davidmorr wrote:Aardvark wrote:It may take a couple of hours before the signal is received and it is likely that two satellites will have to get the signal before any significant action is taken.
The contact was phoned about 10:30am, half an hour after the PLB was set off.
But nevertheless, what is a reasonable time to wait for a response before trying something else? You cannot just sit there forever with a sick or seriously injured person.....
When I asked PLB response time was upto 3 hours... time from activation to someone coming out to you - that can be an overflight by aircraft.
Remote area first aid training is for patient care of days... Seniors first aid training is for the first 30 mins, this is for an abo response with cell phone coverage. If your not in cell phone coverage or not in vehicle access then you need more than Senior First Aid training.
30 mins looks like a long time for PLB activation to phone contact for checking. No time zones involved?
Only one satellite is needed for activation but a location is required and one satellite does not give you that with any accuracy unless the PLB is GPS equipped.
------------------------
PLBs have a test button for a reason - test it before you use it!
PLBs have 2 signals - both get transmitted together;
One for the satellite 406MHz
One for ground location 121.5 MHz - search planes/helicopters are able to receive it and zero in on it. Commercial aircraft also receive these and do contact and report their reception and give an approximate location from their flightpath based on signal strenth.
If you are in a canyon there is limited view of the sky - this may limit the satellites reception and lead to a delay.