Bushwalk Australia

Yesterday I received an email from AMSA with details of my PLB re registration. I was due to re register in November. This has been done automatically and early by AMSA which is a good thing in my view.
There was a request to check all details including emergency contacts and to go to the web site to fix anything that was not correct.
A requirement to carry a copy of the email on smart phone or a printed copy as proof of registration.
I rang AMSA to enquire if I could get a sticker but stickers are no longer issued.

I assume that carrying the proof of registration requirement is for maritime beacons. Registration would be checked by police in a safety equipment inspection.

Registered my PLB to my glider, no email, nothing from AMSA.
I have an email for my Boats EPIRB though.

When does the glider PLB registration expire ECMark?

For PLB, I don't think it's realistic to expect one to carry the registration letter. Suspect it relates to the fact that the PLB is a transmitting device and comes under the ACMA umbrella as for HAM radio licence.

25/02/2018 and I see no difference between PLB or EPIRB. Having to have a letter or electronic copy is just a PITA and I did not have one for my old EPIRB. I certainly won't bother if required for my PLB. I will worry about that if the need ever arises.

GPSGuided wrote:For PLB, I don't think it's realistic to expect one to carry the registration letter. Suspect it relates to the fact that the PLB is a transmitting device and comes under the ACMA umbrella as for HAM radio licence.

The registration is to make sure they know who is the owner of the device and the emergency contacts to make should the device be activated. Nothing at all to do with it being a transmitter.
They used to issue a sticker that you stuck on the PLB. Much better than the email print or email stored on a smart phone.

ECMark wrote:25/02/2018 and I see no difference between PLB or EPIRB. Having to have a letter or electronic copy is just a PITA and I did not have one for my old EPIRB. I certainly won't bother if required for my PLB. I will worry about that if the need ever arises.

So the initial or previous registration for your glider is good to 25/02/18. They will email you around mid January 2018 or a month before for that one.
I base this notion on the fact that my own re registration email arrived mid October 2016 for a registration the ends late November 2016.
I'm inclined to agree about the email and specially the electronic copy being a PITA. The sticker was simple and easy.....most likely some bean counter has come up with this idea to save a quid.
The bigger PITA for me is the concept of the smart phone becoming the meaning of life with every *&%$#! thing ... ...I don't own or want one.

The point about the PLB and EPIRB is that no one is going to check (well not yet ) whether or not a walkers PLB is registered just *&%$#! foolish waste of time to have it if it isn't.
But I dare say the water police doing a safety gear check on an boat (EPIRB) could be looking for proof of registration.

neilmny wrote:I assume that carrying the proof of registration requirement is for maritime beacons. Registration would be checked by police in a safety equipment inspection.

I renewed the AMSA registration on my PLB in August. From memory I came to a similar conclusion for whatever reason. I just re-read the confirmation email from AMSA which states "You may be required to carry proof of registration. If you received this letter by email, you can save it on your mobile phone. Otherwise you can carry this letter as proof of registration. If you would like to change your proof of registration preference go to http://www.amsa.gov.au/beacons.

So I went to http://www.amsa.gov.au/beacons. That led me to click the link for Registration Information at http://beacons.amsa.gov.au/registration/index.asp. That page has a list of FAQs including this one:

"Why do I need proof of beacon registration?
Why does AMSA issue confirmation once a distress beacon is registered?

Confirmation of beacon registration is issued by AMSA to provide distress beacon owners and authorities with proof of current registration. This is to meet the legal requirements when applicable under state/territory legislation.

A fine may result if a beacon owner cannot prove current beacon registration. The beacon owner must carry proof of registration during a safety equipment inspection. Choose what option works best for you!

SMS – Save your SMS registration confirmation on your mobile phone. The SMS will note the HexID/UIN (Unique Identification Number) of the beacon, type of beacon and the registration expiry date (two years from date of issue).
Email – Save your email registration confirmation on your mobile phone
Print – Print your registration confirmation, or if you have no email, request a printed copy to be sent via mail.
Online – Check Beacon registration – look up the registration status online"

Clicking that last link took me to another page where I then clicked Check beacon registration. The resulting page asks you to "Enter your beacon HEX ID/UIN below" and click a Submit button. Doing that for my PLB displays the current registration details. Simple process . The way I read it I assume that using this option would be acceptable. In any case surely it's something that should be easy to verify at any time.

There is no need to carry proof of registration for a PLB. Where required by law, EPIRBs are another matter.

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neilmny wrote:The registration is to make sure they know who is the owner of the device and the emergency contacts to make should the device be activated. Nothing at all to do with it being a transmitter.
They used to issue a sticker that you stuck on the PLB. Much better than the email print or email stored on a smart phone.

Yes, I am aware of the AMSA registration bit but the earlier post was in reference to the request to carry the registration paper at all times. That's not reasonable for the purposes of a typical PLB user. As said, it may be a rule that came out of ACMA regulation where transmitters need to be licenced eg. HAM radio operators need to carry their radio licence (paper or on a smartphone) whenever using a transmitting radio device.

Strider wrote:There is no need to carry proof of registration for a PLB. Where required by law, EPIRBs are another matter.

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That makes sense. I guess the email is a form letter with personal information inserted regardless of the type of beacon you own.
I just changed the 6 in 2016 to 8 for 2018 on the sticker. I can't imagine a rescue team buzzing off and leaving me after checking if I was carrying my PLB reg papers

Johnw's post back a few posts gives the reasons fairly clearly. Thanks John.

neilmny wrote:

Strider wrote:There is no need to carry proof of registration for a PLB. Where required by law, EPIRBs are another matter.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

That makes sense. I guess the email is a form letter with personal information inserted regardless of the type of beacon you own.
I just changed the 6 in 2016 to 8 for 2018 on the sticker. I can't imagine a rescue team buzzing off and leaving me after checking if I was carrying my PLB reg papers

Johnw's post back a few posts gives the reasons fairly clearly. Thanks John.

I just left the sticker on mine as is Neil. I figured the HEX number and any other relevant numbers were still the same on there and they could look up current registration from them. As previously said, you'd be an idiot to carry around an unregistered beacon when it's adding an extra 100g to your pack weight