The case for PLBs and EPIRBs in life threatening emergencies.

Peter I agree for a life threatening situation. No argument there. Hard to corrupt the location like that.

But for a few litres of water or even a fan belt I wouldn't use a "one way" device like EPIRB (or what ever the one is that just sends out a beacon - sorry if I got it wrong). That's where a satellite phone and some of these other "messaging" gizmo's will help. And you can also pass the medical history over as well with a phone. It can be a two way chat giving first aid advice to the people in need.

Our phone has the ability to send an email showing the location. Or you put it on the screen and pass it to whomever is at the other end. I would use the email myself so that it isn't corrupted.

There are cases for where all "devices" come into their own.

Phil

Of corse a great benefit of a PLB is that once activated, if you are somehow rendered incapable of sat phoning / HF or 2 way comms / Spot 2 use, etc, it will just keep on working.
Authorities react very fast to PLB / epirb activation as it's just expected to be a full out emergency situation.

Totally agree with Peter. We carry both a sat phone and a PLB on all trips (including walks)

I would use the phone for breakdowns and the PLB for a vehicle accident where a chopper is trying to locate you.

The side benefits of the sat phone is being able to keep in contact with older relatives back home and as stated being able to have a two way conversation with authorities in an emergency.

Alan

These days you can get a sat phone and a GPS enabled PLB for not much more than $600 that will last for many years. You pay much more than that for most peoples rigs insurance and that's EVERY year.

I cannot for the life of me understand how people and insure their worldly possessions and not insure their own lives for the sake of a mere $600.

If you do not travel in remote areas with both a GPS enabled PLB and a Sat phone you are crazy and don't put a very high value on your life, or those that maybe called on to rescue you.

In a life and death situation a PLB will give you the quickest response by far. Setting one off a PLB alerts immediately the National Emergency Service who have huge resources and powers. They know your position and are in radio contact with the emergency vehicles on the ground and can give them turn by turn directions on how to get to your location no matter where you are.

so if I take the EPIRB out of my boat and let the authorities know that I will be taking off into the bush they won't come looking for me. Also I am pretty sure PLB,s and EPIRB,s run on the same satelites so I do believe you would be found just as quick by letting both units off at the same time Slave

Peter's point is well made. There is another vital case where a PLB is crucial - when you have a crash and end up well off the road in vegetation or down an embankment.

There have been multiple cases of car crashes where the vehicle was unable to be seen from the road and both passers-by and SAR people were unable to find the vehicle, even after reports came in, of a crashed vehicle.

In many cases, injured people have been unable to free themselves from the vehicle, or were injured badly enough to not be able to move any substantial distance. A PLB would have been of great use in many of these cases.

My BIL was Snr Sgt of Northampton police station back in the late 90's and the police got a report of a crashed vehicle North of Northampton along the Gt Northern Highway.
The police, with BIL in charge, went looking for the wreck.
Despite only moderate thickness of scrub and bushes, they were unable to find the vehicle.
The police spent considerable time searching from their vehicle along the highway, looking for marks or crushed bushes - yet they sighted nothing that they thought was of value to the search.

They gave up, believing the original report was from a passer-by who had made a mistake, or who'd sighted something like an abandoned car wreck from many years previous.

They went home and told their superiors there was no car wreck to be found. Then a couple of days later, someone phones in and reports a missing person who had been travelling North from Northampton.
This person hadn't arrived at their destination further North, and they were normally very reliable.

The police went back out to the original area where the crash was reported and utilised a bigger team and with aerial support.
There was a fresh wreck there, off the highway, and the police in the air sighted it, and guided the ground team in.

The car had crashed off the road, become airborne and had virtually floated over the roadside vegetation and had ended up a long way off the highway, and it was virtually impossible to see from the highway, unless you were in an elevated position.

Investigation of the wreck found the driver deceased. Then the manure hit the fan, with the relatives claiming the driver could have been saved, if he'd been found in the initial search.
That is a moot point, but it's definitely a possible scenario.
It was never determined whether the driver died from a medical event that caused the crash, or whether he went to sleep, and ran off the road, and died as a result of the crash.

However, BIL got a severe rapping over the knuckles from his seniors, that he thought was undeserved. He reckoned they did all they could with the resources they had at the time - and it wasn't until more resources were thrown in, that the wreck was found.

Perhaps a PLB would have helped in this case - perhaps not. But carrying one would sure add a level of additional assistance.

Cheers, Ron.

Someone may be able help me with my question about PLB's.

Does a PLB use the same satellites as Sat Phones. ?

If so, would it be correct to say, Sat Phones & PLB's may not save you 100% of the time.

Why I say this is, I worked for the Railways as a Track Protection Officer. One place where we worked, just 45k's out of Sarina there was a bad dead spot for all hand held radios and all mobile phones.
I, as others, would have to leave site and travel approx. 15 k's to get some mobile signal.

Our Boss decided to rent Sat phones for those who needed them most, to over come the lack of communications. There were two different brands of Sat Phones used.

The one I had came with a cradle and outside antenna, and for the 4 weeks we worked here, it and the others never worked once in this location, still had to drive maybe 5 - 6 k's to get reception on the Sat Phone.

I never handed mine back in and over the next couple years, I found maybe 10 areas that were 100% dead spots, (Sat Phone) just along side of the railway lines.
These areas varied in length from 100m to several kilometers

I'm sure that there would be may other spots like this elsewhere in Australia.

So if someone was to get injured and required help in these particular areas, and did have a PLB with on him at the time, would it work.? Possibly Not

I think as much as one can prepare for something to go wrong, no one can be 100% guaranteed, the outcome will be in your favour on the day.

I know how important they can be in all other areas that do work.

Cheers

Whilst a traditional definition of remote is “situated far from the main centres ofpopulation”.

Don’t confuse “remote” with “difficult to locate”!

You could be as close as your nearest bush reserve in one of Australia’s major cities with millions of people around and no-one can locate you due to vegetation, you’ve fallen down a gully, or any number of scenario’s – in which case you might just as well be remote.

PLBs and the like are useful anytime you are off the beaten track, whether in the bush down the road from your urban home or in the middle of no-where…

Cheers, Baz – The Landy

Another example....in the Blue Mountains this time.
They can hear her, but can't find her.
They even had telephone contact with her.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome