Sold Boats for the Week

Today we delivered 2 boats from 2 different manufactures for 2 totally different purposes. Inflatable boats just have that sort of versatility.

This is an Achilles SG156 Inflatable Boat that will be used by a Fire Department in Magnolia Texas.

This boat typically comes open and is used with a tiller handle motor, but at Triad Marine we can customize your inflatable boat to meet your needs. We added a jockey style console seat with remote steering for the motor. We hope this boat has many good years on the water working because that is what it is for.

The next boat to leave the store sold is a Zodiac Pro Open 650

This boat will be used as a coaching boat for kids that sail, not by the sailing organization but by their parents. The mom plans to use it to capture good pictures of the kids doing their thing.

The boat is 21'4" and is powered by a Yamaha F150 Outboard Motor. This boat will be fast, stable, and fuel efficient. It will not require a large tow vehicle and can also be used for some family fun.

The removable tube set on this boat makes it a real winner as it can be replaced if needed and it can be removed for repair if a customer lives far away from here. They would be able to ship just the tube set using UPS or Fed Ex rather than bringing the whole boat.

Meet "Jibby" as it will be called

Happy Boating "Jibby"

EPIRB and PLB Spring Check List

If you read THIS POST last week then you know we are trying to help you check the safety gear on your boat before Spring arrives and lots of boating gets under way. This week will will focus on EPIRBs and PLBs. Both EPIRBs (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon)  (**note that the link is very helpful but a bit dated as the 121.5 MHz signal is no longer monitored as an emergency response signal and is now used as a fly over homing signal only**)and PLBs (Personal Locator Beacon) operate in the same way. There are differences including a longer battery life, floatation and deployment options, but they all have a battery life and expiration date! 

EPIRBs and PLBs operate on the 406 MHz frequency, if you still have 121.5 EPIRB you will need to replace it.
Starting on 1 February 2009, the Cospas-Sarsat System stopped processing signals from the deprecated 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz beacons; now only signals from 406 MHz beacons are processed. The switch to 406 MHz is expected to result in a substantial reduction in wasted use of SAR resources on false alerts while simultaneously increasing the responsiveness of the system for real distress cases.

COSPAS-SARSAT

If you have an EPIRB or PLB locate the battery expiration date and check it.

If you do not have one you should strongly consider purchasing one.

The gentleman in this post was not going to buy one but we encouraged him to purchase at least a PLB and it saved his life.

EPIRBs have to have a minimum battery life of 48 hours, they are designed to float in the water up right and transmit a signal, they also have a tether line to tied them to you or your life raft. EPIRBs come in Manual Deployment Versions and Automatic Deployment Versions. The Automatic Deployment EPIRBs have a housing and a Hydrostatic release unit that will set the EPIRB off and release it from the housing, allowing it to float to the surface and transmit. EPIRBs are also available with and with out a GPS transmitter built in. The GPS will help narrow down the search area.

PLBs will have a minimum operation time of 24 hours, they all have to be manually deployed and even though some models float they are not designed to float up right and transmit in the water like and EPIRB. PLBs usually have to be held with the antenna facing the sky. This doesn't mean your signal would not transmit if there was not a clear view of the sky, it is simply the best case scenario. Most PLB models have the built in GPS transmitter which will give rescuers a better idea of exactly where the user is.

So the check list is as follows:

Be sure the EPIRB is a 406 MHz and not a 121.5 MHz operating unit. It is OK to have both.

Be sure the battery is not expired

If the battery is expired find a factory authorized replacement center in your area.

Preform the manufactures self test

If it is an Automatic Deployment Unit check the date on the Hydrostatic Release

(good for 2 years)

Make sure the Housing is in working condition

For PLBs

Check the battery and perform the self test.

Safe boating is the best boating. Come back later in the week as we highlight some rescue stories and introduce you to AMVER (Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System , there are some rescue stories like these that resulted because of AMVER.

Also don't forget to fan us on Facebook for our Daily Deal section of our Website using QR Code and a password only fans get... the savings are Awesome!!

Thoughts for Thursday

LIfe Raft

Dinghy

Today’s Thursday thought will be about Life Rafts and Dinghies!

Many of our customers come through our doors ready to purchase a dinghy… Never once do they mention a life raft. I have gotten to where sometimes I just ask “Do you have a life raft on the boat?” And here are two common responses I get


1. Yes but I could not tell you when we last serviced it …it came with the boat


2. No we are going to use the dinghy if we get in trouble…..


So here are my thoughts on each of these responses


1. SO you don’t know when the life raft was serviced last…How do you know it works? I guess some people are willing to take the chance that the CO2 that is in the bottle will still be there and still fill up the life raft….So this happens now…what does the equipment inside look like…is the raft going to stay together… Well having it serviced to meet the manufactures guidelines you increase the chances of everything working correctly on the life raft. You are more likely to produce a positive result and you will feel better knowing this. There are never any guarantees when you are in a survival situation but I like to think upping the odds sure feels nice.


2. Ok so you want to use the dinghy as a life raft….Life rafts are designed to deploy in less than one minute….Good to know in a survival situation because seconds can make the difference… Lets say you are in a weather related disaster and the wind is up, seas are high and your dinghy is not even inflated…Well it takes someone about 12-15 minutes to inflate the average 9-10 foot dinghy with a foot pump. This is in favorable conditions…OK so it is inflated… You have to get it into the water! No easy process here….and every boat is different. Once you get in the dinghy in the water well like I said the seas are high and the wind is blowing hard so your dinghy will likely turn over…Hopefully it will not blow away when this happens…Why won’t the life raft turn over and blow away? Well it is the ballast bags under the life raft; once you deploy the raft and get it into the water the ballast bags fill with water and help hold the raft down against the wind. The ballast bags also help the raft from flipping over…So there you have my thoughts comparing a life raft and a dinghy are like comparing an apple and an orange…They are not one in the same and they both have a purpose and should have a place on your boat!

Follow Up on the EPIRB story from Last Week!

Last week I blogged about a customer of ours being saved using his Fastfind 210 PLB ...you can see the original post HERE

Fastfind 210 PLB

This week there is some good news for Mr. Ketchum the rescued war Veteran...Someone recovered his sailboat and they are returning it to him for free ...what a great gesture around the holidays. We wish Mr. Ketchum the best and a very Merry Christmas!

You can see the article about the recovery HERE

EPIRBs Save Lives! Another Tale of Rescue not Recovery!

Not too long ago our company Triad Marine sold a Fastfind 210 PLB, Revere Offshore Commander 4 in a valise and a new Achilles dinghy to a gentleman who was heading to Belize in a sail boat. Sailing to Belize this time of year is not to unusual but the weather has not been that great and the customer is 80 years old and had decided to sail solo. Given all of those conditions no good could come from this trip.





When the gentleman left we were all a bit worried and we had reason to be, the news reported that the Coast Guard rescued and 80 year old man who had set off his EPIRB after sending a radio distress signal stating he was unable to fend for himself.




I have never been happier to have sold someone a PLB. This story turned out to be a rescue and not a recovery. Apparently he did not need his life raft because he was able to be rescued before his boat had taken on too much water.

3 Hours and the Coast Guard was there! PLBs and EPIRBs work and save lives!
See the story below!



EPIRB leads Coast Guard to distressed mariner
Dec 15th, 2009 by cgnews.


SABINE, Texas — Following a distress from an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) onboard a 34-foot sailing vessel, the Coast Guard found a missing 80-year-old man Tuesday who had departed Houston ten days ago.
The Eighth Coast Guard District command center received the distress alert located approximately 115 miles south of Sabine at 9:30 a.m. The Coast Guard contacted the owner of the EPIRB and was notified by a family member that the 80-year-old owner of the sailing vessel, Enchantress, departed Houston approximately ten days ago and was headed toward Kemah, Texas.


A Coast Guard MH-65C Dolphin rescue helicopter and crew from Coast Guard Air Station Houston and an HU-25 Falcon rescue plane and crew from Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi launched and located the owner and his sailing vessel at approximately 12:30 p.m. The man was hoisted and transported to Coast Guard Air Station Houston where he met by ambulance and transported to South East Memorial Hospital.


"The gentleman said over the radio to us that he was 'unable to fend for himself.' We safely hoisted him into the helicopter, and as soon as we started to hoist the swimmer, lightening struck within close proximity of the aircraft. The storm front began moving in and definitely made the situation more tedious, but we fell back on our training and the mission was a success," said Lt. Aaron Mader, air craft commander, Coast Guard Air Station Houston.


The Coast Guard reminds mariners to have a registered EPIRB onboard the vessel and to file a float plan with family members and friends.


Click HERE to see the video of him being rescued.

Now ask your self is $299.00 too much to spend to be able to return home to your family!

I may save your life!

Thank you to the Coast Guard and to the makers of the Fastfind 210 both for a job well done. We are so happy to see our customer is safe and that a product we believe proved it's self once more!

Warning From the USCG on EPIRB Battery replacements

November 30, 2009 Alert 08-09



Washington, DC


UNAPPROVED EPIRB BATTERY REPLACEMENTS


Fishing vessel safety staff in the Coast Guard’s Seventh District has received at least three reports in


the past few months regarding unapproved replacements of 406 EPIRB batteries by servicing


companies having no association with the EPIRB manufacturer. These unauthorized battery


installations would likely result in a failure of this critical item of lifesaving equipment, and as such are


not in compliance with the operational readiness requirements of 46 CFR.


The following is a typical excerpt from an EPIRB manufacturer report:


“The unit was opened and a foreign battery was found inside. The battery was built up using


(manufacturer) fuses and wiring salvaged from the original (manufacturer) battery. They then


covered their battery with the original (manufacturer) yellow heat shrink, (manufacturer) labels


and taped it together. This was then covered with a black heat shrink wrap. The connections


were soldered and not spot welded, as is required by the design and is performed in


(manufacturer) production. The battery measured 8.7 volts. Our batteries read 9+ volts when


they are new. This battery was installed one week prior to it being brought into (manufacturer).


There was also evidence of water intrusion due to the crack in the top cap, which (servicing


company) did not recognize as they are not trained in these matters.


The EPIRB was condemned by (manufacturer) and the customer was notified when he came


to pick the unit up.”


Every approved (i.e., accepted by the FCC) EPIRB is tested during its approval process using a


battery, or batteries, specified by the manufacturer. Approved EPIRBs come with a user's manual


which describes battery maintenance and replacement procedures. In order for the EPIRB to remain


within the conditions of its approval, the manufacturer's instructions in the user's manual must be


adhered to. To ensure that replacement batteries are of the same type with which the EPIRB was


approved, and are correctly installed, manufacturers typically specify that battery replacements only


be done by the manufacturer or a manufacturer-approved shop.


Any modification or changes to an EPIRP must be made in accordance with the manufacturer. The


use of alternative replacement parts or batteries is prohibited and may prevent the device from


meeting lifesaving requirements. The Coast Guard strongly reminds EPIRB owners and servicing


facilities to be aware of the compliance implications and potential for equipment failure stemming from


any EPIRB modification or unauthorized battery replacement.


This safety alert is provided for informational purposes only and does not relieve any domestic or


international safety, operational or material requirement. Questions regarding the information


presented in this alert may be addressed to LCDR Vince Gamma of the U.S. Coast Guard


Headquarters Lifesaving & Fire Safety Standards Division at 202.372.1396 or


Vincent.A.Gamma@uscg.mil.


********

Boat Number Plates Custom Made for your Department

These custom reflective lettering patches are made by the folks at Boat Number Plate, these were custom ordered for the Jamaica Beach Fire Department. Here at Triad Marine we can professionally glue these onto your department's inflatable boat. We will be happy to work with you on a quote and the customization that best suits the needs of your department and will fit your boat the best. Forget about cracking paint and spray on stencils, this is an investment and will last for years to come. As a matter of fact boat number plate guarantees the lettering for 10 years against fading! Call today for your quote and stop repainting your departments ID every few months!

See the Boat number plate website HERE

Zodiac Pro 12 Man to be used by Jamaica Beach VFD

This is a Zodiac Pro 12 Man with a four stroke Yamaha 75 we added the light bar, lights, the reflective lettering and several other accessories to make this boat perfect for rescue use.

More Great EPIRB and PLB info

A great Article from Soundings Magazine


New technology improves EPIRB searches



Posted on July 31, 2009 Written by Jim Flannery The DF-430 direction finder allows rescue aircraft to home in on beacon signals with greater accuracy










Response time is critical when there's an emergency on the water, and the DF-430 helps pinpoint the location of an EPIRB signal for rescue authorities.


It started 10 years ago with a promise to one fisherman’s mother. Her son’s boat, the F/V Still Crazy V, had started taking on water on a cold, calm, clear February morning on Winyah Bay off Georgetown, S.C. Capt. Tony Culler, a grouper and snapper fisherman, went below to try to stanch the flood.






He couldn’t, and when he came back up soaking wet he probably was already hypothermic. As the bilge filled, Culler activated his EPIRB, and he and crewman Tim Hamm launched a raft, climbed aboard it, and waited for help.






“He was in his life raft shivering to death and holding on to his EPIRB,” says Greg Johnson, the Coast Guard’s commercial fishing vessel safety examiner in Charleston, S.C. The pair could see the helicopters flying search patterns looking for them. Rescuers knew they were there, but couldn’t pinpoint where.






“The good news is they made it back, and they’re still fishing,” Johnson says.










Coast Guard vessel safety examiner Greg Johnson helped the agency implement the use of the direction-finder.


A rescue helicopter found them, but Culler’s worried mom wanted to know why it didn’t find him straight away. Her son had activated his EPIRB, so why couldn’t the helicopters follow its signal right to him?






Johnson promised he would find out. A retired Coast Guardsman and grandson of a California tuna fisherman, Johnson, 59, has spent the last 16 years as a Coast Guard civilian working with fishermen to make their jobs safer. “As a kid, I knew people who didn’t make it back [from fishing],” he says. “This Coast Guard thing is real for me.”






That helps explain why Johnson has spent the last 10 years fulfilling that promise to a fisherman’s mother. He has collected data. He has analyzed EPIRB rescues — just about every one during the last decade. He has interviewed survivors and air-rescue crews. And he helped find a more reliable piece of equipment for homing in on 406 MHz EPIRBs from the air.






It is the Rockwell Collins DF-430, a direction-finder that homes in on the EPIRB’s 121.5 homing signal and its 406 MHz alert signal. As a homing device, the DF-430 is vastly superior to the old direction-finders that picked up the 121.5 signal only, says Johnson’s boss, Larry Yarbrough.






The 406 signal — a half-second pulse emitted every 52 seconds — is 200 times more powerful than the 121.5, so with new technology that can lock on to a pulse, the 406 is much easier for aircraft to home in on and from much greater distances.






“With a DF-430, we get lock-ons [to a 406] at 150 miles sometimes,” Yarbrough says. “An aircraft that is locked on knows where you are. The pilot has a needle to steer by. That’s a big step forward in rescuing you in a timely manner.”






The 121.5, by contrast, works only as a homing signal at short range — often less than five miles, according to a Coast Guard Office of Search and Rescue report delivered at the 2008 beacon manufacturers’ workshop in San Diego.










All Coast Guard aircraft will eventually be equipped with DF-430s, which can home in on a 406 MHz EPIRB, such as ACR's GlobaFix iPRO, easier and from greater distances.


Starting with $2.6 million from its Integrated Deepwater System Program for modernizing aircraft and vessels, the Coast Guard began equipping its C-130Hs and Falcons with 406 MHz homing equipment in December 2006. Now it is installing the gear on its helicopters. Eventually all of its aircraft will have DF-430s.






This is a game-changer, says Yarbrough, 62, a retired Coast Guard captain in charge of the agency’s fishing vessel safety program in the Southeast and Caribbean. “Most of the aircraft we launch on search-and-rescue cases have it now.”






Aircraft equipped with 406 MHz direction-finding capabilities find boats that planes or helicopters equipped with older technology don’t. Here are two cases in point:






• On April 11, 2007, Paradox, a 35-foot catamaran en route from Isla Mujeres, Mexico, to Anclote on Florida’s west coast, capsized in a 48-knot squall 175 miles southwest of Tampa in the Gulf of Mexico. The capsize activated the vessel’s 406 MHz EPIRB. Tom and Stanna Galbraith of Durango, Colo., hunkered down in the overturned hull, and Tom used a battery-powered saw to cut a hole in the bottom so they could crawl out when rescuers arrived. A Falcon jet equipped with the old direction-finder couldn’t find Paradox, but a prototype C-130 with the new 406 direction-finder located the catamaran, and a helicopter rescued them.






• Early Jan. 25, 2009, the crew of the sailboat Audrey issued a mayday over VHF radio after their boat lost power and shredded its sails 37 miles southeast of Cape Fear, N.C. Because of the boat’s distance offshore, radio communication was erratic and difficult to use to triangulate its position, but the two people aboard also were carrying a 406 MHz EPIRB with GPS, which they activated. The EPIRB gave the Coast Guard Audrey’s position, and a helicopter with 406 direction-finding gear homed right in on the boat. Audrey’s actual position turned out to be about 40 miles from the location that had been triangulated using the broken-up mayday.






The DF-430 has helped save or assist 47 boaters in 26 months, says Cmdr. Joseph Deer, a C-130 pilot and head of the DF-430 project for fixed-wing aircraft. “As a pilot, I’ve used it,” he says. He has locked on to a signal from 60 miles at an altitude of 5,500 feet. At 20,000 feet, aircraft lock on from more than 100 miles away. The higher the aircraft flies, the farther away it can lock on.






“These are sci-fi numbers,” he says. “We’ve never done this before.”


Deer says the DF-430 homing device ratchets up the efficiency and effectiveness of airborne search and rescue, but he stresses it won’t help unless boaters carry a 406 MHz EPIRB or personal locator beacon. In the best of all possible worlds, a boater will be carrying a 406 MHz with GPS, which sends rescuers the disabled vessel’s GPS-derived position with the distress signal.






An EPIRB with GPS on a disabled boat working together with a DF-430 on a rescue aircraft can shave minutes, hours, even days off rescue operations in which minutes sometimes make the difference between rescuing a grateful survivor and recovering a victim.






“You can go nearly anywhere on the planet and turn this on, and rescue resources will detect it,” says Deer.






And they’ll find you because the technology for alerting rescuers and leading them to a distressed boater just keeps getting better, Johnson says.






The 121.5 signal is a carryover from when EPIRBs transmitted emergency alert signals at 121.5 or 243 MHz. As of Feb. 1, the International Cospas-Sarsat System, which detects alerts via satellite and sends them on to the Coast Guard, no longer monitors either of those frequencies, only 406. The 406 EPIRB still uses 121.5 as a homing signal, but it isn’t as effective as it once was. As an alert signal, 121.5 originally transmitted at 75 milliwatts, powerful enough for Coast Guard direction-finding gear to home in on the signal pretty efficiently. But the Federal Communications Commission cut the signal strength to 25 milliwatts when it became a homing signal so it wouldn’t interfere with aircraft rescue frequencies, according to the workshop report. That reduced its range and made a “huge difference in the instability of the signal and our ability to find it,” Yarbrough says.






The 121.5 is an inherently bad signal for direction-finding anyway, according to Yarbrough. It is easily absorbed and deflected by obstacles. If boaters hold an EPIRB close, their bodies can block the signal and prevent it from reaching an aircraft behind them. The signal also can be blocked if a boat turns turtle with the EPIRB trapped inside. And when a 121.5 MHz signal is deflected, Yarbrough says, rescuers sometimes find themselves chasing it in the wrong direction.






One advantage of 121.5 for homing is its continuity. The 406 is a pulse signal, and until DF-430 arrived it couldn’t be used for homing. “The technology didn’t exist to home in on it because the pulse was so short,” Deer says.






Now airborne searchers lock on to the 406 as far out as they can to guide them to a disabled boat, then home in on the continuous 121.5 when they get in close.






Yarbrough says the Coast Guard plans to install 406 direction-finders on its landside Rescue 21 communications towers to augment the VHF radio






direction-finders its watchstanders use at coastal stations to triangulate the position of a VHF mayday source. It also is acquiring portable 406 direction-finders to put on its rescue boats so boats can home in on 406 alert signals, too.






“We’ll be able to send help [to a boat] right from the station,” and it will be able to lock on to the 406 signal, he says. “We won’t have to send a helicopter.”






Most rescues occur within 20 miles of shore, a compelling reason for even inshore boaters to carry a 406 EPIRB. “I wouldn’t go out on Biscayne Bay without an EPIRB,” Yarbrough says. “I understand what a terrific piece of safety equipment that is.”    (I love this quote!)

Good information

COSPAS/SARSAT
Everyone should know about this information and how this system works especially boaters.

EPIRBs and PLBs are monitored here but not the SPOT messenger.

Another Zodiac FC420 to be used by a Fire Department

The Zodiac FC 420 is becoming a favorite among Texas rescue agencies of all kinds. With a host of features and portability, the Zodiac FC 420 is definitely unmatched in the inflatable world. The inner communicating valves, ability to use fast inflation kits, and the speed tubes are just a few features that make this boat perfect by design. See more here FC 420 Specs

MORE Good Information EPIRB and PLB differences!

Good Information How the EPIRBs and PLBs work

Zodiac SRMN (Sea RIB Marine/Navy) 600

Zodiac SRMN 600 with Yamaha Four Stroke 150 Horse Power engine!

Boat came in bare and we added helm and seating custom to the customer's specifications.

Let our military professional sales personnel help you chose the right boat for all of your applications.

Not to worry if a big boat like this is not in your department's budget we certainly have many options and will help you choose what will work for you and your budget!

Free PLB for the 8 day survivor!

After surviving 8 days in the Gulf of Mexico floating on a capsized catamaran James Phillips has a lot to smile about. Saturday with the help of our friends at Revere Supply Company, Triad Marine gave him one more reason to smile. Pictured above Mike Goforth presented James with a FREE McMurdo Fastfind 210 PLB. We were so thrilled to meet and talk with James and we hope he enjoys many more years of fishing. Now armed with his new PLB he can fish with a peace of mind that should the unthinkable happen he has a great weapon of defense.

We enjoyed our visit with James, his wife and some of their friends, we talked safety and also about their amazing tale of survival. He is even asking his wife for a ditch bag for Christmas and she seems plenty happy to get it for him. Go catch the big one James and may the rest of you tales about the sea be happy ones!

SPOT messenger or PLB you decide!

What’s the difference between a SPOT and either a Personal Locator Beacon or an EPIRB?We like to say it’s an apples to oranges comparison. If your intention is to buy a life saving device, the most important part is to do your research and ask the right questions. We like the SPOT product, it’s a neat little tracking device, but it’s absolutely not a replacement for an EPIRB or Personal Locator Beacon.

What are the power and frequency differences?Power and Frequency are two key areas to consider when researching a life saving device. If you’re not an engineer, these two subjects can be a little intimidating. Think about it like this: Satellites are thousands of miles away from earth, so your beacon’s signal needs to have enough power to travel that far and be able to go through anything between you and the satellite (trees, weather, out of slot canyons, etc.).

Power

SPOT is powered by 400 milliWatts while ACR 406 MHz PLBs and EPIRBs use 5 Watts. Think about the Total® cereal commercial where they show you how many bowls of the other cereal you need to eat in order to get the nutrition from one bowl of Total. In our example, you would need 12.5 SPOT units to equal the POWER of one ACR PLB or EPIRB. When your signal has to travel 22,000 miles to reach a satellite, you want to make sure you have more than enough power to get it there!

Frequency

The basic principles of frequency are that the lower the frequency, the easier it can penetrate buildings, trees and meteorological activity that appear between the transmitting device (PLB, EPIRB or SPOT) and the receiving device (the satellites). FM radios and TV channels work on a lower frequency which is why they can penetrate buildings and the environment pretty easily. Now think about radar which uses a really high frequency. Radar works by hitting an object and bouncing off, that’s how radar knows where to place an airplane on the radar screen. So the higher the frequency, the less likely it can penetrate things in between, the lower the frequency, the easier it can penetrate. 406 MHz PLBs and EPIRBs use a dedicated frequency set up by the search and rescue community that is in the same range as UHF TV stations. SPOT uses the 1.6GHz frequency which is four times higher in the frequency spectrum. This means SPOT’s frequency is four times less likely to go through an object or weather than the lower 406 MHz frequency.

Summary

Considering power, combined with frequency, ACR’s 406 MHz beacon stands head and shoulders above satellite messenger systems like SPOT. ACR has 12.5 times more power and is four times more likely to penetrate objects in between the beacon and the satellite than SPOT.
Testing and ApprovalsSPOT is not a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB). We’ve seen some websites calling it one, but make no mistake, it is not a PLB. Personal Locator Beacons, like EPIRBs, must be submitted to an independent test lab that verifies the frequency, operating life, testing in extreme temperatures, environmental testing, etc. From there, the product must go to Cospas-Sarsat, USCG and finally the FCC (or other comparable agencies in each country) for approval to certify that the EPIRB/PLB meets the standards for Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services (RTCM) and that it exceeds required operating and mechanical conditions that will appear in the marine environment. PLBs and EPIRBs are rigorously tested by governing agencies to confirm they will work properly in the environment. This is a big difference from SPOT which only has to self-test and self certify that it meets Part 15 FCC. If you are not familiar with Part 15, check out your garage door opener, it is approved with the same self certified rule.

Made in the USA vs. Made in China

ACR PLBs and EPIRBs are MADE IN THE USA, SPOT is made in China. While outsourcing a product to Asia can ultimately reduce the cost to manufacture a product, you also lose process control over the manufacturing, which is key to Quality. ACR strongly believes that products whose sole intention is to save lives must work the first time every time, PERIOD. The only way to meet this goal is to oversee the entire manufacturing process and test, retest, and test again during the process. If you watch our factory tour videos on our website, Facebook or YouTube, you will see the extreme steps we take to make sure we have a zero defect ratio. We actually had to email SPOT’s customer service to find out where they manufacture their units because they do not mark this information on the box, in the product support manual or on their website. “Axonn is the manufacturer and they out source labor in China” – Raquel Talarico, SPOT Inside Sales and Marketing (raquel.talarico@findmespot.com).
What does Search and Rescue (SAR) say about the differences?A 406 MHz signal coming from an EPIRB/PLB is recognized by SAR as a true emergency, and they act immediately. By law, search and rescue is required to find and turn off any 406 MHz beacon once activated. Search and Rescue has made it very clear that SPOT and other tracking gadgets are to be treated as a missing persons report: until they get more information regarding the distress message, they are going to wait and see, and not deploy their forces for the possibility that someone simply has a flat tire on the side of the road and needs help. Additionally, if the SPOT unit is unable to download and retransmit a GPS position (see frequency and power issues above), SAR has no idea where the transmission has come from and will not put their forces in danger looking for a needle in a hay stack.

Redundancies

Murphy’s Law has taught us all that whatever can go wrong will go wrong. We embrace that philosophy with every product we make so that you are given every opportunity available to get rescued. PLBs and EPIRBs have multiple ways to contact SAR in order to get you rescued. SPOT has one single transmission method. PLBs and EPIRBs can contact SAR via 406 MHz, which locates your beacon using Doppler Shift, it can contact SAR using GPS data and it also has a 121.5 MHz homing frequency so when SAR forces get a few miles away from you, they can home in directly on your beacon and find you faster. SPOT uses GPS only to send its location. If you cannot download GPS, SAR will have no idea where you are.
Satellite Monitoring406 MHz signals are monitored by a governing agency in each country. In the U.S. that’s the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and in Canada its The National Search and Rescue Secretariat. These agencies maintain the registration, and alert search and rescue of any activation. SPOT has hired a company called GEOS to monitor and alert search and rescue of an activation. The Cospas-Sarsat and NOAA have had over 26+ years of experience monitoring these frequencies and alerting Search and Rescue. GEOS is relatively new and not well known to the SAR community and does not have authorized use of the SAR system.

Coverage

EPIRBs and PLBs use the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system which contains 2 different satellite systems (LEOSAR – Low earth orbiting and GEOSAR – Geostationary). These two systems cover every inch of the planet. SPOT tracker is part of Globalstar and uses the Globalstar (Nasdaq: GSAT) satellite system which only covers a certain percentage of the earth, but has quite a few locations that are undetectable.

Experience

If you had to have knee replacement surgery, would you have your family doctor do the procedure or would you rather have someone who has nothing but knee replacement experience, someone who helped write the latest surgery techniques, someone who teaches other doctors how to do knee replacement surgery? The Cospas-Sarsat satellite system has been in place since 1982; it is a collaborative system of the worlds search and rescue community dedicated to saving lives. The system is credited with saving over 24,500 lives thus far. Of all of the registered 406 MHz beacons, ACR accounts for more than 60 percent. We have over 25+ years of experience building life saving beacons, 53 years of experience building life saving signaling products. When you buy an ACR product, every single product comes with that experience, knowledge and lessons learned of how to effectively build the world’s most quality life saving products available. The Globalstar satellite system began commercial service in 1999 and has had a shaky operating life thus far. The satellite system was designed for voice communications and SPOT (launch in December of 2007) is their first product aimed at providing a form of safety.

Overall

One other thing to be aware of is that SPOT requires an annual subscription fee of $99 or $149.99 if you want tracking. The device cannot be used until the subscription fee is paid. The 5 year ownership of a SPOT unit is much more expensive than a PLB or EPIRB: $149 unit cost, $499 in subscription fees, $250 for tracking fees, plus GEOs insurance (total 5 year cost can range between a minimum of $648 to as high as $1,649). If the Globalstar company were to close, your SPOT tracker would not work anymore. EPIRBs/PLBs do not require a subscription fee since they use the Cospas-Sarsat satellites (a humanitarian SAR system fully funded by member states of the U.N.). If you are looking for a tracking device that does not have to work every time, get a SPOT. If you want a life saving device, designed and manufactured to work when your life depends on it, get an ACR EPIRB or PLB.

This was taken from the folks at ACR and I thank them for taking the time to write this!

The Tale of Two Life Rafts

The tale of two rafts
Once upon a time in a factory far far away two life rafts were packed …twins in fact. Packed with care and shipped out to their new owners. One lucky raft got an owner who cared for him and serviced him according to the manufactures book. The other poor raft was tossed on the boat in a storage locker and never serviced. Twenty years and many safe trips later the good owner took his faithful well cared for raft to be serviced and as thing turned out a life raft ages when you inflate it with the CO2 gas. This would be his fourth time to get gas inflation, and as it turns out life raft years are not people years they are more like dog years. The poor life raft could not pass his inspection and so the good owner let him go and ordered a new one. The twin raft lived a much different life and had never been serviced. His owner took him off of the boat wiped off the years of dirt and grime and snapped a great picture. He then placed the picture on the internet with a for sale sign. Some poor shopper thought it was a great deal to pick up this fine piece of life saving equipment for only one fourth the costs of a new one. So after completing the sale the new owner noticed the inspection on the raft was not current and diligently to it to be serviced. After 20 long years of hanging out in the sun, rain, cold and wet the poor old raft was in terrible shape and was ashamed to even be opened in front of anyone for he knew he could save the life of no one. His valves did not work, his CO2 bottle only two thirds full his seems dried and aged. He knew he could not hold the air or even survive the CO2 inflation for this is hard on an old life raft. As the service tech fired the bottle and the raft inflated only half way and the seems were barely holding. All his equipment was old and unable to be used as it had been wet for many years causing it to mold and mildew. The smell oh he knew he would smell awful and was glad he could not cry tears for he would have many. Packed all those years ago with such love and care given a job like no other; possibly saving someone’s life oh how great he was. But the years of neglect were showing now and the new owner was in disbelief, how someone could sell him something so bad. As the new owner sign the condemnation he thought for a moment and though he was out some money at least he and his family would not be in the ocean when they discovered the poor old life raft was past his prime and unable to do the job of saving them.
THE END

A Free PLB for James Phillips (Found Boater)

I posted this to the fishing forum and hope James see this and comes down to get his PLB from me as I would love to here the amazing tale in person.

My first words to these guys are welcome home. We have been following the threads on the fishing forum from work and home just waiting to see the words FOUND ALIVE… and when we did we were all thrilled. We realize you may not be ready to get back on a boat any time soon but when you are we want to make sure it is a trip you make with peace of mind. That being said we would like to offer James Phillips Captain of the boat a free PLB. This is made possible by Revere Survival Products. We get McMurdo EPIRBs, and PLBs from them as well as selling and servicing their life rafts. We appreciate them for this, helping the community by doing outreach programs and life raft demonstrations are very important parts of our business. We are so glad you all had the will to survive and we are still all amazed and thankful you are home safe. To any of the other boaters out there I want to take a moment to remind you we never want to read this kind of thread again…. We love a good fish story that’s what we want to read so if you need a life raft I will be discounting the Revere Life Rafts until September 20th, 2009 as well as the McMurdo full sized EPIRBs. I have the Fastfind 210 PLBs in stock and on sale. They are only $279.00 equipped with 406 MHz signal as well as GPS. We want you to know we are not just trying to sell you things but we are also here to answer questions and discuss any concerns you have. If you want to see a life raft demo please let us know we do them on a pretty regular basis and they are FREE! We can help you get all the safety gear you need to enjoy your time on the water. I also have to say to the boating community you guys are an awesome bunch …the out pouring of support for these guys was something unbelievable and we should all be so lucky to have that kind of support from strangers.

To all 3 survivors again we are glad you are home.

Please contact me at arust@triadmarine.com we would love to chat with any of you about the best solutions for you and your vessel.

FOUND ALIVE!!!!!!

We are so happy to announce the missing boaters were found alive! We are so happy for them and their families as they have been reunited.

Missing Boaters Please keep your eyes open if you are out this weekend

Anything helps and all eyes are needed if they are out there someone can find them. Please pass this on.