From 12th January 2012, the McMurdo Fast Find Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) will be permitted for use on land in the UK as well as at sea, following a change in legislation by OFCOM, the government-approved regulatory authority for the broadcasting and telecommunications industries in the United Kingdom.

Whilst the use of PLBs has been permitted in maritime and aviation environments, OFCOM’s published regulations now permit the use of PLBs on land in the UK, which heralds huge progress for the safety of those taking part in outdoor activities around the country. It is recommended that anyone venturing in to remote areas where there are limited means of communication, whether that be on land or at sea, carries a PLB. In the event that the emergency services cannot be contacted via phone due to battery or signal strength, a PLB gives a direct method of alerting the search and rescue authorities, no matter how remote the location.
Commenting on the change in legislation, Ross Wilkinson, Global Sales Director of McMurdo Ltd said, “We have been campaigning for a number of years to permit the use of PLBs on land in the UK, which have been permitted for use in the maritime and aviation environments, as well as on land in numerous countries around the world for many years.

“The Fast Find 210 PLB has been instrumental in a vast number of documented rescues around the world from bear attacks in Alaska to climbers in New Zealand and rescues in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. In 2010 alone 2,338 people were rescued in 641 distress situations globally using information provided by the COSPAS SARSAT system*. This change in legislation is a real breakthrough in the safety of outdoor enthusiasts venturing in to remote areas of the UK. Thanks to the beacon’s 50-channel GPS, which gives precise location co-ordinates to the search and rescue services, the Fast Find takes the ‘search’ out of ‘search and rescue’ and will ultimately reduce costs to these emergency responders.”

McMurdo’s Fast Find 210 PLB is a powerful distress beacon, which operates on the global 406 MHz search and rescue satellite communication system, COSPAS SARSAT. The COSPAS SARSAT* system is a global goverment-controlled system which defines a common standard for search and rescue by satellites. As well as sending out a distress signal by satellite, the Fast Find PLB transmits a 121.5MHz homing signal, to enable search and rescue teams to home in on the beacon once in the vicinity. The Fast Find 210 PLB is subscrtption free and does not rely on commercial call centres. It also has a 50-channel GPS to give precise location co-ordinates and make recovery speedier and more efficient. The location of a Fast Find 210 GPS PLB can be determined to a typical positional accuracy of +/- 62m (0.03 miles) within a few minutes of activation , making it a must have personal device for all safety-conscious sailors and outdoor enthusiasts.

The beacon is waterproof to 10 metres, will operate in temperatures as low as -20˚ and is small in size; weighing just 150g and measuring D 34mm x W 47mm x L 106mm making it easy to carry tucked in to a pocket or on a belt. Once activated, the Fast Find will transmit continuously for a minimum of 24 hours at a powerful 5 watt output and also features a LED flash light to assist with rescues at night or during limited visibility. The beacon is easy to activate with a simple three-stage activation function and contains a replaceable battery with 5 years storage life.

The Fast Find PLB 210 is available with a retail price of £225 ex VAT. For further information and a list of stockists, visit www.fastfindplb.com.