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Beartooth

beartooth.com

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Re: Beartooth

#131

Post by URSpider94 »

yuvalkarmi wrote: post #32
csomar wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think 2 miles is a good travel distance. (or maybe it is from a technical perspective but not from a practical one). That would assume lots of users which I feel can be problematic with a $399 price range and big form factor.

With enough users on the network, wouldn't you be able to fairly easily extend the range by using idle beartooths as relay devices / amplifiers? Similar to how packets travel through the Internet.

Not sure if it's true for this configuration, but I know for GoTenna (a competing product), the terms of use of the unlicensed frequency bands forbid message relay.

Re: Beartooth

#133

Post by lugg »

Zancarius wrote: post #109
tjohns wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 on everything you just said. A dedicated radio (FRS, GMRS, MURS, or amateur VHF) -- along with GPS and other survival gear -- is essential in the backcountry. Carry a cell phone, but don't rely on it. I see folks doing that far too often. That said: Having just done some research on distress beacons, I just want to point out that there's some better options than SPOT beacons out there. The problem with SPOT is tha…

Your comment reminded me of a video I saw on Youtube which highlights the utility of having a reliable beacon for rescue services to track your location: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTiGU5TiYCE They were flying a Cessna 170B into a remote part of Alaska in August 1989 when they encountered an engine failure. They survived, and the plane was recovered shortly thereafter (performing an engine swap in the field no l…

Not sure about the states but most places require aircraft / boats to have locator beacons (bigger versions of PLB's.)

A handheld 406 plb like the ocean signal "rescueME" plb is essentially the same thing afaik.

Re: Beartooth

#135

Post by baldfat »

lepht wrote: post #110
baldfat wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They are much farther then line of sight. I certainly get two miles in heavy forests and other side of hill. These work great for groups hiking and climbing. http://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2006/07/the_truth_about_...

From your link: > The range that a two-way radio advertises is the range that the radio should get in "ideal" conditions. Ideal conditions are line of sight, such as from a mountaintop to a valley below -- no interference at all. > So what type of range can you expect from your radio? Usually half a mile up to two miles

As I said I get about 2 miles

Re: Beartooth

#136

Post by harlanlewis »

baldfat wrote: post #105
harlanlewis wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I follow. The model you linked is an FRS/GMRS two-way radio (aka walkie talkie), a perfect example of what I described (it's all right there in the product title). I think we're still talking about the same thing, although I did mislabel it as 'commerical' when I meant 'consumer' radio :) Agreed, they're great.

two-meter to me means HAM spectrum that requires a license to operate and they tend to have a much higher output. Walkie Talkie is consumer and no license. The commercial FRS/GMRS ones requires a $90 annual license.

Right. Same page. Although as I understand it, consumer FRS/GMRS two-way radios like the one you linked only require a license for the GMRS channels. Also, it looks like the GMRS 5-year license cost has effectively dropped from $90 to $65 by eliminating a $5/year fee: http://www.buytwowayradios.com/blog/2015/05/fcc_eliminates_g...

Re: Beartooth

#137

Post by tjohns »

Zancarius wrote: post #109
tjohns wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 on everything you just said. A dedicated radio (FRS, GMRS, MURS, or amateur VHF) -- along with GPS and other survival gear -- is essential in the backcountry. Carry a cell phone, but don't rely on it. I see folks doing that far too often. That said: Having just done some research on distress beacons, I just want to point out that there's some better options than SPOT beacons out there. The problem with SPOT is tha…

Your comment reminded me of a video I saw on Youtube which highlights the utility of having a reliable beacon for rescue services to track your location: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTiGU5TiYCE They were flying a Cessna 170B into a remote part of Alaska in August 1989 when they encountered an engine failure. They survived, and the plane was recovered shortly thereafter (performing an engine swap in the field no l…

From the video, it looks like they activated the aircraft's ELT, which is the aircraft version of a PLB. Same system, just integrated into the aircraft and designed to automatically activate in a crash.

At the time that video was recorded (1989), ELTs were analog-only... nowhere near as accurate, and very prone to false alarms.

The new 406 MHz digital beacons are much more accurate. :)

Re: Beartooth

#139

Post by Zancarius »

lugg wrote: post #133
Zancarius wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment reminded me of a video I saw on Youtube which highlights the utility of having a reliable beacon for rescue services to track your location: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTiGU5TiYCE They were flying a Cessna 170B into a remote part of Alaska in August 1989 when they encountered an engine failure. They survived, and the plane was recovered shortly thereafter (performing an engine swap in the field no l…

Not sure about the states but most places require aircraft / boats to have locator beacons (bigger versions of PLB's.) A handheld 406 plb like the ocean signal "rescueME" plb is essentially the same thing afaik.

I'm fairly certain it's the same here in the US. However, being as the video was from August 1989, I'm not sure what the regulations were. For instance, it wasn't until ASA flight 2311's crash in 1991 [1] when the regulations were changed to require CVRs and FDRs on small commuter aircraft, and general aviation has AFAIK traditionally lagged a bit behind. This may be one area where it hasn't.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Southeast_Airlines_Fl...

(Edited to fix the date, which I typoed. I just watched this on an episode of Mayday, which did bit of a disservice to the NTSB and Embraer tests.)

Re: Beartooth

#140

Post by Zancarius »

tjohns wrote: post #137
Zancarius wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your comment reminded me of a video I saw on Youtube which highlights the utility of having a reliable beacon for rescue services to track your location: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTiGU5TiYCE They were flying a Cessna 170B into a remote part of Alaska in August 1989 when they encountered an engine failure. They survived, and the plane was recovered shortly thereafter (performing an engine swap in the field no l…

From the video, it looks like they activated the aircraft's ELT, which is the aircraft version of a PLB. Same system, just integrated into the aircraft and designed to automatically activate in a crash. At the time that video was recorded (1989), ELTs were analog-only... nowhere near as accurate, and very prone to false alarms. The new 406 MHz digital beacons are much more accurate. :)

Good point! Though, for being two decades and some change prior, being "only" 5 miles off isn't awful. It's not great either but certainly better than the alternative.

In this case, I'd assume they activated it manually since it wasn't a crash (nor was there an accident report on it that I could find)?

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