Yes, but.....
The original poster is going to be 200 miles from town. He may or may
not be in VHF range of something when he needs help. I'm pretty sure
he's out of range or he'd just get a couple of handhelds and call it done.
The Personal Locator Beacon frequency is monitored by two sets of
satellites -- a constellation of low-earth-orbit satellites that can
determine location, and a few geostationary satellites that see a wide
area of the planet, looking straight down at the surface of the earth.
The latter can read the GPS on the PLB.
The signal goes straight to search and rescue folks, and the beacons are
registered so they know exactly who they're going to be looking for.
Which would you prefer: push a button and it's done, or calling on
several bands and hoping one is open?
Again, I love amateur radio, and I would consider it part of my
emergency toolkit, but I'd trigger my PLB first in a real emergency.
-- Lynn
On 6/30/2013 5:09 PM, Ariel Jacala wrote:
Some HT's have GPS and with APRS one can send messages. I have used it on
hikes so my wife can track me on the internet as I hike. The HT sends a beacon
signal out and the movement can be tracked through APRS.fi Any Ham can get an
APRS account. I have even used APRS on my iPhone for the same tracking
capability. Remote from civilization though you would need an HT with APRS
like the VX8R by Yaesu or a TinyTrack tracker. With the HT however, you can
call for help and the reach can be substantial depending on elevation or having
a nearby repeater. Having worked 45 states on Field Day just using a KX3 and a
G0GSF dipole, I have no qualms with getting out and reaching people with a KX3
on HF. When the 2m module gets out - I have a complete package for all modes
of remote operation.
Ariel NY4G
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