Who uses / carries a PLB ?

[Die Judicii]

Having this discussion with another member at present.
Just wondering who here uses / carries a PLB ??

The areas that I hunt could be very unforgiving if a mishap were to occur.

eg, Feral pigs / dogs that would eat a bloke alive if you come off a quad and broke a leg etc. especially if flowing blood is involved,
and no mobile phone service is available.

I always carry one,,,,,,, but wonder sometimes ,,,,, if activated ,, how long would it take for help to arrive ?????

[JimTom]

Well that all depends where you are exactly mate. Typically once the Rescue Coordination Centre has received the signal, they will task an asset to attend the scene. Being a 406 digital signal nowadays, the location is received quite quickly, particularly if the beacon sends the GPS position.
From memory there is a thread on here somewhere where we talked about beacons. Like you mate I know they are a fantastic bit of kit to carry with you. If it all goes pear shaped at least you know there will be a rescue chopper overhead in good time.

[PaddyT]

yep i carry one, its registered with AMSA and is GPS capable so will locate me or my corpse down to a few meters. Always figured biggest issue would be if a got snake bit, if you move you die , only option is to sit very still with a compression bandage wrapped around the bite and wait for help. Always figure ill crawl to the car if i break my ankle even if it takes a few hours.

[Blr243]

I know a paraplegic who was on a quadbike that ran out of fuel ( someone borrowed it and flicked the reserves fuel switch without telling him ). He had a long painfull anxious crawl home in the dark amongst the pigs and dingoes in the area ......I did step on a snake once at Moonie but he was a real dopey cruisey black snake in a good mood he did not strike just crawled away

[8x57]

Yes I carry one when I hunt alone ,better safe that sorry

[Lorgar]

I have one that lives in the truck, yep.

I've done a few major road trips crossing sections of territory where you're hundreds of KM from the nearest town, and have no reception.

I routinely camp/hunt in areas hour(s) out of town with no reception, limited 4WD-only access (and no expected passers-by anyway) etc. too.

I bought mine a few years ago, honestly I can't remember all the pros/cons of the different options but after researching at the time decided the GME MT410G PLB was the way to go.

https://www.gme.net.au/catalogue/emerge ... t410g.aspx

$299 in any shop.

Out of the box, it has a 7 year battery/warranty. The way I look at it, it's about $40 a year for "rescue insurance".

Peanuts, really.

[Grandadbushy]

I have a mate up here that owes his life to a PLB , he was checking his wild cattle traps when a wild bull turned on him and was just too quick for him to handle in the yard as he tried to close a gate, after tossing him into the air several times and mauling him it backed off thinking he was dead but he managed to drag himself through the rails and to the 4wheeler about 30ft away and set off the PLB mass blood loss leg and shoulder, rib and huge muscle damage to the point they were nearly torn from his legs and shoulder, without the PLB he wouldn't be here today he was miles from anywhere and only chopper access other than bush and fencing tracks, my point is he didn't expect anything to happen to him as he'd done it thousands of times had he not had it, it would be a different ending , he still hasn't fully recovered and may never because of muscle and nerve damage, so I reckon a PLB is an absolutely good idea when going bush accidents will happen at the most unexpected moment and from anywhere or anything best to try and minimise a dangerous outcome which could be a fatality if time is of the essence for survival.

[Blr243]

Yes I really should get one , and if after 7 years I have not needed it, so what

[Jarhead]

Hey,

In NSW, you can reserve and borrow them from the local Police. I borrowed one last year from Springwood Police for an extended kayak trip on the Colo. They are very rugged, waterproof and good insurance! It survived the trip very well, despite being upside down in white water several times and twice dragged across submerged boulders, it was not bruised, scraped or bleeding at the end of the trip... unlike me....

These are free to borrow, but subject to availability.

[FNQ]

I've got an old 215mHz EPB that I never used and probably should dispose of it.

However I've got mates that use SPOT when out on motorbikes. They seem to be cool and have other options to send message such as "I'm running late" etc.
Also drops bread crumbs on google maps as tracking device.

Its does require a subscription

https://www.findmespot.com/en-au/

Cheap insurance really.

[Blr243]

Grand idea of the cops loaning them. I can see how a search without coordinates could cost taxpayers 50 grand plus. And it keeps the force back in town on duty where we need them

[JimTom]

I've got an old 215mHz EPB that I never used and probably should dispose of it.

Yes mate the old 121.5 MHz beacon signal is no longer received by the satellites so it is of little use. Only the newer digital signal of the 406.025 MHz will be detected. If someone happens to be monitoring 121.5 frequency it can still be used for homing though.
The newer beacons transmit primarily on 406 for the satellites whilst concurrently transmitting on 121.5 for homing.

[JimTom]

Anyone actually using Spot Tracker on here? I have been doing some reading and think it would be a good alternative to a PLB which is a all or nothing solution. At least spot allows non urgent messages to be sent. Anyone shed their personal experience?

[Blr243]

JT I not heard of spot tracker but I imagine it’s a phone app,,,,is the system still sending messages when the phone service is unreliable or slim.? Maybe a dumb question but u know I’m just a pig hunter

[JimTom]

JT I not heard of spot tracker but I imagine it’s a phone app,,,,is the system still sending messages when the phone service is unreliable or slim.? Maybe a dumb question but u know I’m just a pig hunter

G’day Mate

Not an app on phone, it is an independent GPS tracker that sends tracking information via sat network, not phone network. It has the ability to send pre programmed one way messages. Here is the link if you’re interested in reading it mate.

https://www.ja-gps.com.au/SPOT/spot-gen-3/

[Blr243]

Thanks for the link. It’s 215 am and I just got home from work tired ...Struggling to find 2 functional brain cells ... will have a look tomorrow