Thread: PLB EPIRB Distress Beacon - A few highly recommended MUST Do’s. To Be Repeated Again

Recent mountain rescues and ocean deaths in both Australia and New Zealand have prompted us to again remind you about owning either an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) or PLB (Personal Locator Beacon).




If you have an EPIRB or PLB or BOTH for when you are either tramping or own a boat / kayak and plan to go to sea, there are a few highly recommended MUST Do’s. If you don’t own one – get one now before you go!


They have never been more affordable.


1. Have it registered with the respective government department. The service is free and they play a vital role in locating your position and getting a rescue team to you in the shortest practical time possible. If the reason you haven’t registered is that you think Big Brother is watching, then you are misunderstanding the department’s role and resources.


2. Have you regularly tested your beacon as per the manufacturer’s manual? The battery life is calculated to handle both the design specification minimum activation time of 24 hours, plus regular battery tests.


3. When travelling with a group, always show everyone where the beacon is stored and how to activate it. Preferably, never store it out of sight but if you do, tell everyone where it is. On a boat, label the compartment or grab bag it is in.


4. Never carry a PLB in your backpack, on the trail bike or horse saddle bag. Always keep it on your person because you don’t want to be separated. Imagine if you’re stuck on a ledge and your backpack is only a metre away but out of reach ….. bugger!


5. If your circumstances appear, even remotely, of becoming grave or imminently dangerous, ACTIVATE the beacon. Do this even before broadcasting a Mayday call if you have a VHF radio or mobile phone. Search and Rescue organisations need as much good weather as possible to get helicopters and ground crew to you. Flash flooding or a boat capsizing can happen within minutes. Always accept that you could have less than 2 minutes before a boat sinks or burns to the water level. Too late then for a Mayday call. Get the beacon activated first.

I would also add : Get a small laminated card with instructions of how to activate the beacon and store it inside the beacon pouch. I store mine in a Hi-viz orange pouch labelled "PLB" on my bino harness. Anyone could activate my beacon following the instruction sheet if I am unconscious.

Originally Posted by K95

I would also add : Get a small laminated card with instructions of how to activate the beacon and store it inside the beacon pouch. I store mine in a Hi-viz orange pouch labelled "PLB" on my bino harness. Anyone could activate my beacon following the instruction sheet if I am unconscious.

That is a great idea. I know KTi do it for their EPIRBS that skippers can adhere to the boat next to the mounting bracket. I'll pass this one on to them.

Peter...

Had a question asked by a shop employee that i shouldn't buy one from you as my rescue time would be delayed as it is from oz is this right or wrong?

I brought an ACR plb of mycooebay and just tried to registar it and it tells me tht my id number on the unit cant be used in nz. Whats the story?

Sent from my SM-G388F using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Markgibsonr25

Had a question asked by a shop employee that i shouldn't buy one from you as my rescue time would be delayed as it is from oz is this right or wrong?

That is wrong as the KTI units he sells here are NZ coded units. In any case the delay is just the delay of a phone call. This is after all a global system.

Originally Posted by Dan88

I brought an ACR plb of mycooebay and just tried to registar it and it tells me tht my id number on the unit cant be used in nz. Whats the story?

Sent from my SM-G388F using Tapatalk

It can be used anywhere on the globe. It may be an Aussie coded unit which needs to be registered in Aus, but that shouldn't be an issue.

The aussie website wouldnt accept any phone number i tried to put in. International format and everything else i could think of

Sent from my SM-G388F using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Dan88

The aussie website wouldnt accept any phone number i tried to put in. International format and everything else i could think of

Sent from my SM-G388F using Tapatalk

had an issue ordering my first one, gave them a ring and sorted it all out

Originally Posted by Markgibsonr25

Had a question asked by a shop employee that i shouldn't buy one from you as my rescue time would be delayed as it is from oz is this right or wrong?

That's incorrect, I use my Australian coded one through out Asia pacific.
AMSA will pick up the distress signal and contact the local authority to carry out the search/rescue.

Originally Posted by Dan88

The aussie website wouldnt accept any phone number i tried to put in. International format and everything else i could think of

Sent from my SM-G388F using Tapatalk

Dan, from memory there is a comments section on the registration page, I recorded my NZ details and supporting info there.

Cheers. It wouldnt let me procede without having the numbers in the form. Might have another try later

Sent from my SM-G388F using Tapatalk

Originally Posted by Dan88

Cheers. It wouldnt let me procede without having the numbers in the form. Might have another try later

Sent from my SM-G388F using Tapatalk

Just call them! Took me 5mins to give details on the phone and arrive in a few days

Originally Posted by Dan88

Cheers. It wouldnt let me procede without having the numbers in the form. Might have another try later

Sent from my SM-G388F using Tapatalk

@Dan88 I don't have your name, hence I cannot call you. Send me a private message. AMSA did have a system issue a few months ago apparently corrected. I only spoke to the department manger last thursday and no mention of any issue.

Absolutely be assured you can register with them and have SaR activated. There are plenty of ACR & NZ Maritime stories about beacon activations. As others have stated... these are global units and not just exclusive for NZ.

Contact me if you need help.

Originally Posted by Markgibsonr25

Had a question asked by a shop employee that i shouldn't buy one from you as my rescue time would be delayed as it is from oz is this right or wrong?

@Markgibsonr25 ... WRONG!

Here's a few stories I have published over the last few years... SKIPPERSMATE TOO CHEAP FOR NEW ZEALAND RETAILERS - WHERE IS THE JUSTICE! - SkippersMate

This one was my first.... https://vhfradiocourse.com/new-zealand-epirb-plb-myths/

Can you please as the "shop employee" for just ONE example in the last 20 years for a delayed response... All I ask is for ONE ONLY EXAMPLE!

And here's an example off the ACR website... Au beacon activated and chopper overhead in under an hour... AUSTRALIAN CODED RESQLINK PLB BEACON SAVES TRAMPER IN NEW ZEALAND - SkippersMate

As I've said to heaps of other NZ buyers over the last 5 years, do you really think a Federal Govt SaR in Australia is going to take your registration and then take a coffee break when you activate it in NZ. We may have lost the rugby cup again and again again, but we do still love ya!

I'll stop the rant and am happy to talk to anyone if you want to... Did I tell you I've also been in each rescue centre in Canberra and Wellington and in the England one to see how the Global system works.