Printable View
FCO have the GME plb's on sale at $429 (usually $489) which is a pretty god deal if you don't have one already have one.
I researched for ages and ended up with an Ocean Signal rescue me which is pretty new to the market. I was sold on the fact it is made in the UK, is tiny and has a 7 year battery. Hopefully it will never be tested.
Is the Ocean signal registered in NZ? Only ask as I dont see an Australasian distributor/retailer listed on the makers website.
Yes it is definitely registered in NZ, the distributor is Lusty & Blundell (unfortunate name) www.lusty-Blundell.co.nz. I ordered it through Hawkes Bay Action Outdoors and it was here the next day. They said they wouldn't stock it though as there wasn't enough margin in it for them!
Brakelie
How much was the Ocean Signal?
Cheers
Pete
Rescue me look like a good buy if price is favourable. I have an ACR rescue link which apart from being a massive 54gms heavier is very close in size. I like the fact that with ACR you get a free replacement if you use it in anger, and there are currently a heap of freebies that go with it. H & F are doing them on special for $599.
Battery life is very good at 7 years on the Ocean signal V 5 on the ACR.
Was $599 for the Ocean Signal. Attachment 13528
I'm not sure if the attached image will work but it is pretty tiny. I'm not knocking any other Plb's I just liked the Ocean signal more, someone has to be an early adopter! I didn't need any of the stuff that came free with the ACR which I agree is a good deal. At the moment the GME at FCO is a good deal too, only negative comments I could find were they can get a bit of water through the top screw hole if they are used rafting etc, but this can be easily solved with a dab of silicone.
Do they (ocean signal) have an agency in NZ for things like battery replacement ?
ACR also do a floating version aparently. It is the model with blue writing rather than red wher it says ResQ
I have just put a lump of open cell foam on the lanyard of mine to make sure it floats, cos sure as eggs is eggs, I WILL arse up in a creek.
Good question about the batteries, Lusty and Blundell are the NZ agents listed on the Ocean signal website so I assume they can replace the batteries, I will have to check up on that. If I ever need to activate it I'll promise them a good story for advertising and see if they can cut a sharp deal. I bought the unit early July and the battery expiry date is November 2020 so it's more than 7 years life. By then I can only imagine what technical advances will have been made and this unit will be well and truly redundant, hopefully satellite phones will be more realistically priced.
The Ocean Signal comes with a foam/neoprene cover which floats, I also keep it in a plastic zip lock bag in a canvas pouch I wear on my belt. The zip lock bag keeps the dust and crud out of it and I figure if I'm too incapacitated to open that then there isn't much hope anyway.
