About to Purchase an EPIRB - Just a Couple of Questions . . .

[hpeer]

Bumping the thread to see if any new ideas are up. I'll be looking to replace at least one unit in the next month or two.

I found the ACR 2883 SARLink PLB Personal Locator Beacon at Boatersland marine for under $350 with shipping.

The ACR Globalfix Pro 2884 is nearly $300 more.

At first glance they appear to fill the same function.

[hellosailor]

hpeer, I think you will find anything called a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon) has only 1/2 the battery life of an EPIRB. That's about $50 worth of battery and a bigger more expensive case, true, not a $300 difference, but you may want to dig deeper to see what else is different.

[hpeer]

Difference in price is hard to justify based on specs but there might be other differences that don't show up. Not impressed with the spec. material

Smaller model has 24 hours "Operational Life" and 30 hours "Typical Performance" manual activation
Larger unit has 48 hours "Operational Life" and 70 hours "Typical Performance" automatic water activation

Bigger unit clearly floats and probably has better antenna

Smaller unit is more likely to be on your person if you go overboard

That is about all I can see.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by hpeer

Bumping the thread to see if any new ideas are up. I'll be looking to replace at least one unit in the next month or two.

I found the ACR 2883 SARLink PLB Personal Locator Beacon at Boatersland marine for under $350 with shipping.

The ACR Globalfix Pro 2884 is nearly $300 more.

At first glance they appear to fill the same function.

ACR Globalfix Pro 2884

Is this a typo? I can only find the following model & part numbers:
Model Number: RLB-36 / Part Numbers 2848.0 & 2846.0
And
Model Number: RLB-37 / Part Number 2842 & 2844

[hpeer]

No, I had the same problem. Came up like that in Google search.

Maybe an older model not on ACR website?

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by hpeer

No, I had the same problem. Came up like that in Google search.

Maybe an older model not on ACR website?

Hmm... I can find references to the ACR Aqualink 2884 but nothing for a Globalfix Pro 2884. Must be using a different Google

Can you post a link that references "ACR Globalfix Pro 2884

[hpeer]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Hmm... I can find references to the ACR Aqualink 2884 but nothing for a Globalfix Pro 2884. Must be using a different Google

Can you post a link that references "ACR Globalfix Pro 2884

Try 2844,

Lysdexic me.

[xymotic]

PLB or EPIRB?'

If you still want a PLB check out the ACR resQlink.

[hpeer]

Yeah, I'm convinced.

Still seems like a lot of price difference

[Paul Elliott]

An EPIRB will float in the proper position, and the antenna is fixed in place. It can be configured to trigger automatically when released from the holder. Some EPIRBS will automatically release when submerged.

A PLB may not float without a flotation cover. It has to be manually activated, and the antenna manually extended. You have to hold or otherwise secure the PLB in the proper orientation for the antenna to work as designed.

An EPIRB has a strobe light and a battery to support 48 hours of on-time.

A PLB *may* have a flashing LED, but many don't. The operating time is 24 hours.

EPIRBS and PLBs both transmit at the same power level, on the same frequencies.

You can carry a PLB on your person. An EPIRB is big, and goes on a bracket or in the ditch bag.

EPIRBS are definitely more expensive than PLBs. I assume that production volumes and market demand are the price factors.

Here's a link to ACR's EPIRB/PLB comparison: http://www.acrelectronics.com/media/...0V%20EPIRB.pdf

[sctpc]

Originally Posted by Paul Elliott

An EPIRB will float in the proper position, and the antenna is fixed in place. It can be configured to trigger automatically when released from the holder. Some EPIRBS will automatically release when submerged.

A PLB may not float without a flotation cover. It has to be manually activated, and the antenna manually extended. You have to hold or otherwise secure the PLB in the proper orientation for the antenna to work as designed.

An EPIRB has a strobe light and a battery to support 48 hours of on-time.

A PLB *may* have a flashing LED, but many don't. The operating time is 24 hours.

EPIRBS and PLBs both transmit at the same power level, on the same frequencies.

You can carry a PLB on your person. An EPIRB is big, and goes on a bracket or in the ditch bag.

EPIRBS are definitely more expensive than PLBs. I assume that production volumes and market demand are the price factors.

Here's a link to ACR's EPIRB/PLB comparison: http://www.acrelectronics.com/media/...0V%20EPIRB.pdf

In AU we are required to carry a full size eperb in our off shore boat but I carry personal ones for everyone as well