The emergency signaling balloon that we told you about on November 17 is now on Kickstarter.
In an emergency the Rescue Me Balloon can be inflated with helium and then flown on a 150-foot monofilament string tether. Below the Coast Guard orange balloon is an LED light that flashes the SOS signal.
The company expects the selling price to be about $75, but a $40 pledge (plus shipping) on Kickstarter should get you one if the device begins shipping in April, 2015 as planned. But, nothing is guaranteed on Kickstarter.
In our earlier article we mused about how it might be useful for wildland firefighters in some situations, for example if they need immediate extraction due to an injury or aerial support if a fire is threatening their position. Usually they have radios, and they may have a GPS receiver that would tell them their latitude and longitude. If both are functional at their exact position, they could tell others their coordinates. A balloon like this 150 feet above the ground could help those firefighters if they are having problems getting through on the radio, or if they can’t get a GPS signal.
The description of the device on Kickstarter has more information about how it is designed:
In detail, Rescue Me Balloon is a cylindrical canister, similar to a lightsaber. It is Coast Guard Orange in color, about 6 inches in length and 2 inches in diameter and weighs about a quarter of a pound. The canister is easy to hold, and has a hoop for a clip for attaching to a belt, backpack, or life jacket, with glow-in-the-dark reflective tape to make it easy to find at night.
Inside the canister at the bottom is a small helium tank attached to a deflated and folded inflatable balloon. Also attached to the balloon is 150 feet of monofilament string with a super-bright LED connected to a small circuit board. In the Emergency Version, the circuit board is programmed to flash an SOS signal; in the Recreational Version, it is programmed to be a solid light. All of this is sealed inside the canister by a cap at the top with an O-Ring installed, making a water-tight seal when closed.
It was posted on Kickstarter at 8 a.m. PST today, November 21, and 45 minutes later it had 15 backers who had pledged $1,015.
How about the possibility of being struck by an electrical discharge!!! Maybe you should think this concept a little bit more, because if the ones you want to signal to rescue you come just find your body killed by a lightning would’t be good at all.
Perhaps someone who is familiar with radios can help on this. Can current fire radios be programed to broadcast a users GPS position?
Some radios can be equipped with technology which sends a GPS location when the talk button is pressed. This location is shown on the panel at dispatch if the panel has that capability. I believe Motorola is one brand which has this.
Digital Selective Calling (DSC) has standardized position polling and distress signal that include gps position in marine radios and widely available for a decade or so. There are currently handheld radios with integrated GPS from respected manufactures (Standard-Horizon HX 850/8517 & Icom M-92D) selling for around $250. There isn’t any reason this technology could be applied to terrestrial applications.