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[goldbrick]

Tom, I have no idea about insurance. I was under the impression you only have to pay if you activate a search when you did not need to. That is only my impression and it may be wildly inaccurate. If you are concerned about post activation responsibilities, a few minutes on the net should provide you some answers.

[Gold Hound]

Here in Australia we have some of the most poisonous snakes in the world!

Most notably the inland taipan, costal taipan, eastern brown, mulga, tiger snake, death adder,rough scaled snake, copperhead and red belly black snake.

And they are common in the gold fields and if bitten by any of them, the bite if untreated is probably going to be fatal!

If you are unlucky enough to be bitten by a brown snake you have about 1 hour if you properly bandage and immobilize the bite until the neurotoxin will make you blind, then shortly after paralysis starts to kick in, then you are screwed!

If you are unlucky enough to get bitten by a taipan in the field............ Just pick a shady tree and roll a smoke and start smoking it, you wont finish it!

When you use a emergency beacon the average response time is 6 hrs if your lucky, and even then they don't know what is wrong with you they just know you set off your beacon.

So if you are bitten by one of the snakes above you will likely be dead before they arrive if you use a beacon.

So I regard them as usless to an Aussie prospector that works in remote areas.

So instead we carry satellite phones, as they are much better because you can ring direct to the flying doctor's and they will be there much quicker or you can ring one of the property owners and they will pick you up with the muster chopper in minutes not hour's.

[Norvic]

Not a bad idea guys, but  I dont see it being trustworthy in canyon situations that have spotty gps signals to begin with. I know many times I am in and out of signal on the Garmin, and even with a satalite lock on, the signal is sometimes distorted and marked waypoints  can show up way off.

Also I would figure its still going to be a long wait for a rescue team to show up, so one would still have to fend for himself the best he could.

Does your GPS show the EPE (Estimated Position Error)  , to avoid marked waypoints being way off, ensure the EPE is 10m or less before you save, can take many minutes in some locations but by doing so waypoints can be relied on. In fact be wary of manufacturers claims they lock on faster than the opposition ones, might sell GPS`s but not much good for users. Simple to check this, hold GPS in one position save waypoint when it informs you it has lock, save another couple minutes later etc etc, check those waypoint cords if they vary by much between first saves but gets lesser with later saves, you have an idea, but you should find a EPE or averaging measurement under menu functions.

 

Now with prepaid on hand held Satellite phones, it is more affordable although the cost/min is higher but for safety only takes a few minutes to contact if you need help in a hurry. I use a Inmarsat Pro which has a GPS inbuilt and allows you by a few button pushes to email your Lat & Long to whatever email address you wish, so have made a rule if the wife doesn`t get my daily email she knows something is wrong, plus of course I ring her once a day even more if the Goddess of Gold has blessed me. The missus really likes this  saves her worrying when I`m out there, good for me too she lets me go more frequently.

 

About snakes, I see them when I`m walking around but when detecting with detector on, only seen one over the years. Often wonder are the snakes able to sense our detectors field or is it simply because we detect a lot slower then we walk, thus they move away?

[azblackbird]

I seem to recall Spot sold insurance policies that would pay you for rescue expenses twice a year, if needed? Does the Epirb company do this? An emergency rescue must cost a small fortune I should think and could break your bank account?

 

Here in AZ you are not charged for a legitimate rescue. Search and rescues are part of your tax dollars. We do have a "stupid motorist law" in which you can be charged for a rescue if you drive around any barricades and into a raging river during our monsoon season. Believe me... every time it rains more than a couple inches, there's always some bozo that thinks his high lift 4WD is immune to the forces of flowing water, so they disregard the warnings and end up getting swept away down stream several hundred yards and slammed into a tree. It happens every time we get a good rain.

 

The GEOS insurance with the SPOT is for anything above and beyond a normal rescue. I carry it just because it's cheap and where I prospect I want to make sure somebody (whether LEO or private party) can come and get me.  99.9% of the time, if I were to get into any kind of serious trouble, usually a helicopter could easily come and pluck me out. It's that other .01% where a private party on horseback or ATV may have to be called in to come and get me that I want covered by insurance.

[vanursepaul]

i kinda like the sound of that satphone.....

 

I will do a little research on it..

 

Thx Norvic

[Shasta gold hunter]

Here in Redding CA my family can make a family donation to Reach air rescue ambulance. It was real reasonable 100-150 for the year....any helicopter rescue in the state is $10.00 if you've donated and carry their card. Matt

[Gold Hound]

i kinda like the sound of that satphone.....

 

I will do a little research on it..

 

Thx Norvic

Mine is exactly the same model as Vic's.

When I bought mine Inmarsat was the only carrier that had a prepay option rather than having either a expensive monthly contract or disconnection and reconnecting fee's.

I'm happy with my sat phone, its saved me alot of time and headaches.

[Norvic]

I got the name wrong the sat company is Inmarsat but the phone is the Isatphone Pro, not Inmarsat Pro . But Dale knew what I was on about, Another Senior moment for me vanursepaul and it`s international so you`ll get it over there.

It is on my belt whenever I`m detecting, it`ll drop off one day and become a artefact from the Electronic Rush era.   Inmarsat don`t give us the good deal they did at first, pre-paid credit was for 2 years. Now think it`s down to 6 months unless you fork out many 100`s.

[Gold Seeker]

AJR and Wes, I don't blame you for being skeptical per a 406 EPIRB reception in canyon areas. Do I have personal knowledge that they work great every where but underground? No I do not. Did I do research before spending my dollars on an EPIRB? That's a big yes. Most things in life don't work at 100% efficiency 100% of the time. My research tells me that in a life and death situation the 406 EPIRB offers the best chance of me being able to contact emergency services.

I am not trying to start a pissing match with SPOT owners but 5 years ago when I did my research, the internet was rife with complaints of poor to no reception in many places by spot owners. I could not find one instance of some one setting off their 406 EPIRB and emergency help not arriving. Do some research yourself, your mileage may vary, after all mine is 5 years stale.

The other advantage of an EPIRB is no monthly subscription fee. Once you buy it all you pay for is battery replacement ( every 5 years on my model). Of course you can not chat up your family and friends with one, that honor belongs to the SPOT.

Whatever option you decide on make sure you take it with you, doesn't work if setting on your work bench at home. Mine lives permanently in my prospecting back pack. I convinced my brother to get one and he used the holster to mount it on his suspenders.

 

Merton

 

 Goldbrick,

 

 I feel it's worth mentioning that from the research I have done and from reading reviews the cost of the battery replacement is around $150, another fact that needs mentioning for someone who has a much older EPIRB is that the units that use 121.5MHz and 243MHZ are no longer satellite detectable and these persons should buy a newer model that uses the 406MHz .

[Gold Seeker]

Goldbrick,

 

I seem to recall Spot sold insurance policies that would pay you for rescue expenses twice a year, if needed? Does the Epirb company do this? An emergency rescue must cost a small fortune I should think and could break your bank account?

 

-Tom

 

 This is from ResQLink website under F&Q..

 

"Q: Is there a subscription fee for beacon registration or rescue service?

Beacon registration is free, should you ever have to activate your beacon, rescue is free in most parts of the world.

- See more at: https://www.acrartex.com/products/catalog/personal-locator-beacons/resqlink-plb/#sthash.W06PA3By.CKCZyAg0.dpuf"