Thread: Replacement PLB battery????

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

I too would like to know. The replacement Jotron's are 600 bucks! seems like if you don't do a lot of hunting that you'd be better off renting one

Quite likely for some, the main con being the inconvenience of physically uplifting the beacon rather than jetting straight for the hills.
$600 odd seems to be a round figure these days. I still believe they could be subsidised.
Another benefit renting is you hopefully get a latest generation beacon, like with the return link service and IR strobes for instance. 10 years is a long time to be stuck with legacy electronics features.

Also to clarify, the I’m prejudiced against the KTi’s, there’s good reason they were phased out and why I personally would upgrade one over a new battery.

Glad this thread started. Had a look at my plb. Test light still works but replacement date is 2021.
Its a gme If its any use to someone they can have it. I've got a new one.

Originally Posted by Moutere

Quite likely for some, the main con being the inconvenience of physically uplifting the beacon rather than jetting straight for the hills.
$600 odd seems to be a round figure these days. I still believe they could be subsidised.
Another benefit renting is you hopefully get a latest generation beacon, like with the return link service and IR strobes for instance. 10 years is a long time to be stuck with legacy electronics features.

Also to clarify, the I’m prejudiced against the KTi’s, there’s good reason they were phased out and why I personally would upgrade one over a new battery.

Can you give any pointers? A bit of googling and I can't find anything online, reviews or feedback on use, that indicates any problems with the KTi units.

I wasn't aware of any issue either, but the lack of manufacturer support would mean that I would not be looking to continue with one going forwards. My own PLB that is awaiting a service is 3 years past expiry and still testing OK, but I believe that it was culled as part of the cleanup the local rescue center did a few years back (the emails about it did not survive Spark's junk mail filter and I only found them after the date that they said they were going to remove the registration and I haven't reregistered it yet).

They are/were highly over represented in inadvertent activations (going off on their own). Which I guess is better than not going off at all, but for me personally puts their reliability when it matters into question.

Thanks for that. I've still got a couple of years left on mine until I hit the best before date. Run the test on it before I head out so guess I'll just rely on that until I do end up replacing it.
Hopefully the new version (well it looks like the same form factor) is more solid.

Originally Posted by Brian

Glad this thread started. Had a look at my plb. Test light still works but replacement date is 2021.
Its a gme If its any use to someone they can have it. I've got a new one.

Take it to telesound in nelson str petone he replaced my gme battery for $180 , good service

Originally Posted by Happy Jack

$600 over 11 years though so what price on your safety

it is not necessarily the price, just that it is advertised as a ten year battery and mine has run out in 6 years and never been turned on other than test mode

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

it is not necessarily the price, just that it is advertised as a ten year battery and mine has run out in 6 years and never been turned on other than test mode

I hear you mines at 9 years and still passes the test and no sign of the battery dying yet.

My KTI is good to 2028, battery test ok.
How often do you test your battery and how much battery does it use?
Never gave it a thought up until now.

Originally Posted by Russian 22.

it is not necessarily the price, just that it is advertised as a ten year battery and mine has run out in 6 years and never been turned on other than test mode

Spoken to the retailer you bought it from? That sounds like a warranty issue..

Originally Posted by erniec

My KTI is good to 2028, battery test ok.
How often do you test your battery and how much battery does it use?
Never gave it a thought up until now.

Bingo.
The KTi manual warns against doing it more than once a month due to battery consumption.

Originally Posted by StrikerNZ

Spoken to the retailer you bought it from? That sounds like a warranty issue..

I'll have to see what skippersmate says about it.

Test mine usually around twice a year

Re checking the Jotron PLB info - says 11 yr battery life, 5 yr warranty, NZ coded, $539.00 - 2024 pricing. The advert was in the latest FMC magazine.