Something you should know about EPIRBS

We always carry an epirb, GPS and a sat phone when we do our trail bike tours. When someone is hurt we call in on the sat phone to the nearest hospital and fill them in on the injury scenario. Our sweep riders all have done Snt Johns Ambulance courses. It is the hospitals call depending on location and injury on either ambulance or chopper. We used the chopper twice last year and an ambulance yesterday on our first trail ride of the year. In Queensland, ambulance cover is included when you pay your electricity bill. A tip about epirbs, we learnt from experience in heavily timbered country get the epirb as high off the ground as you possibly can even if it means climbing a tree so the chopper can zero in on the signal. It was frustrating last year to be able to see the chopper in heavy country yet he not zero in on us. We had made the mistake of placing the epirb on a tall termite hill in a small clearing but the iron in the ground was confusing the choppers signal once we held the epirb above our heads the chopper was able to winch paramedics down to us in heavy bush and stabilise the rider before winching up and taken to hospital. Cheers Rob

that's a good point when do you decide its life and death you may think it is different to your rescuers if you know what I mean.

All the best
Eric

Cradle Mountain in May! That will be damn cold. We did it in January and there was a little bit of snow on top.

Don't know about May but in Jan there was a lot of people around if you needed help. Plus if I remember correctly you got digital reception once you were higher up.

Hmmm, you're not the first one to tell me that. I guess there is a reason why the 'season' where you have to book your walk, finishes end of April - anyone treking after then has to be nuts!

Us Perth boys are used to seeing white stuff on the ground. What we're not used to are the mountains not plains, and when the white stuff is snow not sand. The trek is one of those things that sounds nice during the exciting planning stage, doing it will certainly be different.

And digital reception???? I thought this was wilderness - chheeesh. My 16 year old is coming with me and his fancy new phone has a thermometer in it, which was a reason for him to carry it. Now he can text his mates from the middle of the trek, there'll be no holding him back - apart from a frostbitten, cranky, slow father of course.

Tim

Is that cdma or normal coverage.

All the best
Eric

I am pretty sure we received SMS messages at the top of Cradle Mountain. It is by no means remote.

Are you doing just Cradle Mountain or the whole Overland Track? Either way both are quite busy during the touristy 'warmer' months. I would definately take a EPIRB on the Overland Track just to be sure but if it isn't heavy I would take it up Cradle Mountain if for no other reason than you can.

Can be damn cold in Dec also. Was hiking in ove a ft of snow a few years back. You'd think it was winter!

Leroy

Thanks Leroy - really helpful. :-)

The whole trek Utemad.
http://www.overlandtrack.com.au/

6 days, 60km thereabouts. Group of five.

Tim

In that case take the EPIRB. Especially that time of year.

Plus we want a write up when you get back. Well I do :-) .

We have talked about doing the Overland Track since we went to Cradle Mountain in Jan 05. It looks like it would be a fantastic trip.

Have fun.

Sure Utemad,

I'll be packing extra gloves so I don't lose fingers, so I can make sure I can still type up my experiences.

Lovely day in Perth today. 30°, no wind, not a cloud in the sky. Just the sort of weather to lull one into a false sense of security about the Overland Track. I'll just go and sit in the freezer for while, with the fan blowing - that should be about right. Not much room in the freezer, but heck, thet's what hiking tents are like too!

I'd be happier if I could take my Cruiser....

Tim

Hi Tim, I have walked the Overland Track 5 times, the first time in 1991 in late April. We had thigh deep snow on Pelion Gap that trip,(I also had a slight problem with hypothermia, but thats another story)
Each trip we have had snow at some stage.
The Fagus should still have some colour in their leaves in May.
Have a great trip (and make sure that you have a nice warm sleeping bag)Steven P

Hi Tim,

The rescue people were wonderful. Ii figure they realise that if you have set it off, you have done so for a reason.

I was playing 4WD backup and although they also had UHF radio, the country was too dense to get good reception. I knew they were alive and cold, and had spoken to the rangers.

Actually, if they hadn't set off the EPIRB, the rangers were already mobilising search and rescue for the next day. As I said there was a chance of a blizzard.

Enjoy your trip to the Cradle.

Lisa

I think the standard versions, like I have, just go beep, but these will become redundent soon by the newer models that will have provision to be identified - whether this is via the actual signal, or whether it is a database that the user has to enter data for the SAR operators to check, I don't know.

Tim

FYI new system will be a user register system- so if you dont register- they wont know who it belongs to.

Also some of the newer EPIRBS will also transmit a 'last known position' via a small GPS receiver built in. this is already available and relies on the EPIRB having a continual view of the sky (like most GPS). A funny situation occured with one of these when a yacht's EPIRB was activated. the info that they from the GPS data had put its position to somewhere in the indian, when actual fact the yacht was sitting in a wharehouse in the US!!

I was involved in a SAR in Darwin some years ago when an EPIRB fell off it's mounting in a blokes tinny on his way home and triggered. Tinny was then parked in a garage that attenuated the signal sufficiently that we could not get a lock any better that 5 miles on it.

It was eventually tracked down to the blokes home in suburban Darwin. Still only took about 6 hours though.

Pete

Yeah Pete, I know what you mean about finding the offending EPIRB safely tucked up in bed in the garage.

Most of the ones I've heard are found in the hangar, or tied down at Bankstown/Camden/Hoxton Park. But when I hear that I'm totally stoked that it was only a "heavy landing" and all are okay.

The good thing about SAR activity is that anyone that participates in the search activity is only interested in a good outcome for all concerned. Totally "non-jeopardy" if it is a spurious/false alarm. How long that'll last is anyone's guess. If the govt can find a way of "user pays" for false alarms, that might deter people from getting them in the first place. That would be unfortunate....

Well worth spending the extra money on a 406 EPIRB because of the increased accuracy and the fact that it can identify the owner. Sending all this information (position, registration number, etc) takes a few satellite passes but the distress signal goes out very quickly. The SAR people love them because they are able to make a phone call to the numbers you nominate when you register. This often knocks a false alarm on the head before expensive SAR assets are launched or allows them to get a more accurate picture of what they are dealng with (number of people, equipment/experience you have, medical conditions, etc).

I spent several years working for the US Coast Guard doing SAR and the policy was that they would 'launch' for a 406 EPIRB almost immediately, whereas they would wait for 'correlating SAR information', distress flares, overdue reports, visual sightings, etc before getting too serious about a 121.5 hit. Although one group of rather dull thieves stole thousands of dollars of gear from several fishing vessels in Norfolk and then drove several hundred miles to their home in Boston. They were very surprised when the cops knocked on their door for a chat. Hadn't realised that they had activated the EPIRB when they pulled it of its bracket and that we tracked them the whole way!

Also the 406MHz frequency is a dedicated SAR frequency whereas 121.5 has some other uses. Most (marine at least) 406 EPIRBS also have a 121.5 MHz homing beacon that on site SAR units will use to hone in on your position when on scene. One good piece of advice offered to me when using them in a 4WD is to keep them handy to the driver's position. Not much use to you when floating off down the river in your car or forming the centrepiece of a four wheel BBQ. Still, a $30,000 signal fire is probably a good start to any search and rescue.

Matt.

121.5 is going to be phased out over the next few years for the very reasons that Matt M mentioned. Also they have the ability to transmit 'last known position'- GPS reference

Bit harsh Craig,

So many things can go wrong, particularly when horses are involved. The details are not really important, but it was a cascading effect.

Actually there was never any mention made of payment. I gather the result would have been different if the rescue was required for a commercial outfit. It was a question asked on several occasions.

Lisa

A bit harsh Lisa, maybe maybe not? I see no issue with rescues being made for people who are injured or left stranded but believe some fee should be paid if not all costs for those who are lost or delayed depending on the circumstances. More often than not it comes down to poor planning, lack of training or plain incompetence. Expensive search & rescues could be a simple pick up job if those in trouble carried suitable navigation & communication equipment. Letting someone know of the travel intentions or going in a group would in many cases avoid the need to set an EPIRB off in the first place.
If "so many things can go wrong, particularly when horses are involved" then so many more preparations are required to make the trip safe so in reality "the detail" is extremely important.
For example if a sat phone & GPS was carried could the group have rung for assistance avoiding unnecessary worry by the family, avoiding the search & minimising the tax payers expense?
IMHO carrying an EPIRB is not a preparation for a trip, it's a cheap and easy way out for those ill prepared. (Harsh as that may sound)
Cheers Craig..............

As i said, there was a cascading effect. untill you know the facts there is no use you getting upset about it. For the record, they had 2 way's, GPS, maps, EPIRB. It was a personal fitness failure of one of the party ok? My point was to recommend that when you DO get in trouble, just don't wait too late to ask for help.