Personal Locator Beacons

Anyone have a Personal Locator Beacon? I do alot of solo trips and I'm considering making the investment. It seems like the Terrafix 406 I/O GPS is the likely choice. Are there any yearly or monthly fees involved?
Thanks
Kevin

A caveat ... be careful if you activate one in the Adirondacks. There's an interesting story of how one fellow used one - twice actually - and ended up being charged with a crime.

Personally, I think they're a great idea. A little pricey at the moment however.

KevCon223 said:

Anyone have a Personal Locator Beacon? I do alot of solo trips and I'm considering making the investment. It seems like the Terrafix 406 I/O GPS is the likely choice. Are there any yearly or monthly fees involved?

Click to expand...

Don't think there are any fees. You do have to register it. And, as Kevin noted, there are fines for frivolous use.

A bit pricy and heavy (12oz), but it could save your life in certain circumstances.

Doug

Kevin Rooney said:

A caveat ... be careful if you activate one in the Adirondacks. There's an interesting story of how one fellow used one - twice actually - and ended up being charged with a crime.

Personally, I think they're a great idea. A little pricey at the moment however.

Click to expand...

Heres a link to an older VFTT reference.

And from SARNews.com:

"Second PLB Incident Results in Arrest

Carl Skalak, 55, the first person in the lower 48 United States to be
rescued with the assistance of a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB), was arrested
by rangers from the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and
charged with two counts of falsely reporting an incident. While attempting to retrieve
gear left behind during his first rescue, he set off the PLB again. This
second incident has not been as widely reported as the initial rescue."

Here is a link to an analysis of the rescue done by Backpacking Light Magazine.