Interesting discussions.
Good points all. My take on it would definitely be that I don't care
if they're illegal. The only possible way it could be any sort of
issue is if it were set off irresponsible (accidentally?) I can't
imagine a ranger saying, "Glad you were able to reach us about that
mci--your mate would surely have died if we'd arrived 3 hours later.
Oh, but I'm sorry, I'll have to cite you for illegal EPIRB use!"
At that point: who cares? If there's a fine, again, who cares? It's
common sense priorities that matter at that point.
I think the difficulty comes in when cocky or naive adventurers get
their asses in a sling in the wilderness and cry for a rescue
because of their own stupidity, ill-preparedness, or outright panic
over the realities of the adventure they've undertaken. This issue
arises periodically here in the NW. The feeling I get from what I
read and the people I talk with seems to be they have no problem
rescuing people who are in genuine trouble having taken reasonable
precautions and risks, but don't want to be expected to rescue every
yahoo who gets into trouble and now wants to be bailed out. The
rescues are expensive and often pose serious risks to the rescuers.
Search and rescue is a resource that is good to have when really
needed. To me, that makes it's really a drag when it gets abused.
So... another technical point. If you've got the EPIRB, then it
would seem to make the most sense (though not strictly necessary) to have an aircraft radio as well? In
talking with my neighbor (pilot), he indicates that the 121.5 (KHz?)
emergency frequency is the same as that of the EPIRB beacon, so it
would make sense to me to think VHF handheld first for emergencies.
Better to be able to indicate the nature of the emergency with the
radio? (Time to start looking for a radio to borrow).
Best,
-b
Bob Hiltner
Seattle
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