FASTFIND 220 PERSONAL LOCATOR BEACON

[wayno]

picked up one of these
very small and light, not much bigger than a fat cell phone, i understand its the smallest on the market
previously i've rented one, but it was a brick.... about three times the size and weight of this one...

http://www.fastfindplb.com/en/fast-find-220

[ninjapuppet]

Another new one on the market! Looks like they fixed the cap issue on my fastfind 211.

is this any smaller than the previous 211 model?
My 211 dimensions are: 106 x 57mm x 34mm
quoted 147g but actually weighs 152g
The acr resQlink is quoted 130g

Just keep in mind, NZ models and Aussie models have the same model number, but are actually coded differently. Mine fastfind 211 is a NZ model and can not be registered with the Australian AMSA, even though they can be used world wide.
On that basis, it could be an idea to buy a US model much cheaper and register it in the US, since it can be activated anywhere on earth anyway.

[Rob A]

Silliest advice to date.
Buy it in the country of your origin and be done with it, register it properly, stick with the system in place.
People tap into a system that costs billions of dollars to set up and expect to have deployed millions of dollars worth of kit to find em when they hit the panic button.
And you want to work around it to save a buck? If you are seriously in trouble, not just stupid stuck and scared I cant see a dollar being on your radar.

PS ... Lot of the paddlers are using the ResQLink, small and clips to a vest. It has an external whip and for that reason I still reckon the Fastfind is with its aerial enclosed beneath the rip off top is the better bushwalking choice because it can bounce round inside your pack for years without getting caught up in anything.

[ninjapuppet]

but Rob,

then are you assuming, all SPOT models are useless? all inReach models are useless?
NO. because their call rescue centres are not based in Australia. We live in a much smaller world today with global satellite communications.

[wayno]

D34mm x W47mm x L106mm
this has gps in it, six year battery life, also has a flashing light that flashes out sos when you activate the beacon

if you have a locator beacon registered in another country it can seriously slow down the rescue time. since the search and rescue are notified in the country its registered in, then they have to find out who to contact in the country the beacon has been set off in and notify them manually with the information about your location, slows down the whole process of finding you. theres an extra delay before a search gets under way.... in effect you're unecessarily tying up search and rescue resources in two countries in stead of one...
if you are seriously injured minutes can count,,, ideally you need to get medical help in the first hour ideally be at the hospital in an hour, longer than that and the odds of survival can drop dramatically. i dont think you want to add any extra links in the chain than you have to, you could be talking about the difference between saving one or more lives one day.... and if that happens you arent going to be too concerned that you paid extra money to get the best service for everyone.

[wayno]

the lids on the fast finds are sealed until opened , you have to lift a lever to unlock it before you can take the lid off, pretty full proof against accidentally coming off, in teh latest model there is a fully enclosed bag to hold it that can fit onto a belt or strap...
the beacon itself doesnt float but it comes with an open top neoprene case that will enable it to float, but its possible for it to come out of the case.. thrers a lop strap attached to the base that goes through the base of the neoprene case, probably ideal to attach it to a clip, or carabiner attached to your pack to make sure you dont get seperated from it

[ninjapuppet]

you're right about the extra step it took. And since most of my "more remote" trips will be in NZ, I stuck with a NZ model rather than an Aussie model.
If people anticipate their PLB mostly being used in Australia, then obviously the Aussie coded PLB should be their first preference.

However, some I wante to make some notes:
- My Aussie coded PLB that was activated in NZ, saw our chopper come to us in a remote area within 10 minutes, so I think only a few small minutes are delayed.
- Once the chopper came to us, took them a couple of hours to find us (even with a honing beacon). Any delay differences between a call centre in US or a call centre in NZ are minimal compared to the actual rescue time.
- One guy that needed rescuing in the blue mountains activated a Locally registered PLB and it took more like 25 minutes for the chopper to come. This shows that many other factors are involved, than just the several minutes for overseas rescue centres to delegate to each other.
- And as I said, many people seem to trust the SPOT and inReach models just fine, with their rescue centres overseas. Just seems funny how everyone has a negative reaction to using a PLB in not registered in their own country.

[wayno]

spot use different satellites to the locator beacons, from down under they are lower to the horizon than the available satellites for locator beacons and less likely to get a signal from a spot in rough terrain like deep valleys.

[wayno]

it might be one thing to have a plb registered used between nz and aus, but what about registered in the northern hemisphere and used down under.
i'd expect emergency services in nz and aus well rehearsed in communicating with each other especially in maritime search and rescue, but how quickly would the american authorities or european ones be able to get hold of the correct people in nz?

[tasadam]

A couple of notes to add...

Rescue times are not at all a guide of how quickly the response is received by AMSA or whoever the local monitoring organisations are. There are too many other factors that can affect rescue times.

A SPOT is not the same as a PLB, although it has the capacity to perform as one.

AUSSAR / AMSA or whoever it is that looks at PLB and EPIRB activations will detect a yacht well of the coast of Australia even if that yacht originated on the other side of the world, remember Tony Bullimore?
So whatever it is that looks for PLB or EPIRB activations, I think you will find that there may not be a difference regarding where the device came from (Note that SPOT is different - this is managed by a helpdesk in the USA that contacts local S&R services).
BUT - I don't know for sure either. I reckon there's a lot of misinformation out there (and on this forum) regarding rescue beacons etc, perhaps it's time someone found out the definitive answers. I'll look into it as time permits.

[Onestepmore]

I am so confused......

[tasadam]

Nothing to be confused about...
Buy a PLB locally, preferably one with GPS
Register it (a free process) and keep your details correct (including emergency contacts) - all done through their website.
Use the PLB only in situations of grave and imminent danger.

That's the short version anyhow.



Moderator edit - moved topic to the "Techno Babble" forum.

[Gulliver3]

A timely thread considering I am just about to buy a PLB. Have previously hired an accusat unit from Service Tas but will bite the bullet and jump in. Whilst looking around found an interesting link/survey online. http://bolty.net/2011/04/28/by-the-numb ... -find-210/
From this blog it seems the acr resqlink has the specs. Cant attest to the voracity of the article but he brings up some discusssion later in the article re the SEND standard which may be pertinent or not to would be buyers?
Also jury still out on transport of PLBs by plane,anyone had experience?
Phil

[wayno]

i dont see why there should be an issue transporting PLB's by plane....
considering they are recommended for use by pilots of small planes....

[Pteropus]

I have been doing some research into PLBs and it will come down to the McMurdo Fastfind 220 or the ACR ResQLink, which at the moment looks like it might be a winner -> http://www.acrartex.com/products/catalo ... k-406-gps/
After conducting considerable (online and in store) research, I have learnt one main thing about buying PLB/EPIRBS here in Aus, and that is it seems that these devices are up to $100 cheaper at ships chanderlers/marine stores than at dedicated hiking/outdoor adventure stores.

[wayno]

maybe they sell more and get a better deal from suppliers?

[Strider]

maybe they sell more and get a better deal from suppliers?

More likely their market have higher bargaining power than that of the outdoors stores.

[wayno]

interesting considering how expensive marine gear often is, look at their storm gear, i was looking at a raincoat reduced from $1800 to $1200...

[Strider]

interesting considering how expensive marine gear often is, look at their storm gear, i was looking at a raincoat reduced from $1800 to $1200...

But some people will pay it! Most won't, and will simply go elsewhere or buy cheaper lines instead.

[wayno]

interesting. I didnt know they bother with cheaper lines, i thought boating was largely a rip off by default.... for people who were proud to throw away as much money as they could on their pastime...

[Strider]

interesting. I didnt know they bother with cheaper lines, i thought boating was largely a rip off by default.... for people who were proud to throw away as much money as they could on their pastime...

Same goes for bushwalking

[wayno]

come to think of it tramping does have some comparisons with standing in a cold shower tearing up hundred dollar bills....

[wander]

Maritime stores tend to sell PLBs at minimal profit margin according to a mate who works in one. This is done for various reasons. And they sell volume compared to outdoors stores.

[wayno]

i was asking in an outdoor shop for one, they supplied them but didnt stock them.... so they werent likely to be doing a roaring trade in them.... thing is its a public service to supply a locator beacon, people shouldnt be profiting unecessarily from an emergency device, they are expensive enough as it is, plenty of people want one but struggle to afford one. sar should be selling them at cost, they are the ones who stand to benefit most from their uptake...

[pulseevents]

I use a spot tracker and it works great. Have used it in Tas,NSW,QLD,New Zealand, Yosemite and its currently with my father in law in Germany. Haven't had to use the SOS yet but it rarely seems to not have contact with GPS. When you have someone watching your breadcrumb trail and knows your itinerary even if you loose satt or can't reach it to activate it they will know where to send help to look for you.