What is the difference? PLB vs EPIRB

[Monkey Butler]

My understanding is that they both do the same thing except PLB requires manual activation while EPRIB goes of automatically. Any other differences?

[Macrenovations]

The main difference between an EPIRB and a PLB is that EPIRBs are designed to signal maritime distress, while PLBs were originally designed for land-based applications. A traditional EPIRB is mounted to your vessel, and will generate a distress signal automatically if immersed in water, if it is a Category I EPIRB (http://powerboat.about.com/od/boatingsafetydefinitions/g/CatIDefinition.htm), or when you manually flip the switch, if it is a Category II EPIRB (http://powerboat.about.com/od/boatingsafetydefinitions/g/CatIIDefinition.htm). They are mandatory on commercial vessels, and are becoming increasingly popular as personal EPIRBs become available and more affordable. Historically, PLBs are portable units that operate much the same as EPIRBs, but they are designed to be carried by an individual person instead of on a boat. Many boaters are using this type of emergency locator beacon rather than an EPIRB. PLBs can only be activated manually, which is a significant factor to consider when deciding to buy an EPIRB or a PLB.
When determining which emergency beacon to purchase, keep in mind that some type of beacon is better than nothing. It's not a "should I buy" scenario, but a "which one should I buy?" because every boater should have either an EPIRB or a PLB. In some cases, it's not a bad idea to have both. Boats sink or capsize and people fall overboard even with the best planning, boating skill and experience in the world.


Hope this helps..

[Destroyer]

It's important to remember that not all units are made the same or do the same thing. If you are going to buy either an EPIRB or a PLB just remember to make sure that it's GPS enabled. A non-GPS unit will locate you to an area of about a square mile... that's good, and better than nothing, but a mile is still a lot of territory to cover, especially at night.
A GPS enabled unit will accurately locate you to an area of about the size of a football field. Much better and it increases your probability of early detection. In an emergency, that can be the difference of dying of hypothermia or living. It's that simple.

Although there are tons of really good, really expensive units on the market, I happen to like the ACR brand. At the risk of sounding like an advertisement, you can find a really nice unit that will do everything you want it to do here:

http://www.getfeetwet.com/products/SKU-GFWC_27974NH_ZACR-PART-C_27974NH_ZACRACR-27974NH-AQUAFIX-WHS-95__GFWC_27974NH_ZACR.aspx

At $209 it's affordable and for lakes or near offshore (where most of us do our boating) it's a good unit for the price. Certainly better than nothing, and much less than $500-1000 for a lot of the other units.:head:

[macojoe]

Doesn't matter which one you buy!!

They just make it easier to find the body's!:head:

They going to work to find mine, I am over here :hide: NO No i am here :hide:

:booty:

[Monkey Butler]

At $209 it's affordable and for lakes or near offshore (where most of us do our boating) it's a good unit for the price. Certainly better than nothing, and much less than $500-1000 for a lot of the other units.:head:

Thanks Mr. Destroyer, that is kind of what I thought but wanted to make sure. Over on THT they mentioned that the exact same model on sale at BOE marine and I kind of slapped myself for waiting so long to get a piece of mind like this for cheap dollars.

MJ, I'm sure that your carcass will wash up on a beach somewhere and either Greenpeace will try to shove you back out to sea or the local DPW will bring in a backhoe and dozer to bury you but I am confident that you will overcome all attempts and be back here the next day to regail us with your stories, but please have pictures next time.

But seriously, when I am out of sight of land and no other boats around... it's one thing if it's me and a couple of guys but if I have family and/or friends I feel kind of responsible so for $229 I think I will go for it.