EPIRB Alternative

406 MHz EPIRBs rock. The coast guard will contact you within minutes if yours activates (if they can). Accuracy of homing signal (121MHZ) is not great but the 406 signal has your position embedded when linked to a gps receiver or an internal GPS. Negative response starts the rescue process immediately. No worrys about subscription costs or whether the government will still be around next year. EPIRBS get my vote!
 
Timely message, and I agree with all of the recent posts. There have been a few snafu's with notification on the 911 of the SPOT, but also some good Rescues.

HOWEVER: There is a new spot. It is smaller, and has slightly different features:

See: http://www.equipped.org/blog/?p=113

Doug Ritter's excellent blogs on Equipped to Survive. Incidently this web site along with Panbo, and a few others is first on my reading list.

If I had anyone who was interested in tracking me, I would get a SPOT. But since I am only interested in the safety the Personal Locator Beacons (two of them) get my pick. Again the reasons: They can be easily carried on your person. They are GPS enabled. They are not registered to the BOAT--which an EPRIB is. The PLB is good on land as well as sea. When we sold Frequent Sea, we took that boat off the list. Our contacts know our approximate locations and are usually available 24/7.
 
Dr Bob, Thank you for that link. SPOT sounds like it does have some worthwhile improvements. Doug Ritter's comments on the SAR interaction with GEOS are well taken. Although we are happy with the current SPOT, there are occasions that a tracking point has been missed. This has not been true when we are tracking on the water, only on land, where I suspect it is due to overhead foliage or topographic interference. I suspect our next purchase in that direction would be in the PLB market. that would be prior to venturing farther from the more populated areas we current boat in.

Harvey
SleepyC
 
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