I had read all the posts, but was looking for more input on SPOT vs PLB and VHF reception probabilities in Atlantic states such as Florida, Carolina, and Virginia. Hunting online,I found some good tests and evaluations of PLBs from Equipped to Survive, along with a review of SPOT in GPS magazine. The PLB's greater overall reliabilty and superior on-shore capabilities, both of which are prominent in your comments, were the deciding factors. I ended up ordering an AquaFix with onboard GPS about an hour ago. Not the latest or the smallest but not far behind, either. Thanks for starting the topic, and for your prompt response to my post.

By the way,here in central Kentucky, we have mostly copperheads for poisonous snakes. They do swim, and some say they occasionally slither on to a boat. Other parts of the state have water moccasins and rattlesnakes, too. None of them, however, compares remotely to a brown or any of the other deadly snakes you guys have. May you never meet the wrong end of one!

Hope you get in some good holiday paddling down under. Our weather has been wintry and wet, but they're predicting a warm spell Friday and Saturday.

Have a Happy Christmas,

Eric