quote:
West Marine has it for 149.99 with a 50% rebate.
How much money would you spend for rescue if you and your family were 60 miles offshore and treading water, and not sure that anybody was coming to help you? $149.99 won’t nearly even buy gas for a day of offshore fishing. It probably won’t even cover the ice, bait, tackle and beer. One good offshore rod and reel cost a lot more than that. How much is your life and your crew’s lives worth to you? Less than the price of gas? Skip a fishing trip and buy some good safety gear, with redundancy. You can’t buy what you need out there when you’re swimming, not for any price.
Capt. Larry Teuton
Swamp Worshiper
I get your point and totally agree Larry. My point is, I’m mostly a lake guy. Whenever I’m in the salt water, It’s only the creeks, rivers and ICW around Edisto. Trust me, I’m not about to go 60 miles offshore with my little boat. I’m also smart enough to know that is way above my experience level and skill set. If I’m ever going offshore I’ll have the SPOT, PLB and an EPIRB. And all that stuff is CHEAP especially if you need to use it.
PLB and EPIRB are different. …Those are what I would consider. I believe PLB’S are GPS based…I’m sure Phin or someone is more informed.
The only difference is battery life and registration. PLB’s and EPIRBs operate on identical frequencies (406 & 121.5 MHz) and both can send GPS coordinates with the rescue signal, depending on the unit. PLB is registered to the individual, EPIRB is registered to the vessel.
Interesting that this continues to be discussed. For general communication with family members SPOT is fine. For “I NEED A RESCUE” I fail to understand why anybody would not take advantage of 406 technology. I’ll add that while I purchased my PLB for use in the ocean it also goes with me, near shore, inshore, traveling, hiking, snow skiing, flying, etc.
“Temptation may lean on the doorbell… opportunity may only knock once”
Interesting that this continues to be discussed. For general communication with family members SPOT is fine. For “I NEED A RESCUE” I fail to understand why anybody would not take advantage of 406 technology. I’ll add that while I purchased my PLB for use in the ocean it also goes with me, near shore, inshore, traveling, hiking, snow skiing, flying, etc.
“Temptation may lean on the doorbell… opportunity may only knock once”
You forgot, "if it works when you need it"... That's what I don't like about PLB... I can't legitimately test it 5 minutes before my trip...
I’ve had a PLB for several years now. I have NO IDEA if it’s going to work when I need it. That being said, I use my SAT phone and\or SPOT every trip out and I know it’s working all the time…
Just for the record, I set my SPOT off by accident once. I had already called my wife from my cell phone when I hit the jetties. When I got back to the marina, I turned off the SPOT and put it in my dry box. My dry box was kind of full and the pressure from the egg carton foam in the lid was enough to turn it on and hit the 911 button. By the time I was done washing the boat, I had phone calls from everyone on my contact list and 4-5 calls from the spot watch center in NC. They told my wife, “We plugged in his coordinates and says he is at the marina.” So, they did due dilligence to locate my exact position and confirm with my wife who told them, “I just talked to him 20 minutes ago”. They were on it. They asked my wife if it was okay to not call the CG since my position was at the marina and based on my OK check in. Otherwise, they would have. They knew my exact position and even the name and address of the marina. That seems to be going the “extra mile” in my book.
Just for the record, I set my SPOT off by accident once. I had already called my wife from my cell phone when I hit the jetties. When I got back to the marina, I turned off the SPOT and put it in my dry box. My dry box was kind of full and the pressure from the egg carton foam in the lid was enough to turn it on and hit the 911 button. By the time I was done washing the boat, I had phone calls from everyone on my contact list and 4-5 calls from the spot watch center in NC. They told my wife, “We plugged in his coordinates and says he is at the marina.” So, they did due dilligence to locate my exact position and confirm with my wife who told them, “I just talked to him 20 minutes ago”. They were on it. They asked my wife if it was okay to not call the CG since my position was at the marina and based on my OK check in. Otherwise, they would have. They knew my exact position and even the name and address of the marina. That seems to be going the “extra mile” in my book.
Exactly why I bought a SPOT before I bought an EPIRB. The SPOT does more things and you know when it’s working. It cannot do what an EPIRB or PLB can do in their single, limited, use though- and that’s send out direct signals with my current location to rescue craft…
One’s a rescue beacon. The other is an emergency communication device. It’s that simple.
Just for the record, I set my SPOT off by accident once. I had already called my wife from my cell phone when I hit the jetties. When I got back to the marina, I turned off the SPOT and put it in my dry box. My dry box was kind of full and the pressure from the egg carton foam in the lid was enough to turn it on and hit the 911 button. By the time I was done washing the boat, I had phone calls from everyone on my contact list and 4-5 calls from the spot watch center in NC. They told my wife, “We plugged in his coordinates and says he is at the marina.” So, they did due dilligence to locate my exact position and confirm with my wife who told them, “I just talked to him 20 minutes ago”. They were on it. They asked my wife if it was okay to not call the CG since my position was at the marina and based on my OK check in. Otherwise, they would have. They knew my exact position and even the name and address of the marina. That seems to be going the “extra mile” in my book.
Not entirely true. For $40 bucks a year at www.406link.com, you can test your PLB/EPIRB and get a text message saying that it is working. For $60/yr it will send you that text message along with your location on a map to ensure GPS functionality.
I agree with Phin; one is a communication tool, the other an emergency beacon.
Just for the record, I set my SPOT off by accident once. I had already called my wife from my cell phone when I hit the jetties. When I got back to the marina, I turned off the SPOT and put it in my dry box. My dry box was kind of full and the pressure from the egg carton foam in the lid was enough to turn it on and hit the 911 button. By the time I was done washing the boat, I had phone calls from everyone on my contact list and 4-5 calls from the spot watch center in NC. They told my wife, “We plugged in his coordinates and says he is at the marina.” So, they did due dilligence to locate my exact position and confirm with my wife who told them, “I just talked to him 20 minutes ago”. They were on it. They asked my wife if it was okay to not call the CG since my position was at the marina and based on my OK check in. Otherwise, they would have. They knew my exact position and even the name and address of the marina. That seems to be going the “extra mile” in my book.
Not entirely true. For $40 bucks a year at www.406link.com, you can test your PLB/EPIRB and get a text message saying that it is working. For $60/yr it will send you that text message along with your location on a map to ensure GPS functionality.
I agree with Phin; one is a communication tool, the other an emergency beacon.