Bright Ideas ELB has donated two of the new McMurdo FAST FIND 211 Personal Location Beacons (PLBs) to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.
The FAST FIND is said to be the most compact PLB available on the market today and at just 106mm long it is small enough for the crew to wear on their lifejackets or in a pocket in their overalls.
Mark Cannell a Senior Flight crew member commented “I'm very impressed with the small size, GPS aspect and LED SOS light on this new mini FAST FIND PLB.” He added “I am very familiar with the difference GPS makes when trying to rescue someone. It reduces the notification time to minutes and the search area down from 28miles² to roughly the size of a football field.”
When activated, the lightweight FAST FIND, weighing at only 150g, transmits a signal via the international government COSPAS SARSAT satellite system to alert Search and Rescue authorities if the user should get into difficulty.
Alan Bright, Director of Bright Ideas Ltd and distributor of McMurdo's range of emergency electronic beacons said “It's really great to be able to give something back. The Westpac Chopper flew my son and his mate to hospital after a nasty motorbike accident a number of years ago. They are a charitable trust with minimal support from the government; the work they do saves lives but costs a lot of money to run. It was the least we could do to say thanks.”
The FAST FIND is fully waterproof and provided in a flotation pocket. It transmits two signals simultaneously, one to the subscription free global 406 MHz satellite system. The other (121.5MHz) is a homing signal designed to speed up the local recovery response process. Once activated, FAST FIND's signals will continue to transmit for at least 24 hours, at a powerful 5 watt output, the 406 MHz transmission ensures that a call for help gets through whatever the conditions.
FAST FIND also includes a unique SOS LED flash light facility which is manually activated to further assist in speeding up the users' recovery during night time rescues.
FAST FIND will operate in temperatures down to -20°c and its integral battery has a user storage life of 5 years, so there's no need for constant battery changes and re-charging. After purchase there's nothing else to pay – no subscriptions, no network or call charges!
The new McMurdo FAST FIND 211 retails for around $899.
See www.brightideas.co.nz for more information and retailers in your area or call them on 09 366 686
Picture caption: From left to right: Advanced Paramedic Bruce Kerr, Senior Flight Crew Mark Cannell, Bright Ideas ELB Directors Alan and Nick Bright.
McMurdo, a division of Signature Industries Ltd is a world leading producer of Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs), Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) Search and Rescue Transponders (SARTs), VHF Radios and NAVTEX for the maritime and leisure markets, including shipping, yachting, aviation and outdoor adventure pursuits. The high quality product range is manufactured in the UK utilising the very latest technology available, and in partnership with the world's safety regulatory organisations.
