Do I need an EPIRB?

Cheers Matt
I have been looking around and had pretty much decided to hold out until the 406's were common before getting one... looks like it may be a bit too far away for me though. I had tried a few suppliers around town and havent found anyone that even knows about them. Given the price difference, it looks like i'd be better off with getting a 121 for now.

Hi all
The 406 is $569.00 from BIAS Boating- have branches all over the place. The 310 (personal) is $238.90 and the 300 is $198.90.
I'm opting for the 300- it will be Ok for a few years yet, and I can Guarantee the 406 (or equivalenT will come down in price by then. Also, I think GME will be offering a buy back on the 121mHz models.

G'day Matt,

Decided to get an EPIRB not withstanding the impending change. The time till 2009 still represents a lot of time + I really can't see them turning off that system like they did with the analogue phones because lives could be at risk.

Kind regards

Couldnt agree more Beatit...I would still look at getting a 121 despite the impending switch off. Even after 2009 the 121 will still work for locating just not from satellites, ground to air will still work, ie signal a search plane flying close over!!

I still think the 406 will come down in price eventually and the the controls etc on them are much better. They all are registered and a search will not start if an unregistered signal is heard. That way the rescuers will contact relatives of the registered owner to varify details, location, supplies etc!

Safe travels!

Matt.

I thinks it's pretty much decided then - Ill hire a sat phone.

Thanks for all the responses,

B

Glenn,

Whilst not disagreeing with your comments, on a couple of occasions I have experienced Mother Nature at play and how she can change the status quo considerably.

Yes, hopefully there are other around that can help when there's a problem, but can you guarantee that?

Last time I was on the very same trip BBails is planning, we experienced no problems whatsoever, on the way up. The only water in the Todd was the permanent water hole behind the Telegraph Station at Alice.

On the way down again it was at dusk, raining a bit and we were nearing Aeroplane, about 50 kilometers north of Alice, when I hit a patch of water across the road. No warning. Doing 110 kilometers per hour towing a trailer with tinny on top and I must have aquaplaned for about 100 meters before enough speed had bled off. Sure cleaned the mud from underneath the Jack.
Continued on, driving through water maybe 20cm deep at the crown of the road and eventually came across a warning triangle reflector and sign indicating water accross the road. Yep, it was still rising.
We continued on, following the dotted line in the middle of the road (under water) almost the entire 50 kilometers into Alice.
We booked the last cabin but one in one of the caravan parks and the next morning just made it back over the Todd before it burst its banks.
We were then able to secure a room in a Motel along the edge of the Todd and two hours later the road was 4 feet under water.
Three days later we were able to leave Alice for Adelaide as Sturart Highway had only just opened that morning. The Finke and two other rivers whose names escapes me had cut the highway in three places.

All in all a great experience and no damage occured to persons or property. BUT, we were lucky. We weren't stranded for days in the middle of nowhere like some other travellers were.

Rather than wait for "somebody" to show up, it would surely be more comforting to be able to communicate one's situation to support personnel.

For the relatively cheap cost of hiring a Satphone "just in case" it is now one of my highest priorities when travelling in remote areas of our Country.

The 7 P's

Prior Preparation and Planning Prevents Pi** Poor Performance.

Last year when I went around OZ I had as much stuff for emergencies as for every day use.

Prepare for the worst , hope for the best. !!

Glenn.

you are correct about Ayres Rock except you probably dont know how correct. I had a breakdown about 200k along the gcr and limped back to yulara and invoked my accomadation via rac pluss the lady on the phone stated (and she deals with this sort of thing Australia wide) it is the dearest accomadation she has ever heard off. i ended up scoring an out of service cabin for 100 dollars cos rac wouldnt cover the fortune of a normal one