Using a PLB when travelling

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Geektastic

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#116078 17-Apr-2013 14:17

Hi

I can't really find an answer to this, believe it or not.

I am heading to SE Asia (Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines) for 2 months on a solo trip and am considering taking a PLB (ACR Res Q Link with GPS)

What I cannot discover is what will happen if I needed to activate it in, say, a remote part of Cambodia.

Does anyone know? (I'm not specifically needing info on Cambodian response - just what would happen in any of those places if I was far from built up areas).

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#801040 17-Apr-2013 14:58

Are you wanting to know if a helicopter will turn up to rescue you? or something else

The availability of SAR rescue resources will be country specific, but I would expect they will all have some ability to perform a rescue ( depending on the situation)

Geektastic

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#801047 17-Apr-2013 15:12

Well, really if anything at all will turn up!!

YadaMe

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#801053 17-Apr-2013 15:27

My understanding is that it will get directed to New Zealand search and rescue (or country of purchases equivalent), who will then pass information on. So there may be a delay in getting rescued. Hopefully someone else can confirm this.

naggyman

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#801060 17-Apr-2013 15:33

YadaMe: My understanding is that it will get directed to New Zealand search and rescue (or country of purchases equivalent), who will then pass information on. So there may be a delay in getting rescued. Hopefully someone else can confirm this.

I will confirm this.

When a beacon is activated the message goes to the Emergency Coordination Centre of the country it is registered to. So if you do activate it internationally it will take much longer for SAR teams to be sent, as the message will go to Wellington where they will need to call next of kin and then talk to the country that you are in. It may save hassle to hire a beacon in the country that you are going to.

From http://www.beacons.org.nz/LAND.htm

Each country has an individual 406 code. When you purchase a 406 MHz distress beacon, make sure it is coded for New Zealand. The New Zealand Country Code is 512. If you buy one from overseas or over the Internet, it could be an expensive mistake. When an overseas beacon is activated in New Zealand, the satellite may notify the wrong rescue coordination centre, which could mean a long, potentially life-threatening delay in your rescue.

Morgan French-Stagg

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#801130 17-Apr-2013 17:48

naggyman:
YadaMe: My understanding is that it will get directed to New Zealand search and rescue (or country of purchases equivalent), who will then pass information on. So there may be a delay in getting rescued. Hopefully someone else can confirm this.

I will confirm this.

When a beacon is activated the message goes to the Emergency Coordination Centre of the country it is registered to. So if you do activate it internationally it will take much longer for SAR teams to be sent, as the message will go to Wellington where they will need to call next of kin and then talk to the country that you are in. It may save hassle to hire a beacon in the country that you are going to.

From http://www.beacons.org.nz/LAND.htm

Each country has an individual 406 code. When you purchase a 406 MHz distress beacon, make sure it is coded for New Zealand. The New Zealand Country Code is 512. If you buy one from overseas or over the Internet, it could be an expensive mistake. When an overseas beacon is activated in New Zealand, the satellite may notify the wrong rescue coordination centre, which could mean a long, potentially life-threatening delay in your rescue.

What is the point of having GPS in the beacon if the system ignores it and causes a dumb mistake like that? Surely the system should notify the closest rescue facility?

I don't think hiring one in each of 4 countries - which probably don't have reliable hire facilities in any case - is likely to work.

naggyman

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#801190 17-Apr-2013 20:01

The problem is that the country's emergency operations centre is responsible for keeping next of kin contacts and keeping them up to date. A lot of the issues is reliability - something has to be dead reliable. The PLB broadcasts the country code itself so that the satellites take the message to the correct place. The satellites (that carry the 406 messages) are in orbit, so they pass over and are constantly circling the earth.

So answering the original question, yes it will work overseas.

Morgan French-Stagg

morgan.french.net.nz

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Geektastic

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#801752 18-Apr-2013 16:15

Still seems a bit silly. I mean, if the GPS says you are in the French Alps, sending the alert to NZ seems likely to slow things down a lot - maybe to both areas.

And what happens if your next of kin don't live in NZ but you do..!

wellygary

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#801779 18-Apr-2013 17:12

Geektastic: Still seems a bit silly. I mean, if the GPS says you are in the French Alps, sending the alert to NZ seems likely to slow things down a lot - maybe to both areas.

And what happens if your next of kin don't live in NZ but you do..!

Alerts go to both a local and the home rescue centre at the same time, ( the NZ centre is staffed round the clock), Not all countries have a satellite centre, NZ does,

For the places that you are going only Vietnam is a member country of the cospas-sarsat system, so any rescue is going to have to be initiated from external to 3/4 of the places you are going.....

http://www.cospas-sarsat.org/images/stories/SystemDocs/Current/cs_sd38_dec15_2012.pdf

Technofreak

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#801856 18-Apr-2013 19:56

Have you considered one of these?

http://au.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=101

If you want to, you can give your code to your family friends and they can track you real time if that is your desire or you can send out an emergency message (text type message) if you need help. I have friends with these they are great.

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#802042 19-Apr-2013 08:06

Technofreak: Have you considered one of these?

http://au.findmespot.com/en/index.php?cid=101

If you want to, you can give your code to your family friends and they can track you real time if that is your desire or you can send out an emergency message (text type message) if you need help. I have friends with these they are great.

I have two. However the annual sub for each unit is over $350!

For the cost of one year of subs I can buy a top of the range PLB with no annual costs.

Technofreak

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#802544 19-Apr-2013 21:35

Geektastic:

I have two. However the annual sub for each unit is over $350!

For the cost of one year of subs I can buy a top of the range PLB with no annual costs.

That subscription seems expensive compared to what I've been told it costs friends of mine from oversea.

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#802561 19-Apr-2013 22:25

Technofreak:
Geektastic:

I have two. However the annual sub for each unit is over $350!

For the cost of one year of subs I can buy a top of the range PLB with no annual costs.

That subscription seems expensive compared to what I've been told it costs friends of mine from oversea.

Actually that is the total for the two units I have, not each. My bad.

The new Spot units are a bit smaller and lighter than the originals. However the annual subs are a PITA of course and are levied in USD so you always get pinged for current costs on your credit card as well.

Technofreak

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#802568 19-Apr-2013 22:52

Where spot come into it's own is in situations where you wish to be tracked without having activated the search (911) function. The friends of mine use it when they fly their own or other peoples aircraft internationally, mainly across the Atlantic, so their family and interested friends can see their progress.

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John2010

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#804840 24-Apr-2013 12:15

Geektastic: Hi

I can't really find an answer to this, believe it or not.

I am heading to SE Asia (Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines) for 2 months on a solo trip and am considering taking a PLB (ACR Res Q Link with GPS)

What I cannot discover is what will happen if I needed to activate it in, say, a remote part of Cambodia.

Does anyone know? (I'm not specifically needing info on Cambodian response - just what would happen in any of those places if I was far from built up areas).

I have just caught up with this post, so maybe you have departed.

My detailed familiarity is with EPIRBs but PLB alerts are now handled in the same manner as for them.

Assuming that your PLB is properly registered in some country (presumably NZ) then if you initiate an alert with it:

The COSPAS/SARSAT Mission Control Centres responsible for the country the PLB is registered in and for the region in which the alert is initiated in are both automatically advised of the location of the alert and the beacon's identification.

The Mission Control Centres then advise the Rescue Coordination Centres or Search and Rescue Point of Contacts in both the country the PLB is registered in and the area where the alert was initiated from.

NZ RCC will be advised by the MCCs (nearest is Canberra) and they will coordinate with the one responsible for where the alert is initiated. There are a number of MCCs in SE Asia (at least Vietnam and Singapore) and there are no "holes" around the world not covered, as far as I am aware.

MCCs and RCCs operate 24 hours a day.

The quality of the actual on the ground response at a local level may vary according to the sophistication of the country you are in, but should be adequate. Obviously, also the remoteness of your position from assistance too. You may also have difficulties if you are in an area over which government control is poor or close to sensitive borders (these exist in some of the countries you mention).

While this will not likely affect you, there is no reason why a Rescue Coordination Centre in one area cannot manage a rescue in the area of another RCC and this does happen from time to time, particulalry in non territorial waters. RCCs can also share resources if needed (e.g. one RCC may provided SAR aircraft assistance to another).

If you have any concerns over how it all works then give the Rescue Coordination Centre in Lower Hutt a call (also there is a web site www.beacons.org.nz maintained by the NZ Search and Rescue Council). My experience while registering beacons with them is that they are very helpful. The COSPAS/SARSAT web site also has much information but most is targeted at authorities rather than beacon users.

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#805214 24-Apr-2013 23:02

Thanks for that detailed reply. It certainly sounds as though it will work and I prefer not having to keep paying out annually for the SPOT subs.

I don't leave for another 5 weeks or so but I'm pretty sure that the SPOTS I own are shortly to be found on Trade Me!

Of course, I have full and very comprehensive business travel insurance that includes emergency assistance for times when a phone is handy.

When I am rich and famous, I will retain Dynamiq in Australia to look after my well-being! ;-)

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