" Hi all " me again from the land downunder. I am posing a question, and I hope that somebody out there might be able to explain to me why the government authorities in your country and mine are stuffing around with 406 Mhz beacon technology use. Firstly as my post title ask's, who of you out there regularly carry a 406 Mhz beacon, be it an EPIRB, ELT, or a PLB, when the go flying, boating, or fourwheel driving / hiking etc .... I will state outright that I and my friends etc.. ( at my insistence ) always carry a unit on their trips. The main problem that I have is that having been involved in a large number of SAR missions, on land, at sea, and as a result of a flying accident. These SAR missions can cover many days in duration, cost many hundreds of thousands of dollars ( US & Australian ), in many cases are either unsuccessful in outcome, or the survivors are found in a tragic state, both emotionally, and medically,iIf as we all know the 406 Mhz survival beacon, in it's many guises is probably the most important peice of survival equipment that has ever been developed . The advantages of the 406 Mhz survival beacon, over it's antiquated predacessor the 121.5 / 243 Mh unit in alerting, and positioning ( those with a GPS interface / Inbuilt chip ) of a location of distress is something that we would not have dreamed of when I started my flying career. Having said all that, as the 406 MHZ beacon is of such a valuable survival resource, and could save much waste of emergency services resources being deployed ( in sometmes hazardous climatic conditions ) and a larger cost saving to those emergency responders, in equipment and personal cost, why don't the government authorities over there, and here, (and now I will use a "dirty word " here ) subsidise the purchase of units for those involved in the various areas of use that could lead to possible emergency activation. I know some people will always be willing to say " why should the tax payer have to subsidise little " rich boy's and their toys. The fact is those very same taxpayers are the very same one's that have to foot the bill, when the emergency responders have to expend many thousands, in some cases hundreds of thousands, and many days in SAR missions. There I have said it, I expect that there will be some that will disagree with my position, but thats life. sorry I could not keep it shorter.

I've got an ACR PLB. I mainly use it for boating and solo hunting.
A tax deduction would be nice.

We plan to get one.

Our main reason in getting one is when we are 30+ miles away in the snow, no cel and a walk/hike back would take a long time esp. if someone is injured.

Out of my price range. Sorry ! <img src="/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

Definitely want one, waiting (hoping) the price will come down. My wife and I do remote 4 wheel camping and ATVing in AZ and NM and it would really be extra peace of mind to have one, when you literally are 30-40 miles from anywhere.

Here rests XXXXXX
"They were waiting for the price to go down on safety equipment"


They have gone DOWN a TON! They used to be $1,000+ now you can easily get htem for under $300.

-Todd

If this kind of stuff is now considered required safety equipment, then I don't want to be safe. What's next ... surrounding yourself with a gaggle of bodyguards when you go hiking? I can see a use for these things in some specialized situations, but as a routine "I need this to remain safe" for Joe Average citizen, well, I just don't get it. It would be safer to just stay home.

I never said you HAD to have it.
But the reply that (s)he wanted it and the reaosn not to have it was cost... well that doesn't make sense to me when it comes to an item that WILL BE used to save your life. (This device serves no other purpose than to save your life.)

The PLB isn't like any other survival "tool" in my eyes... other tools matches to knives are used to either prolong life or to make yourself comfortable thus mentaly proloning your will to survive... the PLB doesn't really do any of those it's ONLY MADE to save your life. YOu use it as your LAST resort to SAVE your life.

So while you don't need it for $280 I don't see a reason NOT to have one if your activities warrant it.

And in reply to your "I would rather not be safe"... why are you here then? You are here to learn things and learn about devices to help you survive... I think I'm done replying to this w/you as it seems you think you know you wont need it or 1. you know it all or 2. you don't put yourself in any situation where you may need it. Really confused and don't know why anyone would NOT want to be safe... to each their own.

-Todd

No you didn't. But the words you used, "They were waiting for the price to go down on safety equipment", were apparently intended to sarcastically imply that people who don't have these things are stupid and cheap. Is there some other meaning to those words than what I interpreted?

My response, "then I don't want to be safe", was just as sarcastic and facetious - I'll grant you that This evidently offended you, so I apologize. That was not my intent. Of course I want to be safe too, but I just view these beacon things as overkill for normal hiking scenerios. Today's normal scenerio may turn into tomorrow's disaster, so you do have a point to make about carrying one of these beacons. And I agree if your quests take you far off the beaten path majorly into harms way. Or if you're in an avalanche area where quick location and rescue is mandatory.

But I dread the day when we all give in to being tracked down to our precise location on the planet, just to feel safe and secure. That distaste is the underlying feeling behind my sarcastic "then I don't want to be safe" and "will bodyguards be next" comments.

[edit]spelling[/edit]

Sorry my reply wasn't to be mean or .."imply that people who don't have these things are stupid and cheap".
It was to imply that if this person warranteda need for the item the ~$300 price tag should be a non-issue for them because they already think they are putting themselves at extreme risk and need it.

Glad we got that all celared up <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

-Todd