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Breefield | 3 years ago

I betcha it's https://gristleking.com, he's been advocating for paragliders to use LoRaWAN for a tertiary emergency communications network (primary being Garmin's Iridium network, then cell or perhaps iOS 14's GPS SOS).

The idea is to have multiple means of calling for help + tracking location when free-flying.

discuss

order

wkat4242|3 years ago

I don't think iOS's SOS feature is feasible from a paraglider. You have to point it at a specific direction for a while to get a message out. An air band radio at 121.500 (emergency frequency) would make more sense (with the required permits of course)

InReach should work well though from a paraglider as a primary SOS.

dghlsakjg|3 years ago

From a paraglider: we are definitely paying attention to the new iphone SOS feature, many of us who fly over wilderness areas carry a spot or in-reach. We never activate in the air (no point), so having to point it in a specific direction is not an issue. Being blocked by limbs or terrain would be an issue.

Some people carry air-band radios, but largely we use the ham frequencies. Air band would be of limited utility for emergencies since we would just be using an aircraft as a relay to ATC to SAR. Satellite trackers have one button that does all of that without having to deal with air-band.

nharada|3 years ago

Typically you'd be landed before making an emergency call. But I definitely wouldn't wanna use my iPhone as an inReach replacement, supplement only.

ed25519FUUU|3 years ago

So he accomplishes it by covertly installing thousands of dollars of hardware on PUBLIC land and opening himself up to thousands more dollars in recovery fees? Not likely.

RF_Enthusiast|3 years ago

He might be at one of the higher levels on the Helium "pyramid" (sorry-- couldn't think of a better term).

A year ago, that may have meant significant earnings.