Personal locator beacons could enable quicker rescue
Outdoor enthusiasts will be able to use a radio safety device legally for the first time in the New Year.
The use of personal locator beacons has been banned on land in the UK though they have been used in planes and on boats for many years.
Ofcom has changed the rules to allow the use of the handheld devices, which are little larger than a standard GPS unit.
Campaigners have fought a long battle to use PLBs on the hills and in the countryside of Britain, which they said would improve safety for walkers and others venturing into remote areas.
Ofcom, the Government’s official body regulating radio use, announced the change will take place on 12 January.
It recommends anyone buying a PLB for use in the UK should register it with the Emergency Position-Indicating Rescue Beacon Registry, which is run by the Coastguard at its Falmouth Marine Rescue Coordination Centre.
The form details emergency contact numbers, the beacon’s serial number and its identifier.
In its formal notice of the change, Ofcom said the use of PLBs would improve the safety of citizens taking part in outdoor activities in remote areas. They would also help to reduce the number of causalities and fatalities by providing search and rescue services with information to aid rescue more rapidly.
“This could in some cases reduce costs to these emergency responders,” it added.
“There is a potential additional cost to emergency services of allowing PLB use on land as result of an increase in false alarms. However, this is outweighed by the potential cost reductions that location information may provide,” Ofcom said.
PLBs send a distress signal to orbiting satellites
PLBs use the the Cospas-Sarsat emergency system that can transmit a signal in the event of accident or injury to a group of orbiting satellites which will then alert emergency services.
In January 2008, grough reported the campaign, led by Jenni Miller of Equine Ramblers, to allow the safety devices’ use on land in the UK. Ms Miller suffered a fall from her horse while on a six-day trek.
Her experience led her to start the campaign to change the rules to allow walkers, horse riders, mountaineers, climbers and mountain bikers to use PLBs on land.
Gerald Davison
29 December 2011Just a few things as my Personal opinion from an MR team member (not representing my team).
1. As with mobile phones on the hill, anything that potentially speeds up rescue is a good thing.
2. The downside will be people carrying these and using them to get help inappropriately ("I'm a bit tired and hungry" or "I'm late" types of call).
3. Unlike mobile phones this is "one way" so SAR resources can't assess urgency, so will end up treating everything as risk to life.
4. If you carry one of these, please try your mobile first to dial 999 and ask for Police, then Mountain Rescue - much better to speak to someone if at all possible. You may get advised to set off the PLB as well to help with location if it is at all uncertain.
5. REGISTER THE PLB! Even though OFCOM recommend it, the registration details held include your name and contact details and that of several emergency contacts who may be able to provide information about your plans, party size, etc. Registration forms and methods are included with every PLB sold.
6. MAKE SURE IT IS A MODERN GPS ENABLED PLB. This transmits an accurate (well usually accurate!) position from the GPS receiver. The older non GPS enabled devices can only be used to find approx. positions, often no better than an area measured in square km's. Then an aircraft has to use a detector to try to home in on your precise location, which wastes time.
7. Don't forget to follow the manufacturers test procedures (which don't include actual setting off of the PLB) at recommended intervals and get the batteries replaced (usually done by the manufacturer) at the recommended interval.
I have one of these, which I carry on overseas expeditions. As with all equipment, if used properly it can make a big difference when you need it!
Cheers
Gerald
Simon
29 December 2011Great advice Gerald. Thank you.
Margaret
29 December 2011Yet more kit for us all to carry - they will eventually become the norm !
Dave Healey
29 December 2011Can someone check the date please, as I have notification from Ofcom its Jan 12th 2012 when it's legal ?
Gerald excellent advise, as ever.
Bob
29 December 2011According to Ofcom, the following schedule applies:
The Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (the 'Amendment Regulations') entering into force on 31 December 2011;
The Wireless Telegraphy (Intelligent Transport Systems) (Exemption) Regulations 2011 (the 'ITS Regulations') entering into force on 31 December 2011; and
The Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption and Amendment) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (the 'SRD Regulations') entering into force on 12 January 2012.
The SRD decision harmonises the technical conditions for use of spectrum for a wide variety of short-range devices, including applications such as alarms, local communications equipment, door openers and medical implants. Short-range devices are typically mass-market and/or portable products which can easily be taken and used across borders and therefore differences in spectrum access conditions would prevent their free movement, increase their production costs and create risks of harmful interference with other radio applications and services.
Bob Smith
Editor
Gerald Davison
29 December 2011@Margaret - nothing should be compulsory, but you are right that it becomes considered usual. I'm more bothered about professional users such as Guides, Mountain Leaders, Outdoor Education Centres being forced into buying and carrying (more expense!) due to insurance company requests on risk assessments.
@Dave - three separate Ofcom regulations are being amended for a whole raft of devices which transmit at radio frequencies, including wireless data networks, Tetra Radios for the Olympics and 4th generation mobile phone technology.
Two amendments come into force on the 31/12/2011 and the third on 12/01/2012./
As far as I can make out through the utterly impenetrable final regulation amendment document (all 34 pages of it!), the one that concerns PLBs is the "Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (the ‘Amendment Regulations’) which enter into force on 31 December 2011". The one changing on the 12th January is for Short Range Devices (SRDs) which covers things like key fob car locks, FM transmitters for Ipods etc.
I stand by to be corrected (I am not a lawyer - thank goodness)!!! :-)
Oh, and I apologise for quoting all that regulation nonsense.... why is all Government documentation so dense!
However, to be honest I would say that anyone who had used a PLB on land, in a real emergency, at any time over the last few years would have been extremely unlikely to be prosecuted. If it saved lives or reduced suffering it would have been held up as an example as to why they should be legalised.
Bob
29 December 2011Sorry all, it has been pointed out that it is the SRD regulations that will allow the use of PLBs, so the relevant date is 12 January 2012.
From Ofcom:
The SRD Regulations will make the following changes to the Wireless Telegraphy (Exemption and Amendment) Regulations 2010 (the ‘2010 Regulations’)17
i) Regulation 2 (a) updates the relevant reference to Interface Requirement 2030 in order to make the necessary changes required to implement the SRD Decision and the changes to Non-specific SRD at 138.2 to 138.45 MHz. :
ii) Regulation 2(c) inserts a new exemption for land use of PLBs providing they meet the requirements of IR 2084 and are not used whilst airborne or on a ship.
Our apologies. The story has been amended.
Bob Smith
Editor
Gerald Davison
29 December 2011Ha ha ha ha ha, that just goes to show what madness all these regulations are!
SRD = Short Range Device.
PLBs use radio waves to transmit to satellites, some of which are geostationary i.e. 35786 km (22236 mi) above the Earth's equator.
That doesn't really count as "short range" in my book...
Ho hum!
I go back to sleep now......
Dave Healey
29 December 2011@Gerald agreed with the regs and especially the SRD nonsense - but its good to know a SAR Radio Officer was right, for once :)
@Bob - thanks
Bob
29 December 2011Can't beat a good Statutory Instrument for sowing confusion.
Anyway, gives all the gear fans an extra couple of weeks to shop around for their new bright yellow PLB!
Bob Smith
Editor
Simon
29 December 2011Anyone know where they can be bought from?
Shaun Hibbard
29 December 2011How are these different, if at all, from the SPOT devices that have been available to buy and use in the UK for a number of years now?
Gerald Davison
30 December 2011@Simon - usually through marine shops. I have a McMurdo FastFind 210. About the size and weight of a mid 90's mobile phone. It's actually the same as the one in the picture above.
@Shaun - differences are significant, here's a few:-
PLBs are a one off purchase cost, with spot you have to pay an annual fee.
PLBs have global coverage, SPOT has quite a few gaps, not just in the Polar regions, such as big bits of South America.
Spot can be used to send "OK" messages or even track your progress. PLBs are only for a single use, i.e. when a safety of life incident occurs.
Spot is managed by a private company, PLBs work on the COSPAS/SARSAT system which is run by intergovernmental treaty.
Philip Williams
31 December 2011I am a bit confused! I am currently walking round the coastline of Britain to raise money for Alzheimer's Society and Alzheimer Scotland (www.philipwilliams.uk.com) and have been using a "Spot Locator" for a couple of years or so now. It's an emergency gps beacon the size of a small mobile phone but also shows my position on a map so people can follow my progress in real-time. It can be programmed to send text messages and emails reassuring those people who are monitoring my progress that all is well, if required. It is switched on and attached to the top of my rucksack when I am walking. It seems to work well and of course I hope I will never need to use the SOS function! There doesn't appear to be any restriction for the use of this product in the UK. Sorry to have cover this ground again. It works well though and I would recommend "Spot". By the way, I will resume my walk in the new year from Shieldaig near Torridon and continue round the coast in a clockwise direction. I hope to finish the walk by the end of 2012. Please come and join me for a leg at some point!
Gerald Davison
01 January 2012@Philip - SPOT and the COSPAS/SARSAR PLB system are alternatives to one another. Each has advantages and disadvantages.
Spot has been legal for use in the UK on land since its introduction a few years ago. This is because they use commercial satellite "uplinks" used for data communications.
Spot and PLBs try to achieve the same thing, but using different (but similar) technologies.
The COSPAS/SARSAT PLB devices will work across the whole globe, they are single purpose (danger to life distress only), you buy and register the unit then there is no ongoing charge, they work well under trees, they are operated by intergovernmental treaty and the distress messages are passed directly to government SAR co-ordination centres.
The Spot devices are a "closed" system operated by an America private company who sells the devices and provides the monitoring. They have good coverage, but do not cover the whole globe, but coverage is good in Europe. Their performance under trees and near cliffs is not as robust as a PLB. As you say, Spot can be used for tracking and for sending "I'm OK" messages as well as having an "I'm having and emergency" messages. You buy the Spot device then pay an annual fee for usage, dependant on the features you decide to take up. When activated in an emergency the US company will contact the governmental SAR control centre in the relevant country. After that response should be similar.
So, it is a classic case of "you pay your money, you take your choice".
I wanted global coverage and an "emergency only" device with no tracking. Also I just wanted a one off fee, with occasional battery servicing (in my case every 5 years or after use). As a result I went for a PLB.
I have tested a Spot device for a few weeks and found it useful, but it didn't meet all my needs.
Outdoorsman
10 January 2012Is this thread still live, because it would be good to contibute a few facts to it on Thursday, the day that PLBs are legal for use on land in the UK. Those of us who have been working towards this for about twelve years welcome this positive, long-overdue conclusion to our efforts.
Whilst we agree that vigilance is required to prevent legislation and insurance 'creep', the improvement in the law simply provides a safety device to those individuals who want to carry them and the change puts us on a par with the matine and aviation fraternities.
Margaret
17 January 2012I made this point in one of the other items in grough regarding PLB.
Could the unintended consequences of increased use of technology such as this mean there is more for the rescue services to do.
The old concept is worth remembering - Safety benefits can rapidly become Performance benefits. As long as a button can be pressed does it really matter if common sense and good navigation skills are present.
The comment about marine use - it should be remembered that marine users of EPIRB are in the main trained in one way or another (VHF radio, navigation etc) and recognise the need to treat equipment like this with respect. Those using them on land are likely to be untrained which may make a difference in how and when they are activated.
Jamaal
01 August 2014Now I am ready to do my breakfast, after having my breakfast coming yet again to read other news.