What electronics are worth buying

I have a PLB.Â* Given some of the complaints I've read here and
elsewhere, I'm not yet convinced that the communicator will work when
"needed".

But I've just got to ask:Â* Did any of the proponents of any of these
devices actually fly cross country before they were available?Â* Did you
wait until the apron strings reached the distance you wanted to fly
before heading out?Â* Maybe we should all go back and read some of the
land out stories from the 90s and earlier.Â* Where has the adventurous
spirit gone?

I'm way behind in my "Soaring" reading, but I just read Steve's 1,000K
attempt where he flew from Moriarty to Aztec on the first leg.Â* Would he
have done that without a tracker/communicator? Steve?Â* I've driven and
flown (power) that route many times and there aren't many places to land
without damage...

On 10/28/2018 6:53 AM, RR wrote:
One BIG advantage to a tracker/communicator is it will (may) help if you are incapacitated. The plb requires activation. I know there are plenty of situations where it might not work, but there is no situation where a plb will work without activation.

This feature may not matter to you if the reason you cant activate it is because you are dead, but it will matter to your friends and family to aid in a fast resolution of a rescue/recovery attempt.

I have both, "belt and braces" as the British say, but that is just because I bought the plb before inreach was available. I have also used the inreach for boating in the back county of the Everglades, trips in Newfoundland and other off grid locations. No issues.

If I had to choose, hands down, inreach.

Rick

--
Dan, 5J

On Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 10:48:01 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
I have a PLB.Â* Given some of the complaints I've read here and
elsewhere, I'm not yet convinced that the communicator will work when
"needed".

Say what? InReach gives you receipt confirmation on all messages sent. With recently deployed "Iridium Next" satellites, it works from inside my house. Given the choice of making a 911 call on a PLB vs InReach, I'll take the latter (for many reasons, previously discussed)!

But I've just got to ask:Â* Did any of the proponents of any of these
devices actually fly cross country before they were available?Â* Did you
wait until the apron strings reached the distance you wanted to fly
before heading out?Â* Maybe we should all go back and read some of the
land out stories from the 90s and earlier.Â* Where has the adventurous
spirit gone?

Adventurous spirit alive and well, thanks. I never found that difficulty in ground communication (I've had my share of this) added to the adventure. As well, consider your crew & family.

Evan / T8

Well, my crew and family is generally with me, so a land out, only at a
paved airport for me, thanks, will always be at an airport. Then the
adventure begins! :-D

My experience with InReach was a friend's unit around 3 years ago and we
had a lot of trouble with text messages being received. Maybe he just
had something set up incorrectly.

On 10/28/2018 10:18 AM, Tango Eight wrote:
On Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 10:48:01 AM UTC-4, Dan Marotta wrote:
I have a PLB.Â* Given some of the complaints I've read here and
elsewhere, I'm not yet convinced that the communicator will work when
"needed".
Say what? InReach gives you receipt confirmation on all messages sent. With recently deployed "Iridium Next" satellites, it works from inside my house. Given the choice of making a 911 call on a PLB vs InReach, I'll take the latter (for many reasons, previously discussed)!

But I've just got to ask:Â* Did any of the proponents of any of these
devices actually fly cross country before they were available?Â* Did you
wait until the apron strings reached the distance you wanted to fly
before heading out?Â* Maybe we should all go back and read some of the
land out stories from the 90s and earlier.Â* Where has the adventurous
spirit gone?
Adventurous spirit alive and well, thanks. I never found that difficulty in ground communication (I've had my share of this) added to the adventure. As well, consider your crew & family.

Evan / T8

--
Dan, 5J