No matter how much you prepare beforehand sometimes events beyond your control mean you need help. It is again available with or without an integral GPS and once activated it sends the same signal via the same route as an EPIRB to the same destination. The minimalist design of the inReach Mini means you need a Bluetooth-enabled smartphone to access most features. Our personal locator beacons now feature GPS using the dedicated 406MHz frequency. A Personal Locator Beacon, or PLB, is a smaller portable transmitter that sends out a personalised emergency distress signal via satellites and ground stations. Hopefully when my PLB battery is ready for replacement, there will be a choice of such gadgets . The best personal locator beacons available right now. Read Yachting World’s ACR ResQLink View personal locator beacon review. Bibendum PLB stengthens play for UK. Who should buy the Garmin inReach Mini ($349.99)? $809.95 #6. The satellite system Garmin uses covers 100% of the Earth’s surface, so as long as you can see the sky and your subscription to the Garmin inReach plans is up to date, you can get signal. But it also broadcasts a signal on multiple radio frequencies, allowing properly equipped rescue teams to quickly zero in on your location. Personal locator beacons do pretty much what they promise: Locate your person, and then report your position to someone who will perform a "search and rescue" to find you. Weekend adventurers looking to add safety without adding weight. Both the Garmin and SPOT devices on this list require a monthly subscription to function. While an EPIRB or a PLB can add an element of safety to your boating adventures, it can't keep you afloat while you're waiting to be rescued. So long as you’re bringing your cell phone this is a fully-featured satellite communicator, and even if you don’t the SOS functionality is a tremendous asset in an emergency. For family and friends, you can be tracked through a great website called Find Me Spot. Under the Merchant Shipping (EPIRB Registration) Regulations 2000 it is mandatory to register 406 MHz beacons (EPIRB or PLB) with the competent authority - HM Coastguard. menus, content sliders, tabs and pop-up windows. EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacons) and PLB (Personal Locator Beacons) are a fast effective way of distress alerting for any kind of vessel. Your EPIRB or PLB must therefore be licensed on your Ship Radio Licence and registered with the  UK Beacon Registry. They genuinely feel like an extension to the team. But the two-way messaging of many of the other options makes them more useful products overall. Retailing at $450 this isn’t quite as expensive as a full-on sat phone, but it’s close enough that it warrants comparison shopping. They need to know whether they are dealing with a cruise ship carrying thousands of people, a container ship or tanker, a fishing boat or a yacht, to know what response is needed. Multiple emergency signals. When I register my EPIRB or PLB is the 0 in the 15 digit HEX ID (UIN) the number 0, or the letter O? PLB can be used offshore, but are more likely to be the choice for users of smaller boats, RIB and personal watercraft (PWC). Unlike every other device in this review, the ResQLink + Personal Locator Beacon does not require a monthly subscription to function. Whether it’s rescue services letting you know they’re on the way, or just checking in with civilization after a good day, the ability to communicate is a big selling point for the inReach devices. The location of the EPIRB needs to be carefully thought through, especially if you decide on an automatic bracket, in which case the EPIRB must be in a position that enables it to be freely released should your boat founder, but which also affords it protection from accidental damage by crew or from being accidentally wet (or worse still washed overboard) and prevents it from being removed or stolen when the boat is unattended. As an alternative a 406 MHz Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) could be considered. Contact the UK Beacon Registry for help with registering. People spending serious time off-the-grid. But beyond that service is incomplete throughout Asia and Oceania, and there’s a massive hole over the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii. British Youth Sailing Recognition for Royal Harwich Yacht Club, Department for Transport launch Consultation on the Disposal of Pyrotechnic Flares, Enjoying your Personal Watercraft & Jet-Ski, Watch: Two members of the emergency services talking about 406 beacons, the type of boating you do and the size of the boat, the size of the equipment and how it will be stowed / carried, with or without integral GPS (this significantly shortens the time it takes the beacon to alert the rescue service), the battery life (how long the beacon will transmit the signal for after it is activated), manual or automatic (on contact with water) activation. The quality of their execution is incredible, they are pro-active, skilled and they provide us with an industry knowledge that helps us look wider than the immediate position we are in. Due to a shorter battery life of around 24 hours, the signal will cease transmission sooner than would be the case with the EPIRB. 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