EPIRB...is it worth having?

Trev...It all depends on what value you place on your own life and on the lives of those you love....an epirb is not an over kill but a very essential devive to carry with you always...portable and simple to operate anywhere and anytime...remember that german tourist who set one off in western australia...it saved her life and she got stuck where those two other guys perished.
Part with the cash mate cause I don't want to read all about you in the news.
They are cheap insurance!!!!
regards Phil

Trev...It all depends on what value you place on your own life and on the lives of those you love....an epirb is not an over kill but a very essential device to carry with you always...portable and simple to operate anywhere and anytime...remember that german tourist who set one off in western australia...it saved her life and she got stuck where those two other guys perished.
Part with the cash mate cause I don't want to read all about you in the news.
They are cheap insurance!!!!
regards Phil

The CDMA & UHF are fairly limited in outback communication & should NOT be relied on for outside help in remote locations.

The Sat phone is good, but if your going well off the beaten track away from civilisation where nobody might know where you are I'd be opting for the EPIRB as well. What happens if you drop the phone, it fails, your lying down the bottom of a gully, the vehicle goes belly up - there are many scenarios - you have to asses the risk. All part of good managment and planning.

BTW don't forget to have an awesome time also. Safe travells.

Gday blebatray

Sat phone or HF radio are your first lines of defence and very handy.

An EPIRB is a must as your last line of defence.

They are cheaper to buy than many GPS (approx $200) and way cheaper than Sat Phones or HF and can really save your life.

You would only use it if the "chips are really down" because it will bring the full weight of the Australian Search and Rescue System into play.

I reckon they should be legally required for even "fairly" remote land travel as they are for boating if you venture more than a few kms offshore.

There are several very light "almost" pocket size EPIRBs on the market. They are better on your belt. Check out the GME MT310 at most 4wd, camping, fishing, radio type stores. The battery is replacable after a 5 year life. Pretty cheap insurance.

Regards

G'day Mate
I'm off on the Anne Beadell , Connie Sue & Gunbarrel Hwys, I do have HF radio- but purchased EPIRB last week - just in case. It was $198 from BIAS boating- I think they have branches all over the place.
It's one of those things (like a spare tyre) you have you never have to use.
It depends how 'desolate ' the area is where you are going?? Is there likely to be a vehicle along in half a aday??
The smaller pocket size is for personnal crew usage- a bit dearer but the MT310 is more than good enough.
Have a great trip.

Yep - if travelling solo the epirb would be a good idea - the satphone is essential in the absense of HF - the CDMA and UHF should be discounted totally from a safety point of view. If travelling with a group, a shared basis satphone and HF might push the epirb out of the picture.

Hi Trevor, I do a bit of prospecting, WA, and try to get well away from the mob. This leaves you in remote areas with less chance of some one driving by to help you, as you find on the main routes. When leaving the camp I'll mark it as a waypoint on the gps, then if I'm with my partner, we'll have uhf on so we can keep in touch as we go our separate ways detecting, a good umpires whistle is handy as well for letting some one know where you are, but always in the back pack is the epirb. With a partner and uhf there shouldn't be a problem if you say break a leg or some injury or condition where you cant move. But if this were to happen when solo and you couldn't get back to hf or sat phone in the vehicle, the epirb could be used, obviously as last resort. With these units in your pack as you go detecting, you should have confidence to concerntrate on digging up nuggets and not just hover around the vehicle, always keeping it in sight for fear of getting lost. ALWAYS HAVE SPARE BATTERIES FOR GPS ON YOU! They can some times chew them up pretty quick. Just a quick scenario, you're detecting and get a nice mellow signal, so out with pick and start digging, signal still in hole so you spin 180 degrees around the hole and keep digging, signal still in hole, its gotta be gold, your hearts racing, turn 90 derees around hole, head down all the time digging for your riches, out it comes, a nice little nugget. After catching your breath and a little celebration, you look up and think, what bloody direction did I come from??? Learn to use the gps, some of the gold feilds scrub is very decieving. The epirb in the pack is the final fail safe, happy detecting, matt

Matt your vivid pictures of all that wealth has me in a fever. Can't wait !
I do appreciated the tip of extra batteries for the GPS.
Had the experiece on Swains Reef recently when my Sons & I hit the Big Reds only to find the batteries were flat!!!!
Hope to catch up on the track somewhere.
Regards Trev.

Is there honestly such a thing as overkill when it could save your life?

We never leave the bitumen without a epirb in the glovebox or fishing, without one in the tackle box. Cheapest life insurance arround !
Neil