Finding Me

Very cool tech -- hat tip to Kevin Kelly's Cool Tools for the link to this life-saver:

McMurdo Fastfind Plus
Find-me anywhere personal locator

It's not that often you run across a piece of gear that can actually save your life. Whether you're backpacking, backcountry skiing, scuba diving, or flying in the wilderness, the McMurdo Fastfind Plus is a must-have in the event you find yourself in a serious emergency situation. Up here in Seattle every year hikers, mountain climbers, and backcountry skiers get lost and don't return. Whenever I read about them in the paper I kind of sigh and think of how easy it would've been to be rescued.

When a person activates the Fastfind Plus, it uses its integral GPS to provide a 406 MHz alert signal via the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system. You see a visual indicator of GPS acquisition. Fastfind Plus also transmits on the International Aircraft Emergency Frequency of 121.5 MHz providing a homing signal for the Search And Rescue (SAR) services. With the combination of an integral GPS and satellite transmitter, Search and Rescue authorities can be notified of your emergency along with your pinpoint location within minutes, anywhere in the world.

The Fastfind only weighs 10 oz, which isn't bad considering that it can save your ass. For scuba divers, a waterproof aluminum canister is also available. I might mention that these devices are only to be used in the most dire, life-threatening emergency. It is a violation of Federal Law to misuse the device and is subject to a $250,000 fine.

Very very cool technology. We have had EPIRBs for the last 15 years or so but this is a definite jump in features and technology with about the same sticker-shock as the current crop of EPIRBs ($550) (EPIRB - Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon -- these send out a cry for help but it is the satellite's job to home in on the beacon. Accuracy can be poor as several hundred feet which in a mountainous area or in confused seas can be fatal. This puppy gathers its own location and sends that data as well as hollering on all of the traditional EPIRB frequencies.)