Personal Locator Beacon

DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
I've been thinking about this for a while. I do most of my riding by myself in local national park areas with no mobile reception. And nobody else in there either. So if I got into trouble I'd be hard be very hard to find. It's not as easy as saying "Tell someone where you're going.." as most of the time I'm exploring trails myself and don't know where I am. I have a GPS unit already. I'm thinking about getting a PLB- Personal Locator Beacon. ACR have a good one. Does anyone else travel with one and what do you travel with if so?
 
J

Jubas

Likes Dirt
DMan said:
I've been thinking about this for a while. I do most of my riding by myself in local national park areas with no mobile reception. And nobody else in there either. So if I got into trouble I'd be hard be very hard to find. It's not as easy as saying "Tell someone where you're going.." as most of the time I'm exploring trails myself and don't know where I am. I have a GPS unit already. I'm thinking about getting a PLB- Personal Locator Beacon. ACR have a good one. Does anyone else travel with one and what do you travel with if so?
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I've ridden with one for about 18 months now and thankfully haven't had to use it. It was a fairly expensive item to purchase but as they say, if it gets me home safe once, then it was definitely worth it. I've got the ACR one as well - very light, easy to use, reasonably price by comparison. I tend to leave it in my backpack regardless of where I'm riding - even if it's just the bike path in my local suburbs. It's the type of thing i'd forget if I took it in and out etc

If i'm riding more remote areas solo i'll combine it with an emergency blanket, compass, map (if possible), lighter, and the obligatory first aid kit. I also let someone know where i'm going and how long I expect to be..
 
teK--

teK--

Eats Squid
With every episode I watch of "I shouldn't be alive" if I went on such expeditions I would definitely invest in one. For now I stay in the comfort of bike parks and always ride with one other mate at night time.
 
0

0psi

Eats Squid
Get a Spot Tracker.

Fair cheap and you have options with a Spot Tracker. A PLB has the option to call the cavalry and that's about it. With the Spot you are also given the option to send a preset 'I'm okay message' via sms to preset numbers or the option to send a pan-pan (or whatever the land based equivalent is).
 
pharmaboy

pharmaboy

Eats Squid
DMan said:
I've been thinking about this for a while. I do most of my riding by myself in local national park areas with no mobile reception. And nobody else in there either. So if I got into trouble I'd be hard be very hard to find. It's not as easy as saying "Tell someone where you're going.." as most of the time I'm exploring trails myself and don't know where I am. I have a GPS unit already. I'm thinking about getting a PLB- Personal Locator Beacon. ACR have a good one. Does anyone else travel with one and what do you travel with if so?
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By the sound of it, just do it. A broken leg is a minor thing, but it's killed plenty of hikers.

Luckily enough, I only ride in areas with phone reception, but I know a lot of the guys who go bike packing like the HuRT use locator beacons or sat phones- you can rent them as well.

Edit agree with spot tracker too - has the important function of keeping loved ones stress free.
 
DMan

DMan

shawly the least hangeriest guy on rotorburn
The ACR unit is about $350. The spot tracker is good but you have to subscribe to them for $115 USD per year basic package. The unit is still around $300. Im not worried about being followed, just the emergency.

Sent from my GT-I9305T using Tapatalk
 
thematerialquestion

thematerialquestion

Likes Bikes
I recently purchased the latest model SPOT on ebay for around $150. Yes, the annual fee is $100 or so, but included in that is up to $100,000 in rescue cover at the press of a button - if its ever needed. I've tested it extensively, in snow, thick fog, pelting rain, deep valleys, thick bush; it works every time. Can't fault it, worth every penny! Highly recommended.
 
S

SummitFever

Eats Squid
I take an ACR/cobram ResQLink PLB when I'm riding where there is no mobile phone coverage. It is lightweight, robust, has a self test and will float when in its neoprene cover. They should pretty much make PLB's compulsory for anyone going bush. Could have save plenty of lives even in recent times.
 
foxpuppet

foxpuppet

Eats Squid
SummitFever said:
I take an ACR/cobram ResQLink PLB when I'm riding where there is no mobile phone coverage. It is lightweight, robust, has a self test and will float when in its neoprene cover. They should pretty much make PLB's compulsory for anyone going bush. Could have save plenty of lives even in recent times.
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I got the road ID app for my phone. While it's not equivalent to a PLB for real off the beaten track riding, it's still very handy for the metro bush rides I do around the north shore of Sydney. I'm yet to find a spot with no reception.

The app, is similar to a SPOT unit, it breadcrumbs so people can see where you are. You can preset it to alert someone in a list of 5 ICE's if your stationary for more than that time it will SMS them with your location. You get an audible warning of 1 minute just in case your only taking a dump so you can cancel it.

Plus it adds your ICE contacts to your lock screen so if someone manages to find you out to it on the trail a quick glance at your phone will give them a good head start.

Pretty good for what it does, but again not comparable to a full PLB which will work via satellite anywhere.
 
indica

indica

Serial flasher
Having ridden for all my life without one, what is the point?
Does the chance of me fucking up increase because I have not been caught out yet?
 
S

SummitFever

Eats Squid
I take the PLB whenever I will be in a remote area - on the mtb, moto, car etc. Crash your car in the desert on a road that gets a couple of cars a week and you'll be glad to have a PLB. They are not expensive. Small price to pay for a potential life saver.
 
pharmaboy

pharmaboy

Eats Squid
indica said:
I do. Do you have a PIB when you drive somewhere? Walk to the shops?
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Nope, but I do carry a phone with me pretty much all the time.

This is not about low risk activities, he is talking about mountain biking where there is no passing traffic, and no phone reception. The OP I am sure doesn't expect to use the device ever - same as the Epirb on my boat - I don't ever want the purchase to pay off thanks, but for the one in a thousand chance that it does, it may well save my life.

Most of us will never use an airbag, but if you need it, you needed to pre purchase it just in case ..... ;)
 
MudRhino

MudRhino

Likes Dirt
Hey, this is what you all want - works on iphones and androids and its free!!!

A national emergency app for smartphones called Emergency+ was launched by the Federal Minister for Justice in Sydney last week.

The app was developed with expert input from the Triple Zero awareness working group, which includes representatives from emergency services across the country including Victoria Police."

It basically gives you your GPS co-ordinates and you send emergency response units directly to your location. So your not left trying to explain to people what unnamed track your on :)
 
Comic Book Guy

Comic Book Guy

Likes Bikes and Dirt
MudRhino said:
...Emergency+ was launched by the Federal Minister for Justice in Sydney last week.

The app was developed with expert input from the Triple Zero awareness working group, which includes representatives from emergency services across the country including Victoria Police."

It basically gives you your GPS co-ordinates and you send emergency response units directly to your location. So your not left trying to explain to people what unnamed track your on :)
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Nearly every modern plb is GPS enabled. The plb automatically sends the gps location as part of the emergency signal. You don't have to read anything of the phone or wait for the gps in the phone to start up or give co-ordinates and you don't have to be within range of a tower for your phone to make a call.


Video:
[video=youtube;hThHoRNhEnQ]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hThHoRNhEnQ[/video]
The Iphoney version doesn't display the co-ords in the app. On Android the co-ords are displayed in the app. GO APPLE.:shocked:

Cheers,
CBG.
 
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