006 // Linda from AMSA is an expert on satellite communications
Rescued is a podcast of conversations with Rescuers and those who’ve been rescued it’s about the lessons we learn about ourselves the places we go and why without judgment to help us have better Adventures manage risk and deal with the unexpected we venture into wild places
To get away from it all but when it comes to calling for help letting someone know we delayed or even just giving our loved ones peace of mind we have to rely on satellit communication methods because Mobile phone coverage often doesn’t reach to where we want to
Go in this episode I speak with Linda barryman from amsa that’s the Australian Maritime Safety Authority in CRA we do a deep dive into Personal Locator beacons that’s PBS along with two-way communication devices such as Zio in reach or spot trackers and yep we also talk about the satellite capability with
The iPhone 14 and some other very exciting Tech technology that’s just around the corner so Linda why don’t we kick it off by just letting people know a little bit about your world and and how you ended up working at amsa and what your job is there I’ve been very fortunate to work
At Amer for about 18 years and prior to that I worked in the Private Industry working for one of the manufacturers for distress alerting devices so essentially I’ve specialized in distress alerting Technologies and systems for about 20 plus years wow so both sides then of the
Of the coin yeah so I’ve been it’s such a great opportunity uh where I can learn about the products technically but also bring that into that policy government and standard development and influence uh how search and rescue is performed you talked about AMS then for those of
Us who don’t know just tell us what does amsus stand for and what’s the what does it do and how does it sit within government so the Australian Maritime Safety Authority so they have more than one function and so they are the National system regulator for domestic commercial vessels they also look after
Search and rescue in Australia and they also are responsible in relation to environmental pollution so it’s got several roles and responsibilities so as a A bushwalker or hiker and outdoor Adventurer how would we interact with amsa what kind of role can you guys play within our experience of of how we
Venture into wild places so essentially if you were to purchase a 406 MHz distress Beacon so whether that’s a plb eerb or El they need to be registered and you can register those with answer and that’s a free registration Service uh we also provide um customer service
If you have any difficulties with that process or would like to navigate the space of distress alerting beacons or devices and how that system works uh you can certainly contact us for further assistance so in relation to how bushwalkers May engage with Amer I think it might primarily be around the plb and
Registering it with Amer you mentioned three different acronyms there so the plb the eerb and the elt can you just give me a quick overview of what’s the difference between those three sure so a plb Personal Locator Beacon that’s a small compact lightweight multi-environment friendly device uh and
Whereas an eerb is an emergency position indicating radio Beacon but they’re a bigger bulkier device designed for maritime use primarily and they’re designed to float in the water essentially and more commonly they’re associated with a vessel and an El is an emergency locating transmitter and they’re designed and fitted in an
Aircraft so they can be say crash impact activated so a plb is multi-environment in that it can be used for land Maritime or Aviation they’re small and you can carry them with you yeah and given how much you know we when we carry everything on our back we want to keep
Everything as lightweight and as compact as possible it sounds like a PO be is definitely the the way we want to be heading when we when we think about taking a beacon with us now you mentioned something else there you said a 406 Beacon as well so what’s that 406
MHz what does that refer to good question so a 406 mahz is the distress frequency that is used in a plb and that is detected by the international cosp pass s that satellite system which is dedicated to search and rescue ah nice okay so there’s satellites up up there
Above us zooming around that don’t have to worry about things like telecommunications or any other comps they just focus on Rescue um around the world is that correct the cosas saset satellites uh they’re not dedicated just to cosp saset what they are generally is like a payload which is say the size of
A shoe box which is installed on board a say a weather satellite and so it’s uh orbiting but it has the capability of detecting the 406 MHz okay so who owns those satellites they’re government owned uh so it’s a combination of uh USA Canada France and
Russia but if I say I buy a plb here in Australia and I take it with me anywhere in the world am I still going to be able to use it anywhere in the world yes so 406 MHz is an international distress frequency so it’s detected there’s
Global coverage for that signal ah okay fantastic okay good to know so we’ve got a plb I know the 406 is the the rescue frequency internationally I can use it anywhere in the world now you also mentioned that something amsa does is have a registration system so talk to me a bit
About that yes so it’s really important uh that when you purchase a distress Beacon that you register with amsa and that in includes details such as your name address phone number your emergency contact details you can provide up to between one and three name and phone numbers you can also provide so let’s
Say it’s for land use you could provide your vehicle details you could also include and recommend things like uh trip details so you can include um the route you’re traveling how many people in the group the dates you know ETA what sort of supplies you’ve got um many medical conditions so in the
Event that that Beacon is detected that information is presented in real time to the search and rescue officer and that potentially could be critical information that could certainly assist in a more efficient and effective coordination and response okay wow okay so I’ve got my beacon I’ve gone to amsa
I’ve registered all the details and and that trip intentions form sounds great so that’s something I can can log into sort of regularly every time I do a trip is that sort of how that works yeah it’s all online so you have full control of your registration details and your trip
Details if you would like to Lodge them uh you can even upload images or photos some some people take a photo of themselves or their family uh even their vehicle uh their vessel if it’s linked to a vessel or an aircraft so it’s a free text comment box so you can enter
It as much information as you would like and what about uploading say um a map say a map with a root plan on it could I do that as well yeah the more information you can provide I think would be great if you weren’t to upload and provide that information then it’s
Really important that people consider in notifying their nominated emergency contacts that information when you say when a beacon is detected so let’s say I am out on a trip and I need to turn the beacon on is it is it a confusing thing to use this peel be or how does you know
What do I see how does someone use that I think it’s really important before you even embark on an adventure always familiarize yourself with your safety equipment and so there is a user manual available with the product and there’s also guidance available written on the product as well and some products have a
Little bit of nuances but essentially with the plb you need to when you need to activate it you need to erect the antenna or deploy the antenna into a vertical position and then you’ll be able to see an on or activation button and you need to press that so all
Distress beacons have a twostep activation process and that’s really essentially to minimize any inadvertent alerts you’d feel pretty bad if you thought oh no I don’t want to accidentally set it off or it’s down the bottom of my pack or I’ve dropped it and it’s bounced down the stairs or
Something yeah and look that can happen and don’t worry accidental activations do happen but if it does Don’t Panic just switch it off immediately and call Amer on 1 800 641 792 and there’s no penalty for accidental activation oh that’s good to know that’s good to know
So I’ll put that number and links to amsa in the show notes as well so there’ll be lots of places people can go for more info but when you do activate the plb maybe just to elaborate a little bit further what to expect that is is also beneficial to understand and so
You’ll see the strobe light will start flashing and you’ll hear an audible beep sound and so that gives you the reassurance that the beacon is functioning and it’s transmitting there’s also some models if you were to buy one with u return link service that means you’ll get an acknowledgement
Message that the distress alert message has been received and that’ll be displayed as a different color light on the plb okay so there’s some models on the market that display a blue LED light yeah is that a relatively new functionality uh yeah it’s been available in Australia since October
2022 okay that’s great cuz I guess that’s something because a PB is it’s just a oneway device in many regards isn’t it you can’t actually you know unless you have like you say one of these newer ones that can give us that message or the different color light
That’s been received and I’ve heard people say look I I pushed the button but I just didn’t know if help was on the way exactly so historically uh 4 six MHz distress beacons have been a one-way transmission device but we’ve seen that advancement in technology now where we
Now seeing them equipped with return link Service as an option so when you go to buy your plb have a look at the different models available uh on the market and if it’s got RLS then you may like to consider that and it will give you that reassurance of capability of
Confirming the message has been received also just a maybe extend that a little bit further so that return link service message confirmation that will give you the reassurance that the message has been received but it does not mean that help is on the way so it’s still important that you maintain your
Survivability until help is on the way yeah absolutely cuz I mean gosh if you sort of knew you saw that um hey oh look help’s coming you might go oh I’ve only got one mbar left I’m going to yes yeah don’t don’t drink all your water and eat
All your food supplies um you still need to stretch it out yeah cuz there’s a lot of things that can affect the timeliness of of help reaching you you know whether it be availability of resources or or weather conditions those kind of things so and I I I guess it always comes back
To being well prepared that anytime you go out you’ve got things with you that you can you know if if circumstances change you can look after yourself you know a little bit of that emergency food and you know some shelter some warm clothes those kind of things yeah that’s
Right so we’ve let a beacon off a plb and you know let’s say we do have that RLS return link service um technology in one of the newer ones there and I can see that the message has been received what can we expect then what what actually happens that we don’t see like
At your end of things like what happens in camera and what happens up in the satellites in the event that you’ve activated the beacon and it’s been deployed and positioned correctly uh then what will happen is that the 406 MHz is detected by the international cosas satellite system that information
Is relayed to a ground station which is known as a local user terminal and that is then forward to to the Mission Control Center which is also based in Cambra and they then relay the distress message to the rescue coordination Center and then the RCC will then
Identify the approp asset or resource to be tasked and that’s actually an automated process so it it happens very quickly so that 406 MHz distress Beacon when you activate it the first burst or transmission is sent 50 seconds after you activate the beacon right so we’re normally detecting that Beacon within a
Couple of minutes it’s very quick wow and you’ve mentioned um there about positioning correctly and I think that’s something that we need to be aware of too so the the places that we go the environments we find ourselves in they’re in Canyons or gullies and that
Kind of thing what what should we do and think about before we actually push that button so briefly before I mentioned that the aerial must be vertical so in other words it needs to be pointing Towards the Sky preferably 180° visibility and away from trees buildings mountains Vehicles basically basically
You want to ensure that the beacon is positioned in a clear and open area and if possible positioning it at the highest point so if you’re in a deep ravine or Galley you may have to consider repositioning yourself if that’s possible uh and it’s all got to
Do with line of site or elevation angle of the satellite and so sometimes um the mountain May block visibility for a particular satellite and this is regardless of whatever device you’re using uh you need to have this ibility of that satellite system and so mountains can block that that’s
Something to be mindful of uh but with the cosas s satellite system it actually comprises of three different constellations and they’re positioned at different elevation angles and so there’s the Leo system moo and Geo some of them are polar orbiting and some of them are geostationary so with those Leo
Moo and Geo the first layer is that that’s the Leo isn’t it the first layer the low earth orbit yeah and so what what’s then the moo and the Geo uh so they’re a higher altitude or elevation okay compared to the Leo a lot a lot
Higher a lot higher okay and so and you mentioned you know it’s it’s about this line of sight and the maximum sky above us because I guess if the those the Leo and the the moo are spinning around over you know C around the earth if if
There’s only a a small slit of sky above us say we’re in a canyon then the period of time that that satellites above us is going to be pretty short isn’t it yeah so the the way best way to explain it is that the Goos so we have coverage over
Australia with the go constellation ah because that’s uh say fixed relative to the Earth okay uh we have coverage of Australia with the moo so you only need three three moo satellites to have worldwide coverage oh and we already have that established the Leo satellites because they’re polar orbiting they average an
Orbit say every average of 90 minutes but can be up to 5 hours uh and so their footprint keeps moving got it what you’ll find is you’re going to have a very strong possibility of being detected by the Goo the moo as long as there’s just no obstruction you
Essentially need to ensure that the plb is positioned in a correct position to enable detection by the satellite system great okay so I’m going to come back in a little bit to to why the that Leo moo and Geo might come into play with some of the other devices we might talk about
Later as well so we’ve now got our Beacon we’ve we’ve Set It Off we’ve got it in the best position we can and obviously that’s that’s you know going to depend on their circumstances too and and certainly you know the last thing you want to do
If if you’ve got an injury um is to injure yourself more or you know potentially open yourself up to you know slipping or falling by trying to get to a higher higher place because um anecdotally I’ve heard from people within police Rescue that they’re amazed at how how effective PS are even within
Narrow gullies and within narrow narrow slots and places like that so I guess that’s something to always keep in mind is to just you know make make wise wellth thought out and measured measured decisions that’s right so going back to what happens when you push the button
You said it goes up to the satellites and down to the Lut local user terminal and then bounces to another one and then ends up in that rescue center what was the name of the center rescue coordination Center okay so the rescue coordination center now that’s in camera
And that’s is that staffed like 24/7 or how does what does that look like inside so the amsa response Center has got uh staff members that specialize in Maritime Aviation and land so they’ve got that operational expertise from industry and they bring that into the rescue coordination Center so that
They’re suitably skilled and have the knowledge to help with the coordination and response right I’m fascinated I’m kind of imagining you know like uh those those movies with it’s sort of like a uh Houston you know with the big screens all up on the wall and darken room and
Everyone’s got this blue glow on their faces from the screens that there are a lot of screens I must say so so a call comes in and it’s landed there at the um at the RCC what happens then uh so essentially when the distress Beacon is detected the registration details are presented
Straight away it’s all automated and those details are presented so they can see the name of the owner of the beacon contact details emergency contacts and any potential trip details that have been lodged and then the idea is that uh if required and they require further intelligence they may need to contact
The nominated emergency contact to a verify the nature of distress or concern for welfare for that individual or persons or group and then gather some additional intelligence or information and if that location of distress is identified or confirmed on land the search and rescue coordination response is transferred to the state police and
If the state police require further assistance from answer then they can seek that as well I guess there’s something um that I forgot to to ask you about then too is what if you know let’s say my beacon goes off my name comes up on the screen like oh not Caro again you
Know would they try and ring me direct cuz what if it’s a like to verify it’s not an accidental activation that’s right right so the search and rescue officer can attempt to call the registered owner and all the emergency contacts in that process massive thanks for the support
From the team at Patty palen who since 1930 have been leaders in travel and Outdoor Adventure in fact did you know that Patty himself a member of the Sydney bushwalkers Club was a volunteer in the original search and rescue arm of the Federation of bushwalking clubs in New South Wales H nice one
Patty now something I’d heard about the 406 megahertz beacons is that they’re also picked up by planes and other aircraft is that how do how does that all work and what happens if they do pick one up yeah so the 406 MHz distress beacons also transmit on 1 to 1.5 MHz
That is the international Aviation distress frequency and it’s also utilized for homing purposes so to explain that in a little bit more detail if ampsa or a asset or resource is tasked to respond they can utilize Direction homing equipment and once they’re tasked to a set location once
They get close uh or closer to their area they can utilize the direction finding equipment to home in on the 1 to 1.5 MHz um but some direction finding equipment also has the 406 homing capability as well but the idea is that once they’re in the vcinity they have a
Homing frequency of which enables them to try and find the person or person’s in distress and that’s when you want to utilize your visual aids that’s the benefit uh once you’re hearing or seeing someone looking or or a plane flying overhead use some visual aids to pinpoint your location and help them
Because they’re homing in on a frequency uh but certainly the visual aids can help there as well and then in the event that the any aircraft overflying are detecting 1 to 1.5 MHz they report that to air traffic control who then subsequently report that to the rescue coordination Center and that’s another
Piece of intelligence that comes into the rescue center which can help them collaborate that Beacon that’s transmitting yeah that’s really really good to know so with that homing capability do you know how accurate that is like is it sort of you know does it give the location to within you know a
Kilometer or a couple hundred meters or what’s what’s sort of the the area that they’re going to start looking for us in so the 406 mahz uh that is just a standard frequency so that’s a 5 kilm circular radius accuracy and the gnss equipped or GPS Crypt is What mo is more
Commonly referred to or known as that’s 120 M accuracy but what we’re seeing is plbs you can only buy a plb with GPS in them these days so you or automatically can safely say that Yes 120 M accuracy what’s also beneficial to understand is that the moo uh constellation the cosas
Sasat has the capability of triangulating and calculating your location in conjunction with that gnss data that’s coming in so we have a secondary source and ability of being able to calculate the location as well which is just as or um once it’s at full constellation will’ll be more accurate
Than the gns is that’s that’s amazing that’ll be a big help for emergency services sure now I want to pick up on something you mentioned there like when you hear that there’s you know potentially aircraft in the air or you might even hear people calling out or whistling or something like that if
There’s a ground party coming to you what are some of the things that we could do in terms of that visual making ourselves you know visually aware so so it’s easy to find oh sure so a couple of ideas uh a beacon will have a strobe light or a LED that’s flashing so
There’s a light source uh you may have a strobe light uh you may like to consider lighting a fire or get some smoke going as long as it’s not a fire hazard of course you don’t want to create another problem for yourself otherwise a contrasting color uh would also be
Beneficial to outlay or some people even consider say a V sheet that is commonly known in the Marine industry so a big orange sheet of plastic which has black letter v on it so that can also enable that pinpointing so bright color even um like you know if you’re not using it
With a patient those silver emergency blankets are great yeah colored clothing um torches head torches camera flashes if anyone still carries camera flashes um anything that’s going to you know help help that aircraft or people Fighters and and your own whistles if you’ve got them some people have got
Whistles on their the little clip on their pack these days yep lots of different ways the oldtimers uh may remember the days when we use a mirror for signaling or even an old CD or dvd um well you still could uh I think there
Are some PB Bott I think in a top cap that you removed there was um some reflective tape uh mirror likee substance and you just use that to reflect the sunlight so yes you can still use things like that great I’ve got a couple of questions a couple of
Things come to mind is it’s great to know that you know we can see that it’s working by that RLS technology that that ability that says yes your message is been received but how can we make sure we’re actually taking out a beacon that’s that’s working oh excellent
Question so before we’re talking about um preparedness familiarize yourself with your safety equipment and so part of that uh on the product is a self- test button and so information is also detailed in the user manual as well about how frequently to conduct a self test and how that will function and
Essentially what that would do is you can press press the self test button to test it in a test environment but not send a distress alert message great and then when you put it in self test mode you’ll get to see a flashing uh strobe light LED light and you’ll hear a little
Beat for about 2 to 3 seconds and that will give you the reassurance the product is functioning correctly and if in the event that doesn’t work for you that would indicate you need to contact the manufacturer as it may require some servicing yeah So speaking of servicing
Pobs have got a pretty good battery life don’t they you don’t have to recharge them or anything or you know change out your old doublea’s or anything yeah look they’re designed and tested to have an inbuilt battery and a guarantee to function whenever required over anywhere
From 5 to a 10e period And so uh have a look at the battery life on the model uh they do vary between different models but I am seeing up to 10 years so Linda that that’s a lot of information that’s great around the plb that sort of very
Basic one button one job kind of a device connected directly to us here in Australia to amsa in Australia but there’s lots of other kind of options out there as well but before we move on is there anything else that we need to know about using a plb and you know
Making sure there is effective as they can be sure so I think one other additional handy hint I could op on is that if you’re finding yourself in a situation where you need to activate your beacon it’s really important uh deployment in that you don’t hold the
Plb okay so do we put it on the ground or on top of a backpack or something what’s what’s going to work yeah preferably on the ground on a flat surface uh so that the antenna is vertical but you don’t want to hold the plb because potentially your hand is
Going to cover the circuitry and where the GPS is positioned and that might prevent detection with the GPS and won’t give us that accuracy that we’re looking for another handy hint also is if you’re seeing the helicopter or the aircraft flying above uh looking for you don’t
Turn the beacon off please keep it on uh because the helicopter as we mentioned or the aircraft we talked about before is utilizing that homing frequency to home in and locate you and don’t assume that they have seen you so you’re really important to use those visual aids as
Well and then once you do activate the plb uh recommend you remain in your position don’t move around uh and then importantly seeking your shelter your food water and medical supplies okay so even if you can hear aircraft around and you don’t turn it off what about let’s
Say for instance you’re in a situation where let’s say something’s gone wrong and you’ve set off the beacon and you’ve started sort of processing things but then are the situation that had gone bad has suddenly wred itself like let’s say maybe you were tempor arily lost and you
Found yourselves again should you then turn off the beacon like let’s say you know a little bit of time has passed yeah good question it’s really important that if some time has passed where you’ve had that Beacon active you could safely assume that a coordination response has already been initiated and
So it’s really at that point it’s critical you make your way so you’ve got some 2-way communication and ring the rescue coordination Center and let them know that you’re safe and well and that assistance is not required so the sooner you can establish that two-way communication the better cuz there’s
Something there I guess it’s a step even before you get to the point of pushing the button is to to look for other ways of communicating first like you know don’t don’t maybe the pob isn’t the first thing you pick up to check but to yeah to check if you do have Mobile
Phone coverage and maybe it’s with a different um carrier or maybe someone else in your group has a phone with a different carrier that might have coverage so I guess that’s a little bit of a oh hey you know before we go uh go the full red on the traffic light let’s
Go the Amber and just check oh indeed I mean two-way communication by mobile satellite phone is the most effective way of communicating uh and so ringing that triple o is uh so you can enable that communication you know the nature of distress what level of assistance is
Required and then the right asset or resource can be tasked appropriately and it gives you that assurance that help is on the way roughly when and they can talk you through and give you some guidance if required um and you know giving some updates as well so I think
That that is essential in understanding and if in the event for consideration let’s say you’re in distress but you don’t know your location then you can advise the operator that hey I’ve got a plb would you like me to activate it and that will then give them the
Intelligence of your location and then the Emergency Services can contact amsa to obtain those location details and that can assist them with the coordination response through the Emergency Services Network so the two systems can work together and I guess we’ve also now got that that great app
The emergency Plus app on our phon so if we are talking with someone on Triple O we can you know look at our lat long location through that or even the old what three words which is now becoming more popular as well so yeah that that two-way communication is it it it
Assists in other ways which sounds like an amazing segue there Linda into talking about some of the other options that are available for us so you know up until now we’ve talked about plbs but let’s talk about some of the other options on the market for us so these
Ones are more I’m calling them the third party device it’s a two-way communication and it’s different to a plb so um some brand names that people might be familiar with a Garmin inreach a Zolo a spot tracker I don’t know if you’re familiar with some other names
Linda but um oh yes there’s quite a few oh there’s quite a few okay right this it’s sounding like it we’re going down a big rabbit hole here but um what’s the what are the key differences between a plb that one button one job and one of
These other sort of um two-way devices yeah sure so we are seeing uh probably an overwhelming choice and selection of these alternative distress alerting devices and two-way communication equipment and so the term used is a send and that’s a satellite emergency notification device and essentially that’s a two-way communication device
That includes that SOS function as well as messaging but they utilize a commercial satellite constellation uh and so there’s three different satellite constellations at the moment there’s aridium Global star and th MH and they usually require a registration and a subscription service fee that needs to
Be paid okay so that’s I guess a couple of differences there you’re talking about so it’s the the satellite system it uses to communicate is different um and there are commercial one so um unlike the cosas sasat which is a government-owned um satellite so a PB
It’s not only a one button one job it’s it’s a one fee once off um you pay and buy the device and you have it and you don’t pay anything more but these these other devices yeah so you buy the device and then it’s a it’s a subscription on
Top of that isn’t that that’s right yeah right okay so rather than uh get deep dive into the intricacies of subscription plans and they’re all going to be different based on a which device and which of those satellite networks that device is paired with the prices
Are going to be you know different and some of them have got options you can you don’t have to be tied in you can put it on hold like let’s say you you buy the device for for a big trip but then you’re not going to be using it for a
While you could actually you know put your subscription hold but you’d want to you’d want to make sure you you reactivate it wouldn’t you oh indeed and and that’s one area that people need to be mindful of that these uh 2-way communication devices don’t work unless
You pay the subscription fee ah is that and is that even the case with the SOS capability yeah the SOS and the messaging doesn’t work if you don’t pay the subscription fee the best thing to look at is probably the coverage so if you’re in Australia what you’ll find is
Um those three constellations have so idium is 100% Global coverage but Global star and Thea have got some coverage limitations and so you need to be familiar with those coverage areas in comparison to where you’re planning on traveling particularly overseas so do a little bit of research uh just to make
Sure that that device and the coverage meets your requirements cuz there’s a lot of yeah a lot of choices you said with the different kinds of Brands and different offerings and you know different marketing campaigns coming from the different brands but there’s some real value in having the types of
Capabilities that these devices offer so let’s maybe look at what some of those benefits would be yeah sure I think ultimately the attraction point for most people is that two-way messaging yeah uh and also tracking I I think that’s also a common feedback that I hear yeah
Absolutely I know um friends of mine who you know their their partner or their loved one doesn’t tend to go on adventures and you know they might go out on an adventure and they they like ah you know I can me send send my partner a message at night say hey got
To Camp setting up all good or I’m camping here send beer you know all the important messages those kind of things um and and that’s certainly something you don’t get with that one button one job PB is it no it it does require some of the models require a little bit more
To set up uh so it really depends on how confident you feel with that extra functionality and technology and interacting with it because I guess one of the other things is is battery life as well yes these other devices these two-way devices you need to you know you
Need to keep power to them don’t you oh indeed and so every model’s different some have got user replac batteries some require recharge so really about understanding your intended trip and duration and what sort of battery consumption you may be looking at and if you’re required to carry say spare
Batteries or extra charging uh capabilities and so you might have it in tracking mode for so many days but then you the SOS button is it going to be enough battery life left uh for that so it’s just having a look at the technical specifications for each device device
And understanding the capabilities and duration with that battery it’s like um there’s a lot of pluses there’s a a few minuses and I guess the thinking would be to take your time if you’re going to you’re thinking about buying one of these devices is to try and maybe look
At well what outcomes do you want what sort of functionality do you want it to have and what circumstances and where in the in on the planet are you planning on using it as well oh there’s there is a lot of lot to consider consider uh I I
Definitely recommend say drawing up like a little checklist uh the pros and cons and what your requirements are and making sure that it meets your expectations CU I know there’s um some of the devices not just tracking but um which is allows your loved ones to see
Through a a we link uh web page they can go and see a map and you know see you as a little dot or something like that yeah it leaves like bread crumbs yeah yeah which I guess the other thing that these 2A devices give which
Is is kind of a bit of an intangible it’s not really a hard capability in a fact but it’s that peace of mind for and it’s not necessarily for you the person having the adventure it’s it’s peace of mind for your loved ones for someone who
Who might be you know um concerned for your wellbeing or they just want that comfort of knowing that you’re okay you know you’ve given you’ve sent them the I’m okay button during the day or you’ve said hey I’m camping here tonight or even giving um I think one of the
Benefits is to be able to alleviate create a potential Rescue by letting someone know hey look you know I’m doing okay I’ve just got bad blisters I’m just going to be slow I I’ll be a day late yeah good point as well uh because sometimes the family are expecting you
Back by a certain day or time and if you’re able to communicate to them it’s being delayed that can certainly be beneficial to alleviate their concerns do you have a personal story about an incident or rescue during an outdoor trip when something didn’t quite go to plan maybe you got lost injured
Let down by some gear preparation or something else look honestly it can happen to any of us at any time regardless of how experienced we are and it’s by sharing these stories and tales that we can all learn and help to avoid them in the future so if that’s you I’d
Love to hear from you so please drop me an email to rescued at lot ofresh a.com that’s rescued with a D now one of the big questions when should you actually use a pob when should you hit that SOS button once you’ve attempted two-way communication and if two-way communication is not
Available then that’s when a distress Beacon or a send device uh could be activated in a situation of what we call is grave and imminent danger so that really equates to when you’re feeling or facing a life-threatening situation and that’s a personal decision and that’s different for everybody it’s a tricky
One isn’t it because um and I like that you say it’s going to be different for everyone because everyone’s definition and idea of risk is different and also what might be to one person you know oh my gosh the world is ending um might be
Ah you know it’s just a flesh wound I’ll be right um kind of thing so and I think something else to consider is is the timing during the day of of if you know something’s gone wrong when you choose to set that that Beacon off oh indeed
And so really the sooner the better and so if you’re approaching just be mindful you know try and be mindful if you’re approaching last Light for example you know you want to be activating a bit earlier than last Light uh because in some instances help may not be able to
Get to you overnight they might not be able to get to you till the next morning so the sooner you can activate the device and communicate in needing help definitely one thing I’ve heard which just sounds like such wise advice is you may not have a a Graven imminent
Situation right now but if you delay it may develop and become that so I guess you know something like a a medical condition or someone might be okay now but if they don’t have their medication with them it could become something quite serious so it’s it’s one of those
Wicked problems is deciding when when is the right time to hit the button but something I really liked you said earlier is that um like if you accidentally Set It Off there’s no shame in it just call us and let us know but I guess there’s no judgment From an’s
Perspective if you’ve acted in good faith in in the circumstance is there yeah I think essentially the search and rescue officers would be very grateful to hear that you’re safe and well absolutely absolutely so looking back then at these these other 2-way devices is there anything else we should know
About them before we deep dive and think about buying one or what are some of the other things we might want to bear in mind I think have a look at the so we’ve talked about um have a look and explore the what satellite system what coverage
They might have have a look at whether are you looking for a self-contained device or that’s portable has all the functionality in the device can operate independently or you’re looking at something that is Bluetooth to your mobile phone in which you use your mobile phone to do that text messaging
Say or you need an app uh to interact and send those messages and then have a look at who that registration service provider is because there are three different service providers on the market and they’re all aligned with different companies so uh common ones are the ICC so that’s the international
Emergency response coordination Center Center that’s a great ACC otherwise it’s known as GEOS and the second one is focus point and the third one is global rescue so each company or product is aligned to a different service provider and also recommend have a look at the technical specifications and in the
Sense of compliance or standard compliance what have they been tested and you know are they waterproof durability um there’s only one international s standard as an example so does it reference the rtcm standard that’s a really good point so you know if there’s an international standard associated with these SOS buttons on
These you know two-way devices you want to make sure that you’re buying one that meets the standard or or exceeds it don’t you yeah you want to have some confidence that you’re buying a product that’s been tested and approved to perform as you expect yeah exactly so if
I was holding one of these two-way devices and I was pushing the SOS button there so that doesn’t go to am directly in camber does it so it goes to somewhere else yeah so when you activate the SOS that is received by the commercial message service provider of
Which you’ve subscribe to okay so that’s one of those three emergency centers somewhere else in the world that aren’t in Australia yeah yeah exactly um and they basically will do that triage or initial assessment and once they identify and conf confirm the details of the distress uh they will notify the
Rescue coordination Center who’s responsible for that region and so if it’s detected in Australia they’ll notify the RCC so that’s the Amer Response Center and then subsequently if the location of distress is identified on land then the ASA Response Center will then notify the state police got it
Okay so it’s just one more step in the the chain and it’s I guess a step of people in instead of the plb which is a step of automatically through technology going ping ping ping to the yes to the RCC in camber this goes to a a third
Party call center somewhere else in the world and then they contact you guys yeah so the way the message is processed is differently but ultimately if you were to activate a PB or a send device the same coordination response would be coordinated great that’s good to know
That’s really really good to know so is there anything else that we should know as consumers about these send devices call them the two-way ones we’ve talked about the price is different because there’s a subscription on top um there’s the battery life you need to consider the the charging and keeping them
Powered there’s the way that they may need to be paired with another device like a mobile phone to to actually operate messages but they will always have that SOS button just directly on the device which is always good to know um and that they do have the benefits of
Giving you that two-way that comfort for your loved ones and just for yourself you might be bored you I mean gosh I think I remember one an early iteration of one of the devices you could even post a Facebook from it by a satellite so maybe if you’re um a social media fan
Then uh then that might be the way you want to hit as well and I think any sort of two-way communication device I think is beneficial for anyone to consider I guess for me and I’ve had a lot of people ask me what what I carry and what
I have and again I come back to some very wise words from someone I know who said look if you really care about your safety You’ carry both oh yes if you can afford it definitely it is something to consider is it’s financially could be expensive for some people to consider as
An option but certainly we have seen some people carry both and then what we see is that they complement each other and so in some instances not very often but we may detect a 406 plb but we also are receiving intelligence about a send device that is active and we’re getting
Some two-way communication which is providing that level of detail around the nature of distress what the injury is or what sort of assistance is required and that gives us the ability to communicate that to the state police and give them that information to better coordinate a more effective response and
Even just thinking about being able for the Emergency Services to be able to triage you know they might have a couple of you know or a lot of things going on their board at that time they might have a lot of um emergency calls out and
Triple o like well if you know that this is a a broken wrist or a sprained ankle as opposed to maybe you know um Cardiac Arrest or chest problems or a snake bite or something like that yeah the triaging is very important understanding the seriousness of what’s being reported so
There’s lots of great information there but I guess you know we’re living in a time when technology is changing and moving and developing so quickly and um just this year we’ve had the iPhone 14 roll out with its um satellite capability are you able to to shed any
Light on that for us and and sort of how that works and have you guys seen some activations from it oh sure so I think it’s such a great opportunity the advancement in technology that we’re witnessing at the moment it is a bit hard to keep up I must confess
It’s it’s it’s moving very fast which is very exciting um and so the biggest announcement um that we’ve seen obviously is Apple aligning themselves with uh Global star and enabling that SOS functionality in Australia and so just to maybe to explain to people how that process works so if you were to
Press the SOS button on your Apple iPhone4 that message is sent to an Apple emergency relay Center and that’s positioned outside of Australia and then they will do that triaging and verification process and then they will forward that information to the Emergency Services Network in Australia so the Absa Response Center do not
Receive those messages that is directed to Emergency Services right okay that’s really interesting so is that through the triple zero system or through a different system you uh the triple o through triple o right okay so cutting out cutting out the am so uh Amer is responsible for search and rescue in
Australia whereas emergency services are responsible for fire police and ambulance so it’s not just the iPhone it’s not just Apple who are dabbling in new technologies it’s it’s other organizations as well what what can you tell me about that oh so some further exciting announcements uh that we’re all
Learning about is Opus and telra and so Opus have announced their link with SpaceX starlink and they’re looking at allowing SMS late 2024 and voice and data late 2025 wow and telra have also signed up with starlink and they’re looking at home phone and Broadband services in remote Australia end of this
Year well that is a complete Game Changer so Opus and Telstra teaming with starlink so that’s satellite and it doesn’t sound like it’s it’s years in the future it sounds like it’s it’s coming yeah very exciting uh it’s another option for consumers to consider as two-way Communication in those remote
Areas where your GSM phone coverage doesn’t have service but with that new technology you also need to do that assessment um and and we all know some considerations that need to be thought through with mobile phones uh so you know then mobile phones are not designed or tested or even approved to function
As a replacement to a distress alerting device and they don’t meet those International performance standards uh so you need to have a think about you know our mobile phones for battery power endurance waterproof rotation we all know how long our batteries last on our phone and oh where’s the charger yeah
Especially if you’re using it for taking photos in the bush or maybe using it as your your um navigation app something like that yeah so I think there’s certainly an opportunity there with the new technology but it’s like any consideration of new technology uh you need to weigh it up and assess those
Functions and specifications one other advancement which I don’t think many people have heard about is the advancement of the 406 MHz distress beacons and we talked about return link service earlier with the message acknowledgement capability which is currently available that is going to be further enhanced with two-way messaging
With a distress Beacon and a rescue coordination Center so that is actually looking to be assessed for approval mid 2024 so I’m anticipating some products with that new capability in the near future wow that is like that is massive so that would give you that two-way communication capability but on a
Standard plb that one button one job it would be instead of it’ be you know maybe a couple of buttons and a couple of jobs that’s and that’s the one that’s direct to to answering camra yeah so there’s another advancement that’s coming great I guess one of the things to consider is
How do we look after our beacons is there sort of guidelines around storing them or shoving them in our packs or what do we need to be aware of so I like to say look after your beacon it’ll look after you so if you need to carry a
Beacon ideally it should be carried on the body or within easy reach also recommend that you refer to the manufacturer user manual for guidance related to the particular model around the storage and carriage guidelines but some handy hints around the storage and it’s really about looking after the beacon and preventing those inadvertent
Activations right so what might cause that so storing it in a backpack or a bum bag you want to avoid cramming it with other objects and avoid pressure or weight of other objects on top of it or even your body say you’re leaning on your backpack for example when you’re
Having a rest and things like when you’re storing the beacon you know plbs are waterproof but don’t store them expose them to water long term uh that’s not looking after it and avoid magnetic sources why would that be uh sometimes they can inadvertently activate the beacon it depends on the design of the
Particular Beacon model uh so some PB models the way they’re designed uh they’ve got what you call a read switch in the circuit board and when that’s positioned near a magnetic Source it turns the beacon on oh so where would you where would we find a magnetic
Source um that might you know do that kind of thing for us yeah so things to consider are things like a microphone radio speaker or even say a metal detector oh okay gosh that good all the fosas out there yeah who are going into remote areas you might just want to
Think not storing them together just something to consider okay cool and um what was that line you said again look after your beacon and it will look after you oh nice you should be in marketing Linda amazing well Linda thank you so much for your time I have learned so
Much out of this things like how many options there are on the market and and how to best I guess go in with your eyes and ears wide open and do a lot of research before choosing what’s best for you and maybe consider how involved some
Of them might be and how simple if you might just want a really simple device that’s just you know reliable and simple and one job you might want something that’s you know steps up and gives you a load more capability you might want the tracking you might want the the the uh
The map the downloadable map with you know ad you it works as a a GPS or gnss as you say type device as well and has all the bells and whistles and there’s kind of like lots of things in between so it’s I guess say fortunate or unfortunate there’s uh lots of different
Ways to skin this cat in terms of emergency communications but um it’s so great to know that AMS has got our backin camera and yeah you operate that customer support part as well so if you’ve got questions with with your devices is that correct or is problems
With the registration that we can always get in touch with you guys uh certainly if you require assistance with registration you can contact amsa or if you require a bit more information about distress alerting devices equipment systems you’re more than welcome to contact us as well yeah there is loads
Of information on your website which is am.gov and um yeah there’ll be links to all of that in the show notes as well so Linda thanks for your time you’re an absolute Legend and I can’t wait to hear about the next exciting technological advancements um so hopefully you’ll come
Back and uh and be a guest again on the podcast in the future thanks Cara it’s been an absolute pleasure the rescued podcast is produced on the unseeded lands of the gunden gar and darag people of the Blue Mountains of New South Wales I pay my respects to
Elders past and present and acknowledge their inuring connection to and care for Country special thanks to our sponsors Patty Palin this has been a lots of fresh air production
We venture into wild places to get away from it all.
But when it comes to calling for help, letting someone know that we’re delayed or even just giving our loved ones peace of mind, we have to rely on satellite communication methods – because mobile phone coverage often doesn’t reach to where we want to go.
In this episode, I speak with Linda Berryman from AMSA (that’s the Australian Maritime Safety Authority) in Canberra.
We do a deep dive into Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), along with 2-way communication devices (such as Zoleo, InReach or SPOT trackers). And yep, we also talk about the satellite capability with the iPhone 14 and some other very exciting technology that is just around the corner.
Visit the AMSA (Australian Maritime Safety Authority) website (https://beacons.amsa.gov.au/)
If you accidentally activate your beacon, call: 1800 641 792
Other AMSA Contacts (https://beacons.amsa.gov.au/contact.asp)