Honestly, I'm not much of a survival forum type guy, but this one seemed like it was worth posting...

Recently I was thinking of pulling the trigger on an inReach, but I noticed on eBay that there are a lot of PLB's going for very cheap. It seems that people will dump them on eBay when the batteries expire, as the official battery service costs nearly as much as a brand new PLB, e.g. $300-$400, which is just obscene.

Like any good engineer, I'm perfectly confident in my ability to re-battery one of these bad boys in a reliable, good for life-safety service fashion. Indeed, it turns out that the ACR units merely use an assemblage of common CR123 type batteries, although it is better if you buy them with solder tabs pre-welded on. If you search around a little bit, you can buy CR123's with solder tabs for about $5 each.

I bought this ACR PLB with internal GPS for $89. In a few days, and for $30 worth of batteries and a little sweat equity, I'll have a brandy-new-used PLB, ready to go for another 5 years. Perfect for those helicopter or snowmobile trips to the back of the beyond

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Cool, thanks for sharing.  Can you post a link to the tabbed CR123s?

http://www.interstatebatteries.com/Products/RT/PID-LIT0362(Other+Products).aspx

What's your keyword on ebay search?

I'm seeing lots of new but not the ones that need batteries replaced.

I just use "personal locator beacon". I noticed that there was another ACR unit with expired batteries that went for $83 today. You just have to be a little patient, they get posted all the time.

Ok now I'm finding them. I was searching for "PLB dead battery".  I almost bought this Aquafix 406 for $42. I'm going to do more research first though. Anyone here want to try this one?

WTF? the ebay link is going to some ad. Is arfcom doing that or Ebay. Anyway use the below link after switching the \\ to // in the URL. Even the raw text link converted to the ad link.

http:\\www.ebay.com/itm/Acr-Aquafix-406-Personal-Locator-Beacon-W-onboard-Gps-Epirb-/192157659255?hash=item2cbd7d3077:g:nT0AAOSwc-tY6Ty~

Thanks

Please register them in your name with contact info.  last week I went on a search for one with  four positive pings according to the airforce.  We were not able to locate and countn't follow up with the person because it was not registered.

Registration is the plan. It seems stupid not to. Plus I might want to avail myself of the 406link program. Still waiting on my batteries.

BTW, Batteries-Plus store will spot weld tabs on just about any battery for free, if you buy the battery from them. I just recently fixed a TS-940 that required new batteries with tabs on them.

Good point, Gyprat. Indeed, those guys are setup to build battery packs from scratch, that's what they do. I wonder what it would have cost me to have them duplicate the packs in the PLB vs. me just buying the cells and doing it myself? It's got to be cheaper than an "official" service.

Anyhow, got it done today at lunch time, and submitted my registration as well, although it is currently in "resolution" status, as it turns out the PLB was previously registered.

Here are the cells:

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Finished pack minus shrink sleeve:

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Packs finished, sleeved, labeled and installed:

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Voltage checked before install and self-test passed after install and reassembly. I hope I never needed it!

Jesus, I never realized these dont have user serviceable batteries! Good post!

Is there any way to test these to confirm they work without waiting for SAR to show up in your backyard?

I can't speak for other brands of PLB, but the older ACRs all seem to use either 3 or 6 CR123's.

The normal test is open loop, that is it will actually transmit, and the transmission is encoded as a test transmission, but the unit only performs internal self-tests during that transmission. To accomplish a closed loop test you can subscribe to this pay-to-play service: http://www.406link.com/

Make sure your beacon is on the compatibility list.

Most have a test function where it sends a signal and then gives you a tone or blinking lights to tell you it linked up properly. On the top picture above you can actually see the test button.

Interesting and good topic...