On Sun, 24 Aug 2003 01:11:12 +0000, "Uncle StoatWarbler"
wrote:


If you're that worried, carry a locator beacon. That's what they're
designed for and satellites have the advantage of looking damned near
straight down, so terrain is irrelevant.

That's not a bad idea, they are quite cheap nowadays, at least for the
1/2 freq ones. Be aware though, that around 90+ % of all alerts are
false. And the satellites can only locate you within quite a large
sphere. Then it's down to the SAR air and ground teams. A signal
mirror and loud whistle will help them locate you much more easily.

The 406MHz COSPAS/SARSAT ones are much more accurate, typically about
200-300metres just from a satellite fix, but they are also much more
expensive. Depends on how much you are worth!


If you're going to take half a helioscope, you should make sure you know
how to use and aim it. the hole in the middle is there for a reason on the
old-style ones, as was the matchstick thingie with the loop on the end. It
makes aiming trivial, even if you can't see the light hitting the far
target.

With a CD. I just hold my thumb at arms length over the target, then
sight through the CD hole, and get the reflection onto my thumb, hence
the target. Works great, and it seems like they are custom made for
signal mirrors.