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Posted by Tom D on November 7, 2007 at 11:36:27 pm EST
In reply to TracMe locator beacon posted by MTB416 on October 29, 2007 at 10:39:28 pm EDT

Here is a detailed review of one alternative to a true PLB-the SPOT; it is from the same site linked above by Ohmygoat
http://www.equipped.com/SPOT_ORSummer2007.htm

I have no personal experience with these beacons, but have read quite a bit about them. The PLBs now available are smaller versions of the EPIRB-the kind of beacon sailors and pilots have carried for years on planes and boats.

If I was going to buy a beacon of some sort, I would spend a lot of time reading up on all the choices, and not just the advertising hype, either. Some require a subscription, some operate off of proprietary satellites, some operate on FRS and some connect by satellite directly to official rescue centers when activated. It may take some reading and asking questions to determine which one is most suited for your purposes. PLBs do work; I have read several accounts of rescues made after the user activated the signal.

After reading the review of the TracMe on the Equipped to Survive site, including the very detailed analysis of how it works, I know that in situations I have been in, where having some kind of beacon could have been a useful thing to have, had I gotten hurt, it would have been totally useless for all of the reasons outlined in the review. Only a PLB would have been the right gadget to use.

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