Personal Locator Beacon - USA

This following was published on 'AVweb' today about
Personal Locator Beacons:


Personal Locator Beacon Credited With First Lower-48
Rescue

A Cleveland man who got snowed in while camping in
the Adirondack Mountains in New York last week was
rescued by a UH-1 Huey helicopter thanks to the help
of his personal locator beacon (PLB). The rescue marks
the first such use of a PLB in the contiguous United
States. About 10 a.m. on Nov. 14, Carl Skalak, 55,
was faced with frigid weather, four-foot snow drifts
and a frozen river that he had paddled in on. He activated
his beacon, and after being routed through various
agencies, the helicopter was dispatched to his coordinates
with a medical team. 'I am profoundly thankful for
all those who were willing to put themselves in harm's
way on my behalf,' said Skalak. 'Many terrific people
worked together to make this mission a success.' The
system worked just as it was supposed to, said NOAA
officials. Prior to July, PLBs had only been available
for use in Alaska under a test program to evaluate
their usefulness in search and rescue. The success
seen in Alaska paved the way for the technology to
be used throughout the rest of the nation.

Personal Locator Beacon Credited With First Lower-48
Rescue


Great story, Ray. Does anyone have more info on how the PLB works and where to
buy it?
Thanks,
JJ Sinclair

JJ,

When I 'copied and pasted' the original report, the
hyperlink didn't make the transfer.

Go to:

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2003/s2124.htm

for additional details and links.

For where to buy, I did a Google search with 'personal
locator beacon' and found one place, a boating supply
shop, had them for about $600, I think.

I checked Tim Mara's web site, www.wingsandwheels.com,
and didn't see any (yet). Maybe Aircraft Spruce sells
them? I haven't checked Tom Knauff's site or Craggy
Aero or any others.


Great story, Ray. Does anyone have more info on how
the PLB works and where to
buy it?
Thanks,
JJ Sinclair

http://www.equipped.com/faq_plb/default.asp

JJ Sinclair wrote:



Personal Locator Beacon Credited With First Lower-48
Rescue


Great story, Ray. Does anyone have more info on how the PLB works and where to
buy it?
Thanks,
JJ Sinclair

The PLB product page may be hard to find ------

http://www.acrelectronics.com/PLBorig/406plbnew.html

Bob Johnson wrote:

http://www.equipped.com/faq_plb/default.asp

JJ Sinclair wrote:



Personal Locator Beacon Credited With First Lower-48
Rescue


Great story, Ray. Does anyone have more info on how the PLB works and where to
buy it?
Thanks,
JJ Sinclair

Bob Johnson wrote:
The PLB product page may be hard to find ------

http://www.acrelectronics.com/PLBorig/406plbnew.html

That unit doesn't transmit the GPS position, but this one will if you
connect a GPS to it:

http://www.acrelectronics.com/PLBorig/gypsi.html

But even without the GPS info, it appears they alert and direct rescue
people more quickly.
--
-----
Replace "SPAM" with "charter" to email me directly

Eric Greenwell
Washington State
USA

I bought one a few years back for $250 or so at a
boating supply store. When I fly solo X-C,
I carry this portable ELT, Pilot III GPS,
a portable radio, and a cell phone. The total
weight and bulk of these four items seems
negligible.

I'd be surprised if these four couldn't
get me rescued, assuming I'm conscious...

Check this out:

http://www.pwss.com/?Menu=17&Page=/C...ucts.asp&ID=10
26

(Guess you might have to do a couple of 'cut and paste'
moves there.)

It takes you to a web page showing a personal locater
beacon that combines: 406 MHz transmitter, 121.5 homing
frequency, and an interal gps receiver.

Ray Lovinggood
Carrboro, North Carolina, USA

JJ, at westmarine.com CM

http://www.westmarine.com/webapp/wcs...=52&storeNum=8



"JJ Sinclair" wrote in message
...


Personal Locator Beacon Credited With First Lower-48
Rescue


Great story, Ray. Does anyone have more info on how the PLB works and
where to
buy it?
Thanks,
JJ Sinclair

For rescue after an aircraft mishap... no - I want the impact-actuated
model.



For rescue while camping out of radio/cell line of site:

When the weather I didn't check turns bad.

The chart I didn't bring leads me astray.

A member of my party sustains injury that affects our ability to
transport them out.

I foolishly leave the scene of an accident to walk out.

That's when satellite-based communication is NICE.



An Iridium satellite phone and a hiker's GPS would work even better,
assuming I can dial a phone.



Cheers -