handheld aviation radio for backpacker?

He needs a backpacker ELT...



wrote in message ups.com...
:
: I've got a friend of mine who is going backpacking in Alaska for a
: couple of weeks. He has expressed an interest in borrowing my handheld
: aviation radio to use in an emergency so that they can "flag down" an
: overflying aircraft.
:
: I don't mind lending the radio, but I don't think the radio affords
: then very much protection. In order for it to "work," there would have
: to be an aircraft overflying their area *and* it would have to be low
: enough for the handheld signal to reach it *and* it would have to be
: monitoring 121.5 or otherwise be on the same frequency. (I guess I
: could find him an ARTCC frequency map for the area in which he'd be
: hiking.) Maybe in Alaska monitoring guard is s.o.p., but where I'm from
: (NorCal) it doesn't happen as much as it should.
:
: Is there really any reasonable chance that this would be valuable to my
: friend?
:
: I have suggested they get a personal 406MHz ELT, but they are about
: $600 for a regular unit, and $700 for one that also incorporates a GPS.
: Are these things available for rent?
:
: Also, can one rent an Iridium phone reasonably? That seems like it
: would be more useful for this purpose.
:
: Anyone have thoughts?
:
: thanks,
: -- dave j
: -- jacobowitz73 --at-- yahoo --dot-- com
:
: PS -- I know it's also illegal to operate an airband radio for a
: nonaviation purpose, but I figure I should not be too worried about
: that, if they really intend to use it in for an emergency only.
: