Loaning PLBs

I think they call the registered owner of the beacon first, to check it's not a false alarm etc Then work through the rest of the list of contacts

Make sure the contacts know who has the beacon and their plans. (should do this second part even when you use it(must remember this))

Ah, that makes sense @Scottie. @Geeves, I did consider this but then again my mother-in-law also probably doesn't care about the tramping intentions of people she doesn't know and I would not want to saddle her with them! (Admittedly she is the third person on my list so unlikely to be called I would hope.)

Im my case the wife is first the father in law second and my father third. If the wife is out with me then the father in law will get the call. He lives in Wellington and would have no idea what Im doing day to day. He would however know where the beacon should be and that if its not there its probably a real call. If he got rung he would initiate the search but would have no idea if they were heading to one person or two or a dozen. I should email him if the beacon is going to be on a big trip

I have a google spreadsheet for maintaining intentions (originally set up due to intentions books missing from huts and trailheads). I update it before my trips - with stuff like party, what emergency gear I'm taking this time, weather forecast and planned escape routes. All the contacts on my PLB have the link. Anyone who borrows the PLB is expected to maintain it as well. None of my contacts would ever mind being contacted for a potential emergency - regardless of who it is.

Thanks for the info all. For my personal PLB for longer trips I email my full intentions to all three contacts (wife, parents and in-laws). For day trips or basic overnighters I do admit I rely on just telling the wife.

It is possible, probably a good move to put a link to that google doc or sheet that you maintain in the registration information for your PLB held by the Rescue Coordination Centre. Then always update that google doc (or similar) with your intentions, party names and any other relevant information and the date and time you made the update before you hit the mountains. Then, as soon as you activate the PLB in the field, your full registration details are going to come up on the screen at the Rescue Coordination Centre, the link to your document will be there, they'll click on it and have the latest and accurate information on your intentions, names and number in your party. They'll still call your mother in law or other contacts, but it gives the greatest chance of ensuring the information they have is the latest and most reliable possible. >I have a google spreadsheet for maintaining intentions (originally set up due to intentions books missing from huts and trailheads). I update it before my trips - with stuff like party, what emergency gear I'm taking this time, weather forecast and planned escape routes. All the contacts on my PLB have the link. Anyone who borrows the PLB is expected to maintain it as well.