In the last few years we have seen a major change in rescue devices using satellite beacons. The SPOT, is a device with some rescue beacon features and is affordable but should not replace an EPIRB or PLB, with their automatic global links to government-run satellite rescue system. Then we have Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) which are getting smaller, smarter and less expensive with the introduction of the McMurdo FastFIND 210. EPIRBs, the original beacons, are likewise getting smaller and adding features.
What the Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon does
An EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) is a critical piece of last-resort lifesaving gear on your boat when you are out of range of a VHF radio, cell phone or other means of communication. EPIRBs and Personal Locator Beacons are small radio transmitters, connected to a global government-run satellite network, which is used worldwide to alert Search and Rescue agencies in the event of a dire emergency. Used only when all other means of rescue or communication have failed, these emergency beacons can be activated if your boat is in danger of sinking, or if you have a life-threatening accident or medical emergency. Activating an EPIRB starts a chain of responses, beginning when your signal is received by the COSPAS-SARSAT international satellite system, relayed rapidly to ground stations, forwarded to a regional Rescue Coordination Center and ending when a helicopter, boat, rescue swimmer or other type of emergency response team makes contact with you. An EPIRB does not allow you to send or receive voice or text messages. If you can reach rescue agencies with an Iridium satellite phone, Single Sideband radio or cell phone, you can better communicate the important details of your emergency. EPIRBs work when all of these means have failed, such as if your boat is sinking on the high seas and you have no electrical power.
How EPIRBs Work
EPIRBs transmit using internationally recognized distress frequencies, monitored by LEOSAR (low earth orbit) satellites moving from pole to pole above the earth’s surface, and GEOSAR (geostationary) satellites in high stationary orbit. LEOSAR satellites, because they are in motion, use Doppler shift processing (the perceived frequency change caused by the relative movement of the receiver and the source) to calculate the location of the distress beacon. They cover the entire globe, orbiting once about every 100 minutes. GEOSAR provides instantaneous alerting, but no position locating. Signals from both types are relayed to automated Local User Terminal (LUT) ground stations worldwide, which forward them to Mission Control Centers (MCC). The MCC tracks the signal, attempts to identify the transmitting vessel using the database of registered EPIRBs, and notifies a regional Rescue Control Center (RCC), operated in the U.S. by the Coast Guard or the Air Force.
A Search and Rescue operation is launched, sometimes involving international communication, substantial costs, lots of planes, helicopters or ships, and rescuers who risk their lives.
Curious onboard guests may remove an EPIRB from its cradle, causing accidental activation. Some false alarms are hoaxes, and deliberate misuse of emergency beacons may result in substantial fines, restitution and or prison. If you accidentally trigger your EPIRB, call the U.S. Coast Guard HQ Command Center at 1–800–323–7233 immediately. You will keep valuable resources from being mobilized, unable to deal with an actual emergency, and possibly prevent a SAR team from converging on your boat.
Around the world...around the clock...NOAA proudly stands watch. As an integral part of worldwide search and rescue, NOAA operates the Search And Rescue Satellite Aided Tracking (SARSAT) System to detect and locate mariners, aviators, and recreational enthusiasts in distress almost anywhere in the world at anytime and in almost any condition.
The SARSAT system uses NOAA satellites in low-earth and geostationary orbits to detect and locate aviators, mariners, and land-based users in distress. The satellites relay distress signals from emergency beacons to a network of ground stations and ultimately to the U.S. Mission Control Center (USMCC) in Suitland, Maryland. The USMCC processes the distress signal and alerts the appropriate search and rescue authorities to who is in distress and, more importantly, where they are located.
SARSAT takes the "search" out of search and rescue!
What should you look for
406 MHz EPIRBs:
Modern EPIRBs transmit digitally on 406.025 and 406.028 MHz (so they are called “406 EPIRBs”). Their signal has an embedded code containing a unique identification number, allowing rescue agencies to look up your emergency information (including name, phone number, vessel type, emergency contact, etc.), in a database, but only if you have registered your EPIRB. When your EPIRB transmits, rescuers know who you are and can phone your emergency contacts to verify your itinerary. Satellites also can store and rebroadcast your 406 emergency message, so the LEOSAR satellite does not need to be in direct contact between you and a ground station. A 406 MHz signal also allows the satellite to calculate the position of the sender to less than a 2-nm radius, resulting in the fastest and least costly rescue response. 406 EPIRBs transmit with 5W of power, adequate even in poor weather conditions. The average time to notification of RCCs via 406 MHz EPIRBs is approximately one hour worldwide.
The difference between a Category I and II:
By rule, all EPIRBs must be able to activate and transmit when they are removed from their brackets and immersed. Category I brackets will automatically deploy the beacon when submerged between 3' and 14', while Category II brackets need to have the beacon released manually. Both types can be manually activated either in or out of their brackets.
GPS/EPIRB Combinations:
Three types of EPIRBs now include the ability to transmit GPS coordinates along with the rest of the digital distress message. Some units can interface with an external GPS and if the receiver is turned on will transmit coordinates within seconds of activation. Other EPIRBs contain their own receiver and take longer to acquire their location, but keep transmitting while the EPIRB is operating, without remaining connected to an external GPS with an interface cable. Using the stationary GEOSAR satellites, these transmitters do not need to wait for a LEOSAR to pass overhead and fix a Doppler bearing, and reduce the time–to–notification to as little as four minutes. Like other GPS receivers, their position accuracy is 100yd. (instead of 2nm without GPS). A third type includes the GlobalFix iPRO, which combines features of both receiver types with Dual GPS Technology. It interfaces with your onboard GPS to ensure that your LAT/LON is stored inside, allowing your precise coordinatesto transmit in the first data burst. Then its internal GPS takes over and continues transmitting.
Personal Locator Beacons:
EPIRBS are intended strictly for marine use, but Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), their smaller cousins, can be carried with you just about anywhere. They provide the same worldwide coverage as EPIRBs, and can rescue hikers, kayakers, backpackers, climbers, pilots, river rafters and hunters (among others) as well as boaters. PLBs are different from EPIRBs in some important ways. Their battery life (24hr. minimum transmit time) is often half that of an EPIRB. PLBs are not required to float or have a strobe light (but most do), and are manually deployed and activated. Like 406 EPIRBS, PLBs have an additional 121.5MHz homing signal to help planes, helicopters and other searchers find you. They also have a Morse code encryption for PLB attached to their digital signal.
We believe, as do the safety experts, that EPIRBs are for your boat, and a PLB is a “personal” beacon. A PLB is great insurance while exploring away from the mothership in your dinghy, and is a less-bulky EPIRB alternative for any small boat. The ability to be carried with you and used anywhere—with a group of hikers, on a snowmobile or in a canoe—makes a PLB a valuable and versatile lifesaving tool.
SPOT:
An updated version of SPOT, 30% smaller and 30% lighter than the original, SPOT II is equipped with better controls and an improved GPS. SPOT II has rescue beacon features, and SPOT has created a popular niche with its added communication features and lower initial cost. SPOT should not replace an EPIRB or PLB, with their automatic global links to government-run satellite rescue system. The COSPAS/SARSAT system is a result of international cooperation with an established network of satellites, ground stations, rescue agencies, etc. The system works, and has been proven during countless rescues.
Testing a EPIRBs
406 MHz EPIRBs can be tested through its self-test function, which is an integral part of the device. 406 MHz EPIRBs can also be tested inside a container designed to prevent its reception by the satellite. Testing a 406 MHz EPIRB by allowing it to radiate outside such a container is illegal.
Battery Replacement
406 MHz EPIRBs use a special type of lithium battery designed for long-term low-power consumption operation. Batteries must be replaced by the date indicated on the EPIRB label using the model specified by the manufacturer. It should be replaced by a dealer approved by the manufacturer. If the replacement battery is not the proper type, the EPIRB will not operate for the duration specified in a distress.
Register your 406 EPIRB or PLB!
It is mandatory that you register your 406 EPIRB/PLB with NOAA SARSAT, yet only 80% of our customers register their new beacons. In the U.S. you can register online at www.beaconregistration.noaa.gov . U.S. registration can also be completed by mail or by downloading the registration form and faxing it to NOAA SARSAT at 301–568–8649. It is free, no license is required and it is critical in making your EPIRB perform as intended. When filling out the registration form, carefully select the emergency contacts NOAA or the Coast Guard should call in case your beacon goes off. These should be individuals who are familiar with your plans, and who are most likely to be available. Failure to properly register your beacon will most likely delay the launch of a rescue mission. Also, the Coast Guard says that 94% of EPIRBs alerts are false and that registration data has enabled them to resolve 65% of the alerts prior to launching SAR operations.
International Beacon Registration Database: https://www.406registration.com/
What happens to your registration form?
The registration sheet you fill out and send in is entered into the U.S. 406 Beacon Registration Database maintained by NOAA/NESDIS. If your EPIRB is activated, your registration information will be sent automatically to the appropriate USCG SAR Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) for response. One of the first things the RCC watchstanders do is attempt to contact the owner/operator at the phone number listed in the database to determine if the vessel is underway (thus ruling out the possibility of a false alarm due to accidental activation or EPIRB malfunction), the intended route of the vessel if underway, the number of people on board, etc., from a family member. If there is no answer at this number, or no information, the other numbers listed in the database will be called to attempt to get the information described above needed to assist the RCC in responding appropriately to the EPIRB alert.
When RCC personnel contact the emergency phone numbers you provide, they will have all the information you have provided on the registration form. You should let these contacts know as much about your intended voyage as possible (i.e., intended route, stops, area you normally sail/fish/recreate, duration of trip, number of people going, etc.). The more information these contacts have, the better prepared our SAR personnel will be to react. The contacts can ask the RCC personnel contacting them to be kept informed of any developments, if they so desire.
Registration regulations
You may be fined for false activation of an unregistered EPIRB. The U.S. Coast Guard routinely refers cases involving the non-distress activation of an EPIRB (e.g., as a hoax, through gross negligence, carelessness or improper storage and handling) to the Federal Communications Commission. The FCC will prosecute cases based upon evidence provided by the Coast Guard, and will issue warning letters or notices of apparent liability for fines up to $10,000.
However, the Coast Guard has suspended forwarding non-distress activations of properly registered 406 MHz EPIRBs to the FCC, unless activation was due to hoax or gross negligence, since these search and rescue cases are less costly to prosecute.
If you purchase a new or a used 406 MHz EPIRB, you MUST register it with NOAA. If you change your boat, your address, or your primary phone number, you MUST re-register your EPIRB with NOAA. If you sell your EPIRB, make sure the purchaser re-registers the EPIRB, or you may be called by the Coast Guard if it later becomes activated.
An FCC ship station license is no longer required to purchase or carry an EPIRB.
If you lend your EPRIB to someone, they MUST register it with NOAA
The online registration site contains a section for “Additional Information.” Use this section like a float plan, and let rescuers know how many passengers are aboard and your plans for the trip. This information can be updated on a daily basis.
You can also fax another registration form documenting the new information, and the approximate time that this will be in effect, to the MCC at 1-301-568-8649.
How to register
You may register by visiting the SARSAT Beacon Registration page.
There is no charge for this service. IT MAY SAVE YOUR LIFE.
For more information see the NOAA SARSAT Homepage.
A 406 EPIRB will dramatically improve your chances and your boat’s chances of survival in an emergency. A Personal Locator Beacon provides almost the same level of protection, in a pocket-sized package, to an individual on land or water.
If you still own an older Class A or B EPIRB, which, as of February 1, 2009, is no longer monitored by COSPAS/SARSAT, you should upgrade to a Category I or II 406MHz EPIRB. Linked to an internal or interfaced GPS receiver, 406 EPIRBs and PLBs allow instant notification of your identity and an accurate fix on your position, speeding the launch of a full-scale search and rescue effort. One thing is for sure, however: You must do your part in registering your EPIRB/PLB and keeping the emergency contact information up to date, so rescuers can validate the authenticity of the distress signal.
Alert*** FEBRUARY 1, 2009 Cospas-Sarsat ceased coverage
of 121.5 MHz and 243 MHz Emergency Beacons
- Click here for more information
Pilots are reminded and encouraged to monitor 121.5 MHz from their cockpit to listen for other aircraft that may be in distress.
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