My son is in Trail Life (think Boy Scouts without the girls). In June his troop will be hiking 50 miles on the Application Trail. It is my understanding there are some rather remote parts to this trail and cell coverage on the trail is spotty at best.
I had the idea that it might not be a bad idea for the troop in invest in a PLB in case there is some dire emergency where cell coverage is not available.
Doing some research it seems the entry fee is what I consider to be steep. You can pay at least $300 for a unit that does not need a service subscription. It seems the most cost effective one is the Ocean Signal PLB1.
Then there are the subscription based units like the SPOT messenger. They only cost $150, but then you have to buy a 1 year subscription for another $150 ending in the same starting price. But this adds the capability to have a couple of basic pre programmed messages that you can send out in addition to the SOS feature. But then you have an annual fee as well.
I don't know anything about HAM radios, but I have seen threads on the forum about Baofeng radios as a economical HAM starting point. Do HAM radios have an SOS feature that could work for something like this? If so, I would just buy a radio for the troop.
If anyone else has any ideas for something that could provide SOS capability outside of cell service range, I am open. With 20 some boys hiking in the wilderness, I just think it would be a good insurance policy for the boys to have in case of a true emergency (severe injury or illness). But hopefully they never need it.
I had the idea that it might not be a bad idea for the troop in invest in a PLB in case there is some dire emergency where cell coverage is not available.
Doing some research it seems the entry fee is what I consider to be steep. You can pay at least $300 for a unit that does not need a service subscription. It seems the most cost effective one is the Ocean Signal PLB1.
Then there are the subscription based units like the SPOT messenger. They only cost $150, but then you have to buy a 1 year subscription for another $150 ending in the same starting price. But this adds the capability to have a couple of basic pre programmed messages that you can send out in addition to the SOS feature. But then you have an annual fee as well.
I don't know anything about HAM radios, but I have seen threads on the forum about Baofeng radios as a economical HAM starting point. Do HAM radios have an SOS feature that could work for something like this? If so, I would just buy a radio for the troop.
If anyone else has any ideas for something that could provide SOS capability outside of cell service range, I am open. With 20 some boys hiking in the wilderness, I just think it would be a good insurance policy for the boys to have in case of a true emergency (severe injury or illness). But hopefully they never need it.