OK, might as well be up front about it, I’m thinking that smartphone-based person overboard (POB) beacons, like the CrewWatcher™, have got to be the worst idea I have heard of in a very long time, particularly since we already have a much better alternative: AIS/DSC beacons.
In fact, the only reason I can come up with for why the former are even a thing, is that it is a manifestation of the smartphone addiction syndrome that many people have been worrying about lately. In this case the symptom seems to be:
I will buy anything, no matter how ill conceived, as long as it runs on my smartphone, and even though there’s already a much better alternative available.
So, having upset a large percentage of my readers and at least one friend, let me go through my thinking, and then let’s see if anyone can come up with a counter argument. And while we are at it, let’s look at AIS POB beacons in detail.
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