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Attention adventurers: Do you have a personal beacon locator?
A British student researcher while on a project in Kamchatka in Russia broke her leg after falling off a horse. She had a 406 megahertz beacon locator, the distress signal of which reached Scotland -- 3,700 miles away! She was rescued and is currently recovering.Kamchatka is a scarcely populated remote part of eastern Russia, one of the world's last great wildernesses that is also home to 300 volcanoes.
I think we tend to take safety for granted; you never think you are going to be stuck in the middle of nowhere alone and disconnected. The girl in this case was with 8 others, and she had an advance beacon thing. What happened to the Russian rescue services?
I'm not very knowledgeable about the types of personal beacons, the way the work, and the distance they cover, but if they can send SOS signals to centers cross-continent, whoa, hats off to technology. Apparently, this is not normal though.
Here's a good piece with basic information on personal beacons. They are available for around £200-300, probably worth the investment if you are going to be away from civilization for a while.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
BrianM Sep 6th 2008 8:09PM
The well known one used here stateside is SPoT: http://www.findmespot.com/
At $120 purchse price + yearly service fees, it's cheap enough for most people. It also has an "ok" and "help" feature aside from the "911/emergency" button. I just used one of these on a 2 week motorcycle vacation to keep my mother-in-law from harassing us with phone calls to make sure we were ok. The only down side is that it takes some time between when you hit a button and it actually sends the message (all done via satellite).
Parijat Sep 7th 2008 8:55AM
For some reason I read that as
Personal Bacon Locator
I thought what an ingenious device.
:(
Kevin Stoltz Sep 7th 2008 7:18PM
Just to clarify the difference between PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons) and the SPOT Satellite Messenger (contrary to popular belief, SPOT is NOT a PLB). A PLB is the ultimate personal rescue device, period. As such, when activated it sends a distress signal to SARSAT geosynchronous satellites which is then relayed to the AFRCC (Air Force Rescue Coordination Center) from where the closest Search and Rescue agency is dispatched. Low earth orbit satellites passing overhead use Doppler technology to determine location coordinates accurate to within 300-400 yards. PLBs equipped with a GPS receiver (most are) will transmit location coordinates with an accuracy of about 100 yards provided the necessary GPS signal is acquired (this is an important potential limitation as inclement weather conditions and tree canopy can prevent acquisition of the GPS signal).
The SPOT on the other hand has features not present in PLBs which include being able to track the movement (for an additional fee) using Google maps as well as being able to send specific pre-defined messages such as "Just Checking in" as a text message or to an e-mail address you've specified previously. As and emergency rescue device, SPOT isn't a PLB. It's primary means of providing location information relies on the successful acquisition of a GPS signal which can be spotty at best in inclement weather, under a tree canopy or in a canyon.
There are many other differences including price so if you want a device that will get you rescued (just in case) get a PLB, if you want something with tracking features allowing you to check in but not as strong of a rescue device, get SPOT. If you want it all, get both. PLBs can also be rented at PLBRentals.com for about $49/week.
Brian M Sep 8th 2008 10:16AM
Thanks, I never bothered to learn the difference (borrowed the SPoT from a friend because it was available). The SPoT does work in thick tree cover (we sent updates from Sequoia NP, lots of tree cover) and canyons (Kings Canyon NP with rather thick smoke hanging in the air), but took 10 minutes to do so. I also sent from deep inside a Vegas casino, no windows in sight and several floors above us. Granted, it took about 30 minutes to send that time but it did eventually send.
Mikele97 Sep 8th 2008 3:28PM
I thought about SPOT until I realized that they are way more expensive than a PLB (ACR $399).
Do the math and you'll see what I mean:
SPOT = $149.00
Activation Cost and 1 year subscription = $99.00
Tracking Feature = $49.99
Thats $300 bucks already.
Add that cost again every year and your literally spending close to $600 bucks by year 3. You can get a top of the line PLB for that and its good forever, just replace the batteries every 5-6 years for $90 bucks. Way more economical.