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Thread: Personal Locator Beacon

  1. #1

    Default Personal Locator Beacon

    My hubby and I have a off grid, isolated (lake access) wilderness cabin in Canada. We are getting old and i am starting to worry about what happens if we are in an emergency situation and need to call the paramedics and/or search and rescue. I've discussed this with the local paramedics (about 30 miles away) and they suggest a iridium sat phone. I've looked at this but they are expensive.

    Is there anyone who would like to offer some advice about whether or not we should get a Personal Locater Beacon with GPS? This is about 1/5 the cost of a sat phone and no monthly fees either. Just to clarify there is no phone, internet, cell phone service and no way to contact anyone nearby. Generally, it would be possible to go out by boat, then drive to a neighbor's to use a phone but there are times when that isn't so practical. For example, there are many stormy nights when we just sit tight and wouldn't want to go out in a boat. Also nobody would want to leave an injured person behind while one of us went in search of help.

    I noticed the Personal Locater Beacon is not discussed on the page about how to signal for help. Thanks for any advice.


  2. #2
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Homejoy - we've got a few members in a similar situation as yours that may be able to shed some light on what they do. One member is 200 km from the nearest road (if I remember correctly) and had a medical emergency a while back. I'll see if I can find the thread where she talked about it. While I'm searching - how about stopping by the Introduction section and tell us a bit more about yourself (although you do OK here). That way we can properly welcome you. Thanks. http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...splay.php?f=14
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  3. #3
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    You might also take a look at Doug Ritter's site. He evaluates a number of Personal Locator Beacons (PLB) including the SPOT, McMurdo's Fast Find, and ACR's Microfix line of PLBs. There is a lot of information on there.

    http://www.equipped.org/blog/?p=104

    That, coupled with first hand experience of some of the members here should provide you with a wealth of information and help you make an intelligent decision.

    Another option would also be two way radio. There are a couple of good threads on that including:

    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ghlight=radios
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  4. #4
    Super Moderator crashdive123's Avatar
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    Here are a couple of threads that may give you a little information.

    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=4281

    http://www.wilderness-survival.net/f...ead.php?t=5703
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  5. #5

    Default Thanks

    Thanks for the responses. I read the two way radio thread, Rick, and posted there.

    This is a great forum. I think I'll learn a lot here.

  6. #6
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    I should have mentioned, too. Make certain if you go with a PLB that it has onboard GPS. It won't be of much use if they can't find you.
    Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.

  7. #7
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    I just picked up the McMurdo FastFind 210. I got it for $240 from REI. Very lightweight so I don't mind having it in the backpack or in the pocket. I would also suggest that you look into becoming ham radio operators. It's not that difficult. You can find more information at http://www.arrl.org/

    Rich

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