PLB and NZ registration

doesnt really matter, they are designed to be used around the world... SAR of teh registerd country of teh PLB are notified first, they loook at what country the signal is coming from and notify the authorities in the relevant country... with SAR they may as well have taken teh hypocratic oath... they are there to help anyone.... theres nothing illegal about using a beacon anywhere other than teh country its registered in... it's just that the authorities prefer the beacon to be registered in the country its most likely to be used in, they'd have all the contact details at hand and would be easily able to ring around to verify if it's a genuine emergency,, i've no idea if authorities from different countries pass on the contact details of who the beacon is registered to and their contacts for verfication of the emergency.

Hmmm. There's a high chance that I've missed something, but if I understand this correctly ( http://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2003-go3328 ), it's legal to bring a non-NZ PLB into New Zealand, BUT transferring it to a new owner (by selling or otherwise) requires registration with the Maritime Safety Authority according to 3.(5). I wonder how this applies if you choose to order a non-NZ PLB for yourself from overseas. (Possibly also fine if the transfer of ownership occurs overseas, but I'm no lawyer... basically just making stuff up.) The gazette-notice refers to devices which broadcast on 406.1 MHz for emergency purposes as Satellite Distress Beacons (SDB) rather than Personal Locator Beacons (PLB), but they're the same thing. So by that reasoning, you're probably fine legally unless you choose to sell it, in which case the new owner would be legally required to re-code it for NZ merely so they could register it (which they'd be legally required to do). Not that this would ever be likely to be enforced.... unless the RCCNZ's looking for another technicality on which to prosecute someone because it thinks they're being annoying. :)

I ended up buying an ACR PLB of Amazon, getting it shipped here and then getting it reprogrammed to have a NZ ID on it, so I could register it in NZ (cost $50 to change and ended up being ~60% of the cost of one in NZ). I have taken it overseas and emailed Maritime NZ to tell them I was taking it overseas and they didn't seem to mind. I think having you PLB registered in your home country is a good idea (the place you are most likely going to use it...). Don't see why it would be illegal to use an overseas one in NZ - better to have an overseas one then none at all...

Hmmmm... I don't know the specific reason why, but it's probably as much because you're broadcasting on the radio spectrum. For most frequencies, to ensure people don't start interfering with each other's broadcasts, you'd need a personal or company licence to do that. (That would cover cellphones, radios, televisions, HAM Radio operators, and so on.) For this 406MHz frequency it's the device itself which gets a general licence, which is convenient but it comes with the trade-off of the government wanting to know where all of those devices are and who's operating them, hence the requirement for registration. In this line of reasoning I can't see why the NZ government would care about someone taking a NZ-registered PLB overseas. If you're broadcasting from another country then it's that country's problem and its up to that country to make its own laws regarding the use. The RCCNZ would probably be more concerned that your registered contact people are familar with what you're doing overseas, in case you activate it and it's necessary to contact them.

From everything I have read and as I understand it, it doesn't matter where your beacon is from, it only matters where it is registered relevant to it's HEX code. If you buy a beacon with a US HEX code you cannot register it in NZ. Period. COSPAS will accept international registrations directly to their database from some countries of which Aust.(503) & NZ (512) are not allowed. http://www.cospas-sarsat.org/ The COSPAS MCC for Aust/NZ area is in Canberra so all local beacon traffic is routed through there anyway. And there is a dual Aust./NZ registration form that you can still use, so there does appear to be a 'loophole' whereby a beacon with an Aust.HEX code can be registered with a NZ address and vice versa. I have looked at both the ACR ResQLink and McMurdo FastFind 220 PLB's and despite a hairsplitting difference of 66 & 50 channels respectively the Fastfind is a much better package. Besides, the ACR just looks plain stupid with it's transparent plastic case. I am still weighing buying it from Aussie, but at NZ $382.00 plus $38 airfreight it is only $99 short of the best deal in NZ. So I don't think its worth the perceived or real risks involved.

Thanks for those references. "If you buy a beacon with a US HEX code you cannot register it in NZ. Period." But you can if you re-code it, can't you? Certain companies will be happy to re-code a PLB with an alternative HEX code if you pay the appropriate fee. (The 'appropriate fee' is what put me off buying a PLB in Australia and bringing it to NZ, as I decided I wanted one with an NZ HEX code. Maybe I should have gone the ebay way as some other people have done very successfully.) The way I read NZ law, it seems that there would be a legal requirement, at least if buying someone else's non-NZ PLB, to have it re-coded at that point, simply so it can be registered with the New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority as the law requires take place when ownership of a PLB is transferred. But, weirdly, NZ law only seems to require registration if ownership is transferred within NZ. (Once again, I could easily be reading the law incorrectly here.) It's interesting about the alternative places to register, though. I note that the CORPAS website does state "If the national administration does not allow beacons with its country code to be directly registered by owners on the IBRD, then the owner must register the beacon in a database established by that country." In practice I expect alternative registration would work perfectly fine. I'm just unsure if it's compatible with actual New Zealand law for a PLB being operated from within New Zealand. It's not as if an international organisation has control over NZ's sovereignty to create its own laws about what's allowed within its borders. Anyway, it's probably an academic issue. If there's something technically illegal here then it's hard to imagine it being enforced.

Sorry, I should have qualified that statement but it seemed the discussion had established that overseas PLBs can be recoded. On another site someone suggested that if you didn't register your foreign beacon SAR would still come running if it activated. I would say that this would be true but I wouldn't want to be the guilty party trying to explain to SAR why as a NZ resident I didn't have a registered beacon theelectricwiz mentioned $50 to recode which seems the most reasonable price I have heard mentioned. Maybe I am being paranoid but the small saving made by buying from an overseas supplier doesn't seem to be justified when you factor in airfreight, recoding and potential return to base warranty. At one point last year Bivouac were selling FastFinds for $479.20. Sale prices like this no doubt correspond to the potential battery life guarantees involved so they don't have to cough up new batteries (@$200) If nobody buys them at $599 eventually they will have to rationalize the price of the stock they have. So for my math. $479.20 for a NZ coded, warrantied PLB as opposed to $382.00 + $38.00 + $50 (if you want/need to recode it) for an Aust. PLB isn't worth it. I didn't even look at the USA but maybe the saving is significant enough to justify it. If you can wait then keep an eye on NZ outdoor supplier sales and be ready to pounce.

theelectricwiz where did you get the ACR country code changed. Early last year I brought one and as I have had a stroke two years ago its sat on the shelf. Am just getting to the stage I want to go walking but family are saying no unless I have one. Money is tight due to the stroke costing a lot of funds so brought one cheap of amazon like you. Does look safe on the shelf!!!!!!! Cheers treemanSI

Have posted this before (sorry - not much use to those who already have an o'seas PLB)... I purchased an ACR Res-Q link from eBay seller '89992' last year. Landed cost in NZ ex USA was around $330NZ (no duty to pay as you're under the $400 threshhold), and this includes coding the PLB for NZ prior to shipping. Seller won't ship overseas without recoding first. I then registered it here with no problems. Compare this to the lowest price I could find on this unit in NZ - $539.00. It's not a matter of saving a few bucks if you buy right, it's a large amount of money.