I am shopping for some safety gear including EPIRB and GPS sat phone (more for ocean sailing than racing)...my research a while back about GPS satellite communication devices seemed to favor Delorme's Inreach sat phone vs. SPOT.....so am a bit more curious what folks here thought about SPOT outside the racing situation...also, on 406 EPIRB, they tend to be pricy so if anyone has a recommendation it would be useful to hear about pros and cons and recommendations there too...an ACR PLB 375 is about $260, Delorme's sat phone $300 and SPOT's system $140. However, the subscriptions for sat phone's have various features and strings attached that also need to be considered...
The differences between EPIRBs and PLBs
Personal Location Beacons work in exactly the same way as EPIRBs by sending a coded message on the 406 MHz distress frequency which is relayed via the Cospas-Sarsat global satellite system.
However, there are a number of differences between them. PLBs are designed to be carried on the person so they are much smaller, some such as the Fast find are not much larger than the size of a mobile phone. PLBs are designed to be used anywhere in the world, on the sea and also on land. Some don't float but may come with an additional floatational sleeve which they should be carried in.
PLBs, once activated, will transmit for a minimum of 24 hours; while the battery life on an EPIRB is at least double (a minimum of 48 hours). An EPIRB is registered to a vessel, whereas a PLB is registered to a person. This means that if you are crewing a yacht and you switch to a new yacht the plb is still correctly registered; however, if you have an EPIRB and buy a new yacht you will need to re-register it when installing in your new boat.
I own a power boat too and the PLB can be moved with me from one boat to another...however might consider a step up to EPIRB later...for now the PLB would probably be fine for crossings to Channel Islands in the SoCal area e.g.
The bad thing about Sat phones is that the prepaid minutes expire.
The bad thing about EPIRBs is that the batteries are only good for about 5 years and they are costly to replace.
SPOT also has a monthly subscription fee.
Edited by matt922 on Feb 09, 2014 - 01:56 PM.
we have sat phones for our job out in the gulf of mexico , i have never heard a good word said about them.. junk is a word we hear a lot
"406 EPIRB, they tend to be pricy"
an old ad for Bell Helmets used the tag line "a ten dollar helmet for a ten dollar head?"
when things go to sh*t, what's your life worth???
Edited by straycat58239 on Feb 09, 2014 - 08:16 PM.
"when things go to sh*t, what's your life worth???"
That's definitely true, the question is whether a basic PLB for $269 is good enough for a sailing e.g. to Catalina...or whether folks prefer the pricier one's and if so what are the main benefits of the bigger price tag for "occasional" use...
On the GPS sat phones..DeLorme's InReach has expanded their plan line up that you can now sign up from month to month rather than annual contract for a bit more. Also, allows to uo or down grade your plans a bit easier so offers more fleixibility. They have gotten some decent reviews...
The new "freedom plans" come online not until March:
http://www.inreachdelorme.com/freedom/index.php
Edited by marekli on Feb 11, 2014 - 04:36 PM.