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Posted by TeaEss on February 11, 2008 at 5:22:25 am EST
In reply to TracMe locator beacon posted by MTB416 on October 29, 2007 at 10:39:28 pm EDT

The TracMe locator beacon is designed to give those people who would otherwise use no beacon at all an option to dramatically improve their chances of rescue - and no, its not a PLB!! PLB's have been around for more than 30 years, and if they are such a great idea then why doesn't everyone use one? Simple - price, size and/or weight. So most people take no beacon at all. Now, for $100, lasts for 10yrs and only 1.6oz you can give SAR a chance to find you much easier. (add up the cost of SPOT over 10years $150+$99pa x 10 = $1150!!). Great if you can afford it and its what you really want.
No beacon, regardless of its type will guarantee you get rescued. No system is perfect. They will however IMPROVE YOUR CHANCES of being rescued successfully. From an aircraft searchers can pick up the Tracme signal from about 5mls away (regardless of visibility) - thats a hell of a lot better than trying to visually locate a person on the ground in a forest etc.

For those pushing the argument "carrying a beacon gives people a false sense of security so they will then do things they shouldn't" - I have yet to see anyone become a stunt driver simply because they now wear a seatbelt!! and even if they did, how do you know they wouldn't have done it anyway? So should we do away with seatbelts?
TracMe is a lowcost, small and lightweight device which people can carry wherever and whenever they go outdoors - no need to worry about subscriptions (did I pay my bill?), flat batteries or accidental PLB activations setting off a fullscale SAR (PLB's are not ideal for kids). TracMe ain't perfect but it is simple and effective.

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