Will the new iPhone make PLBs obsolete?

I think Apple sponsored this recent crash off a cliff just for the publicity headlines. Pretty sure the "woman in a white Mercedes" whose aggressive honking caused the crash was just Tim Cook in a wig.
 
Interesting article, a quote:

"Defective crash technology isn’t totally new to TCSAR. Several years ago, OnStar presented the same issue and more recently a tracking app called Life360 did too. Due to its inaccurate callouts, TCSAR had to make the tough decision to no longer respond to calls from those sources.

“If [the Apple tech] continues to become a problem, we’re going to have to do what we did with the Life360 app. We will just have to say we can’t take these calls.”

According to Carr, the tech has put a huge burden on dispatchers. It presents the same question over and over: How exactly do they know when to ring the bell?"

buckrail.com

Apple's new crash detection tech 'a headache' for Search and Rescue

Apple's new crash detection tech has triggered numerous accidental callouts for TCSAR costing the team significant time and resources.
buckrail.com buckrail.com
 
Bob said:
Too much reliance on tech to solve the problem of no or little common sense
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True, but it's also common sense to use the tech available to help make you more safe. This includes map, compass, proper traction and insulation, etc... and in many situations, a PLB or inreach or the like.
 
Many sar responses are from people who have no clue and think they will come save me.... NO common sense and rely on their phone for security....
 
Now that the Emergency SOS via satellite functionality on the latest iPhones has now been available for over a year, does it appear that PLBs (Personal Locator Beacons) are becoming more obsolete, or do people still prefer to use the 'traditional' technology ?
 
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What is PLB? I just have a little flip phone. And also often I go without a phone period. Think life and everything was better before all of these phones were around. Am an oldster I guess. Plus the mountain men of old never had any freaking phones.
 
Kmatjhwy said:
What is PLB? I just have a little flip phone. And also often I go without a phone period. Think life and everything was better before all of these phones were around. Am an oldster I guess. Plus the mountain men of old never had any freaking phones.
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Personal locator beacon.... Push the button and search and rescue will come save you.. Only take my phone to text the wife occasionally, she likes to see where I'm at according to a map I leave her.. Have a satellite attachment. Yes cell phones have ruined a lot.
 
Kmatjhwy said:
Plus the mountain men of old never had any freaking phones.
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Yep. But they also got lost quite a bit. Just managed to get themselves to where they wanted to go eventually. One account is recorded by Osborne Russell: the leader thought the Wind River was leading to the Yellowstone. Some of the men said he was wrong. Russell and another climbed Ramshorn Peak, reckoned where they were. The company then proceeded down to the Stinking River (S. Fork of the Shoshone) then up to Yellowstone. Even Jed Smith got "misplaced" several times.

I have maps on my phone as well as paper and compass. Easy to locate position with GPS and faster to pull out than maps. Use maps for overall views and planning alternates. Been guilty of walking up the wrong canyon with the same bearing as the right one. Just missed my position and the peaks were shrouded in clouds. Mostly for photos though. Occasionally check position if in doubt. If I have cell signal, I'd be disappointed. I want to be out of contact!

Have to carry a Garmin Mini due to girlfriend's insistence as I solo a lot. Not sure about iPhone capability, but Garmin is rugged, great battery life and solid antenna. Plus a proven track record. Didn't pull the SOS when I separated my shoulder off trail solo this year, but it was good to have the option. Also let my safety observers know I'd changed route with a few button clicks.
 
Now personally in all my years of wilderness wanderings, have never been lost. I was disoriented once but knew where I was. It was on top of the Two Ocean Plateau Area at the headwaters of the Snake River many years ago. But in light of this current society, going into the woods with getting lost On Purpose might be a very good thing! Just go back into the wilds and live! And as for myself, do not want the outsiders to know where I am. If something were to happen, then that is the way it goes and it has been a good good life.

Best to Everyone!
 
Kmatjhwy said:
going into the woods with getting lost On Purpose might be a very good thing!
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SAR may beg to differ! Haha. We've had people get lost and call SAR on the M Trail here in Bozeman, where you can see town from just about every point on the trail and you have cell service and can easily use standard GPS apps. Stuff like that has made it so I never underestimate how unprepared/ignorant people can be.
 
Jackson, SAR can disagree all they want. But freedom is freedom and as Thomas Jefferson said on Rebellion to Tyrants is Obediance to God. Yes many unprepared or ignorant people out there these days. But that does not mean I have to be tracked everywhere I go in the woods also. What about again our freedoms and not letting the elites dictate for us where to go or what to do. Am an oldster I guess in more ways then one. And love just going into the wilds with living as in days gone by.

Best to Everyone!
 
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Kmatjhwy said:
Jackson, SAR can disagree all they want. But freedom is freedom and as Thomas Jefferson said on Rebellion to Tyrants is Obediance to God. Yes many unprepared or ignorant people out there these days. But that does not mean I have to be tracked everywhere I go in the woods also. What about again our freedoms and not letting the elites dictate for us where to go or what to do. Am an oldster I guess in more ways then one. And love just going into the wilds with living as in days gone by.

Best to Everyone!
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Oh I just meant that search and rescue organizations (like Gallatin County SAR) are getting more and more calls as it is, so I was joking that people intentionally going out and getting lost in the woods would further increase search and rescue organizations' workload. Haha.
 
Without my inReach Mini I'd probably be getting barely a dozen bag nights instead of almost a hundred - love that damn thing so much.

More on topic: I haven't seen anything from the newer phones that says they compete with a proper GPS communicator yet - though I'm sure it's coming.
 
TheMountainRabbit said:
Without my inReach Mini I'd probably be getting barely a dozen bag nights instead of almost a hundred - love that damn thing so much.

More on topic: I haven't seen anything from the newer phones that says they compete with a proper GPS communicator yet - though I'm sure it's coming.
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Maybe it doesnt even work ?!? :thinking::thinking:
 
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