Ham Radio Survival For Death Valley

[Kauri]

What you should absolutely carry is a PLB which is no bigger than a cellphone and sends an emergency signal to satellites forwarded directly to the correct SAR agency.  These cost a few hundred dollars and are free to use (you don’t pay any monthly fee or anything).

Alternatively if you also want to send non-emergency messages you can look at InReach which is just as reliable as a PLB in an emergency but does require a monthly or annual plan.

Good to know there are PLBs that don’t require a subscription plan! Is there one you’ve had good experience with and would recommend? (Not to derail DV Dazed’s thread here, since I know there’s another forum thread about PLB’s, but just thought I’d ask.)

I bought an InReach Mini from REI earlier this year, and must have gotten a defective unit (seems like this happens more often than it should, since I have seen numerous reviews online with folks having similar experiences to mine). I spent many hours trying to get it to activate and it even had Garmin’s customer service department stumped, so I had to return it; though I know folks who have good experiences with the InReach.