[meteorite-list] Meteorite Hunting Personal Locator Beacon

From: GeoZay at aol.com <GeoZay_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu, 11 Nov 2010 09:20:13 EST
Message-ID: <5e369.3d9c5b59.3a0d559d_at_aol.com>

>>Does anyone have any personal use experience of a PLB (Personal Locator
Beacon)? Some places meteorite hunters go do not have cell phone coverage>>


My wife is an avid back packer. I often don't go on these hikes, but I
still worry about where she's at and her status when she hikes. So we got her
this device called SPOT. It allows her to send one of three preset signals
from just about anywhere. the signals are: 1) Hi its Deana and I'm doing
fine and having fun. 2) I'm having trouble, but don't need to be rescued. 3)
I'm in a serious bind and need to be rescued. So far I've only got the
first signal from her. When I get these signals, it also shows her exact
location on a topog map. She usually sends her signal in the evening. Sometimes
she sends it twice...once around lunch time and then the evening. On some
occasions, I don't get the signal because she's down in a hole and the signal
doesn't always get out. But most of the time it does. So as a back up, we
agreed that she will try to send a signal during lunch time if able. This
device is very reasuring. I can compare her location to the various weather
radar images, so I usually know if she's in deep doo doo or not when it
comes to weather. Besides owning the device, you have to pay a yearly fee for
the service itself. Its fairly expensive, but if used often its worth it in
my book. I used it last September while on a ten day canoe trip on the
Green River in Utah. I was with a group, so the signal went to a family member
of one of our group. He then passed the info to other family members etc.
George Zay
Received on Thu 11 Nov 2010 09:20:13 AM PST