help with PLB use

[Frosty]

Does anyone here have experience with PLBs? Especially as they relate to law enforcement? I am trying to incorporate use of one into a novel and need some personal experience.

Specifically,

are they called PLBs by law enforcement/SAR?

how heavy are they?

how large, dimension wise?

color?

carried in pocket or do they have clip, lanyard or other attachment method?

how are they activated?

are special requirements for activation (try to have view of sky, not effective
in rain or buildings etc)

generally in novels, verisimilitude (the appearance of truth) is more important than actual truth, but in this case, I need some facts, and so don't want to guess at what is most likely

Feel free to PM me if you prefer.

Thanks

(I posted this in two forums. Apologize to those who read it twice)

[redhawk]

You should be able to get worlds of into from NOAA or the AFRCC since they are the agencies that are "listening" for the signals.

The largest PLB will handily fit in the pocket of a pair of cargo pants. Most are now the size of a gps (some have a gps built in) and weigh around 12 ounces. Different colors epending on manufacturer and model. Most common colors green and yellow.

Cost, $500-800

To my knowledge they are universally called PLB's or Personal Locator Beacons.

Scaled down units are now being marketed as "kid trackers"

[Frosty]

You should be able to get worlds of into from NOAA or the AFRCC since they are the agencies that are "listening" for the signals.

The largest PLB will handily fit in the pocket of a pair of cargo pants. Most are now the size of a gps (some have a gps built in) and weigh around 12 ounces. Different colors epending on manufacturer and model. Most common colors green and yellow.

Cost, $500-800

To my knowledge they are universally called PLB's or Personal Locator Beacons.

Scaled down units are now being marketed as "kid trackers"

Thanks. I'll check out AFRCC.

[Wldrns]

If you haven't seen this already, be sure to read what happened to Carl Skalak. He was the first person in the lower 48 states to be rescued after sending a distress call from a PLB while camping on the Oswegatchie River.

Much heralded at the time... until two weeks later he was arrested, charged with making a false report, and slapped with $10,000 bail for doing the same thing again from the same location. Further discussion is on another backcountry forum. Some say he took the easy way out after it worked so well the first time, so he just pushed the button.

[redhawk]

That's the problem.

I'm afraid that a PLB will send many unexperienced people into places they have no business going with a false sense of security that "help is just a transmitter away".

I don't think Skalak needed to use it the first time, let alone the second.