What electronics are worth buying

My PLB is attached to my parachute harness with a lanyard to secure it
against being dropped.Â* If I chose, I could activate it during my
parachute descent.Â* This, of course, assumes I can get out...

On 10/27/2018 4:13 PM, wrote:
On Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 5:47:21 PM UTC-4, OHM Ω http://aviation.derosaweb.net wrote:
On Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 3:51:58 PM UTC-5, Tango Eight wrote:
On Saturday, October 27, 2018 at 4:33:10 PM UTC-4, wrote:
Here is one source for the needed battery cells (with tabs pre-welded):
https://www.batterybob.com/products/...tabs-lith-8-1/

Here is a source for the whole battery pack ready to plug in, $50 - not blessed by the factory:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ACR-ResQlin...1/332810112016
I think I've been convinced that a PLB isn't worth buying.
T8
Evan (T8),

Since their inception I have always been conflicted which is "better", PLB or Tracker (aka SPOT, inReach, etc). I made a presentation to the ChicagoLand Glider Council on this back in 2008. To determine a preference I did a pro/con analysis. Below are some highlights.

==========
Full Disclosure - I have owned three different models of an ACR PLB and have never owned a Tracker.
==========

Tracking - The trackers are clearly the winner because the PLBs don't do this at all. It can really be fun to track a bunch of pilots at a big contest. Bottom line: If you must have the tracking feature, stop reading now.

History - PLB (and their cousins the EPIRB) coverage began in 1972 using the COSPAS-SARSAT satellites and federal ground support personnel. Trackers have been around since 2007 and uses the Globalstar system and supported by brand specific ground personnel. Does longevity in the business mean anything? Does who the personnel are behind the scenes mean anything?

Cost - The Trackers are clearly cheaper up front versus a PLB but the tracker's monthly charge quickly levels the playing field. I call this even.

Battery - Yes, the PLB's replacement battery is rather expensive. However, they are good for 5 years. Will the batteries in your Tracker be working when you really need them? Maybe. During an emergency, I favor the PLB.

Coverage - Both types are basically anywhere you might ever want to soaring and where you can get satellite* coverage. Even again.

* Both types use GPS satellites for location. Trackers also use commercial satellite systems for messaging. PLB's use governmental SAR-SAT satellites.

Emergency Support - Here is where the rubber meets the road. There are two aspects to this.

Homing Signal - I believe all modern PLBs do this. I don't believe that the Trackers do but could be wrong.

1) Who comes to save your behind? Here in the US it will basically be the local first responders for either system. A tie again. Outside the US is a different matter as a PLB alert will be responded to in 30+ countries.

2) How fast will they arrive once the system operators get the alert? To me this is the bottom of the bottom line. Once SPOT ground personnel are alerted, they determine where you are and contact the local first responders. For the PLBs the military (U.S. Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Langley AFB) is contacted first and then scramble their forces.

--------------------

My $0.02. I am sticking with my PLB as I feel that in a true emergency I have the best chance of rescue.

Thanks, John OHM Ω
No glider pilot is going to get a golden hour rescue no matter what kind of beeper they have(unless they are paying for a trauma team to follow them around in a helicopter.) With a tracker they will find your corpse, with a PLB less likely, unless you live long enough(and remember) post crash to turn it on. With a tracker your family and friends can get on with life sooner.

--
Dan, 5J

T8 has it right. I'm flabbergasted to think that there are glider pilots who would buy a PLB instead of a 2-way satellite communicator. InReach has been extremely useful to me.

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

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

Keep shopping. I had mine done this spring at an authorized ACR repair facility (Marine equipment based). The cost was $80 + $5 return shipping. That works for me.
Craig

Hmm, I see that the cost of battery replacement for the ACR PLBs has gone up a lot since I bought my ACR PLB. Has anybody looked into the current best deal for this? Lowest I've found for a factory-authorized replacement is $125. That's extortion, but still a lot less than buying a new PLB of any make and model.

On Sunday, October 28, 2018 at 10:51:04 AM UTC-4, Craig Reinholt wrote:
Keep shopping. I had mine done this spring at an authorized ACR repair facility (Marine equipment based). The cost was $80 + $5 return shipping. That works for me.
Craig

Hmm, I see that the cost of battery replacement for the ACR PLBs has gone up a lot since I bought my ACR PLB. Has anybody looked into the current best deal for this? Lowest I've found for a factory-authorized replacement is $125. That's extortion, but still a lot less than buying a new PLB of any make and model.

Craig: can you tell us where you got that price? That's the price I saw a couple of years back when I decided to buy the PLB, but now the lowest I find is $125, many places quote $170 or more.

On Tuesday, October 23, 2018 at 2:47:54 PM UTC-7, John Huthmaker wrote:
With Christmas coming up, what are some things worth asking Santa for? Is there any decent GPS devices that are reasonably priced? I'm thinking around the $500 mark. I already have a handheld transceiver. I have a nice headset for power planes. I have a parachute. At my soaring club, all of the planes are as minimalist as they come. They're all steam gauges. What do you guys consider to be essential modern tech for gliders?


A Scout ADSB receiver ($200) seems a good buy if you already have Foreflight, for traffic awareness.

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

The ability of the inReach to send and receive text messages, reliably and easily, cannot be overlooked or understated. And it works great as a Tracker. And its pretty cheap. My monthly bill is about 14 bucks. I use it on my Motorcycle, boating in the Florida Keys, and backcountry skiing. And Off shore sailing. And Hiking, Jeez I use it all the time!
When I landed out in back of beyond in Wayan Id a couple of years back I would have for sure spent the night in my ship without satellite texting capability's.
I landed Ok so I couldn't hit the SOS button, but I needed a retrieve, bad.
Thanks to Sandy Coleman who stepped up and found me with his Garmin GPS auto nav; he put my coordinates in and drove right too me, via a very roundabout way. Without those both those devices I could still be out there, skinning rabbits and living off the land.

I'd like to second Nick's comment.

My InReach sends my wife / crew a text when I land out. The text automatically includes my GPS coordinates. We have written instructions on how to put those coordinates into the tow vehicle GPS unit.

Plus, with those coordinates, at a contest, she goes to the retrieve office, they plug the coordinates into Google Maps, and, boom, detailed driving instructions are printed out.

If I have phone service, I confirm the coordinates from my Oudie just to make sure they match.

Lou