Thread: Big thanks to the Nelson Marlborough Rescue Helicopter Service and Team

Originally Posted by bunji

@LBD
Would be interesting to hear direct from your mate on " the the rescue crew did voice a preference to use an EPIRB over the Garmin SOS function" I went to a NZDA Southland meeting many years ago when the inReach etc were first coming in & they had guys from the rescue groups talking on the various options & they recommended them over the EPIRB for hunters ,maybe change in tech/size with the EPIRB's or inReach technology types not living up to expectations ?

It’s purely the homing function on the beacons that makes them a more robust system from the point of view of undertaking a search.
The inReach and other communicators are great as you can get some insight as to what the emergency is, however they often only provide a single Lat Long.
There have been inReach jobs out of Nelson where the location given has been up to 2.2 Km out, then revised to about half that distance. The initial search on one began in the wrong catchment, luckily they were well above the bush line and their torches stood out at dusk so fortunately a happy outcome.
Beacons update with each satellite that passes, so by the time you launch the coordinates are normally pretty reliable.

The Becker unit installed in the aircraft can then track the beacon radio directly. This becomes invaluable when the coordinates are under a dense tree canopy, fast tracking the process significantly.

It is extremely reassuring to have two way communication and know your call for help has been heard. The technology is headed towards PLBs with communication capability.

The inReach is great, but IMO it’s primary application is not emergency location (excepting that this might not be so apparent to the user).