Personal Locator Beacons Thu Dec 29 07:34:33 1994 Message : #20242015 From: Hal Lillywhite Address : hall@macs.mxim.com Group : Usenet.rec.backcountry Length : 384 words Subject : Locator Beacons (was 2-meter HAM vs. Cellular) Org. : Maxim Integrated Products, Beaverton OR. In article decastro@netcom.com (Richard A. DeCastro) writes: >scott@hpcvcem.cv.hp.com (Scott Linn) writes: >>There may not be satellite-based beacons, but they have been using >>personal locator beacons on Mount Hood in Oregon for a number of years... >Not the same as elt's or epirbs. It's (I think) the Rocco system or >something like it - or maybe they are using the elt/epirbs, just illegally. Nope! They are simply a slightly modified version of the transmitters biologists hang on wild animals so they can track them for research purposes. (Actually they are like the early versions of those transmitters. The ones bioligists use now don't just tell them where the critter is, they transmit a lot of information like pulse rate, body temperature etc.) The modification consists of making them much more reliable with better batteries and hermeticity, plus an on/off switch. The idea is that climbers rent these and if they get into trouble they turn them on. Then searchers get out a direction finding antenna and just go get them. It worked extremely well in the only case I'm aware of when the lost person had one. The trouble is that the people who get lost seem to be a different group from the people who rent these (they are not available for private purchase). This is not like the aviation ELT system which is monitored. Nobody listens for these things until notification comes through normal channels that a person is overdue. Only then does the sheriff call out SAR people and if the subject has rented one we get out the DF equipment and go get the person. There really is no search in this case, you just follow the signal and go right to the transmitter. (Yes, I'm in a SAR unit which covers Mt. Hood and we train with these.) And by the way, these are quite legal. Really the biggest legal obstacle was that Oregon law had to be changed to give the manufacturer some protection against lawsuits before they dared allow these to be used for life saving. (A sad commentary on our legal system.) (Hal Lillywhite) --------------------------