?
http://www.adventurepro.com.au/news/?ac ... gtheKannad


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## matcoburn (Feb 6, 2009)

Just bought a GME epirb today for 430 dollars from BFC. You can mount it on the yak if activated. It says to either chuck it in the water(still tethered) from the clip in mount, and let it float. In the instructions it gives prefered positions to activate it whilst in its mount on the boat. It also kicks out a tonne of flashing light too. I know that a PLB is more convienent, but i really dont want to get slugged by a fine on one of my adventures.
Mat


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## Daveyak (Oct 6, 2005)

matcoburn said:


> Just bought a GME epirb today for 430 dollars from BFC.


If I remember correctly from when I looked at them, they're accurate to within 5 kms. My first reaction (and still the same) is - 5 kms!!? I'm floating in the water and the planes, chopper & boats are searching over a 10 km wide area, you have to be kidding.

The more accurate EPIRBs with GPS that are accurate to 100m or less I think start at about $650.

I use a SPOT Satellite Personal Tracker now for (mainly) on land travel & the occasional on water activities.


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## polylureosis (Jul 24, 2006)

Always consider the battery life of a PLB/EPIRB when looking to purchase.

A difference of 1 year can add 15%+ to the purchase price when averaged out over the life of the product.
When the system changed over I took the old one apart and even though the battery was a couple of years out of date it was still registering full voltage.

I had hoped KTI would get there act together and release this product (10Yr battery life) - But waited toooo long.
http://www.kti.com.au/minisat406gps.htm

Size was a huge factor for me - had to fit in the pocket on the life vest - I leave it in there and never want to be thinking I wish I hadn't forgotten to pack.......

I went with the GME accusat - Think its a bit smaller than the kannard.
Price - Get The best advertised price and get Anaconda to beat it by 10%


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## matcoburn (Feb 6, 2009)

i just dont want to get busted..Hi Poly, ive got the Accusat epirb. ..no GPS ...if i was that worried about it i wouldnt go out. Anaconda are out of them in frankghanistan...  The law should change so that GPS enabled PLBs are acceptable.


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

Daveyak said:


> matcoburn said:
> 
> 
> > Just bought a GME epirb today for 430 dollars from BFC.
> ...


I made sure I bought the Accusat WITH GPS. I'm not off shore more than 5 k all that often, ever maybe. So a +/- 5k range didnt seem to help me. My kit is supposed to get down to 100m accuracy. Does that make it a EPIRB? Dont think so. Cut a full EPIRB into your yak if you will. My PLB with GPS (small change from $600 when I bought it) is attached inside my PFD. Unfortunately, the chopper rescue squad may not find my yak, but if they locate the signal within 24 hours, I'll wave good bye as we fly over on the way home.


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## matcoburn (Feb 6, 2009)

Its frustrating that you can still get busted by having an accurate PLB, but obey the law and not get busted by having a less accurate EPIRB.


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## metalminion (Mar 13, 2010)

how much is the fine for not having an EPIRB?


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## dru (Dec 13, 2008)

metalminion said:


> how much is the fine for not having an EPIRB?


Dont know, but bottom line is the law says you need an EPIRB if you are heading out. Most yakkers dont go that far anyway. Me for one - I "aspire" to broader travels, but really it's unusual.

Paulo, you never got any responses to that unit. Dont know anything about it, but checked it out. Looks solid to me. (In the mean time I'm happy with my GME.)


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