Bushwalk Australia

Hi all,

I was in at Mountain Designs Launceston yesterday where I bought my ResQLink+ PLB which I love and the guy was telling me about a new one that is even smaller. Reckon it is this one called a rescueME.

http://www.chsmith.com.au/Products/rescueME-PLB1.html

The dimensions are:-
35*50*75 and 115g for rescueME add another 49 grams for floating pouch
33*48*99 and 130g for ResQLink
41*48*114 and 153g for ResQLink+ which floats

I went with the ResQLink+ so it is easy to use on the water as well but this new one sounds great and then just take the floating pouch when on the water.

Good list of specs here:-

http://www.datrex.com/index/catalogdetail/pdt_id/1049
Also click on the photo and see 9 images.

user manual 3.3mb
http://www.datrex.com/index/pdfdownloads/doc_id/94

Cheers,
Andrew

Damm, I am going to have to sell my ResQlink now to save those grams..

Good to see them getting smaller, more likely people are to carry them

more likely people loose them

wayno wrote:more likely people loose them

Looks pretty tight to me!

About 14 g less than a ResQLink. Nice to see the weight coming down.

HJ

Oh and another thing the Mountain Designs guy told me was that the Australian importer of ResQLink had stopped importing them and that they couldn't get them anymore.

Cheers,
Andrew

I'm a bit confused by the antenna situation on all these devices... are any of them actually able to be operated with one hand?

i've got a fastfind,,, you have to pull a sealed cap off to expose the alarm button and aerial so you can unfurl the aerial. so ideally need two hands to at least get the cap off..

Actually I wonder if the rescueME is too easy to activate accidentally. That little flap covering the button looks like it could get opened without meaning to. If you need to use two hands to unfurl the aerial anyway, maybe it is better to require two hands to expose the button, to prevent accidental activation?

Though anything's going to be better than my mobile

most shops selling locator beacons have dummy ones you can get your hands on to see how they work

i'd be taking advantage of the flotation bag otherwise i'd be taping the flap down to stop it getting accidentally opened and activated

Picked up one of these today. Has anybody else had trouble registering theirs with AMSA? I keep getting this message: "The Beacon Hex ID/UIN is invalid for the entered Checksum. Please ensure that both the Beacon Hex ID and Beacon Checksum present on your beacon have been entered correctly."

Cheers

findbuddha wrote:Picked up one of these today. Has anybody else had trouble registering theirs with AMSA? I keep getting this message: "The Beacon Hex ID/UIN is invalid for the entered Checksum. Please ensure that both the Beacon Hex ID and Beacon Checksum present on your beacon have been entered correctly."

Cheers

Does it have a Checksum? My ResQlink didn't.

findbuddha wrote:Picked up one of these today. Has anybody else had trouble registering theirs with AMSA? I keep getting this message: "The Beacon Hex ID/UIN is invalid for the entered Checksum. Please ensure that both the Beacon Hex ID and Beacon Checksum present on your beacon have been entered correctly."

I registered my rescueME PLB1 about two months ago. I recall there was a problem similar to your description. I think I just ignored it and used the SN. All good.

Thanks! Strider it did have a checksum and I was wary of registering it without.

I think it would be worth calling AMSA to be sure. Definitely don't ignore any part of the registration process - this is a safety device after all!

Checksum you mean the UIM?
If thats the case you need to watch the zero against the "O"?

Now theres an interesting one, "Proof Of registration Expiry Date". Never looked at that before. I wonder if theres an automoted message.

Checksum you mean the UIM?
If thats the case you need to watch the zero against the "O"?

Now theres an interesting one, "Proof of Beacon Registration Expiry Date". Never looked at that before. I wonder if theres an automated message.



Ive seen people use the WT F acronym before .....

Thats a bit harsh isnt it? Twenty seconds rule or something? Goana sea sum speling mystakes!

Checksum is a number additional to the UIN. Mine didn't have one.

Proof of beacon registration is the sticker they send you.

I ignored the checksum in my registration and no problem resulted. Received the registration sticker no problem. Does it matter?

Strider wrote:Checksum is a number additional to the UIN. Mine didn't have one.

Proof of beacon registration is the sticker they send you.

NSS?

Rob A wrote:

Strider wrote:Checksum is a number additional to the UIN. Mine didn't have one.

Proof of beacon registration is the sticker they send you.

NSS?

Huh?

Just called AMSA, apparently Ocean Signal used the wrong algorithm to calculate the checksum and it's quite OK to register with just the UIN.

Good to know you're all sorted

findbuddha wrote:Just called AMSA, apparently Ocean Signal used the wrong algorithm to calculate the checksum and it's quite OK to register with just the UIN.

Thanks for confirming with the authority. As to who used the "wrong" algorithm, I suspect that'll depends on who was talking.

I just bought one of these at Peter Johnston in Hobart for $350.

Malbena wrote:I just bought one of these at Peter Johnston in Hobart for $350.

That's not a bad price for a bricks and mortar store. Well done!

I am in the market for a PLB has anyone had experience with the Kannard Safelink Solo GPS PLB ??
corvus

I have not had experience with the Kannard Safelink Solo GPS PLB.
I'm not sure why you would prefer it over the rescueME PLB1.
They cost about the same, both have a homing beacon, both are waterproof to at least 10m, both have LED flash.
But the rescueME is ligher. :s

And smaller.