Thread: Starlink vs PLB

Gday all,

As we know Starlink/One NZ are promising complete cellular coverage of the country at the end of this year. Assuming for the sake of argument it will be truly nation wide (I.e no dead spots) which I’m sure it wont be. Do you think this service will phase out PLBs or at least make them unnecessary? Interesting to hear your thoughts.

Cheers

PLB is definitely still necessary, but I'm hoping your phone might be able to replace an inReach.

Nope,
PLBs transmissions are routed direct to RCC (Rescue Coordination Center) the beacon is registered too.
They automatically transmit their current location when activated (modern ones do anyway) and also have a beacon built in that Aircraft can home in on once they are in the area.
Cellphones rely on information supplied by the user, have no homing beacon. Their batteries may also not last as used for other things.
I would consider them as a good addition to your safety equipment but not a replacement for a PLB

I think the question should be Starlink vs InReach...

A dedicated PLB (with a battery that will not run flat) should always be part of the emergency kit.

Rebranding Vodafone to One won't make them any better than before and I for one won't be giving Musk my money, I'll stick with my plb

So I injured my ankle out for a walk alongside the Ashley river a while back, fortunately I had phone reception.

My wife has zero map reading ability so trying to get her to pick me up was a battle. I couldn't send my location from google maps because she's on an apple and I'm android, I tried sharing my location in real time but it chewed my battery and was only accurate to within about 20m, in the end I had to screenshot my location on topo50 and send it to her, then talk her in the final distance on the phone.

The thought of trying to do that in the bush seems like a nightmare, I'd prefer to hit the help button on the plb, then leave it to do its business while I focus on staying alive.

I'm not sure if I would want reception in the hills. That's my time to switch off. Will keep carrying my plb brick haha

PLB all day long......you arse up in the creek or take tumble down hill the PLB will still be working,are you willing to gamble your life on your cell phone surviving either of those situations???
the fellas coming to find you and get you out of the smelly stuff after its hit the whirly thing will be able to track your PLB a shit load easier than cell phone pings from your sos calls..... if its cold and dark n wet the difference in time might mean difference between walking you out of flying you out in bodybag.

PLB all day long. Set that off and you will have a helicopter despatched straight away. What will you do with a phone? Ring 111 and they will send an ambulance and then access the situation. By the time someone gets to you you could already be in a hospital getting treated. I'm speaking from personal experience. I set off PLB and rang 111 just because I got service and thought they might pass on info to chopper. They sent an ambulance even though I told them I was 4km from a road and chopper was on the way. In an emergency use your PLB.

Different tools doing different jobs - the Inreach vs cellphone question is more of an apples vs apples question.

As said, PLB will transmit for days once activated and provides RCCNZ with the device serial number, user's name, contact details and position down to meters and if the device can't see the sky it is still very likely that a passing aircraft will pick up the beacon. One issue that OneNZ/Starlink haven't announced a resolution for is the data vs text issue as a lot of phones default to RCS messaging now which isn't functional on an SMS-only service. Apparently the OneNZ/Starlink service will only be SMS for the first few years or so gradually bringing in voice and data as the service develops.

As a Starlink user (no other effective reliable option even though we are less than 5km from urban fiber) 1) I take what telecommunications companies spout with a very small grain of salt and 2) even Starlink has off days.