[Public-List] cheap EPIRB

[Elaine & Brian Timmins]

Great info. Thanks for doing all that research.
Brian  ex#497 (not the original poster)
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Kirk Little" <kirkalittle at hotmail.com>
To: <public-list at lists.alberg30.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 03, 2008 7:07 AM
Subject: [Public-List] cheap EPIRB


>
> I have both "Spot" and a cheap EPIRB. Spot is not a cheap Epirb, it's not 
> an EPIRB. For starters Spot is intended to email a list of people that you 
> choose your Position plus a message. The message either says "IM OK" or "I 
> NEED HELP" (not so useful). You can pay a little more than the standard 
> subscription so that it "notifies authorities" but this is pretty sketchy 
> at best. Its NOT waterproof, Doesn't have a multi-year battery, does not 
> send out the radio transmission that a Epirb does to allow rescue to 
> home-in on your signal, It has HUGE black-out coverage areas offshore, the 
> list goes on. YET I think it's great fun to email your friends when you 
> are offshore with your position and it is supposed to pop up on a Google 
> Earth map. Plus I think it could verify a real signal to coastguard from 
> an Eprib to possibly expedite rescue (assuming it wasn't wet and inop at 
> that point).
>
> Now for the Cheap Epirb, for about the same price as spot and it's 
> subscription you can get a PLB, McMurdo makes one that fits on my pocket 
> that I carry on my offshore especially when I'm solo, offshore, or working 
> on the foredeck. Overton's has one on sale right for only $300, that's a 
> steal. You can get a more expensive but not really necessarily PLB that 
> also transmits your exact GPS position rather than the 3-mile accuracy of 
> the standard 406mhz transmission, but you don't need the GPS because the 
> 121.5Mhz signal is plenty for them pinpoint you once rescue is in the 
> 3-mile vicinity. The thing only weighs 9 ounces.
>
> Lastly BEWARE there are several VERY cheap "Locator Devices" that only 
> transmit on 121.5Mhz (so they never really alert anyone unless someone 
> happened to set off a real epirb within 3 miles of you) so these are NOT 
> practical offshore or even for coastal crusing.
>
> Sorry for the long response, just got done doing a lot of research so 
> thought I would share and hope it helps.
> Kirk Little
> Salsa #504
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