INFO: Personal Locator Beacon COSPAS-SARSAT System
Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs)
The Personal Locator Beacon is one interesting gizmo as it targets those who tend to live life to the extreme, going about their duties with a variety of outdoor activities such as four-wheel driving, boating, camping, off-road motorcycling and even snowmobiling. Unfortunately, such activity is often accompanied by a wider range of risks, including breaking a random body part, getting bitten by an animal such as a snake, or being in a position where it is nigh impossible to get out of without some external help. This is where the Personal Locator Beacon comes in as it is capable of transmitting your current location (in GPS coordinates, of course) on internationally recognized distress frequencies monitored by companies such as NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System (SARSAT). Should you be unable to be under the umbrella of a GPS signal, there is always the less advanced (but accurate) option relying on the Doppler for your current position.
I guess Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) would definitely be worth every penny - after all, how much value do you place on your own life? Everyone has been created to be wired with a survival instinct, so it doesn’t make much sense to not do your bit whenever engaged in such outdoor activities. PLB will cost anywhere from $499 to $699 each, but the best thing is there isn’t any annual or subscription fees to worry about. The following are some of the specifications for your perusal.
Source: Gizmag
Tags: Personal Locator Beacons, PLBs, GPS, GEOSAR, SAR, NOAA, USCG, US Air Force, NASAR
