Locator Beacon: PLB or SPOT?

[ondafringe]

It's not that SPOT doesn't work. It's that SPOT is unreliable for numerous reasons already noted.

And SPOT's "unreliability" tends to come when the unit is operated under some type of canopy, such as trees, rain, snow, clouds, etc. The more dense the canopy, the more unreliable SPOT becomes.

[DaveB]

Very interesting and informative! Thanks for the write-up. I do an awful lot of hiking and skiing by myself (well, with my dog) and my wife and I both like the added safety margin of a PLB. I think you've nailed the key issue with SPOTs - they "work" but there are enough documented reliability questions that I'm not comfortable with it as a critical life-safety device. I have an older ACR MicroFix 300 PLB that is due for battery replacement. Since battery replacement would cost almost 50% of what a new ACR ResQLink would cost, and the new model is half the weight and much smaller dimensionally, I'm leaning towards it.

[rlown]

PLB or SPOT.. either way you have to press it.

SPOT with it's known vulnerabilities gives you a last known good position (maybe.) Missed "ok's" are a training exercise with the immediate family.

Solo, that becomes the issue for either choice. PLB more-so, as you still really have to press it. I'd personally like to see a settable deadman's switch that autos on and sends location. if you forget to reset and override, well. At least they know where you are. A red button you hit and goes green and it doesn't go off, while you are actually alive.

We could inject Sat phone here again, but it'll have the same issues.

[ondafringe]

I'd personally like to see a settable deadman's switch that autos on and sends location.

Doubt you will ever get a "dead man switch," but if you choose SPOT as your rescue beacon, you might get the "dead man" part.

[rlown]

you miss my point. you have to actually be able to hit the PLB. same with spot. or maybe you're just ignoring and thinking you'll be able to hit it.

i'm guessing here, but no one has hit a PLB for rescue.

[maverick]

Knew Rlown would interject the "has to be push or activted issue" which is a
totally valid issue and why everyone who carries any of these devices should
understand that there is no such thing as 100% sure thing, and why our HST
2.0 ReConn Form should be used as a back up for any of these devices, this
will at least in the worst case give SAR a better chance of finding ones remains.

[ondafringe]

you miss my point. you have to actually be able to hit the PLB. same with spot. or maybe you're just ignoring and thinking you'll be able to hit it.

i'm guessing here, but no one has hit a PLB for rescue.

My apology. Did not mean to ignore that at all. In fact, I'll do you one better. On my PLB, you have to deploy the antenna first before you can activate the unit. So that's two things that have to be done. However, the design of the ACR Res-Q-Link is such that both can be accomplished with only one hand. Now if you carry the unit in a pouch or pocket, that would add to the activation issue, which is why I carry mine on my left shoulder strap.

Granted, if you are knocked unconscious and/or break both arms and/or are wedged in a way where you are unable to reach the device, you will have a serious activation issue that you may not be able to overcome. But even with the activation issues you are concerned about, and the additional ones I have raised, if you choose to carry a rescue beacon, you should still carry the one that is most reliable and will give you your best chance at the shortest signal-to-rescue time possible. And that, most definitely, is not a SPOT.

[ondafringe]

And just because SPOT is notoriously unreliable under any type of canopy doesn't mean SPOT can't be useful for its tracking and messaging capabilities, and even as a backup rescue beacon.

Four or five years ago, the National Forest Service (NFS) evaluated a number of SPOT units to determine whether they might be of use in just that capacity, as an "auxiliary safety device" for their field employees. Although they could not test the "rescue" aspect of the device, they did test the other features with mixed results, generally finding SPOT to be unreliable and that it should not be used in a primary role.

According to the NFS report, in "open areas," the "Help" feature worked 100% of the time, but under "medium tree canopy," it only worked 46% of the time, and under "heavy tree canopy," it only worked 31% of the time. Those numbers are a direct result of SPOT being a low-power, high-frequency device and would give me pause if I were contemplating SPOT as my primary rescue beacon. For some reason, check-in messages fared much better than "Help" messages in their tests, which shows some inconsistency, either with the unit or with the testing.

The NFS also found that orientation of the SPOT device had some impact on the success rate of the device, finding a horizontal orientation much better than a vertical orientation, especially with the tracking feature, due, I'm sure, to the fact the SPOT antenna is under the face plate and works best when facing skyward. But even though the NFS field personnel already carried cell phones, sat phones, and, I believe, PLBs, a few years after their tests, the NFS bought 6,000 SPOT units for their field personnel to be used, I assume, in an auxiliary role as their testing indicated.

[ondafringe]

Very interesting and informative! Thanks for the write-up. I do an awful lot of hiking and skiing by myself (well, with my dog) and my wife and I both like the added safety margin of a PLB. I think you've nailed the key issue with SPOTs - they "work" but there are enough documented reliability questions that I'm not comfortable with it as a critical life-safety device. I have an older ACR MicroFix 300 PLB that is due for battery replacement. Since battery replacement would cost almost 50% of what a new ACR ResQLink would cost, and the new model is half the weight and much smaller dimensionally, I'm leaning towards it.

Thanks, i appreciate your comment. And, yes, battery replacement is a negative when it comes to ACR beacons. But even at $150 every five years, that is only $30/year, which is not bad at all. Of course, after emergency use, the batteries have to be replaced, as well.

However, before you decide to buy new, check Comment #6 on This Thread. This individual says he has an ACR ResQFix and was able to replace his own batteries for $10. Maybe it will give you some ideas to try with your MicroFix.

When it comes time to replace the batteries in my Res-Q-Link, I intend to give it a go myself before paying $150.

[ondafringe]

Knew Rlown would interject the "has to be push or activted issue" which is a
totally valid issue and why everyone who carries any of these devices should
understand that there is no such thing as 100% sure thing, and why our HST
2.0 ReConn Form should be used as a back up for any of these devices, this
will at least in the worst case give SAR a better chance of finding ones remains.

Just wanted to say thanks for the new ReConn form. Never really thought about listing gear information to help SAR until I joined this forum. That is an excellent idea I intend to do from now on.