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Hi all!
I wanted everyone to know that we are working on the new Gazette and hoping to get those
mailed out to you around Thanksgiving.
Please drop me an email or give us a call if you need to update your address!
Thank you,
Amber
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The Berst Family thanks you all so much for outfitting us for our unforgettable trip to BWCA! We had such a fantastic time back in June. We had a variety of experience levels, some have gone many times and others it was their first, and we all thoroughly enjoyed it! VNO played a huge role in the success of our trip, thank you all again!!
What if there was one simple thing you could do to make a remote camping, hiking, fishing or skiing trip far more safer?
Well the truth is that there is … taking a Personal Locator Beacon, or PLB, with you.
The fact is these beacons have saved tens of thousands of lives in remote country.
But tragically, not enough people who enjoy the great outdoors know about them, or how to use them.
Every year, people die unnecessarily doing what they love when a small investment in obtaining a PLB would have saved them.
So to help those who love the outdoors, and our tireless search and rescue authorities, we wrote this guide to Personal Locator Beacons.
At Tackle Village, we use PLBs whenever we are fishing in a remote environment for safety and for peace of mind. That could be while in the kayaks, hiking in the mountains or just on foot a long way from the car up a remote valley trout fishing when phone reception is limited.
Table of Contents
First of all, because it can save your life. If you are injured and immobile – whether that’s from a fall, capsize (if on water), snakebite or onset of illness – your PLB is your lifeline to safety. As discussed below, activating it will trigger a search and allow rescuers to hone in precisely on your location. PLBs can be bought from camping/hiking/adventure retailers or also rented from specialist outlets. Remember, these beacons are small and light, no bigger that a sunglasses case and fit easily in your backpack.
In many parts of the world where people enjoy adventure sport there is little to no cell phone coverage. Mobile phones, especially in areas where coverage is poor, chew through a lot of battery life maintaining a signal and are apt to go dead right when you need them. We’ve had hikes where the phone’s battery has drained in half a day without making a call. Phones are inoperable if wet and lose battery life quickly in the cold. Plus if you are lost, even if you get through on the phone to authorities you will be unable to pinpoint exactly where you are. They’ll know the general area of course, but not with as much accuracy as they would if you had carried and activated a PLB.
A PLB – when it is activated – connects to specialised search and rescue satellites, which in turn pass that message on to emergency authorities in the country where the PLB is activated.
The best PLBs (the ones we recommend) have the ability for authorities to easily trace where the signal is coming from and provide rescuers with a precise location using the GPS (Global Position System) in combination with the satellite signal.
PLBs rely on the Cospas-Sarsat satellite network – an international group of satellites that is dedicated to search and rescue purposes. These satellites also conduct monitoring of distress signals from planes, paragliders and other aircraft. PLBs send their signals to these satellites on the 406 Mhz frequency reserved purely for this purpose.
The first thing to do when you buy, rent or borrow a PLB is to register it with the search and rescue authorities in your country so that if it is activated, they know who they are looking for. The registration info allows search and rescue authorities to be able to see where you intended going (if updated) and which relatives or friends they can contact. (In many countries, you have the ability to update your details with the key search and rescue agency prior to a trip to record where you are going and when.) The beacon’s signal and the GPS will also reveal/confirm the location of course, but maintaining an up-to-date registration helps with liaising with family and confirming it is not an accidental activation.
The beacon we use – a KTI – operates like the majority of models on the market. It comes in a small case and is about the size of a small compact camera.
Before every trip, we test the beacon according to the instructions by unclipping the antenna, raising it and then pressing the test button. You can see from the combination of flashing lights that the beacon is working.
The KTI has a battery life of 10 years and can transmit for 24 hours once activated. It is both waterproof and self buoyant.
We bring it with us on all remote trips into the mountains and remote regions and keep it close to our body so we have it close to hand if – for example – we fall and break a limb or we are tipped out of our Hobie kayak or injure ourselves in any other way.
Just like the fish finder we use on the kayak, the PLB is a vital electronic aid to a good day on the water and gives a great deal of peace of mind while we are doing what can be a dangerous activity.
In our region, the weather is notoriously variable and the wind can swing 180 degrees and gather strength in moments. One minute you are fishing in calm conditions, and the next minute you are dealing with significant swell!
If you are injured or lost and need to activate your PLB, you unclip and raise the antenna, slide off the protective cover and push the red button until the green lights on the unit start flashing.
This immediately sends a signal to the satellite network with our position (via GPS). The satellite network can also triangulate the position of the beacon.
The beacon will continue to send this information in short bursts to conserve the battery life. Our model will transmit for at least 24 hours.
Search and rescue authorities will assess the location of the beacon at the time of activation before deciding on the appropriate action. For example, if they can see the signal is coming from your home address, or in an urban environment they will likely assume initially it was activated by mistake and confirm that with you or your nominated contacts by phone.
However if it is coming from somewhere more remote, they will contact the relevant emergency services and get them to commence a rescue operation.
As we are dealing with satellites, the beacon must have line of sight to the sky. So if it is activated, for example, in a cave or in a car, the signal may have trouble getting through, or not get through at all.
PLB’s are designed for one sole purpose – providing that signal and location to rescue authorities. So it’s worth noting that they can’t send text messages, you can’t use to place calls. They are purely an emergency beacon.
Yes, PLBs are extremely effective and have saved numerous people’s lives including people stuck in the desert with only a drink bottle. A quick search on the internet shows up a range of recent rescues including a hiker in Norway, a yachtsman who’d fallen overboard during an ocean race and a paddleboarders on Scotland’s Loch Ness! He fell off in a gale – there was no involvement from the fabled Loch Ness monster.
The website of beacon manufacturer ACR includes a host of survival stories from all over the world incorporating the use and deployment of a personal locator beacon by hikers, fishermen and women, hunters and other lovers of the outdoors: https://www.acrartex.com/stories. These are often told in the person rescued’s own words and offer a really compelling look at how things can go wrong and how having the beacon can be truly a life saver.
According to the Cospas-Sarsat website since its inception in 1982, the system has been used for thousands of search and rescue events and has been instrumental in the rescue of over 35,000 lives worldwide.
Yes, as awareness grows of the role PLBs have played in rescues and helping people enjoy the outdoors safely, their usage is growing. It is still surprising that some people aren’t aware of the service they can give – our sister in law recently attempted a four-day hike in Tasmania and it was only via me telling her that she took a PLB. As it happened, she didn’t need it but appreciated the comfort it gave her that she could get a rescue message out if injured. She rented a PLB, which is another option for people who hike infrequently and want to avoid the cost of buying a unit. There are many companies that will rent you a PLB and give you a return envelope to post it back in when you have finished using it.
Around $300 will get you a PLB with GPS positioning. This is the kind you want to buy.
PLBs can be bought from both electronics stores and camping and hiking outlets, as well as specialists online retailers. Because they are so small, buying them online is a popular way to purchase a PLB. You can also borrow a PLB from a friend.
While there are restrictions on lithium batteries, airlines at this point in time do not actively ban the carriage of PLBs.
Registration is via search and rescue authorities in your country. Here is a list of links for registering a PLB in a wide range of countries:
United States – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Canada – Canadian Beacon Registry
Australia – Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA)
United Kingdom – United Kingdom Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)
Greece – Ministry of Merchant Marine
France – CNES
Italy – Stazione Satellitare Italiana – Cospas Sarsat
Netherlands – Agentschap Telecom (NL)
New Zealand – New Zealand Rescue Coordination Centre
International – Cospas-Sarsat International 406 MHz Beacon Registration Database (IBRD)
In general terms, an EPIRB is a beacon that is fitted to a ship or boat (the beacons used for aircraft are known as ELTs). These function in the same way, but must conform to higher standards and have more features than the smaller PLB.
Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon.
Personal locator beacon.
Hi Everyone!
Just wanted to let you know that the 2020 Gazette will be going out in the mail in a couple weeks.
If you have a new address or would rather get an email copy please let us know.
Have a safe & Happy Holiday Season,
Amber & the Vno Crew
Aaron was featured in Travel & Leisure's Instagram story today about the Boundary Waters, thanks to his friend Ashlea who went with him. She's a big freelancer and captured some great stories of the trip.
https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/18079856749097017/
Hi Amber,
We completed our trip last week and I wanted to thank you and everyone else at VNO we interacted with (Lynn, John, Lucas and Big John) for being so hospitable! We had a great time doing our Lake One to Snowbank Lake trip, and John had great tips about the desirable campsites. Big John was at our pickup point earlier than 1 pm, which was fantastic considering we made great time and wound up there around 11:30 am! I can't tell you what a pleasure it was to sip those cold drinks after the furious paddling we had to do in the big, windy portions of Snowbank and Disappointment Lakes.
We look forward to coming back next year as we already miss the beauty and tranquility of being in the Boundary Waters, and the fantastic service we enjoyed from everyone at VNO. Have a great rest of the summer, and please give our thanks to everyone!
Best,
Stephanie
What good luck ice fishing for JP & his Dad!
Chris, Tom & Chuck at the start of their 2018 BWCAW canoe trip!
They saw Lynn, Amber & April at the portage from Eugene Lake to Steep Lake.
Chris was really happy that we sat and talked at the portage- said it was nice to chat & take a quick break.
Part of our 2018 cleaning crew heading out for an overnight trip!
Giant smallmouth explodes on the surface, chasing a top water bait in the rain.
After 3 attempts to net the big bass he was in the boat.
After Aedan kissed the bass for good luck he was successfully released back to the lake.
Sophia Lee, just 2 years old. She really did catch her limit
of sunfish today and was only helped bring in 2 of them!
This was her first time fishing, ever! Congrats Sophia!
Greg & Kevin came up a few times again this winter!
Here are a few pictures: Greg with 2 trout & Kevin with a nice Pike.
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Lynn/John -
I just wanted to thank you so much for the wonderful trip with my son and grandson! You all made everything easy and the equipment top-notch. Thanks to Grant for driving us out and picking us up. I will tell all my friends about your shop and we will use you again!
Thanks again,
Dennis, Wade and little Jack Greening
Couple of photos of my girls on their first trip to BWCA. They did well despite some challenging weather on the afternoon and evening of day 1. We fished, swam, explored and of course ate well during the four day trip. Thanks again for everything.
Best,
Tim and Jana King