I’ve just taken the plunge and bought a Personal Locator Beacon, the McMurdo Fastfind 220 PLB. I looked at SPOTs and Delormes but decided they were overkill when all I wanted was a device that could send a distress signal to S&R if I couldn’t get a phone signal. They are well worth considering if, like me, you do a lot of solo walking. I found one for a very reasonable £169 (£269 rrp). There’s no subscription and the battery lasts for about six years. Hopefully I’ll never have to use it!

I bought a mc murdo 210 plb in 2009 to hike with Elise in Greenland as we had 12 days walking between resupply points with no phone coverage.
After that i used to carry it when hiking solo, until the battery was too old ( i think it was only 5 years back then ) according to mc murdo ( and a bit after..)
My family feel safer to know i hike with a plb, but doesnt care about my location ( spot etc..) so i inquired about the cost of changing the battery , but it was very expensive and for just a little more i bought a new ( and lighter..) plb.
So now i use a rescue me PLB1.

Since then i have found you could change yourself your macmurdo battery.

To quote the video :
"Please be sure you understand the risks before proceeding with this process on your own. This is absolutely not recommended by the manufacturer."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klTR0kh1BwQ&t=612s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWGArC-j72c

That’s even lighter. Perhaps I should’ve asked first! Just changed my order to one of those :+1:

I've been carrying a mcmurdo fastfind for over six years now and had the battery changed back in February. I haven't had to use but it's peace of mind. Again, my family are happier knowing I carry one.

If anyone wants more info on PLBs and hillwalking here’s a useful summary

http://www.mountainsafety.co.uk/EP-PLB.aspx

My Rescue Me PLB1 arrived today. Very neat. 113g. 7 year battery life. £179. Well worth the money I reckon.

Hi Robin,
may I ask where you bought your Ocean Signal PLB from? :slightly_smiling_face:
The best deal I could find is at a UK website and they insist that German residents have to provide a ship vessel number or else they refuse to send it.
But that is not true as you can register it to your person too, even if the use is not permitted in Germany. For whatever reason.

Hi Sabine, I got mine from MarineStore https://marinestore.co.uk/Ocean_Signal_PLB1_Rescue_Me.html

My understanding is that it has to be reprogrammed for users resident outside the UK so that it can communicate with your country’s Search & Rescue coordination centre. In the UK we register with the UK Beacon Registry in Falmouth, Cornwall and the UK coordination centre in Kinloss interrogates the database and checks whether it is a bona fide distress signal. It then contacts the relevant SAR team to start a rescue. You can find an explanation here: http://www.mountainsafety.co.uk/EP-PLB.aspx

I registered my beacon online here: https://www.gov.uk/maritime-safety-weather-and-navigation/register-406-mhz-beacons . You can register as an individual rather than as a vessel, although PLBs are mainly used by sailors.

It seems, according to the information on Amazon https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ocean-Signal-rescueME-PLB1-Registration/dp/B00CE8R770 that they have to be registered as a vessel in Germany. However, it suggests that you can register with the UK Beacon Registry as an individual if you live in Germany. It would probably be worth emailing the UK Beacon Registry ( ukbeacons@mcga.gov.uk ) to check and then speak to a supplier.

Hope that helps

Thank you so much Robin, that is a lot of useful information! :smile:

Not that it makes any difference, but I see the rescue coordination centre has moved to Fareham from Kinloss https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeronautical_Rescue_Coordination_Centre

Has been for a little while Robin. Army Barracks at Kinloss now 😔

The information on the mountain safety page is out of date http://www.mountainsafety.co.uk/EP-PLB.aspx :thinking_face: