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NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

noaa.gov

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Re: NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

#71

Post by tlrobinson »

thaumaturgy wrote: post #62
jxcl wrote: post #2

I have one of these beacons and take it with me most times I'm going out alone into the wilderness. I don't want to be the guy who had to cut his own arm off after it got trapped by a falling boulder. That being said, this is an interesting spin on the number. I've been hearing from friends on Search and Rescue crews that an increasing number of people are going out hiking being completely unprepared for any possible…

I'm in search and rescue near the Tahoe area. So far we've had good luck with beacon call-outs. The cases we've responded to have almost entirely been folks that were legitimately stuck or lost, and yes, they were somewhat under-prepared for the situation they were in, but that's just the modern reality of outdoor play and it makes no more sense to expect all recreationists to be perfectly prepared than it makes to e…

> I have heard from other SAR groups that the beacons have been a mixed bag, and they're getting too many call-outs from people who just got tired and want a ride home.

It seems like charging people for the cost of the rescue would solve that problem.

Re: NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

#72

Post by jxcl »

Dowwie wrote: post #38

My FastFind PLB doesn't seem to have replaceable batteries so I just left it in storage and haven't used it. Has anyone managed to replace their batteries?

The PLB is really a single-use device. When activated it's supposed to be able to continuously transmit for 24 hours.

On my PLB, the batteries are rated to expire after 10 years, after which you buy a new one. Making batteries replaceable carries either a weight or a durability penalty, and I'd rather have a small and light and durable thing that I replace every 10 years. It seems like a good tradeoff.

Re: NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

#73

Post by lucb1e »

valgor wrote: post #55

Nothing worse than an article with acronyms without stating what those acronyms are.

I know what NOAA is but I didn't (from the headline) understand what a weather satellite does for saving people (at least in tangible numbers, I get that a hurricane prediction helps but 421 people is awfully specific).

So I would agree that the headline could use some work. It's also not as if NOAA is the only provider of this service (see Galileo), but I'm not sure if there are stats published for other systems.

Re: NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

#74

Post by bagacrap »

AYBABTME wrote: post #11

I bought one of these PLBs after spending 12h down a canyon with a broken ankle and no cell reception. Friends had to hike back out of the canyon and hike then drive for hours to get help. Never again. Since then I got a sailboat and it's pretty standard in that field to have EPIRB, PLBs and the likes. There's life-vests that come with mini-PLBs in them. It's a bit pricey but it's essential in my opinion. I was lucky…

They had to drive for hours to get into cell reception? I mean yeah that's pretty remote. Most people probably never get hundreds of miles from the nearest cell tower though. Now if you were all alone, I could see how it would have been crucial.

Re: NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

#76

Post by aaronax »

munificent wrote: post #27
AYBABTME wrote: post #11

I bought one of these PLBs after spending 12h down a canyon with a broken ankle and no cell reception. Friends had to hike back out of the canyon and hike then drive for hours to get help. Never again. Since then I got a sailboat and it's pretty standard in that field to have EPIRB, PLBs and the likes. There's life-vests that come with mini-PLBs in them. It's a bit pricey but it's essential in my opinion. I was lucky…

> Since then I got a sailboat and it's pretty standard in that field to have EPIRB Should be more than just common. My understanding is that US maritime mandates that you must have a functioning EPIRB if you are on open waters.

Not true for what you might call "recreational" vessels.

"Uninspected passenger vessels less than 100 gross tons are not required to carry an EPIRB." https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CFR-2018-title46-vol1/xm...

Re: NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

#77

Post by ghaff »

lucb1e wrote: post #70
wongarsu wrote: post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For further context, [1] is a map of worldwide population density. Except for the Nordic countries and Spain there are no places without people. 1: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/World_po...

Wow, I had no idea the USA is so sparsely populated. As someone from a purple region on that map (having lived near Aachen and Amsterdam), I can't imagine what it's like to be more than a few minutes driving away from the nearest occupied house or named road. The most alone I've ever been was probably in a German forest and that was almost certainly still within hearing distance from other people, if not immediately…

>if I'd be fine to be actually unreachable for a few hours.

More like days or more in vast areas of the US. Mind you, most people don't go to those places. But, even within popular national parks, you can go to places--albeit probably not without high-clearance 4WD and ability to use it or on foot--where you probably won't happen to run into anyone for a long time.

Unreachable for a few hours+ is absolutely the norm in many many places in the western US and even in some other areas like Maine.

Re: NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

#78

Post by pvaldes »

davidw wrote: post #42
reaperducer wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been hearing from friends on Search and Rescue crews that an increasing number of people are going out hiking being completely unprepared for any possible emergency, thinking that they'll just use their cell phone if anything goes wrong. This is so true. I live in the desert, and it's amazing the number of people who simply don't take the natural world seriously. The dead and rescued are almost always tourists.…

> I'm sure there are remote places in Europe There are a few, here and there, but it's just completely different. Everywhere in Italy (I lived there a number of years) there are people. It might just be a little mountain hut, or a cabin or something, but there are pretty much always other people around. Here in Oregon, I can ride my bike to places where I almost won't see other people all day.

> there are pretty much always other people around

This can be deceptive and sometimes add new dangers also. there are areas in Europe close to towns but with thousands of illegal waterholes hidden under grasses or a shrub. You just step over a grass and fall before seeing it.

Re: NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

#79

Post by Thlom »

reaperducer wrote: post #37
jxcl wrote: post #2

I have one of these beacons and take it with me most times I'm going out alone into the wilderness. I don't want to be the guy who had to cut his own arm off after it got trapped by a falling boulder. That being said, this is an interesting spin on the number. I've been hearing from friends on Search and Rescue crews that an increasing number of people are going out hiking being completely unprepared for any possible…

I've been hearing from friends on Search and Rescue crews that an increasing number of people are going out hiking being completely unprepared for any possible emergency, thinking that they'll just use their cell phone if anything goes wrong. This is so true. I live in the desert, and it's amazing the number of people who simply don't take the natural world seriously. The dead and rescued are almost always tourists.…

This is interesting, cause we have the same situation with tourists in Norway underestimating the wilderness. Last few years the stone formation “Trolltunga” has been pretty popular among tourists, but what the Instagram posts doesn’t tell you is that it is a 8 hour hike on regular old paths up a mountain. We’ve seen tourists walking in flip-flops, with no water, no food, starting too late in the day or too early in the season when there’s still snow large parts of the way and so on. The voluntary search and rescue team had a few pretty rough years.

Perhaps the issue is that tourists in general are very unprepared for other countries wilderness?

Re: NOAA Satellites Helped Save a Record 421 Lives in 2019

#80

Post by ghaff »

AWildC182 wrote: post #20
jxcl wrote: post #2

I have one of these beacons and take it with me most times I'm going out alone into the wilderness. I don't want to be the guy who had to cut his own arm off after it got trapped by a falling boulder. That being said, this is an interesting spin on the number. I've been hearing from friends on Search and Rescue crews that an increasing number of people are going out hiking being completely unprepared for any possible…

Carry one as well. This is obviously anecdotal and may be because of the people I hang around with but everyone I know who carries also never hikes without a bunch of other standard safety kit and is very experienced. I suspect that being willing to buy a $200 beacon means you're aware enough of the risks and of what safety gear is out there to seek extra protection when possible.

At some level, I don't love the always connected idea. But if I were to do serious solo backpacking at this point (or were regularly going into remote areas by car with or without a companion), I admit it would probably be prudent for me to carry a beacon.
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