Questions tagged [personal-locator-beacons]
Personal Locator Beacons are battery-operated devices that are carried and used in order to transmit a personalized emergency and/or distress signal.
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Will a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) work overseas?
I'm starting to do some solo hiking here in Italy, and I'm going to buy a PLB soon. I was wondering if I went to Germany or Australia for example, if I activate the beacon will the beacon still get me ...
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Is the Battery Life of the Garmin InReach Mini enough for a 2 week trip?
I am going hiking for 2-3 weeks with no possibility of charging the battery again. Assuming I only turn the InReach on only once a day to send a "I'm ok"-message and then turn it off again, would the ...
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Who gets the bill if you activate a PLB to help someone else?
Locally Search and Rescue doesn't charge but what happens if you're in an area where they do?
They obviously have your name and address but it doesn't seem fair to bill the person who was prepared ...
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In what situations is it irresponsible not to carry a PLB or satellite messenger device?
The motivation for this question is the impalement question. The impalement question asked what to do in a particular catastrophic accident if
Phones are dead, you don't have a PLB, and if you ...
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Should I activate my beacon if the road to safety is blocked?
During the winter I travel long distances over 25 miles into forest, lakes, rivers and mountains. I always worry that when it's time to leave I'll find myself trapped by tree laying over the road. ...
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Are there any statistics on how many PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) activations are real as opposed to frivolous?
One of the arguments made against PLBs is that people will use them in non-emergencies and put rescuers in unnecessary peril. This definitely does happen from time to time as in this case in the ...
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To activate PLB if you know search and rescure are looking for you but there is no emergency?
If you are held back a few days by bad weather or some other unforeseen natural circumstance and you know emergency services are looking for you because you can hear the helicopters but you know you ...
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What happens if I inadvertently set off a personal locator beacon?
I'm considering buying a personal locator beacon.
As I understand it they should only be activated in case of dire emergency. What happens if it is set off accidentally while at home? What about ...
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Personal Locator Beacon registration - warning text
I purchased a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) and followed the link printed on its back side (beaconregistration.noaa.gov). Following the instructions on the page, I am somewhat put off by the message ...
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PLB, SPOT, and similar services; is there any relevant difference in reliability?
There's some discussion here about SPOT vs. PLB. The article recommends that PLB's (Personal Locator Beacons) are more reliable than SPOT (Satellite Communications), a comment says this is not true, ...
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PLB or satphone rental in the USA from National Forest offices or ranger stations?
I've read that in the United States, national forests, ranger offices, etc. often have some safety-related equipment for rent, such as bear canisters. Do they rent out Personal Locator Beacons, ...
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What are the criteria that should be taken in consideration when buying a PLB?
This question was already asked about personal locator beacons (PLB, Wikipedia page which is a great comprehensive article.) However it does not cover how to choose a PLB or the differences between ...
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Are PLBs banned or otherwise useless anywhere?
This comment raises the idea that PLBs may not be allowed inland in the UK. A later comment refuted this, but I never even considered they would be disallowed anywhere, but simply rented one and took ...
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How bad do circumstances need to be before activating a PLB?
Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) can be carried during outdoor activities to use in case of an emergency. But are there any guidelines on what exactly constitutes an "emergency"? For example, what ...
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What do I need to be aware of if I'm considering purchasing a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB)?
Obviously, I can't just buy it, push the button and expect a helicopter to show up.
Are there monthly or registration fees? Do I need to get a permit or register with someone? How does it all work? ...
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