Personal Locator Beacon as boat's EPIRB?

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by Dr. Sea

Defender has the Category I ACR EPIRB for $399 and they mention a Black Friday instant rebate of $50 although it showed up in my cart without the rebate. Maybe it only shows up on checkout. For $100 more you can get the Category II model with Automatic Hydrostatic Release from its bracket, plus it comes in a nice looking case. Does that case serve any purpose other than aesthetics?

Adding digital display adds $200 to the price of either model.

That nice case keeps the weather waves and rain from it until it's needed. It pops open when submerged.

[hoppy]

Originally Posted by coolboat30

The boat we just bought has an ACR EPIRB Model 2744 which expired in 2008. I think I have figured out that that model is no longer being serviced and I should buy a new one.

If you don't need a valid EPIRB by law and want the extra safety factor of an EPIRB (2 signals better than 1) you could always replace the battery in your EPIRB by yourself. To deactivate an old EPIRB I was junking I pulled it apart to disconnect the battery and just to see what the contents were. It was not rocket science to do and reassembling would have been easy enough. The battery was a special type for the long life but you could easily replace it with some cheaper batteries that you could probably replace at the start of each season to be sure.

Just remember the EPIRB is only to supplement your PLB if you do it.

[wrwakefield]

Originally Posted by wrwakefield

Coolboat,
...
You are already aware of the trade-offs between a PLB and an EPIRB, so you can make your own risk assessments.
...

I forgot to include this link describing the differences between an EPIRB and PLB in my first response.

FYI in case anyone is interested.

Cheers!

Bill

[Rustic Charm]

And now I've had time to check, 'new' epirbs are going on ebay throughout Australia for $219 includes postage. Not available to US though. There's some second hand ones (in date) going at the moment for $120 plus postage.

[travellerw]

Yup I own a KTI one from Australia (I'm Canadian). Excellent piece of kit and the price can't be beat. 10 year battery life to boot.

http://www.skippersmate.com.au/kti-e...etCurrencyId=1

Sent from my 10DTB12 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[tim_burley]

First try buying a new battery for your EPIRB, this is probably all that has expired.
Second, most PLB's are required to be held clear of the water as many have found out before this is not easy for long unless in liferaft etc

[CarlF]

"Many have found out" Could you provide some link to a report of even one PLB that didn't function because it was not held clear of the water? This is oft repeated but I am not sure it has happened in an actual distress situation. And in the great majority of cases, the PLB is actuated while on the boat.

And the antenna does not need to be held up for any length of time. It would only have to be oriented correctly for a few seconds to transmit. In fact, two PLB's sent messages from crewmen in the water when Cheeki-Raffiki capsized. Even though only a couple of messages were received, this was all rescuers needed.

I agree with some others that multiple PLB's is a safer solution than a single EPIRB. That's what I carry.

[tim_burley]

Cheeki Raffiki used PLB's and although it sent a distress it was not transmitting long enough for them to locate the survivors. It was believed they were unable to maintain holding it out of water as no liferaft was used. Merchant vessels are required to have EPIRBS as they will release and transmits automatically, yes its nice to think a PIB is your own personal life saver but they have limitations.
As people say no legal requirement do your own risk assessment.

[Dulcesuenos]

Older Plb's only used 121.5. Frequency (discontinued in 2009), it was limited to land based signals, not sure wjat cheeki rafiki used. Newer Plbs use gps positioning and the 406 mhz satellite based system, some with the 121 homing beacon. There used to.be a huge difference, now not so much. We just ordered a new acr resqlink 375 (gps 406 )unit that does both via defender with all the rebates it costs less then 150. Which is less than new batteries for our older epirb. Coast Guard says the only difference now is epirbs are sometimes carriage mounted, plb's are not.

Sent from my LG-LS980 using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by tim_burley

Cheeki Raffiki used PLB's and although it sent a distress it was not transmitting long enough for them to locate the survivors. It was believed they were unable to maintain holding it out of water as no liferaft was used. Merchant vessels are required to have EPIRBS as they will release and transmits automatically, yes its nice to think a PIB is your own personal life saver but they have limitations.
As people say no legal requirement do your own risk assessment.

There is a legal requirement in Australia, just for people to be aware. And it's an epirb not a plb

[RajaNagaLaut]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

I think lots of people are forgetting this is an international forum (including me) and where $ get quoted it's got to be converted to where ever you are.

One reason US epirbs may be more expensive is because US Epirbs seem to be sold only as automatic on when in the water, where as the main type sold in Australia are fully manual models. $299 is a common price here with $245 coming up occasionally on special sales or promotions.

........ For me, $299 (to keep the purist happy I ammended it up) is good money for peace of mind.

And in Australia, if your heading beyond 10 miles from shore your required to carry an epirb. Don't think a plb cuts it (not entirely sure).

So what currency is that mate? A$, US$ ? Serious question.

Also, for cruising SE Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia) does anyone have any reccomendations make/model?

[Rustic Charm]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rustic Charm
I think lots of people are forgetting this is an international forum (including me) and where $ get quoted it's got to be converted to where ever you are.

One reason US epirbs may be more expensive is because US Epirbs seem to be sold only as automatic on when in the water, where as the main type sold in Australia are fully manual models. $299 is a common price here with $245 coming up occasionally on special sales or promotions.

........ For me, $299 (to keep the purist happy I ammended it up) is good money for peace of mind.

And in Australia, if your heading beyond 10 miles from shore your required to carry an epirb. Don't think a plb cuts it (not entirely sure).
So what currency is that mate? A$, US$ ? Serious question.

Also, for cruising SE Asia (Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia) does anyone have any reccomendations make/model?

Australian is Australian currency a serious reply

You can currently get them at $218.

[SailFastTri]

$375 at Landfall Navigation McMurdo Smartfind Plus G5 406 EPIRB w/ Internal GPS

[Rustic Charm]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

$375 at Landfall Navigation McMurdo Smartfind Plus G5 406 EPIRB w/ Internal GPS

completely manual which is a little unusal for the US.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by Rustic Charm

That nice case keeps the weather waves and rain from it until it's needed. It pops open when submerged.

Imho Manual is what you want. The hydrostatic release of most brands doesn't operate unless the boat is 12 feet underwater.
The manual units will water-activate when wet floating.
Read the manual before you buy.