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Post by cweston on Jan 11, 2022 6:17:10 GMT -8
In reading this thread it occurred to me that this is sort of virtue of a PLB. You do have a safety line to rescue but it is minimal. For a large part you are still out on your own. With my messenger the outside world can contact me at any time. I need this to keep the home front happy when I solo but if you are trying to get away from it all the PLB would be a better choice. This is, in large part, why I've chosen a PLB over a more full-featured communication device. To me, the worst-case scenario would be for my spouse to be expecting daily check-ins, and not receiving them: because the device is broken, or lost, or just didn't function correctly; or because, I forgot, etc. And I really do enjoy being for-real off the grid for a few days from time to time. Although I guess the fancier devices now allow for communication in both directions, so she could check up on me, if I hadn't checked in as agreed. This was handy when I hiked with TrailElder this past summer--he was getting reports from his spouse about worsening weather conditions. The day the we aborted, I believe I would have made the same call just from observing the weather conditions (as I would have to have done if I were solo), but it was a little easier to make that call knowing that the forecast corroborated the bad news that we were seeing.
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Post by cweston on Jan 11, 2022 6:19:51 GMT -8
Hard to activate your PLB when you are dead. I carry mine inside my pack, which seems like a more secure location for it. But I guess maybe this is the argument in favor of clipping it onto your pack where it's visible, as many hikers do. If someone were to find me dead or incapacitated, they might see it and use it.
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Post by Coolkat on Jan 11, 2022 6:43:39 GMT -8
But I guess maybe this is the argument in favor of clipping it onto your pack where it's visible I'd have to go look at mine to see if there is a good attachment point but I don't think there is. I keep mine in my lid but I guess no one knows that but me. Except maybe the other person I'm hiking with. However, even if it's attached to the outside of your pack this doesn't help if for some reason you get separated from your pack in a bad fall or stream crossing. It seems to me that BlueBear had an incident where his got left behind or something, its been so long I don't remember the exact circumstances.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Jan 11, 2022 6:56:10 GMT -8
It seems to me that BlueBear had an incident where his got left behind or something, its been so long I don't remember the exact circumstances. I know that there are stories of this with sat messengers. People put them out on a log or rock to allow them to get a lock on the satellites then forget to pack them back up. The woman who slowly died on the AT over months in Maine forgot her sat messenger at her last town trip. It would have saved her life.
I can't recall stories of people forgetting PLB's.
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FamilySherpa
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Post by FamilySherpa on Jan 11, 2022 7:26:09 GMT -8
Maybe off topic for a PLB thread, but has anyone seen this technology? recco.com/technology/I recently got a new bike helmet and noticed it had this built in. Very interesting. Curious how effective it actually is.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 11, 2022 8:31:16 GMT -8
But I guess maybe this is the argument in favor of clipping it onto your pack where it's visible I'd have to go look at mine to see if there is a good attachment point but I don't think there is. I keep mine in my lid but I guess no one knows that but me. Except maybe the other person I'm hiking with. However, even if it's attached to the outside of your pack this doesn't help if for some reason you get separated from your pack in a bad fall or stream crossing. It seems to me that BlueBear had an incident where his got left behind or something, its been so long I don't remember the exact circumstances. That’s certainly the downside of their breadcrumb track function. A dropped SPOT gets noticed by those back home it’s meant to reassure without intrusion and a callout is triggered. Daily checking have some of the same risks if the device is lost or rendered inoperable. Understandable stress at home would be hard to avoid, though the circumstance should be rare given proper precautions in protecting the device. Yes my schedules always include a margin for delay, but one advantage of a messenger such as the Garmin Inreach 66i is an incident that causes a longer delay can still be simply inconvenient and not life threatening and with a messenger that gets sorted out. It’s the reasoning behind my choosing to replace my MicroFix with a 66i. Though lately I’m liking the ACR Electronics ResQLink View Personal Locator Beacon for it’s visual signal abilities in the visual and IR, simplicity of deployment under stress and decent weight at 5 ozs. For a medical emergency the PLB looks to fit the bill. www.rei.com/product/174076/acr-electronics-resqlink-view-personal-locator-beaconI carry mine in a pocket on my shoulder harness, thinking it’s a bit like bear spray, something I’d want reachable without fuss. I suppose it might be useful to label it in the outside, that and some reflective tape for extra noticability. Good thought!
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Jan 11, 2022 8:34:00 GMT -8
That looks like RF ID tags, which can work very well under the right circumstances. They're becoming common for things like inventory management and material tracking. There have been uses like the one depicted in the link for a quite for at least 20 years, but I haven't seen real availability data.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 11, 2022 9:00:28 GMT -8
RFID tags emit a unique signal on receiving a stimulating incoming signal, so range is limited by the size of the tag: I use grain of rice sized tags for uniquely IDing lab frogs and the handheld detector had to be effectively touching their skin to read their number. Their trout tags meant to be read by streambed antenna arrays were a lot larger.
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Post by dayhiker on Jan 11, 2022 9:27:21 GMT -8
But I guess maybe this is the argument in favor of clipping it onto your pack where it's visible I'd have to go look at mine to see if there is a good attachment point but I don't think there is. I keep mine in my lid but I guess no one knows that but me. Except maybe the other person I'm hiking with. However, even if it's attached to the outside of your pack this doesn't help if for some reason you get separated from your pack in a bad fall or stream crossing. It seems to me that BlueBear had an incident where his got left behind or something, its been so long I don't remember the exact circumstances. I remember that incident, mentioned in this thread, I think the original thread might be too old now: bpbasecamp.freeforums.net/post/99099/threadThread after this says spot is often just plain left behind after leaving in open to get a signal. Reminds me of leaving a bright orange cord behind I used to put up my BetaLight, still tied between two trees, even after looking for stuff I forgot to pack before leaving. (My new light wt. pole snapped in snow, a 2nd one the next night just bumping into it getting into tent)
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 11, 2022 9:44:11 GMT -8
^this^ is another reason I really like big open granite slabs for campsites. That fear of leaving stuff behind gets eased a lot.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Jan 11, 2022 10:21:27 GMT -8
Maybe off topic for a PLB thread, but has anyone seen this technology? recco.com/technology/I recently got a new bike helmet and noticed it had this built in. Very interesting. Curious how effective it actually is. That's a little more toward avalanche safety than trail safety. Their coverage map looks great for parts of Europe but not so much for the US. But since it never wears out and never needs batteries it is a nice tool in the rescue kit. It could help you be found if the rescuers have a detector but it definitely will not initiate a search.
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Post by BigLoad on Jan 11, 2022 10:23:05 GMT -8
RFID tags emit a unique signal on receiving a stimulating incoming signal, so range is limited by the size of the tag You can counteract the size deficit to some extent with receiver sensitivity, although that drives up receiver cost, and with greater transmit power on the stimulating signal.
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Post by High Sierra Fan on Jan 11, 2022 10:28:05 GMT -8
RFID tags emit a unique signal on receiving a stimulating incoming signal, so range is limited by the size of the tag You can counteract the size deficit to some extent with receiver sensitivity, although that drives up receiver cost, and with greater transmit power on the stimulating signal. Yes, our little portable handheld had to be effectively in contact while a table model and the frog just had to be passed over it a bit like a grocery scanner. Our tanks weren’t in the central facility with all the support gear so we had a handheld unit.
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Post by Lamebeaver on Jan 11, 2022 15:28:53 GMT -8
McMurdo PLB. Never used it, though I have hit the test button a few times.
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TrailElder
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Post by TrailElder on Jan 12, 2022 6:38:20 GMT -8
Huh! I had seen the logo, but wasn't sure what it was. Cool story of development from a Swede's idea in the 1970s to what it can be today because of micro tech. Looks like good coverage of helicopter search in Italy, Austria, and growing in Europe generally. Promising! Not only for avalanche, but seems to improve aerial search effectiveness. On that note, we just had a big avalanche here in the Breckenridge area up near Hoosier Pass that killed a couple of snowshoers from Colorado Springs and their dog. Too close for comfort. Ya'll be careful out there.
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