[pct-l] PBS [personal locator beacon] on the PCT?

Sun Apr 5 11:07:48 CDT 2015

I totally agree with what Ned says.  I am on the Sheriff's equestrian patrol 
and I do large animal rescue.  We carried an In Reach and were able to 
communicate via text with the call center.  They wanted to know how many 
people, we needed to let them know we had a horse involved, and the rescue 
went off in a timely manner.  We set up ahead of time, our emergency 
contacts, one of which is a friend and batallion chief for LA County Fire. 
As the call center got our call, our 3 contacts were notified of the 
accident.  My fireman friend and his wife were enroute to the hospital 
because they were kept informed by the system as to where I was.  My son, a 
Sheriff, also was enroute to the accident site.  The InReach not only sent 
the info to the call center, but allowed us to text our exact situation, 
what we were wearing, injuries, etc.  Everyone was kept informed.  To our 
advantage, we were not charged any fees by the Fire Department, only the vet 
who came to the site and the animal shelter where Dakota was taken.  Also we 
had vet bills from the 2nd vet who saved Dakota.  I am told that since I 
live in San Bernardino County and pay taxes there, that there is a 
reciprocal agreement with LA County to take care of injuries that happen 
there to SB Cty residents.  Not all counties have this agreement, but money 
is exchanged between the counties all the time....we just never see it.

All this to say that just a PLB is good, but not as good as a 2 way 
communication device.
Golly
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Ned Tibbits" <ned at mountaineducation.org>
To: "The Wilderness Vagabond" <wildvagabond at yahoo.com>; 
<pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Sunday, April 05, 2015 8:48 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] PBS [personal locator beacon] on the PCT?

> I'd simply like to add, from the Search & Rescue point of view, that 
> reliable and effective communication is key to not only your rescue, but 
> your patient care. In reality, this is how it works in most places:
>
> - PLB sends a message to a national center who relays it to the local 
> Sheriff,
> - the Sheriff dispatches their Search & Rescue team,
> - an Incident Command (IC) is established at/near a trailhead,
> - environmental conditions are assessed for the safety of the rescuers,
> - a Hasty Team (HT) is sent in to find or scout suspected quadrants,
> - if the HT finds their patient, they radio back to IC regarding what they 
> need (hence, a delay in care),
> - a properly supplied team, then, hikes in to provide the needed care and 
> extract the patient.
>
> If the PLB can at least text out what is wrong with the patient, it 
> eliminates the HT and allows us to bring in exactly what the patient needs 
> on the first trip. If a helicopter is determined to be the best, easiest, 
> and most timely way of pulling off the SAR, they usually carry the 
> appropriately trained and supplied personnel to help most patients on the 
> first visit, but the Sheriff has to make this call.
>
> There is no patient cost for SAR when a public, tax-payer-funded team or 
> helicopter responds. If a private version has to fill in because the 
> government team is down or busy, there will be a cost. In situations where 
> the public responders have to utilize a private ground transport ambulance 
> in the chain to get you to the hospital, the private ambulance will bill 
> you.
>
> SAR personnel want to know:
> - where you are, usually in UTMs. The helicopter will want to know your 
> lat/long location,
> - what your environmental and physical conditions are (weather, health, 
> and threats; i.e.: what's wrong?),
> - what you need them to bring (hence, a Wilderness First Responder course 
> is valuable),
>
> If you can put that into a text or 2-way voice message, the response will 
> go faster and provide the needed care on time.
>
>
>
> Ned Tibbits, Director
> Mountain Education, Inc.
> www.mountaineducation.org
> ned at mountaineducation.org
>
>
> Mission:
> "To minimize wilderness accidents, injury, and illness in order to 
> maximize wilderness enjoyment, safety, and personal growth, all through 
> experiential education and risk awareness training."
> -----Original Message----- 
> From: The Wilderness Vagabond
> Sent: Saturday, April 04, 2015 3:02 PM
> To: pct-l at backcountry.net
> Subject: [pct-l] PBS [personal locator beacon] on the PCT?
>
>
> PLB [personal locator beacon] on the PCT?
>
> I am responding to previous questions about using a Spot on the PCT.
>
> If you want a PLB that actually works when you really need it, I suggest 
> you take a strong look at the ACR ResQ-Link.   It transmits at 5.0 watts 
> (the Spot at 0.4 --- that's a zero point four), uses the dedicated public 
> satellite system  (No corporate fees or delays), has no (none) 
> subscription fees (ever), and is much less expensive over a 3-year period, 
> even when factoring in a battery replacement at 5 years, than either the 
> Spot or InReach.  Most importantly, it works when you really need it, 
> blasting out a signal with GPS coordinates and a radio signal too.
> A Spot is fun when you get it to work.  It has a poor record of sending 
> accurate signals when there's trees or canyons involved.
> If you Have to have a messenger, get an InReach, which operates at 1.6 
> watts, yet weighs a lot compared to the 4.3 ounces of an ResQ-Link.  Also, 
> the ResQ-Link is made in the US.
> There is an analysis of PLBs
> in this (noncommercial) trip report:
>
> http://wildernessvagabond.com/needles-salt-2014/needles-salt-2014.htm
>
> Best wishes for safe travels, cordially,  WildVagabond
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