Laptop into PLB (personal locator beacon) device?

Hello Everyone,
I'll be traveling on a motorcycle soon, with a laptop in my bag. I was thinking it's a good idea to get a cheap GPS receiver such as GPS-A2. (I'll be using maps for normal riding but knowing where I am for sure is a good idea sometimes.)

Now what I'm really keen about, is having the option to transmit an emergency signal from anywhere (such as the spot or FastFind PLB devices.)

I'm sure it's possible, but I don't know if it was done, and I couldn't find any relevant information.

I have 12V / 220V / 5V (USB) current in my motorcycle, if that helps.

Thanks for any help

That certainly is an inexpensive GPS device. With a mapping program for your part of the world on your laptop, you could certainly tell where you are.

However, a personal locator beacon would require some method of transmitting this information to someone else. You would need a cellular or satellite phone to do that. That is why services such as Spot charge a monthly fee.

Terry

Hi Terry,
You're right regarding the Spot device, which has a special satellite network (and not full global coverage as they declare themselves), but the FastFind device (just like many other expensive PLB devices) has no yearly fee, well, no fee at all - even registering your device is free.

"The FAST FIND 210 GPS PLB transmits the two signals simultaneously, one to the subscription free global 406 MHz satellite system, and the other (121.5MHz) is to speed up the local recovery response process."

Would an EPRB be a cheaper solution? It is radio signal based, as opposed to satellite.