Thread: PLB prices going down

Originally Posted by gimp

Emailed them, their blurb for the one I bought seems to indicate it will work in NZ, I will find out

How did you get on with this?

Yeah it'll work fine in NZ they reckon.

Originally Posted by Pengy

Why a Personal Locator Beacon - Part 1 - YouTube

Anyone know how long it would take SAR in NZ to get your signal ? , watching that promo vid it shows that long distance satiate orbits every 24 hrs but had a huge view . It be worth knowing what worst wait time on signal getting back would be .

Especially if your hanging out for a smoke!

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NZ registered beacon with its own internal GPS, ie Country coded for NZ and properly registered in NZ I would expect 30mins to 50 minutes or less from activation to action happening. By the time they ring the emergency contacts to check its a valid activation and sort a chopper closest.

If brought overseas and properly registered with the authorities in the counrty of purchase I reckon a couple of hours by the time they check the activation is valid, its location and pass it on to NZ SAR

Originally Posted by mikee

NZ registered beacon with its own internal GPS, ie Country coded for NZ and properly registered in NZ I would expect 30mins to 50 minutes or less from activation to action happening. By the time they ring the emergency contacts to check its a valid activation and sort a chopper closest.

If brought overseas and properly registered with the authorities in the counrty of purchase I reckon a couple of hours by the time they check the activation is valid, its location and pass it on to NZ SAR

And that's only if you have to wait for the gps. A lot of them get picked up by aircraft pilots having their ear drums rattled on the emergency band.

I went halves in one of these with a hunting buddy and we share it which is a good way to break up the cost.

Got it in January from Burnsco Marine which was about $20 more expensive than getting one off trade me if I remember correctly but I prefer to deal with a store that I can physically take it back to if it ever needs servicing (no the batteries don't last forever!)

I'm a little worried though with quite a few people setting them off when they aren't really in great danger, it makes me wonder whether search and rescue take these signals very seriously.

Tardy tramper blasted for chopper pickup | Stuff.co.nz

Timaru Hunter Found After Search And Rescue Near... | Stuff.co.nz

Locator beacon cries for help - from tip | Stuff.co.nz

Discarded beacon sparks huge search | Stuff.co.nz

I know there are lots of success stories but stories like these worry me about our investment! Personally I wouldn't be setting this thing off just because I got bushed and had to spend a cold night in the bush...

Originally Posted by gimp

Apparently not





Ocean Signal RescueMe PLB1 Smallest PLB | PLB | Adventure Safety


Free shipping might only work to .au addresses....

Just ordered one of these. They work in NZ. Cost all up with no shipping costs at all required was NZ $425. Lets hope I don't have to use it in the next 7 years of its battery life time before replacing them.

Until reading this thread,Iv'e always carried a pigeon. The wee bugger will be delighted to become retired.

And those trampers that died on Mt Egmont were in contact with help via their phones but they just couldn't get to them - so having the gadget is no substitute for planning for the weather!

The ocean signal model above that will apparently "work" in NZ..... Does anyone have any details more than "it'll work"?

Originally Posted by doinit

Until reading this thread,Iv'e always carried a pigeon. The wee bugger will be delighted to become retired.

The problem with pigeons is that if they fly over Toby's way he will put them in a pie.

Antsman. Yes they work in NZ or any where in the world.

this one seems like a bloody good price might have to get me one, ACR RESQLINK 406MHz GPS PLB AUST CODED BEACON | Trade Me or this one OCEAN SIGNAL AUSTRALIA rescueME GPS PLB1 Beacon | Trade Me decisions....

That ACR one is a very sharp price. They're $US224 in the states (equates to $NZ290). They cost $80-$90 to get them reprogrammed with the NZ country code, so with all the faffing about sourcing one stateside, importing it, getting it reprogrammed, you may as well buy the one you've found on TardMe.